by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
BEACHBURG — Four Beachburg riders finished in the top five of the BORCA Spring Chicken held Saturday in Beachburg.
This is the seventh year for the BORCA (Beachburg Off Road Cycling Association) event, which is a non-sanctioned corss-country bike race, said Cameron Dube BORCA. There were about 240 adult cyclists who participated in the event, 35 children and eight runners.
This is the first time in a few years the number of participants has been this high, he said. Usually the numbers have been floating between 220 and 240.
He feels the numbers may increase again next year because there were a few professional cyclists participating and once they spread the word about this event and the trails, it will become even more well known.
“We’re happy with the numbers,” he said. “It’s the biggest unsanctioned mountain-bike race.”
It’s unsanctioned because anyone can participate and no licence is required to host the event.
Cranky Kids Riding Program leaders Sarah and Tim Ward organized the children’s short cycling/running event, which had two divisions this year, he said. Those riders who could easily pedal did two laps and the run bikes and runners did one lap.
“It’s all for fun and each child received a Spring Chicken sticker,” he noted.
There were three participants in the 60K run and they finished: Mark Ovenden (7:37:56); Leighton Rae (7:53:23) and James Ashley (8:03:11).
The five participants in the 27K run finished together with a time of 11:07:00: Mark Pilon, Jessica Mahusky, Amanda Bennett, Rebecca Dunbar and Jeff Demaine.
Stuart Theron of Beachburg competed in the 27K bike ride and finished 2nd overall and first in the under-40 group with a time of 1:19:21.96.
Three women from Beachburg who competed in the 60K bike ride finished in the top four of their age categories. Jennifer Rodriquez Dick was 49th overall and placed 2nd in under-40 with a time of 5:38:55.27. And in the over-40, Cindy Jamieson and Jane Johnson, finished with times of 6:05:30.79 and 6:05:30.98 respectively.
Mr. Dube noted there was a huge gap in numbers between the 27K and 60K bike ride this year, so they were divided into two groups. The 80 competitors in the 60K ride left at 10 a.m. followed by the 27K riders an hour later.
The 27K ride is for the beginner to intermediate riders while the 60K ride is definitely for the more experienced. While both start off from the same point, once the 60K riders reach Fletcher Road they disappear into the hillier and more difficult terrain trails.
Due to the rainy weather, as well as the rain on the day of the event, the trails were wet, slippery and sticky. The sticky part was where the clay is, such as in the Field of Dreams – the final leg for both races, Mr. Dube said.
“The dirt wraps right to the tires,” he said. “There were more than a few who had to scrape the mud off the tires with their fingers.”
Mr. Dube is happy with how many local people participated in the event.
“We’ve seen such an influx of people with mountain bikes in the villages,” he said. “They were all there. It’s kind of a local time to shine on the trails.
“Out of the 250 competitors, there were easily 50 locals from within Whitewater township, which is pretty awesome to see.”
There were many from the Gearheads crew from the Petawawa area as well, he added.
The bake sale and cake auction was awesome, “bringing in a good chunk of money,” Mr. Dube said. The money raised helps with the costs of the event, such as insurance and upkeep of trails.
He said it’s not only the participants who enjoy the baked goods, but many people just come in and buy some and have a seat and socialize while enjoying them.
Mr. Dube noted the co-operation of landowners, such as Wilderness Tours and OWL Rafting, ensures the event is a success.
Valley Cycle Tours of Beachburg sponsored the electronic racing equipment by Running Goat Timing. Other sponsors include Simple Things, GearHeads, Norco, Lauf, MEC and Algonquin College (Ottawa Valley).
Patrick Power won the $1,000 gift certificate sponsored by GearHeads and Norco and Gabby Noreau won the bike from Canadian Tire, which she donated back to the Cranky Kids Program.
