Imagine me saying this in my “movie theater guy” voice.

Cineplex Entertainment and Citizen Pictures take movie audiences on a ride only the most intense cyclists have experienced – including seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong – as they compete in one of the world’s most grueling mountain bike races in Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100. Shown exclusively in select Cineplex Entertainment theatres on Wednesday, January 27th and Sunday, February 7th, 2010, these special events will feature the debut of the documentary, “Race Across the Sky.”

OK turn off your “move theater guy” filter. In all seriousness IMBA Canada has partnered with Citizen Pictures for the Canadian debut of “Race Across the Sky” documenting the 2009 LT100 Mountain Bike Race. Dave Wiens had won it since 2003 and managed to hold off Lance Armstrong in 2008. But in 2009 Lance finally added this race to his long list of victories.

More details from the press release:

“The Leadville Trail 100 is one of those events…Like the New York City Marathon or the Ironman, where people say, one day I want to do that,” said Armstrong. “It’s the purest level of passion that you can get.”

“Cineplex Entertainment is pleased to partner with Citizen Pictures to invite cyclists and mountain bike racing fans to the Canadian premiere of Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “Watching the competitors race on difficult terrain with picturesque Colorado as the back drop on our big screens is sure to impress.”

Citizen Pictures filmed against the misty backdrop of a former mining town in Colorado that sits at 10,200 feet to capture the drama of the 2009 LT100 mountain bike race. The LT100 began as a running race 27 years ago to draw tourism to Leadville, Colo. The mountain bike race was added in 1994 and has become a competition with more than 1,000 entries and a lottery determining who will compete. The course includes 14,000 vertical feet of climbing and often severe weather changes. Competitors race on dirt trails, mining roads and Forest Service roads, hoping to cross the finish line in 12 hours or less.

Cameras followed the cyclists from the start through to the finish line and all 100 miles in between as they competed in the August 2009 competition – one of the most intense endurance races of all time. Witness breathtaking aerial views as the camera crew follows the competitors as they cycle over 100 miles of dangerous mountain terrain through extreme climate changes ranging from heat to hail and from rain to snow.

“If you’re lucky enough to get into this race, it will be the hardest day on the bike you’ll ever experience. 100 miles, off-road, all above 10,000 ft,” said Frank Matson, CEO of Citizen Pictures. “The summit is a relentless climb to the top of Columbine Mine at 12,570 ft. The only thing you can count on is that anything can happen.  And if at the end of the day you’ve crossed the finish line, you’ve won.”

How much will it cost?

Advance tickets are now available online at www.cineplex.com/events as well as at participating theatre box offices. Admission for children ages 3 – 13 is $8.00, seniors is $10.50 and general admission is $12.50. A special group rate is also available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on group rates, call 1-800-313-4461 or email corporatesales@cineplex.com.

When and where can you see it?

Cineplex Entertainment will present Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100 at the following select theatres across the country on Wednesday, January 27th at 7 pm and Sunday, February 7th at 1 pm (local time):

• Ajax: Cineplex Odeon Ajax Cinemas, 248 Kingston Road
• Ancaster: SilverCity Ancaster Cinemas, 771 Golf Links Road
• Barrie: Galaxy Cinemas Barrie, 72 Commerce Park Drive
• Belleville: Galaxy Cinemas Belleville, 160 Bell Boulevard
• Brampton: SilverCity Brampton Cinemas, 50 Great Lakes Drive
• Brantford: Galaxy Cinemas Brantford, 300 King George Road
• Burlington: SilverCity Burlington Cinemas, 1250 Brant Street
• Collingwood: Galaxy Cinemas Collingwood, 6 Mountain Road
• Etobicoke: Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas, 1025 The Queensway
• Gloucester: SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas, 2385 City Park Drive
• Guelph: Galaxy Cinemas Guelph, 485 Woodlawn Road W
• Hamilton: SilverCity Hamilton Mountain Cinemas, 795 Paramount Drive
• Kingston: Cineplex Odeon Gardiners Road Cinemas, 626 Gardiners Road
• London: Cineplex Odeon Westmount & VIP Cinemas, 755 Wonderland Road S
• London: SilverCity London Cinemas, 1680 Richmond Street
• Markham: Cineplex Odeon First Markham Place Cinemas, 3275 Highway 7
• Mississauga: SilverCity Mississauga Cinemas, 3055 Vega Boulevard
• Newmarket: SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas, 18151 Yonge Street
• Niagara Falls: Cineplex Odeon Niagara Square Cinemas, 7555 Montrose Road
• Oakville: SilverCity Oakville Cinemas, 3531 Wyecroft Road
• Orillia: Galaxy Cinemas Orillia, 865 West Ridge Boulevard
• Oshawa: Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinemas, 1351 Grandview Street N
• Ottawa: Cineplex Odeon South Keys Cinemas, 2214 Bank Street
• Owen Sound: Galaxy Cinemas Owen Sound, 1020 10th Street
• Peterborough: Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough, 320 Water Street
• Richmond Hill: SilverCity Richmond Hill Cinemas, 8725 Yonge Street
• Sault Ste. Marie: Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie, 293 Bay Street
• Scarborough: Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas, 22 Lebovic Avenue
• Sudbury: SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas, 355 Barrydowne Road
• Thunder Bay: SilverCity Thunder Bay Cinemas, 850 North May Street
• Toronto: Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas, 4861 Yonge Street
• Toronto: Cineplex Odeon Varsity Cinemas, 55 Bloor Street W
• Waterloo: Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo, 550 King Street N
• Windsor: Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas, 3100 Howard Avenue

