A two-day mountain biking event is taking over Kinsmen Park at Trowbridge Forest.
The Black Sheep Mountain Bike Club is holding its sixth annual Shuniah Forty Miner with 5, 12, 24, and 48-kilometre cross-country marathon races beginning at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.
Club spokesperson Jonathan Portinga says they’re excited to hold the event after having to scale back to an “abbreviated” version of the race last year.
“Last year, we weren’t able to adequately promote, and we weren’t able to have as many people sign up as we would like because of restrictions,” he says, but notes this year has no cap on the number of participants.
Because the club’s membership has grown to over 500 during the pandemic, Portinga estimates that will translate to around 200 racers.
The races will feature new trails that were created in 2020 and 2021.
As for the spectators, he expects to see plenty of people watching the races. The club has tried to make the event “a little bit more all-encompassing for a lot more people, rather than just the racers.”
They hope to provide a “festival atmosphere” including music from Headrush, a Lake of the Woods Brewing Co. beer tent, and food Friday and Saturday.
The event will start Friday night with a keynote speech from Canadian World Cup cross-country racer Jenn Jackson, who has finished in the top three at international Cyclo-cross competitions, and earned several top-25 finishes on the World Cup Circuit. She also won the first Shuniah Forty Miner.
