24 Hours of Summer Solstice a Success!

Thanks for your support of the 14th annual 24 Hours of Summer Solstice. This event was one of the best yet!  A combination of rain throughout the week, and relatively dry weekend weather made for the best possible course conditions ever seen. There was virtually no mud and zero dust, just flat out fast riding! With many of the trail improvements being put to use this weekend at Albion, many riders were raving about the course and it's amazing FLOW.

Over 1,600 participants descended on Albion Hills for a fun filled weekend of camping, riding, and enjoying the outdoor festival that 24-hour racing at Albion has become. Many of you took advantage of bringing the whole family for the weekend, as there was plenty for everyone to see and do. The Shimano kid's race saw over 200 riders, Saturday nights festivities also including a fantastic performance by 10-Speed, a great band made up of some local mountain bikers, and Shimano's very own Andrew McMillin scribblin' tracks from inside the Joyride150 section. 

Robert Pilato had an amazing ride. Pilato completed 24 laps to claim the victory in the Solo U40 Male division.  Erick Auger did 23 laps to take the Solo Male 40+ division, by a mere two minutes over Dave Stowe. In the Solo Female division Sarah Caylor defended her Solstice title by taking the victory with 20 laps.

For full results, Click HERE .

Thanks to our sponsors:
Kijiji.ca, Sporting Life, Shimano, eLoad, Louis Garneau, Pedal, Light & Motion, Sigma, Topeak, Kicking Horse Coffee, Joyride150, Opus Bikes,  Norco Bikes,  Scott Bikes, Hammer Nutrition, Wellington Brewery, Camelbak, OCA, Blackburn, Defeet, Preparing the Trail, Albion Hills Conservation Area, GP8 Water and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. 

2011 Solstice Video Coming Next Newsletter

Plastiglas Ontario Cup #5 Buckwallow, July 9-10  

Don't miss the Ontario Cup Circuit's Favorite Course!

2011 Buckwallow O-Cup Trail Run and O-Cup MTB Preview

Online pre-registration closes midnight Wednesday July 6. Click here for mountain bike and click here for trail running information and registration.

Buckwallow is open for pre-riding this weekend in the Muskokas. Please note we are hosting a trail running race on Saturday, July 9 so pre-riding will be limited until after 1:00 pm on Saturday. We're excited to combine trail running with mountain biking at the same venue on the same weekend!

24 Hours Hot August Nights, August 27-28

Register Before July 14th and Save! Click here for more info.

Two Time Mountain Bike Olympian will Race with You

Two-time Canadian X-Country Mountain Bike Olympian Seamus McGrath is coming to pace some teams for a lap and give you some tips from one of the best mountain bike riders in the World. We will give out the details in our next e-newsletter on how you can get this two-time Olympian to ride with your team for a lap.

Even More Flow

For Hot August Nights we are bringing even more end of summer fun including with another amazing and flowy course that should be just as fun as the Solstice, but different.  We are working on new trail improvements to increase FLOW in some of the other trails. It's going to be another fast and fun course with some options for the more hardcore.

Hot August Nights will continue with bands on Friday and Saturday night, an amazing trials demonstration on Saturday, Kid's Zone, Shimano OCA Free Youth Race and just an amazing weekend with friends and family.

Trips for Kids Ottawa (TFKO), one of 70 Trips for Kids chapters, is a non-profit organization that provides mountain bike outings and environmental education for children and teens who would not otherwise be exposed to such activities. Last May, ten "new-to-Canada" youths originating from Africa and Haiti had their first ever mountain biking ride in preparation for their participation to the Eastern Ontario High School Mountain Bike Championship. Ranging in age from 11-14 years old, some of them have been in Canada only since November 2010. All of them completed the course well under the expected times for beginner racers, and since then they have been riding once a week with Trips for Kids Ottawa. Cat Weaver, TFKO program director, who has taken 5 youth teams to 24 hour races over the past 3 years, wondered if Chico Racing would waive the race fees for these boys. Immediately, Adam Ruppel president at Chico Racing replied "Yes, we will waive their race fee, what better way to encourage these boys in the sport".  In addition, Light & Motion agreed to support the youths with light systems for night riding. As a result, five of these young people will have a chance to participate as "We du Team" in the upcoming 24 hour Hot August Nights event. 

Over $750.00 still need to be raised for a rental vehicle, gas and food for these boys, but Cat Weaver is committed to getting them trained and ready to race at Albion Hills on August 27-28th, 2011! Cat Weaver has taken many youths to 24 hour events and it has always proven to be a great experience for the teens.

If you wish to help these eager new riders get to the 24 hr HAN, you can find more information about them and Trips for Kids Ottawa, and how you can donate at www.tripsforkidsottawa.ca .