Fernie Cyclists enjoy the Gravel Royale
August 29, 2024
While spring officially starts on Sunday, most bikers we know kick off riding season with the arrival of Daylight Savings Time. The extra hour of post work riding time is when saddle time starts to increase and dreams of summer riding start to get more real.
This summer the 10th edition of the TransRockies offers more riding options than ever before including the chance to ride the full 7 days solo. The TR3 offers two stages of classic Fernie singletrack, followed by an epic climb up and over the Continental Divide and down into Alberta’s Kananaskis. Then you can ride the new TR4! One thing for sure is that our new TR4 Classic Kananaskis event is turning out to be a popular one. We’re now over 50 percent sold out for the TR4 and we’re looking forward to selling out this event first time around.
2011 TransRockies packages start from $650 and are fully customizable with meal and camping or RV accommodation packages. For registration and package details and to reserve your place in 2011, visit our website.
The TransRockies team riding experience is very different from solo races but, obviously, it requires a compatible teammate. We understand that finding a teammate can often be a challenge so we have created a number of resources over the years to help riders connect and for 2011, we’re introducing a new tool “Teammate Finder”.
We successfully launched Teammate Finder during our Run event and we’re excited to introduce it this year for our bike event. Rather than have you search for a partner, we do it for you by using the information from an online form you fill out which allows you to describe your riding level and approach. We then compare the information in it to the other riders searching for partners and provide you with your closest matches.
The TransRockies is proud to introduce a new epic event for 2011, the Gran Fondo Highwood Pass. We’re extremely excited to be able to to take 600 riders up and over Canada’s highest pass this July.
Registration opens March 1st and we expect the event to sell out quickly. Be sure to sign up HERE soon to reserve your place.
TransRockies Inc., creator and organizer of the world-renowned TransRockies, an epic seven day mountain bike race that has been based in FErnie for 10 years, is proud to introduce its newest creation, Gran Fondo Highwood Pass. This 147km Italian-style road bike ride over Canada’s highest paved road will be held for the first time on Saturday, July 9th, 2011.
The Gran Fondo, which literally means “big ride”, is an Italian creation that’s sweeping North America. Like the great Marathons-New York, London, Boston–Gran Fondo rides are mass participation challenges in magnetic settings that are draw everyone from professional racers to recreational participants in costume.
Highwood PassGran Fondo Highwood Pass is a fully supported ride that rolls out from Longview and warms riders up with 30km of quiet roads through surrounding ranch lands. From there, riders pedal through the spectacular scenery of Kananaskis Country: the Highwood River Valley, the Misty Range, Opal Range, and Kananaskis Ranges. After the summit, they past past Nakiska, home of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, and then on to Stoney Nakoda Resort, home the finish line and ceremonies, located at the intersection of Highway 40 and the TransCanada Highway.
“If you want to experience the wild intimacy of the Canadian Rockies from a bicycle . . . this is the ride,” said TransRockies President, Aaron McConnell. “The route passes through one of the most spectacular areas in the Canadian Rockies. We’ve also capped entries to just 600 riders to maximize experience and support, two things we value in all of our events.”
Aerial view of Highwood Pass TransRockies is one of North America’s most experienced and creative organizers of epic events and has chosen Highwood Pass because of its scenic splendor, inherent difficulty and the achievement it offers as Canada’s highest pass. Topping out at 2206m/7238ft, Highwood Pass is sure to challenge. “We’ve used Highwood Pass in other events,” added Aaron. “There’s nothing like it in terms of beauty and scenery. Those who feel like hammering it can enter our Monarca de Montagna (Monarch of the Mountain) competition. It’s our way of making 700m of climbing in 37km fun and giving the hammerheads a way to compete with each other. We’ve even thrown in a post-fondo party and pasta-fest. Fondo, food, and fellowship…what else could you ask for in a ride?”
There’s a reason so many of us make resolutions each New Year: we understand that goals help us to be more successful and achieve more than we would without the incentive of a goal to drive us. There’s no better way to find the motivation and drive to get the most out of your mountain biking than signing up for an epic ride.
With the days getting longer and the end of winter in sight, now’s the time to set riding goals for the summer. The 2011 TransRockies offers a wide range of solo and team riding options from 3-7 days in length along with the best rider services in mountain biking, the most epic riding in North America and the unprecedented opportunity to be part of the 10th anniversary edition of the event. That’s why it comes time to make a choice and set your 2011 goals, there is no other choice than the TransRockies.
There are five months to go between now and the start of the 2011 TransRockies from Fernie, BC. That’s ample time to put in the training to take on one of the TransRockies three different event options. With a new routing which stays further west for more fantastic Kananaskis Country riding and options for riders to ride 3, 4 or 7 days solo or a two-person team in the TR7 Original Epic.
The TR4 Classic Kananaskis route is new for 2011 and gives riders the chance to spend four days riding the incredible singletrack of K-Country and the stopover locations even make it possible to have the most comfortable epic experience ever by staying in Calgary and making the less than 90 minute drive each day. The TR4 also allows riders to ride all 7 days of the TransRockies solo by combining TR4 with TR3 “Cross the Divide” solo rides which includes the first three stages from Fernie to Alberta across the Continental Divide.
