The Burns Lake Mountain Biking Team, coached by Pat and Patti Dubé, along with Burnt Bikes, is hosting the 2013/14 Project Trails program at the Boer Mountain mountain biking trail network.
Project Trails was launched last year.
“This project was immensely successful, giving 16 students experience building trails by hand and machine, and building a 100 foot wooden bridge,” Pat said. “This year we are excited to build on this success by building more elevated wood structures and improving our trail network on Wednesdays and Sundays.”
Project Trails will meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays at the Kager Lake parking lot. A ride to Kager Lake is available a half-hour earlier on either day from the Burnt Bikes parking lot. Free shuttles follow the trail building.
Participation is open to all volunteers, not just students and team members. Anyone who doesn’t mind putting a little labour in to earn a free shuttle ride at the end of the session is welcome.
“Burns Lake has been undergoing an amazing evolution as a world-class mountain biking destination,” Pat said. “We are being considered for inclusion as an International Mountain Biking Association world mountain-biking destination.”
Biking the Boer Mountain trails was also recently selected as the number three slot in Explore magazine’s list of the top things to do in Canada.
The profile of Burns Lake mountain biking will be raised again this academic year, with the Lakes District Secondary School hosting the 2014 provincial high school mountain-biking championships on May 24, 2014. The event is expected to bring more than 150 riders from across the province to Burns Lake.
In other Boer Mountain trail news, the newest trail under construction since last year is almost through to the top of Boer Mountain.
Called Razorback, the new trail extends the Stearns Creek Canyon trail from the lower bike park to the top of Boer Mountain, offering a number of extended riding options. When complete, Razorback will give bikers another fast and flowing shuttle run, or a challenging climb from either Kager Lake or the Burns Lake Bike Park trail network.
After the long climb, riders can either return they way they came for some well-earned fun, or they could make their way back down other already established runs, like Charlotte’s Web or When Pigs Fly.