Cyclists gear up for massive bike race
Cyclists gear up for massive bike race
A slew of cyclists will compete in the massive upcoming GrandFondo Canada, a bike race modeled after European-style bicycling races.
This British Columbia tour of Canada will see 4,000 cyclists race along the beautiful Sea-to-Sky corridor from Vancouver to Whistler.
For organizer Neil McKinnon, it was an idea born in the foothills of Europe. McKinnon rode in the Novo Coli Grand Forno in Italy and was inspired to bring that type of riding to Canada, according to The Province.
"I think it's about bringing people together with a common passion and letting them become the event," said McKinnon. "I really experienced that in Italy when I was sitting around with 13,000 people at 5 a.m. before the sun came up. It was magical. When we got to the finish line it was a celebration. There were 20-year-olds and 80-year-olds and big fat guys with pink suits on. It was fun. I looked around and thought why can't we do something like this?"
In addition to the race component, the event has an ecological tint. McKinnon hopes the cyclists will inspire others to take up biking, and has arranged for riders to fill their own water bottles with Vancouver tap water rather than use up tons of bottles.
Travelers on British Columbia holidays can watch the race on September 11th, or possibly make plans to bike the route themselves if their trip is planned after the race is run.
Posted on Thursday, Sep 2, 2010 by Dan Macleod