I supposed that since it’s posted on the IMBA news feed it’s safe to publish here. Mark Schmidt, long time IMBA employee, is leaving IMBA Canada as of January 2010. He’ll be taking a role with Parks Canada dealing with trails naturally. Don’t think of this as a loss for mountain biking, because it’s not, it’s a major gain.

With Mark leaving, his wife and also long time IMBA employee Lora Woolner will be stepping into the executive directorship. This will leave her current role as director of membership and operations vacant. We will be looking to fill that role, but before you all start submitting your resumes, wait until we post a public job description. We’ll likely do an internal search first.

Full details from the IMBA press release:

Mark Schmidt will leave his post as executive director of IMBA Canada in January and begin a new career with Parks Canada. With Schmidt’s departure IMBA Canada will be led by Lora Woolner, who together with Schmidt started the IMBA Canada office in 2004. Woolner and Schmidt have been involved with IMBA since 2002, when they were hired on to a three year stint with IMBA’s Trail Care Crew program in the US.

“Mark and Lora have made invaluable contributions to mountain biking in the States and in Canada,” says IMBA President Mike Van Abel. “I’m confident that Mark will be a great addition to Parks Canada in his new role as National Trails Analyst — there are only a handful of people in the world that can match his experience level in designing and building sustainable trails.” In his new role, Schmidt will will oversee policy development and implementation for trails in Canada’s National Parks, Historic Sites, and National Marine Conservation Areas. He will continue to work closely with IMBA Canada and other partners to implement trails projects.

Schmidt notched several impressive achievements during his tenure with IMBA Canada:

• Staffing has grown from just Mark and Lora in 2004 to three full-time and three part-time employees.
• IMBA Canada has led more than 100 trail workshops for advocates and land managers over the last 5 years.
• In 2008, IMBA Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with Parks Canada, and formed a similar agreement with the National Capital Commission in 2009.
• Canada hosted the first international IMBA World Mountain Bike Summit in Whistler, BC, in 2008.
• The IMBA Canada network now counts more than 200 member clubs and retailers, 25 corporate supporters and thousands of individual members.
• Introduced a national mountain bike club insurance policy to protect the involvement of clubs in the stewardship of their trails.
• IMBA Canada assisted in the creation of the influential BC Crown Lands Mountain Bike Policy.

In upcoming weeks, Woolner will step up from her current role as director of membership and operations and assume the role of executive director for IMBA Canada. She plans to add additional staff in 2010. Learn more about IMBA Canada by visiting imba.com/canada.

The other day I got a sweet new IMBA 2010 calendar in the mail. Why did I get it? Not because I’m staff, but because I contributed $40 to the Annual Fund. What’s the Annual Fund? Glad you asked.

