Summer Sports Getting Started

The bikes have been on the roads and trails for a few weeks. The fishermen have moved off the ice and onto the rivers. The golfers are getting the first few rounds in at the Canmore Golf and Curling club; with the other area courses set to open soon. The skiers are getting the last few turns of the season in. The shorts and sandals are making their way onto the local disc golf courses. And the patios are in full swing.

The spring sports season is upon us and residents of the Bow Valley are amped to get outside. I went for a ride on Monday evening and the paths around town felt like a long weekend. Bikers, joggers, and families out for a stroll on a beautiful spring evening. This is why people come to Banff and Canmore, to LIVE the ROCKIES LIFE. Living in the Bow Valley offers a truly unique experience. Come home from work and have all these options at your door step. It is no small wonder that we have seen Real Estate sales pickup over the past month.

Banff Lake Louise Tourism is putting on the 'Banff National Park Bike Fest' in late June with added events this year. This is a great event for both competitors and spectators alike. For more information see the article below.




Banff Cragg and Canyon - May 6th 2009 Larissa Barlow

Larissa@thecrag.ca

The Banff National Park Bike Fest is gearing up to be a bigger and better affair than last year.

Fourteen teams signed up almost immediately to take part in the race and 21 individual riders signed up the night registration opened.

And two new races have been added to this year’s roster – a 6 km hill climb and 80 km sprint race.

“Obviously it’s going to be a bigger event this year,” said Stuart Back, director of in resort services for Banff Lake Louise Tourism.

The festivities kick off Thursday, June 18 with the hill climb on Highway 93 south. Racers will ride to the top of the hill and finish passed the Storm Mountain Lodge. They’ll then be shuttled back to the beginning at the large pullout at the start of Highway 93. The race starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. It’s estimated it will take each cyclist 11 minutes to get to the top.

“It’s a pretty spectacular location as well as being a fantastic ride,” Back said.

The next day from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. will be the sprint on Highway 1A, with the route beginning at the Lake Louise Community Centre.

Cyclists will ride along the highway and then turn around at the Sawback Day Use Area and finish just east of the 1A/Whitehorn Road junction.

An awards ceremony for the race will be held in the Samson Mall parking lot from 1:30-2 p.m.

The action then comes to Banff on Saturday, June 20 with the individual time trial taking place from 8-11:30 a.m. Starting at the Husky gas station, racers will head towards the Minnewanka Loop, taking it in a counter clockwise direction.

“Essentially it’s the same as last year,” Back said.

Then from 4-9:30 p.m. it’s the criterium race that takes place in town. Racers will make multiple laps of a route that takes them on Banff Avenue, Wolf Street, Bear Street and Caribou Street. These roads will be closed during the race, and the Bear Street parking lot will be closed.

Back said the CP Rail lot will be made available for extra parking during the closure.

“We’ve got a lot of volunteers on either end redirecting traffic,” he said.

Included with this race will be a nearby marketplace that will have equipment demonstrations and they’re inviting other vendors to run barbeques.

“It’s just an opportunity for us to create more of a festival atmosphere,” Back said.

The bike fest will wrap up on Sunday, June 21 with the final race on Tunnel Mountain.

Held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the road race will be taken on by teams only. It will begin on Beaver Street at Elk Street and then head out along Banff Avenue. Cyclists will turn right at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort and go up Tunnel Mountain Road and race back to Beaver Street by way of Surprise Corner. There will be some road closures to accommodate riders during the race.

“It’s a pretty packed weekend of action,” Back said. “We really want to provide something more of a festival atmosphere this year.”

Race participants must hold a valid licence issued by the Alberta Bicycle Association, or a CCA license issued by a province or by the CCA. International Riders must have a UCI recognized license to participate in the bike fest.

The two exceptions are the races geared to locals, the Cruiser Crit and Little Crits races, which are open to general participation.

The Cruiser Crit race goes along the criterium route, with participants trying to outdo each other with who has the craziest costume. And the Little Crits race, which has four age categories, takes on a shortened criterium route. Both races are held on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.

The entry fee for the Little Crits race is $2 and all funds are being donated to the Banff Elementary School Food for Learning Program.

For more information on the Banff National Park Bike Fest, visit www.banfflakelouise.com.