Some Toonie Ride hosts will time every rider, others will stop counting after the first three men and women and top juniors are across the line. But for the annual Slope Side Supply and Samurai Sushi ride everybody gets a time.
The format, as always, is a time trial, with participants starting 10 seconds apart. You pass and get passed, and when you get to the end you know how fast you were.
Registration gets underway at 6:30 p.m. at the service road on top of Cardiac Hill, just opposite the Nita Lake employee housing complex on Alta Lake Road. From there the course climbs Lower Sproatt, circles the Beaver Lake Trail, winds down Danimal North, hauls back up Whip Me Snip Me, crosses Rainbow Creek and then follows Bob's Rebob and Get Over It to the road crossing and a final section of Emerald Forest. The course length is about 10 km.
Participants in this year's Four Queens race will leave from 6 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.
The following week's Toonie, July 15, is sponsored by Whistler Real Estate and Race and Co, starting and finishing at Blackcomb Base. The trails include a selection of trails on Blackcomb and through Lost Lake Park.
WORCA clinics begin July 13
The Cross Country Connection and local pros will be leading cross-country clinics every two weeks starting on Tuesday, July 13, geared to beginner and intermediate riders who want to learn or brush up on their bike skills.
The cost is $10 for WORCA members to take part, with sign-in at 5:30 p.m. at the Cross Country Connection rental outlet at the entrance to Lost Lake Park. Rides get underway at 6 p.m.
The course is being planned as a series, building skills each week but you can show up at any time. There will also be a beginner group each week.
More information at www.worca.com.
Routley fifth at Yaletown
Whistler's Will Routley kicked off B.C. Superweek in Yaletown on Canada Day with a fifth place finish in the Yaletown Grand Prix - a high-speed rip through the streets of Yaletown with tens of thousands of spectators on the sidelines.
It was a heavyweight battle, with Routley sticking with three former teammates - winner Svein Tuft, Andrew Pinfold, and Christian Meier, as well as Adrian Hegyvary until the finish. Routley was on his own once again, while Tuft and Meier are with the Garmin-Transition team and Pinfold and Hegybary with United Healthcare presented by Maxxis.
Routley, who won the national road championship the previous week, will likely race in the three-day Tour de Delta this weekend, and possibly the Tour de White Rock the following weekend.
Rowing Club strong in Northwest U.S. Rowing Regionals
A group of local rowers were among the close-to-950 athletes taking part in the Northwest U.S. Rowing Regatta at Lake Stevens, Washington over the last weekend in June. It's the second-largest event of its type of the U.S. and features past, present and future Olympians.
The Whistler Rowing crew came away with a total of 10 medals, seven silver and three bronze.
Maureen Harriman led the team with four silver medals, three in singles and one in the club quad. Diane Ziff won a silver in the club quad and a bronze in the doubles.
Jane Frazee won a silver in the club quad and one bronze in a single boat.
Greg Groff won a bronze in a single.
Janice Groff won a silver in the club quad and placed fourth in a single.
Ritchie King was fourth twice in a tough age category.
The group was coached by Craig Pond from UBC and managed by Bernie Ziff.
This is the second year for the Whistler Rowing Club.
Ken Quon Ride On in the big leagues
Family and friends of Ken Quon are hosting the fifth annual Ken Quon Memorial Ride On Aug. 8, an event which in past years has raised money to equip Whistler and Pemberton ambulances with portable diagnostic machines and last year purchased an infrared heat-sensing camera for Whistler Fire Services.
While it's been a community event for the most part, this year Team Whistler has partnered with the event to include the B.C. Cup Cross Country Finals.
Other events include the Ken Quon Ride On Re/Max Corridor Cup, which is a three-lap race of the course in teams of two; the WORCA one-lap ride; and a family ride to Quon's memorial in the park. The race course itself is only moderately technical but definitely not as easy as it looks on paper, with over 300 metres of climbing per lap.
Quon passed away in 2005 while leading a Wild Willies ride. He had an undiagnosed heart condition and died almost instantly.
This year the Ken Quon Memorial has already raised $2,600 for safety equipment at a car wash last week. Organizers are hoping for a strong turnout on Aug. 8.
For more on the Ken Quon Memorial Ride On, visit www.kenquonrideon.com. For more about the B.C. Cup event, including a link to the registration site, visit www.teamwhistler.ca
Gym club booking summer camps
The Whistler Gymnastics Club still has spaces available in its summer camp programs.
Classes included Active Start Camps (born 2004 to 2008) from July 12 to 16 and Aug. 3 to 6; trampoline camps (aged 7 to 12) from July 19 to 23 and Aug. 9 to 13; competitive camps from July 19 to 23 and Aug. 9 to 13, and Gymnastics For All recreational camps from Aug. 9 to 13. Registration is online at www.whistlergymnastics.com.
S2S Junior Gold Championship returns
Local golf courses have collaborated to bring the Sea to Sky Junior Golf Championships back for a third year, open to young golfers aged 10 to 18.
The Championships is a 54-hole stroke play competition with 18 holes at Big Sky Golf Club on July 26, 18 holes at Nicklaus North Golf Course on July 27 and 18 holes at Squamish Valley Golf Club on July 28.
The field size is limited so early registration is recommended.
The cost is $100 for the championship or $120, which includes the scramble event at the Chateau. That includes green fees, food and drink at the halfway point, dinner after the round and a chance to win prizes. There will be awards for the top three gross scores, the top three in each age group and the lowest net score in each age group.
For more information or an entry form send a request to apolo@shaw.ca.
Bike Park Contest winner from India
India and mountain biking are seldom mentioned in the same sentence, but Vinay Menon is looking to change all that.
Menon was declared the winner of Bike Park B.C.'s Ultimate Summer of Freeride contest, out of over 140 blog and photo entries.
Menon is reportedly already organizing his visa to Canada, where he will get a chance to ride at Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Silver Star Bike Park, Sun Peaks Resort, Fernie Alpine Resort and Mount Washington Bike Park. He will get two lift tickets and two nights of accommodation at each stop, as well as bike rentals and half a day of expert guiding, as well as $1,000.
Details on the contest are posted at www.bikeparksbc.com.
For The Record
In our Test of Metal results we missed a few names.
Jenny Angus of Whistler was ninth in the 40 to 44 women's category with a time of 4:39.
Mike Hawes was seventh in the male 60 to 69 category, also in 4:39. Tom Thomson placed 11 th in 5:44.
As well, it turns out there are two Mike Robinsons competing in local mountain bike races, and the Robinson in the Test of Metal is the one from Vancouver.