Each year IMBA asks all it’s members, and the broader mountain biking community, to pledge their support for our efforts to accomplish our mission: the create, enhance and protect trail experiences for mountain bikers worldwide. IMBA’s annual fund makes this possible. Last year your gift of $40, $75, $100 or more made the following accomplishments possible:

1. Taught 20 IMBA trailbuilding workshops in 9 provinces, educating more than 500 people on sustainable trailbuilding practices nationwide.
2. Expanded IMBA Canada’s Regional Office Program. We currently have part-time regional staff in BC, Ontario and Quebec, with plans to add more in 2010.
3. Secured new benefits for IMBA Canada members – Such as the Canadian Subaru VIP Program, and the addition of individual insurance benefits to the existing IMBA Canada insurance program.
4. Hired a full-time Trails Specialist – allowing significant growth in our on-the-ground efforts.
5. Hosted the first-ever IMBA Canada Provincial Mountain Bike Summit in Kitchener, Ontario.
6. Secured Federal Infrastructure Funding for trail expansion at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alberta. IMBA Canada clubs in BC, Ontario and Quebec also received federal money to expand their trails locally.
7. Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, enabling further collaboration with regards to trails planning, rehabilitation, management and use in Gatineau Park.
8. Created new Canadian resources - Such as the Take a Kid Mountain Biking Guide and the ADSVMQ’s Guide d’aménagement de sentier de vélo de montagne.
9. Launched the Ontario Tool Trailer program with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion. The end result: more trails on the ground, and free tools for use by IMBA clubs.
10. Provided assistance that has carved the way for new bike parks in urban areas.

I got an email late last night from one of the proprietors of Joyride 150, the park formerly known as the GTA Bike Park. They are almost ready to open, but they need a bit of help from us, their dedicated and loyal supporters. Directly from Scott:

Please respond by Friday!!  It will only take a few minutes.

The Town of Markham is putting us through our paces and we need to go to Committee of Adjustment.  They are having trouble categorizing what it is that we do.  Long story short, we need letters of support from everyone who is behind this insanely great and massive project.  Please, just send me a quick email by Friday!

Just a quick note focusing on:

• Health, fitness, training.  Athlete development is key.
• Economic impact for the Town of Markham and York Region.

Needs to include:

• Organization you represent (logo or email signature).
• Addressed to the “Committee of Adjustment Members”

Some good points:

• Joyride150 Indoor Bike Park is an very beneficial project that will be an asset to the cycling community and the Town of Markham.
• Joyride150 is the first of it’s kind in Canada.  The ultimate cycling health club!
• This facility will attract cyclists from province-wide and beyond.
• Currently, many competitive cyclists head to the United States for winter training.  They will finally have an alternative to leaving the province.
• Economic spin-off will be substantial, particularly in the food and hotel industries.
• It is a light, environmental use for an otherwise vacant industrial space.

Please feel free to omit or add, depending on your comfort level.

When you’re done writing your letter of support send it to Scott.

One more thing: I’ve been sitting on this sweet little video of riders in action at Joyride 150. Enjoy!

The other week I got an email forwarded to me from a chap who works for the Trade Association at the British Consulate Toronto asking:

• Do you have statistics on the Mountain Bike audience, i.e. age, disposable income, length of stay at a resort, dollar spend during their stay, etc.
• Do you know what the total worth of mountain bikers visiting resorts is?
• Any information/statistics on mountain bikers in Canada and especially Ontario would be very welcome.

Sadly I had to turn him away empty handed. I was able to put him in touch with some people who might have the data he’s looking for, but from an Ontario perspective I’ve already asked those people and they didn’t have data before, so they’re not likely to have it now.

I know that Canada, and specifically Ontario, is a great place to ride. You tell me what kind of riding experience you’re looking for (short of “big mountain”) and I’ll be able to point you in the right direction. But we have no statistics to back this up. If we want people to pay their hard earned money to come ride here, and we do, how are we going to convince them? “Trust me, the riding is awesome dude!”

Other outdoor sports like hunting, fishing, ATV, Snowmobile, etc. have this data readily to hand. We don’t, and we are pretty far away from being able to generate such numbers. Something to ponder over this holiday season.

The Friday before the Thanksgiving weekend I attended a meeting of the Community Development and Recreation Committee of the City of Toronto. I was asked to attend because I was consulted for my input on the BMX Go Forward Strategy.

“Hold up there Jason, what’s BMX got to do with Mountain Biking?” Glad you asked. You see originally there was a BMX Go Forward strategy, but sometime last year it was brought forward to the Cycling Committee. There a number of people spoke in support of it, but a few highlighted that it had large gaps, namely it doesn’t address mountain biking in the City, whether on natural surface trails or at bike parks. So the City asked some of it’s strategic planners to look into the matter. I met one of those planners the Toronto Bike Show this past March. We had a number of fruitful discussions. Naturally he consulted with others, within the BMX community and MTB community. And the end result was the revised BMX Go Forward Strategy, which you can read here. It includes not only the actual strategy but the background and history as well.

