Members to get more for their money
The Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association is ramping up for another busy year of trail advocacy, trail maintenance, races, riding clinics and other special events.
At the same time the group will continue to expand its focus on recruiting the growing local community of downhillers and freeriders in Whistler – with the help of the municipality, Whistler-Blackcomb, and local businesses.
"We’re doing a few new things this year for our members that will help to get people out," says WORCA president Tony Horn.
"The municipality and Whistler-Blackcomb have been great, totally supportive of WORCA, so we’re basically building on those partnerships, and giving people incentives to join."
One of the larger projects on the slate for this year is a freeride park in the Rainbow Park area on the side of Alta Lake Road. WORCA will use the park to host clinics, and it will likely be open to the public.
According to Horn it will be a developmental park with stunts for beginner, intermediate and expert riders. WORCA will use the municipality’s new bicycle trail grading standards to mark the difficulty level of every stunt in the park the same way that the mountains mark their runs.
"Stunts are part of every trail these days, but there’s really nowhere you can go to safely practice and improve," says Horn.
Another project that will go into high gear this summer is the construction of the Foreplay multipurpose trail.
Last year WORCA was granted $10,000 to finish Foreplay by a local development group to compensate for the trails that are being impacted by the construction of a new subdivision in the area known as the B.C. Rail Lands. Whole sections of Danimal, Beaver Pass and 99er are either being lost or diverted as a result of the development.
The municipality is also funding the construction of a suspension bridge over Wedge Creek, which will allow trail builder Chris Markle to link the completed section of Foreplay to the Green Lake Loop.
The group has another $8,000 to fund trail maintenance on other trails from a combination of membership fees and municipal grants. Markle was awarded the maintenance contract for the second year in a row.
WORCA will also continue to rely on volunteer trail maintenance days and nights for a lot of the work. However, to sweeten the deal this year, WORCA will be offering a two-day getaway to the Mike Wiegele Bike Festival in September to the person who comes out for the most trail maintenance events.
The Pemberton Off-Road Mountain Bike Club already held its first trail maintenance day of the year, which was also attended by members of WORCA and the Pemberton Valley Trails Association.
"It’s already looking good for this year," says Horn. "We had more than 30 people at the Pemberton day, and it wasn’t the nicest weather, so that was a pretty encouraging start. We hope we can keep it up through the summer."
Declining membership numbers continue to be a major issue for WORCA. The decline has been attributed to the growing popularity of downhill and freeride cycling, and the misconception that WORCA is a cross country organization that is primarily focused on organizing weekly loonie races.
In 1999 WORCA had over 1,000 members. Last year the group had almost 600 members, which still makes it one of the largest community-based mountain bike organizations on the continent.
While loonie races will always be a part of WORCA, the membership funded more than 400 hours of trail work, donated hundreds of hours more, and maintained 56 kilometres of local trails.
"That’s the message we want to get across," says Horn. "Even the guys who spend most of their time riding the mountain use the other trails some of the time."
To give locals and visitors even more reasons for joining, WORCA members will benefit from an incentive program with Whistler-Blackcomb and local businesses.
WORCA members will receive 25 per cent off the cost of a pass for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, plus discounts on day passes. In addition, as the season progresses, Horn says WORCA card holders will be eligible for weekly specials at other local businesses, including bike shops and restaurants.
"This will really encourage people to join," says Horn. "For the cost of a $25 membership, you might end up saving more than a $100. Even visitors who only ride the park a couple of days could wind up saving money."
More members gives the club more leverage as mountain bike advocates, while increasing WORCA’s ability to fund maintenance, clinics, racers and other programs, says Horn.
Other WORCA initiatives include a show on Whistler Cable, and more freeride clinics for adults and children.
Memberships are $25 per year for adults, $20 for youth under 19, and $45 for families. They are required to participate in loonie races and the Samurai of Singletrack endurance event at the end of the season, unless you pay drop-in fees at those events.
WORCA Events:
WORCA Bike Swap – Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the base of Whistler. It costs $2 to sell an item at the bike swap, plus a commission of 10 per cent for sales over $1,000 and 15 per cent for sales under that price. All proceeds go towards the WORCA Youth Program, which brings coaches and World Cup stars to Whistler to work with local kids. Bring your bikes and other equipment between 9 and 11 a.m.
Al Gray Memorial Loonie Race – Thursday, May 2. Registration is between 4:45 and 5:45 p.m., and the race starts at 6 p.m. Meet at the municipality’s cross country skiing ticket booth. This event is sponsored by WORCA and Shakespeares Pies. Loonie races will be held every Thursday evening until Sept. 5.
Whistler Trail Daze – Saturday, May 4, starting at 9 a.m. This annual event is a trail cleanup day, with crews removing deadfall from trails and inspecting them for damage. Meet at Teppan Village at 9 a.m.
For more information on WORCA, visit the Web site at www.worca.com . For information on events, such as loonie races and trail maintenance nights, call the WORCA hotline at 604-938-9893.
