r ee yer } i wre + pain Velo-City & ' Cyclo | Tours | Knee - Knackering “oy Tra Run anh _Knarliest “Ultra “in Canada eee CAT the crack of dawn on 4 aturday, July 12, 150 runners fromm around the world will “begin. the gruelling event aptly amed. the Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run. "The brave souls that ven- re onto the Baden-Powell :. Trail course route will cover, "48, 6 km (30 iniles), and expe-'; rience a vertical change of 4,900 m ‘(16,000 ft.). ” © North Shore residents are : invited to watch the event at 0 cost; Lead runners can be “> expecied at the following "= times and locations: : Start at:Eagleridge.. “Drive est, Upper Levels Hwy, 7 West Van. “7: ami: Cypress Bowl «parking lot, West:Van. , is ‘als: Cleveland Dam on 9:30 a.m. Mi. Seymour Derionstratio Fotest, -North’ 10:45 a.m: Finish’ line. at: Panorama Park, Deep Cove. WGOUCdObonanaeneead tenet nneasererensessanenes ont e about THE brochure for Velo- City Cycle Tours screams “Pedal Down The Peak.” A lite misleading, since the only. pedaling required to mountain bike down Crouse Mcuntain is near the Lynn Headwaters terminus of the nworand ca-hal€ hour descent, But, that’s not to say you *-don’e get a-workout tearing ‘down the fogging road that :connects the Peak to the Park fo the leg xauscles may be ‘given a break, but the upper ' body, and especially your right ‘forearm, take the brunt of the ‘burden (In case you're unta- imiliar with a bike setup, the rear brake is connecred to che _ right handle grip, and in such a ey " descent, brakes they are impor: tant), This is the second summer season that Velo-City Cycle Tours has operated from. the {Peak of Vancouver, and despite some speed wobbles in + the first year of operation, company owner and home- “grown North Van boy Steve Sokalski is stoked about this summer's potenval. Steve and his wife struck upon the idea of setting up Vancouver's first “gravity-assist- ed” sightseeing bike tours after wimessing a similar “Operation in Maui grow steadily over the past 10 years. “The first year we went on the volcano tour there were {probably four or five companies oflering the. tour,” recalled Sokalski. “We went back a couple of years later and there were over 30 operators running ; daily tours.” And all were filled to capacity. -Tivo years ago, Sokalski decided it was time to live .a more stress-free life, and sold his environmental con- » sultant business that he had built over the past decade. © Thinking about “what to do with my lite now,” he Mountain president Stuart McLaughlin, « “Stuart liked the idea from the beginning, and once call the i's were dotted and t's crossed we set things up,” " Sckaiski said, © Mclaughlin always« on the look: “out for better or ways to give visitors to Grouse a true taste of B.C,, realized a few years ago it that mountain biking would be a good fit to the mountain’s summer schedule, “It’s (Velo-City Tours) our toe-in- -the-w ater for mountain biking on the mountain, and we're going with guided , tours right naw just to sort out all che logistics,” MeLaughlin says, “But in the long-term we want to get into mountain-biking in a big way.” |! He wouldn’t get into exact details what that meant, but did say that a mountain-bike park, season passes like they offer for skiing, and a relationship with a cer- tain North Vancouver mountain bike Olympian are all in the works. But that’ sin the future; let’ s Bel back to the present, Last Sarurday, | jumped at Sokalski's offer ren join a. . Suided tour down.the mountain, Led by. Velo-City remembered ‘the volcano and the, lineups, He put” guides Brian Jones: and Matthew O'Donnel, we were. * together.a business® plan and presented it to Grouse . joined: by a fathér and daughter from Ilingis; and a: . father and son from the Philadelphia area. ’ After getting fitted with helmets, gloves and steady gets his ya ya’s out via two-wheeled adventure — showed us the. basics of controlling a mountain bike Mey S _ yes . we nade it! And, to celebrate. ‘ ) Natural Siving’ so |. Perm / We re having our biggest, “sale ever! So HURRY [Xtand SANE! SAVE! SAVE! 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Great for all hol types, colored, sieaked of tinted, eliminates attet perm diyness tag. $120 Natural | Streaks 10 minutes 1 Natural | Colour "9 | $30 —-§30. shampoo 17 Bry Hale SS 10% off with this ad expires July 31/97 oN Hair Design aN 922-4911 2490 Marine Dr, West Van (next to Capers) ED Sa A ol a ee Friday, July 4, 1997 ~ North Shore News « 19 a: No pedaling? wi As ra Be 4 e) i THE gang stops tor a view, a rest, and some supplied chocolate scokies: ‘ari hour’ ‘or So into Velo-City cycle : Tours’ Grouse Mountain descent last Saturday. “he North Van company opened up shop last year atop the - North Shore mountain, and offer an array of mountain bike adventures. for locals and tourists allke. ) Moos while descending logging roads and rail en minutes later we were, coasting —~‘albeit ii'a little reighly ’ towards the bottom of the Blueberry Chair of the west _ side’ of Grouse. : To say we were tiot an 1 experienced! mountain bike group would bé more than fair, yet weall managed to’: inake it down the trail unscathed /-— tholgh a litte. muddy, ‘The idea of having nwo guides for such a small ‘Oup may seem excessive; but as Jones said. at. the’ Ay ginning, anyone who wanted to go 4 little faster than, - the rest of the group. could go ahead with Matthew, - We all stuck together. Just ‘under, thre?” hours. after heading down the mountain; we were piling: our bikes” "and our weary bodies, into a. Veio-City van in the a Headwaters parking lot for, the. 15-rainute drive’b, to the Grouse Mountain parking lot: Veio-City offers a‘ number: of different to ages, from the Grouse Mountain Day Tripper ; Grouse , Mountain Heli-Biking ‘ Custom -Expenience ,, * And beginning tomorrow (July:5), Velo-Ciry will off: " Norco steeds,’ Jones’ — a professional musician who __ fer weekend mountain bike clinics for beginners, in inediate and advanced riders through to September 1 . Check o out their website at www, ailor, Hi : ar