I, like all the other speakers, was given 5 minutes to speak. Here is pretty much what I said.

IMBA supports the initiative the City is taking to broaden the original scope of this report to include mountain bikers, both those who would use skills parks and those who use natural surface trails. We support and endorse the report with one small reservation.

The report repeatedly uses the term BMX/MTB to refer to how facilities should be designed and designated for use by both communities. This is most likely a way to ensure readability of the report. Continually drawing a distinction between BMX and MTB in the report would get tedious in quick order. But when the rubber hits the dirt the distinction must be made. BMX and MTB are not simply two aspects of one sport, but two distinct sports with individual cultures, communities and needs.

As long as the distinctiveness of MTB as a sport and recreational activity, separate from BMX, is recognized and acknowledged we are confident that the City can take the right path. This can most easily be achieved with the kind of community consultation that was conducted for the Crothers Woods Trail Strategy; an approach that was both inclusive and comprehensive. This would ensure maximum community buy-in, and result in a successful start to a broader strategy that sees bike parks and natural surface trails flourish in Toronto.

Then I was asked a few questions of clarification by the Councillors and it was on to the next speaker. Other speakers included Tim Charles of TORBA, Mike Heaton of TOBMX, and Graig Fagan of Midweek CC. A number of young adults who use the Wallace Emerson BMX park also spoke. All were supportive of the plan and encouraged the Councillors to approve it.

Which they did. The next stop for the BMX Go Forward Strategy is City Council where it has a chance to be adopted by the City and made official City policy, or to get shot down and we’re back to square zero.

If you want to see improvements in the state of Mountain Biking in the City of Toronto, including at a minimum a Bike Park, now would be the time to pick up the phone and call, or send an email to your Councillor (find yours here). Let them know about the BMX Go Forward Strategy, that you support it, and that you’d like them to support it as well. It wouldn’t hurt to tell them a bit about how you use the City’s facilities for mountain biking and would like to see them improved. That way when the Strategy gets to City Council at least some Councillors will have a clue as to what the Strategy is talking about, that people support it and want to see it put in place, and that it would be an easy political win for them to support it. The date the Strategy goes before City Council is not set, but when it is you’ll hear about it here.

IMBA was formed in 1988 by a group of Californian mountain bikers concerned about the closure of trails to mountain biking. 21 years later we’ve made a lot of progress, but we are still seeing closures. Not as many as before, but one closure is still one too many.

It appears that misinformed politicians and city staffers are still labouring under the assumptions that mountain biking causes undue environmental impact, that we aren’t a passive activity, that our use is not compatible with environmentally sensitive areas, that our sport is “aggressive”… I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. No doubt some of you, my loyal readers, have experienced these attitudes as well.

In LaSalle, near Windsor, this has resulted in the local riders losing access to Brunet Park. In late September LaSalle’s council voted to ban mountain biking on the property. It was covered in the local press, here and here.

Peter Goldhawk of the Rocket Mountain Biking Club has been leading the efforts to have this ban reversed or at the very least opened back up for discussion. I’ve been exchanging emails with him over the past couple of weeks and it seems all is not lost, but things still look pretty dim. The town is offering the use of some flat, non-forested farm land (sounds boring to me), but even that won’t be available for 2-3 years. Not a good compromise in my opinion.

Please lend your support, and if you think you can help in any tangible way get in touch with Peter at savebikinginbrunet@hotmail.com.

Mountain Biking in Ontario, and in some cases IMBA specifically, has been popping up in some non-bike press recently. I thought I’d share a few items with you.

First up is Chill Magazine. They did a short profile on mountain biking. Here’s an excerpt:

Nothing beats tearing through the forest and open fields on a cross-country trail. Cross-country riders have several destinations to choose from in Ontario, many within a short drive from major cities. Hardwood Ski and Bike, just one hour north of Toronto, is one of the best.

You can check out the full online version here. You can pick up the print version next time you’re at the Beer Store.

