Twelve years on, the BCBR mountain bike stage race still inspires with its mix of community racing spirit and endless ribbons of singletrack. From trailside cheerleaders with Canadian whisky, Timbits & tiki bars to ferry transfers and the communal camp, watching this final edit of the 2018 race makes us want to head to British Columbia to ride right now. OK, it’s probably a bit cold & snowy over much of the track in January, so let’s make some future riding plans…
2018 BC Bike Race, a look back on its 12th year
The BC Bike Race is all about the experience for most competitors – and riders come from around the world to get one of the coveted start numbers. But it is a proper race too, with some of the legends of North American pro mountain biking show up for a mid-season, multi-day race goal on the roots, skinnies & technical Canadian trail.
Seven days of stellar mountain biking shines through this video edit chronicling what it felt like at last year’s race. They say it’s all about sharing British Columbia’s mountain biking culture with the world, racing through old growth forests, all the way down to the Pacific coast.
“This past year, lead videographer Max Berkowitz, and his team captured the essence of the race through its three founding principals: community, racing, and singletrack. The amount of work, passion, and long hours that have been devoted to making this event happen year after year is immeasurable and would have been insurmountable without the efforts of trail builders, clubs, sponsors, partners, and our gracious hosts, the First Nations on whose land we ride and camp.”
Of course getting into the BCBR is no simple task, it gets sold out quickly every year – usually in less than 24 hours once registration opens up mid-summer, about a week after the last year’s race. But, if you know a BC resident who helps build their MTB community, there is still a chance to win them an entry with the Kazlaw Community Award.
There is also apparently still very limited availability for the July 2019 race for the public, even after regular registration has closed. Reach out via the link on the race site to put your name on the Wait List. I certainly would love to make my way back out to ride in British Columbia again one year – and I can’t imagine any better way to do it than at BCBR.