Sign up for your race now and get started on the riding that will help you have your best summer of riding ever. For full package and registration information including details of our new “a la carte” pricing, click HERE.
On behalf of the whole TransRockies team, we’d like to wish you and your families a safe and Merry Christmas and a very happy 2011. Along with a great excuse to eat a little too much and enjoy a glass or two of eggnog, the holiday season offers a chance to reflect on the past year and make some resolutions for the next year.
2010 was a year of consistency and momentous changes for the TransRockies. For the 9th consecutive year Fernie was the anchor of the event. Along a return to our Alberta beginnings and a finish in Canmore, the TransRockies received UCI sanctioning for the first time making the 2010 edition much different than ever before. The solo event TR3 was a sellout and the additional world-class riders like the Giant International Team and TR3 winner Max Plaxton raised the bar for the racing in the open categories. Like every year, we learned from 2010 and we’re putting those lessons into action for 2011 which brings us to . . .
Our resolutions for 2011 are to enjoy our 10th Anniversary and make it the best edition ever. We’re proud to be the first and only North American mountain bike stage race so far to mark a 10th Anniversary and we’re providing all kinds of incentives to have our past competitors come and join us for this reunion. Like you we’re making resolutions for our 2011 and first of all, we’ve resolved to have the best route ever and we’ve done so with brand new stages 4 and 5 moved higher into K-Country and away from the pasture and ranchlands at lower elevations. We’ve also responded to rider requests with a new 4-day solo event which will allow solo riders to register and ride the full 7-day TransRockies for the first time.
Among all these changes and resolutions, at heart, our primary goal is to remember the things that make the TransRockies unique– endless singletrack, incredible scenery and camaraderie unlike any other race, and match them with the best rider support and services in the World. It’s a challenge and it’s a resolution that we make every year.
If you’re interested in participating in TransRockies in 2011 but still haven’t signed up, we’ll send you a free DVD to help you make your decision. The pictures on the DVD are the best way we can think of to show you the huge scenery and adventure which riders see each year when they sign up for the original wilderness epic.
Getting your DVD is as simple as calling our office on our toll-free number 1-866-373-3376 (Outside North America call +1-403-668-7537) to talk to one of our event team and we’ll get a free DVD coming your way. This offer is available only to first time participants. We’re generally in the office 9AM – 5PM, mountain standard time.
Best wishes to you and yours from everyone at the TransRockies.
2011 will be a momentous year for the TransRockies as it celebrates 10 years as North America’s original epic mountain bike stage race. The 10th edition of the race just got a even litte more special with the addition of a new TR4 solo event that will take riders along an incredible route through the best trails in Kananaskis Country to the finish line in Canmore.
TransRockies’ first solo event, the TR3, debuted in 2009 and has grown quickly over the two years it has been held. With demand for solo riding opportunities continuing to grow, TR4 gives riders a chance to take on this epic route through front ranges of the Alberta Rockies.
The TR4 will be North America’s first four-day mountain bike stage race and will be closely modelled on 4-day TransGermany, a partner event of the TransRockies that drew over 1200 riders last year to ride through the Alps. TR4 riders will ride along side the field for the TR7 team event and will take on the same revamped route for stages 4 and 5 that has been extensively scouted during the unseasonably warm and dry Alberta fall that has greatly extended the riding season. With help from local riding clubs and trail experts, the TransRockies team has spent extensive time on the trails this fall developing a new routing along higher terrain and away from the lowlands which turned muddy after the unseasonably wet weather in 2010.
Starting east of the village of Millarville in Kananaskis Country, the TR4 will finish with the TR7 the main event in Canmore, Alberta. Racers will camp two nights at the Little Elbow Campground, used for the first time in 2010, allowing stage 5 to be a loop on some of the favourite mountain bike trails of the area. The third night of camping for TR4 will be at Rafter Six Ranch, near Seebe, Alberta. Rafter Six, the traditional last night of the TransRockies Alberta route will welcome the riders with authentic western hospitality.
The TR4 adds a number of new opportunities for mountain bikers as they can link the TR3 and TR4 solo events to ride the entire route solo for the first time. This route also gives riders the opportunity to have a little more civilized sleeping option as they can easily spend nights in town with vehicle support from family or friends since all starts and finishes are within approximately an hour of Calgary city limits.
Just like the other TransRockies events, the TR4 will have complete a la carte pricing starting with an early bird base price of $700 (until December 31st) for the four days of backcountry racing. Riders can choose their own add-ons like meals and camping and create their own custom package. After January 1st, the cost rises to $850 but the pricing for additional services remains the same.
TR3 will remain the UCI S2 stage race at TransRockies and we expect to have a great field of elite riders at the start line in Fernie fighting for UCI points in the run up to the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.
TR4 registration will open on Thursday, November 18th at 10:00 AM MST. Only 100 registration spots are available during the early bird registration period, and these are expected to go very quickly, so be ready to register on the 18th!