Generation Go, an online magazine and community dedicated to active living in Canada, recently posted this article about our recent Summit (about which more in another post). Here’s an excerpt:

“Mountain biking is the fourth most popular activity in Ontario,” said Mark Schmidt, of IMBA Canada. “That puts it ahead of golf, ahead of hiking, ahead of camping. The big concern is that there is no provincial body to lobby for the sport.”

The last one I have for you is directly from “old media.” The KW Record’s Bill Bean covered both the Bike Summit and the IMBA Ontario Mountain Bike Summit in his blog, Take the Lane. Here’s a sample of the coverage of our Summit:

If road cyclists feel marginalized by mainstream society, mountain bikers must feel like real outlaws.

They have been criticized for crowding trails used by joggers and walkers, they have been blamed for eco-damage on existing trails or for creating new trails outside of the managed trail systems, they have been accused of illegally bringing trash (wood) into natural areas to build structures, they have been seen as trespassers on private land and eyed warily by the managers of public land.

It’s always nice to read about mountain biking outside of a mountain bike specific magazine.

The trail builds listed below are all in the GTA East. It’s not geographicism, just what I happen to know is going on. If there are any other trail builds happening out there, drop me an email and I’ll post up the details. This just in from the DMBA:

If you want to build trail, either because you like it as much as riding, or because you need to pay off some sweat equity, you’ll have lots of opportunity to do so this fall. Below are 4 builds coming up in October all crammed into 3 weekends. In all cases the work proceeds rain or shine. Tools are provided as well as some light snacks, but please bring your lunch, extra water, work gloves and dress appropriately for the weather. Work boots are not required, but are highly recommended.

Saturday October 17th, 10am - 4pm - Don Valley

The Don Valley, specifically Crothers Woods, has seen a lot of trail building over the last few years, and it’s still going strong. Meet at the Loblaws trail head at 11 Redway Rd, near the back of the parking lot.

Sunday October 18th, 9am - 1pm - Seaton Hiking Trail

The Seaton Hiking Trail has historically been off limits to mountain biking (despite continuous use for 20+ years). With a new management plan being drafted we’re hoping that mountain biking will finally be a legitimate use. This is a chance to improve a trail that many have ridden, despite it being illegal, and show the other trail users that we’re nice people, hard workers, and love the trail as much as they do. So join The Friends of the Seaton Trail Group and members of your community in enjoying a beautiful Fall day while helping to clean up one of Pickering’s most incredible resources! You have two options:

1) General trail maintenance and cleanup, meet at Whitevale Community Centre Parking lot 405 Whitevale Rd., just east of Altona, or

2) Actual trail construction, nothing fancy but still involving some bench cutting, meet at the Forestream Trail trail head near Whites & Taunton at the bottom of “old” Whites.

You pick where you’re going to work. In both cases RSVP with info@seatonhikingtrail.org to let them know to expect you. And tell them the DMBA sent you.

Saturday October 24th, 10am - 4pm - Durham Forest

Following up on our successful build in Durham Forest this spring, we’ll be tackling another trail in Durham Forest. This time we’re building a new connector between “The Maze” and “The Pines.” This is part of a larger project that will start to rationalize the myriad trails in “The Maze” improving the overall connectivity and efficiency of the trails in that area of the Forest. We’ll be meeting at the “Towers” parking lot in the clearing on the Durham Forest property. For those who ride in the Thursday night series at Durham Forest this is the same location as the race start/stop.

Saturday October 31st, 10am - 4pm - Glen Major

As part of our National Trails Coalition grant we have to perfor 200 hours of volunteer work on the East Duffins Headwaters (this is the official name of Glen Major) property. This work fulfills that commitment. Currently the plan is to put the finishing touches on the new trail that is currently being constructed by Sustainable Trails. Meet at the Glen Major South East trail head (aka 3 Rocks).

We just found out that, sadly, we can’t premier New World Disorder 10: Dust and Bones. So instead we’re going to show Kranked 8, which hasn’t had a public screening yet in Ontario.

But it’s not just a movie night, oh no, no, no. It’s a celebration! Even if you’re not coming to the conference make your way to Chicopee Ski hill in Kitchener on the evening of Saturday September 26. There will be a Jump Jam at the bike park at 7pm, and the outdoor screening of Kranked 8 starts at 8pm. We will be having a silent auction with some really good stuff to bid on like a DJ frame, custom Race Face cranks, etc.

Tickets are $5 at the door.