Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

E-bike policy announced for BC Parks near Whistler

Sports briefs: d'Artois sixth at Cardrona; Gayton, Wareham tops at Bars of Fury
sports_results4-1
NEW POLICY BC Parks will allow e-bikes where mountain bikes are already allowed. WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Like many other landholders have recently announced before it, BC Parks is allowing some e-bike use on trails where mountain bikes are allowed.

In a release on Aug. 27, BC Parks announced that Class 1 e-bikes are allowed on trails where mountain bikes or other cycling is already allowed. Class 2 and 3 e-bikes are allowed only on routes designated for motor vehicles, depending on the park.

Class 1 e-bikes are defined as having no throttle and are pedal-assist only, and reach a maximum speed of 32 kilometres per hour before the motor cuts out.

Class 2 and 3 e-bikes are pedal-assist and/or throttle actuated, with Class 2 bikes having the 32 km/h cut-off and Class 3 having a 45 km/h cut-off. All three classes of e-bikes are defined as having a maximum continuous motor wattage of 500 watts.

In the Sea to Sky, parks that allow cycling that will be affected by the policy change are: Brandywine, Garibaldi, Alice Lake and Birkenhead provincial parks. Brandywine and Garibaldi have allowances for only Class 1 e-bikes, while Alice Lake and Birkenhead accept all three classes, depending on the area of the park.

While allowing the e-bikes, BC Parks acknowledged the potential hazards they can bring.

"Cycling in parks can have an impact on trails and wildlife," the BC Parks press release states. "Electric bikes allow more riders to use trails and reach areas that were previously limited to a few visitors, leading to increased pressure on sensitive wildlife and ecosystems."

For more information, visit www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/recreation/biking.

d'Artois takes sixth at Cardrona

Whistler halfpipe skier Simon d'Artois opened his 2019-20 FIS World Cup season at Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealand on Sept. 7.

With a score of 87, d'Artois finished 8.6 points back of winner Birk Irving of the United States, while fellow Canadian Noah Bowman and American Aaron Blunck rounded out the podium. Other Canadians included Brendan MacKay in fourth, Sam McKeown in ninth, Dylan Marineau in 15th, Andrew Longino in 16th and Evan Marineau in 27th.

In the women's event, Rachael Anderson was the top Canadian in 10th while Amy Fraser took 15th. China took the top two spots with Kexin Zhang edging Eileen Gu for the victory. Russia's Valeriya Demidova placed third.

Gayton, Wareham top Bars of Fury race

Several of Whistler's top downhillers came together for quite the race from top to bottom on Sept. 7.

Racing from Top of the World down Ride Don't Slide and Earth Circus into Creekside Village, Shane Gayton and Keren Wareham came away with the overall men's and women's wins.

Gayton completed the course in 23 minutes and 57.85 seconds (23:57.85) to hold off Squamish's Lee Jackson and Whistler junior Wei Tien Ho. Wareham, listing her hometown as London, U.K., came down in 28:08.75 to best Wanaka, New Zealand's Melissa Newell and Whistler's Michelle Chang.

As for age division winners, Gayton came away with the male open 17-plus win, while Whistler's Alice Mathews took that honour on the women's side. Wareham topped the master female 30-plus division, while Adam Dagg won the master's men 30-to-39 contest. Ariel Lindley, meanwhile, won the veteran male 40-plus division while Ho was the junior winner, earning the male 14-to-16 victory.

Full results are online at whistlerblackcomb.com.

Walker second at regional contest

Whistler golfer Stewart Walker very nearly got the opportunity to take his game to Augusta.

With the chance to compete at the famed Augusta National Golf Club the week before next year's Masters, Walker placed a narrow second at the Drive, Chip & Putt regional qualifiers at Washington state's Chambers Bay Golf Course. Walker scored a 144 in the boys 14-and-15 division behind only Howard Shu of Saratoga, Calif., who scored 155. Walker will serve as an alternate.