IMBA CANADA Blog

With a new year come new challenges and changes.  IMBA Canada is certainly no different and the following post outlines some of the things can have occurred as of late as well as highlighting a few upcoming projects.

Changing of the Guard
Mark Schmidt has left his post as executive director of IMBA Canada as of January 1st and begun a new career with Parks Canada. With Schmidt’s departure IMBA Canada Lora Woolner, who together with Schmidt started the IMBA Canada office in 2004, has taken the reigns as executive director.  Woolner and Schmidt have been involved with IMBA since 2002, when they were hired on to a three year stint with IMBA’s Trail Care Crew program in the US.

Continued work with National Parks
2009 saw IMBA Canada run workshops for the staff of three National Parks across the country, as well as two separate trail assessments.  2010 is shaping up to provide an equally prominent presence in its role of promoting sustainable trail construction within our nation’s protected wilderness.  Stay tuned for more information!

New Web Content
A lot of things are in transition with IMBA’s current web format and expect to see some big changes across the board in the next month or so.  In addition to these format changes, IMBA Canada is looking to expand its national blog with not only updates that summarize our projects and events but also cover current issues.  It is our hope that these articles will help to trigger positive, constructive dialog that transcends provincial boundaries thereby furthering our understanding of membership concerns while exposing the membership to subjects we feel are relevant to improving the sport of mountain biking here in Canada.

Lance Armstrong and Other Top Cyclists Race onto Cineplex Entertainment Screens in a Grueling Quest to Reach the Finish Line with Inspirational Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100

Canada – January 5, 2010 – Cineplex Entertainment and Citizen Pictures take movie audiences on a ride only the most intense cyclists have experienced – including seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong – as they compete in one of the world’s most grueling mountain bike races in Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100.  Shown exclusively in select Cineplex Entertainment theatres on Wednesday, January 27th and Sunday, February 7th, 2010, these special events will feature the debut of the documentary, “Race Across the Sky.”

“The Leadville Trail 100 is one of those events…Like the New York City Marathon or the Ironman, where people say, one day I want to do that,” said Armstrong. “It’s the purest level of passion that you can get.”

“Cineplex Entertainment is pleased to partner with Citizen Pictures to invite cyclists and mountain bike racing fans to the Canadian premiere of Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment.  “Watching the competitors race on difficult terrain with picturesque Colorado as the back drop on our big screens is sure to impress.”

Citizen Pictures filmed against the misty backdrop of a former mining town in Colorado that sits at 10,200 feet to capture the drama of the 2009 LT100 mountain bike race. The LT100 began as a running race 27 years ago to draw tourism to Leadville, Colorado.  The mountain bike race was added in 1994 and has become a competition with more than 1,000 entries and a lottery determining who will compete. The course includes 14,000 vertical feet of climbing and often severe weather changes.  Competitors race on dirt trails, mining roads and Forest Service roads, hoping to cross the finish line in 12 hours or less.

Cameras followed the cyclists from the start through to the finish line and all 100 miles in between as they competed in the August 2009 competition – one of the most intense endurance races of all time. Witness breathtaking aerial views as the camera crew follows the competitors as they cycle over 100 miles of dangerous mountain terrain through extreme climate changes ranging from heat to hail and from rain to snow.

“If you’re lucky enough to get into this race, it will be the hardest day on the bike you’ll ever experience.  100 miles, off-road, all above 10,000 ft,” said Frank Matson, CEO of Citizen Pictures. “The summit is a relentless climb to the top of Columbine Mine at 12,570 ft.  The only thing you can count on is that anything can happen.  And if at the end of the day you’ve crossed the finish line, you’ve won.”

Advance tickets are now available online at www.cineplex.com/events as well as at participating theatre box offices. Admission for children ages 3 – 13 is $8.00, seniors is $10.50 and general admission is $12.50.  A special group rate is also available for groups of 20 or more.  For more information on group rates, call 1-800-313-4461 or email corporatesales@cineplex.com.

Cineplex Entertainment will present Race Across the Sky – Leadville Trail 100 at the following select theatres across the country on Wednesday, January 27th at 7 pm and Sunday, February 7th at 1 pm (local time):

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Coquitlam
- SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas, 170 Schoolhouse Street
Kamloops
- Cineplex Odeon Aberdeen Mall Cinemas, 700-1320 Trans Canada Highway
Kelowna
- Famous Players Orchard Plaza 5 Cinemas, 160-1876 Cooper Road
Langley
- Colossus Langley Cinemas, 20090 91A Avenue
Mission
- SilverCity Mission Cinemas, 32555 London Avenue
Nanaimo
- Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo, 213-4750 Rutherford Road
Pitt Meadows
- Cineplex Odeon Meadowtown Cinemas, 19800 Lougheed Highway
Prince George
- Famous Players 6 Cinemas, 172-1600 Fifth Avenue
Richmond
- SilverCity Riverport Cinemas, 14211 Entertainment Way
Surrey
- Cineplex Odeon Strawberry Hill Cinemas, 12161 72nd Avenue
Vancouver
- Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas, 200-333 Brooksbank Avenue
- Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver, 900 Burrard Street
Vernon
- Galaxy Cinemas Vernon, 2306 Highway 6
Victoria
- SilverCity Victoria Cinemas, 3130 Tillicum Road

