
We caught up briefly with Rod Camposano course director for legendary days 4 and 5. Rod says in a quick e-mail- "Here are a few pictures of one of the new trails that will start the 'maze' and take you to the end of day 4. We have been working hard at getting more singletrack in the west Sechelt area. If there's time to look around the views are great and the trails are tight."

"We are also looking at getting more singletrack in the Halfmoon Bay approach (middle of day 4), we were in this area that bypasses a nasty uphill singletrack and hike a bike, this area has the most amount of old roads that I have ever seen. You could say that we almost got a bit giddy."
Have a happy day
Rod
Thanks Rod, wow did I hear right "more singletrack"!!
VANCOUVER, BC, November 20, 2008 - Big Mountain Bike Adventures has teamed up with Andreas Hestler, one of North America's most celebrated cross-country mountain bikers, for a late-March training camp.
During the 8-day adventure participants will join former Olympian, 3-time winner of the Trans Rockies, celebrated coach and charismatic athlete Andreas Hestler on this private training camp and learn riding and training techniques to improve mountain bike skills.
"I believe that the difference between amateur cyclists and professionals is dedication and focus," says Hestler. "During this training camp, we will have one unified goal, to gather miles and learn skills over a concentrated period of time. These skills can be applied to racing or everyday riding." Off the bike, Hestler will share his secrets about goal setting, nutrition, seasonal periodization, stage racing and more. For those training for a multi-day event or just looking to improve their skills and fitness, this is a great opportunity.
The location for the camp is one of North America's mountain bike Mecas near Las Vegas, Nevada. Just beyond the strip lies an arid region with varied trails, spectacular scenery and world class riding. Riders will visit Bootleg Canyon, Blue Diamond, Hurricane, Thunder Mountain and even hike Zion National Park. "Some of the trails in this area are like Moab on steroids," says Hestler enthusiastically, "slick rock that winds and undulates with plenty of cornering and singletrack to practice skills and fitness. We're going to have fun."
Trip dates: March 28 to April 4, 2009
Cost: $2475 Canadian
For more information, email: info@ridebig.com
Founded in 2002, Big Mountain Bike Adventures is an innovative travel company that offers all-mountain, XC and downhill mountain bike trips in Morocco, Costa Rica, Italy, British Columbia, Mexico, South Africa and Botswana, Peru, the Yukon and Switzerland.
For more information on Big Mountain, go to www.ridebig.com
Contact Information:
Chris Winter
604-730-2659
chris@ridebig.com

If you're in the Vancouver area on September 20th, why not extend your racing season with the classic XC race from Squamish to Whislter - the Cheakamus Challenge!
Organized by BCBR's own Day 7 Course Manager, Grant Lamont, the 2008 edition of the Cheak promises to be nothing short of awesome. Check out the press release below.
For information and to register, hit the Cheakamus Challenge website. See you there!!
Cheakamus Challenge Fall Classic Mountain Bike Race
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
10 a.m. Start
70 KM. Marathon Cross-Country Event
Squamish-Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Known as the “King of the Classics” the Cheakamus Challenge celebrates the constant evolution of a race that has come to represent one of the toughest 1 day events in the Mountain Bike universe.
The route begins at the Squamish Airport just north of Brackendale and follows a rugged course along and above the Cheakamus River to the finish in Whistler’s Creekside. Riders tackle this unforgiving course that climbs over 2000m on a selection of trails that is both mind-blowing beautiful and challenging to ride.
This year we are welcoming a new section of trail to the course as another piece of the Sea to Sky Trail puzzle falls into place from Cal Cheak to Sugar Cube Hill and through to Trash and the teeth of the course. This section was just completed by the RMOW Trail crew and is going to be a sweet addition to the course. In addition to the classic 70 km. course there is also the Pique Newsmagazine Cheakamus Lite which features a 40 km. course that starts at 1 p.m. at the Whistler Bungee Bridge just south of the Athlete’s Village Site at Function Junction.
Over the past 20 years, Race Director Grant Lamont has put hundreds of hours and grown countless new grey hairs from staging the event and is very excited about year 20 at the helm. “This event is one of the longest running MTB events in the world that has seen the best riders in Canada from World Champs such as Roland Green and Alison Sydor leading the field.”
For the past 3 years it has been Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain Bicycles), Silver Medalist at the 2006 World’s dominate the event with his world class power and desire to win showing through as he battled Canada Cup Champ Neal Kindree over the 70 km. course. For the women we expect another tough race as Sydor is hoping to make it her 6th Cheakamus win with tough competition coming from local girl Joanna Harrington and a host of other strong women.
This year we are anticipating close to 500 athletes to challenge themselves over this nasty route that is known as the “Celebration of Pain” when the riders head out at 10 a.m., Saturday, September 20th.
All riders will be treated to a great feed at the finish line being grilled up by the gang at Dusty’s featuring great burger platters for both meat and vegetable eaters.
The Cheakamus Challenge also likes to give back to the community and this year has partnered with Bicycles for Humanity to help get some bikes for the local First Nations communities in Mount Currie and Squamish. Riders will be asked to donate used bikes for the cause along with any cycling related gear that they have lying around the house and garage.
Race Director Grant Lamont is also donating $2 from each paid entry to the Cops For Cancer Charity that helps support kids with this terrible disease and give them some joy in the tough battle the face each day.
Contact- Grant Lamont
Tel- 604-938-1799
Mobile- 604-902-0054
Email- gjlamont@gmail.com
Web- www.cheakamuschallenge.com
Been sitting on the fence, wondering whether you should register for next year's BC Bike Race, set to run from June 28-July 4, 2009? Well, now you have another great reason to jump on board!
From now until September 15 '08, we're offering a great incentive package to the first 30 new teams-of-two to register for the 2009 BCBR. If you're one of the first 30 teams to sign up during this limited time offer, you'll receive (in addition to the already awesome Racer Package) $300 worth of custom BC Bike Race swag for each team member - that's a $600 signing bonus!
The bonus package includes:
A creative joining of art and function, the Syncros all-mountain Bar & Stem Combo - BC Bike Race edition - is a unique addition to any mountain bike. Celebrate your training plan for the 2009 BC Bike Race with a redesigned control center that subtly highlights your goal every time you ride!
Don't miss out on this limited time offer...register your team for BC Bike Race 2009 today!

