KBRA supporter Adventure Social needs your help with their survey on mountain bike tourism in Kamloops, Please take a few minutes to complete this survey as it will help our riding community focus it’s efforts on growing mountain biking in our area.
http://www.adventuresocial.ca/surveys—research.html
There is a plethora of events this season here in Kamloops with something for everyone to enjoy. Follow the links below to see what’s happening!
Inaugural Aggy’s Reunion – May 16 – 18 at the Kamloops Bike Ranch. Come watch international pro riders throw down at the Ranch as the compete for best trick/line/style/whip. Details at http://www.kamloopscafe.com/rad/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/BmbmZi1CEAA9HZ6.jpg. More to come…
Masters of the Unicornverse DH at Harper – May 25 at Harper Mountain. Register for this fun grassroots racing event on some of Kamloops best DH trails!
http://www.kamloopscafe.com/rad/the-unicorn-dh-at-harper-mountain-is-back/
BC Cup #2 – Race the Ranch. Register or spectate for round 2 of the BC Cup Downhill Series at the Bike Ranch. Find out more at http://racetheranch.weebly.com/
Sprockids Camps - June 6, 13, 20, 27 September 19, 26 and October 3, 10 Location: Lac Du Bois (Batchlor Heights), Kamloops, BC. Cost: $90.00 per child (includes t-shirt, passport, water bottle, prizes and more!) Registration Deadline: Saturday, May 31st, 2014— register at The Bicycle Cafe
Contact: Chris Martin 250-574-6221 or email at chrismartin25@hotmail.com
or Cheryl at the Bicycle Cafe 250-828-2453 or email at cheryl@bicyclecafe.com
The North Face Dirty Feet – 6 hr Loop the Loops relay. June 8, 2014 - Kamloops BC – Teams of 4, 2 & solo. A great XC event in beautful Kenna Cartwright park, bring your friends and register in advance for this day of classic Kamloops XC racing. www.dirtyfeet.ca
KBRA will be holding their annual general meeting on Thursday June 12th, 2014 from 7-9PM. Join us to get up to speed on what we have been up to the past year, what are plans for 2014 are, and to have an interactive session to finalize trail names for the Lac Du Bois Grasslands Protected area. We will be holding the meeting at the Kamloops Sports Council building at 262 Lorne Street (adjacent to the roundabout in front of the Interior Savings Centre and the Sandman hotel).
We are in full swing for the riding season and as always we need to be aware of some basic guiding principles when biking in the Lac Du Bois Grasslands Protected Area. Here are some quick reminders when enjoying the park or any other Kamloops trail system on a bike.
Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the privilege of having an amazing park right in our backyard!
The weather cooperated and we had a great turnout to groom and clean up the trails in Batch today. Thanks to the 20+ volunteers who came out to shovel, rake, and clean up the trails in Lac Du Bois Grasslands Park! Stay tuned for more ways you can help the KBRA and the Lac Du Bois trails, or buy a membership today to support us financially. Get yours today online at http://bikekamloops.com/?page_id=3.
Some spring clean-up of the Batch trails to repair winter’s damage. Tools provided, bring gloves, appropriate footwear, water, and a snack. Would prefer that 2014 membership is paid so that insurance requirements are met. Contact us at kbra.info@gmail.com for more info. We’ll be meeting at the Cattleguard entrance on the pipeline/
After months of meetings and planning the KBRA is proud to announce our new partnership with BC Parks in Lac Du Bois! As of 2014 we will be working with parks to protect and enhance the trails in Batchelor Heights. We still have lots of work and process to go through but we are excited to have this opportunity and add more legitimate and managed trails in our great city. Stay tuned for how you can help us as we move onward and upward!
Scott Baker of KBRA and Amanda Weber-Roy of BC Parks with the new agreement.
Still time to get registered for the Okotoberfest Enduro at Harper this coming Sunday! Follow the link below for more information. For those not attending the Enduro on October 6, please note that the shuttle road will be closed to general traffic as the race course intersects it several times. If you are planning on riding in and around the race course, please yield to racers and respect all course markings. Thanks and have a great weekend!
http://www.harpermountain.com/oktoberfest-mountain-bike-enduro
Highlights:
Valleyview Connector Train Overpass: A counter was installed in October last year, until June 2013, In that time period, the bridge had 83,600+ crossings. Well over the 85,000 annually projected.
Bike to Work Week: Since the start in 2010 participants have increased from 192, to 918 this year, a 378% increase. Talk about good inflation.
Tranquille Rivers Trail Extension Project: Started earlier this year incorporated with a lighting and sidewalk improvement project, will be completed this fall, just over a month passed completion date due to unforeseen complications in the lighting aspect of the project.
Highland Drive to Juniper Ridge: This project should also be completed this fall. The good news is this project is not funded by the BMP, it is covered by the “Roadways Improvement Budget”. This route will feature Share the Road” signage for the single downhill lane of traffic. This will be the preferred method of commuting down the hill for cyclists comfortable with travelling at roadway speeds. A separated two way “Multiuse Trail” is for pedestrians and cyclists to share with a speed limit of 20 KMH.
Budgets: Speaking of budgets, you will be happy to know that the lion’s share of funding for these projects actually comes from the Federal Government’s Fuel Tax. Yes, the tax that you pay on every litre of fuel. Isn’t it nice to know that SOME of your taxes are actually being used for purposes intended?
The Valleyview Connector project and its huge costs were actually paid using City Taxes for only 12.2% of the total project. The rest came from Federal, Provincial, and various grants including “Greener Cities” grant.
2014: 9 projects. Various minor improvements to existing trail networks, traffic circles to facilitate preferred cycling routes in the city core, and design work for future projects.
2015: 7 projects: The Bicycle Master Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan, and Trails Master Plans Budgets will be combined into an “Active Transportation Budget”, but the various plans will remain separate items. This budget will see a huge increase mostly made up by separating transportation rehabilitation budgets into actual roadway improvements and the cost of sidewalk and trail improvements as their own stand-alone budget items. This will allow for better project estimating costs. This will also be accompanied by an 50% increase in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Budgets.
2016: Will see multiuse trail projects for the North Shore, and design for the Peterson Creek [Summit to 5th Ave], in preparation for…
2017: Peterson Creek Multiuse Trail Project.
The BMP Advisory Committee is looking forward to our next meeting in Spring 2014, hopefully featuring a guest speaker from KNAAC [Kamloops Natural Areas Advisory Committee] for an update on the “Trails Master Plan” and possible collusion as to where the two advisory committee’s trails may actually meet.
For more info you can download a PDF copy of the 2010 City of Kamloops Bicycle Master Plan from here: http://www.kamloops.ca/transportation/tp-bicycleplan.shtml
Regards,
Dale MacNeill.
The fourth annual Harper Oktoberfest Enduro is almost upon us!
Register now for this fun event as a solo or team. Great times,
great riding, great food, and a great cause are on the menu so
don’t hesitate, grab your bike and we’ll see you at the mountain.
