The Pemberton Speedway is holding a stock car race this Sunday, Aug. 21 starting at 11 a.m. with time trials. The trials will be followed by an A heat, a B heat, the main race, and the mechanics’ race.
The Speedway is located between Whistler and Pemberton, just north of the Green River Riding Club motocross track.
There is lots of parking, a concession stand, and bleachers to get a bird’s eye view of the course. No dogs please.
Race organizers will also use the race to promote bomber car races, which are entry level races using regular cars that have had a few safety modifications.
Gearjammer this Saturday
Registration is filling up fast for the Squamish Gearjammer mountain bike race, which is both the Cycling B.C. Cross Country Championships and the fourth of five events in the SISU Cycling B.C. Marathon Race Series. The race is limited to 500 riders and organizers are expecting it to sell out.
The course has been modified from past years to include more singletrack, including trails that were part of the original Brodie Test of Metal in 1995.
Weighing in at 47 km, this year’s Gearjammer is about 5 km longer than past years. The race starts at Alice Lake Provincial Park and includes sections of Ed’s Bypass, Rock ’n’ Roll, Dead End Loop, Made in the Shade, Bob McIntosh Trail, Mike’s Loop, Mice and Men, Tracks from Hell, Mashiter, Ray’s Café, Cliff’s Corners, Skookum, Middle Power Smart, IMBA Smart, George’s Cross, Pseudo Tsuga, Snakes and Ladders, The Hell With Darwin, Ring Creek Rip, and Powerhouse Plunge – an interesting mix of technical singletrack.
For more information or registration, visit www.gearjammer.ca.
Wheelup coming Sept. 10
The 12 th annual Westside Wheelup is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Whistler.
Registration for the mountain bike race, which follows a variety of trails on Whistler’s west side, takes place in Function Junction between 10:30 a.m. and noon on race day and costs $25.
The top draw prize is a dual-mountain season pass from Whistler-Blackcomb, but there are approximately 50 prizes in total to be drawn at the post-race party.
Proceeds from the race go toward the B.C. Disabled Ski Team.
GK Ripper returns to Squamish
Squamish will be hosting the fifth annual GK Ripper "Puke or Bleed" fundraiser race on Sept. 18. The GK Ripper is an up and down relay mountain bike race – cross-country riders climb Diamond Head Road and pass the baton off to their teammates, who will ride down 19 th Hole and Peanuts Wild Ride to the valley. Last year the Ripper raised over $15,000 for the GK Ripper Foundation, bringing the total since 2000 to $60,000.
Organizers are looking for event sponsors as well as participants for this year’s event. Visit www.gkripper.com for more details.
The GK Ripper Foundation provides financial assistance to members of the community who have been seriously injured in sports or in motor vehicles.
River festival returns to the Ashlu
After the success of last summer’s Ashlu River Festival, which is now being called one of the largest whitewater events ever held in Canada, there was no question as to whether there should be a second annual event in 2005. This year’s festival, hosted once again by the Whitewater Kayakers Association of B.C., will take place from Aug. 18 to 21 with three days of guided trips (beginner to expert), introductory kayak lessons, playboating and creek boating clinics, rafting float trips, open kayak trips, canoe lessons, guided herb walks and more.
Registration includes camping, shuttles to the festival site, a barbecue and all meals, as well as boating demos, a gear swap, and a presentation on the impacts of development on rivers and access. There is also a whitewater competition – the Northwater Shootout Showdown.
Registration starts at $45 for event participants, but is just $20 for non-paddling families. The lessons, clinics and trips are priced between $10 and $20. For more information, visit www.whitewater.org.
Free water ramp camps offered
The H20 Water Ramp Training Facility at Blackcomb’s Base II is offering a free introductory camp this weekend, Aug. 19-22, with full use of the in-ground trampolines and water ramps and sessions with coach Katherina Kubenk. Katherina is a nine-year veteran of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team in aerials, as well as an Olympian and world champion. She is also the head coach of the B.C. Aerial Team, as well as team leader of the Jump to 2010 program.
Accommodation is available for as little as $15 a night, and the only other cost is $10 for a B.C. Freestyle Ski Association introductory membership. Some equipment can be provided, but interested jumpers should bring wetsuits and skis and boots they can spare.
Participants will be taught to use the jumps, as well as the basics of aerial jumping.
For more information or registration – spaces are limited – contact katgirl1@myway.com .
