sheila

The grand finale of the 2011 MTBCo Toonie Ride season will be this weekend, Sunday September 11^th.  The ride starts at 10am at Smith Creek, and will be followed by snacks, refreshing beverages from Tree Brewing, and a chilli feast.

We will be once again joined by our generous shop sponsors –  Bike Barn, Chainline Cycle, Cyclepath, Fresh Air Experience / Concept, Kelowna Cycle, Outbound Cycle, Sovereign Cycle, and Union Cycle – who kept our bellies fed and our thirst quenched throughout the season.  Thank you! We couldn’t have had such a successful season without you.

Thank you also to all the riders who continue to come out in increasing numbers.  We hope to carry the momentum into the 2012 season, so anyone new coming out for their first toonie ride this Sunday can ride for a loonie*.  If you’re a familiar face and you bring a new rider, you both ride for a toonie*.

 We hope to see you all there!

*For insurance purposes, all riders must be MTBCo members.  Memberships are $25 and can be purchased the day of the event.  All membership fees go directly towards trail maintenance and community events.

The Rose Valley trail gnomes have been hard at work punching out a new trail full of switchback fun, a fast flowy descent, and one of the best views in Kelowna.  JabbaRocky is a cross country / all mountain trail that can be accessed from the gate at the dead end of Rosewood in West Kelowna.  Head down the dirt road, past the gate towards the Rose Valley dam (approx 1.4 km). The entrance will be in a small gravel pit on the left side of the road. There should be a few red flags to get you started. The climb is approximately 6km, and crosses the old lake loop trail several times. In all cases keep climbing the uphill switchbacks.  There are exactly a bazillionteen of them.  At the JabbaRocky trail sign turn in and enjoy.

The descent is roughly 3km long, and while there are no stunts on the trail yet, JabbaRockey boasts some of the best rock gardens Kelowna has to offer.

The only split in the trail comes almost at the end, where there is an optional “easy-out” to the left, while the right hand option weaves riders through a rocky boulder field.

As this is a new trail, any help packing it in is much appreciated.  Think you’re up to the task?

Powers trail day saw the successful completion of Quick Rip, a connector trail feeding into Spiro and Stinky Pinky.  Riders anxious to check out this new flowy trail of loam are asked to use Route 66 at the 2km mark into Spiro and Stinky Pinky, as the entrance at 2.5 is still quite mucky.  Thank you to all our volunteers who helped throughout the day.  We hope to see you all out this Sunday for the Gillard build day too!