ALBERTA
Calgary
- Cineplex Odeon Crowfoot Crossing Cinemas, 91 Crowfoot Terrace NW
- Cineplex Odeon Westhills Cinemas, 165 Stewart Green SW
Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, 6455 Macleod Trail SW
Edmonton
- Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton Cinemas, 14231 137th Avenue NW
- Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas, 1525-99th Street NW
Lethbridge
- Galaxy Cinemas Lethbridge, 501-1st Avenue SW
Red Deer
- Galaxy Cinemas Red Deer, 357-37400 Highway #2
Sherwood Park
- Galaxy Cinemas Sherwood Park, 2020 Sherwood Drive

MANITOBA
Winnipeg
- SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas, 817 St. James Street
- SilverCity St. Vital Cinemas, 160-1255 St. Mary’s Road

SASKATCHEWAN
Prince Albert
- Galaxy Cinemas Prince Albert, 2995 2nd Avenue
Regina
- Galaxy Cinemas Regina, 420 McCarthy Boulevard N
Saskatoon
- Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon, 347 2nd Avenue

ONTARIO
Ajax
- Cineplex Odeon Ajax Cinemas, 248 Kingston Road
Ancaster
- SilverCity Ancaster Cinemas, 771 Golf Links Road
Barrie
- Galaxy Cinemas Barrie, 72 Commerce Park Drive
Belleville
- Galaxy Cinemas Belleville, 160 Bell Boulevard
Brampton
- SilverCity Brampton Cinemas, 50 Great Lakes Drive
Brantford
- Galaxy Cinemas Brantford, 300 King George Road
Burlington
- SilverCity Burlington Cinemas, 1250 Brant Street
Collingwood
- Galaxy Cinemas Collingwood, 6 Mountain Road
Etobicoke
- Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas, 1025 The Queensway
Gloucester
- SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas, 2385 City Park Drive
Guelph
- Galaxy Cinemas Guelph, 485 Woodlawn Road W
Hamilton
- SilverCity Hamilton Mountain Cinemas, 795 Paramount Drive
Kingston
- Cineplex Odeon Gardiners Road Cinemas, 626 Gardiners Road
London
- Cineplex Odeon Westmount & VIP Cinemas, 755 Wonderland Road S
- SilverCity London Cinemas, 1680 Richmond Street
Markham
- Cineplex Odeon First Markham Place Cinemas, 3275 Highway 7
Mississauga
- SilverCity Mississauga Cinemas, 3055 Vega Boulevard
Newmarket
- SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas, 18151 Yonge Street
Niagara Falls
- Cineplex Odeon Niagara Square Cinemas, 7555 Montrose Road
Oakville
SilverCity Oakville Cinemas, 3531 Wyecroft Road
Orillia
- Galaxy Cinemas Orillia, 865 West Ridge Boulevard
Oshawa
- Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinemas, 1351 Grandview Street N
Ottawa
- Cineplex Odeon South Keys Cinemas, 2214 Bank Street
Owen Sound
- Galaxy Cinemas Owen Sound, 1020 10th Street
Peterborough
- Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough, 320 Water Street
Richmond Hill
- SilverCity Richmond Hill Cinemas, 8725 Yonge Street
Sault Ste. Marie
- Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie, 293 Bay Street
Scarborough
- Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas, 22 Lebovic Avenue
Sudbury
- SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas, 355 Barrydowne Road
Thunder Bay
- SilverCity Thunder Bay Cinemas, 850 North May Street
Toronto
- Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas, 4861 Yonge Street
- Cineplex Odeon Varsity Cinemas, 55 Bloor Street W
Waterloo
- Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo, 550 King Street N
Windsor
- Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas, 3100 Howard Avenue

QUEBEC
Brossard
- Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas, 9350 boul. Leduc
Kirkland
- Coliseum Kirkland Cinemas, 3200 rue Jean Yves
Laval
- Colossus Laval Cinemas, 2800 rue Cosmodôme
Montreal
- Scotiabank Theatre Montreal, 977 rue Ste-Catherine O
- Starcité Montreal Cinemas, 4825 ave. Pierre de Coubertin
Rock Forest
- Galaxy Cinemas Sherbrooke, 4204 rue Bertrand
Ste. Foy
- Cineplex Odeon Ste. Foy Cinemas, 1200 boul. Duplessis

About Cineplex Entertainment
As the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada, Cineplex Entertainment LP owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 129 theatres with 1,329 screens serving approximately 70 million guests annually. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex Entertainment operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec and is the largest exhibitor of digital, 3D and IMAX projection technologies in the country. Proudly Canadian and with a workforce of approximately 10,000 employees, the company operates the following top tier brands: Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players, Colossus, Coliseum, SilverCity, Cinema City and Scotiabank Theatres. The units of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, which owns approximately 99.6% of Cineplex Entertainment LP, are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol CGX.UN).

About Citizen Pictures
Denver based, Citizen Pictures has been an internationally recognized broadcast and commercial production company for more than 25 years. Citizen Pictures offers writing, producing, directing, live-action shooting, motion graphics and 3-D animation to networks, corporations and agencies. For more information visit www.citizenpictures.com or www.raceacrossthesky.com.

# # #

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Chrissy Matson
Marketing Manager
Citizen Pictures
(303) 455-5200
chrissy@citizenpictures.com

Georgia Sourtzis
Manager, Communications
Cineplex Entertainment
(416) 323-6728
georgia.sourtzis@cineplex.com

Pat Marshall
Vice-President, Communications and Investor Relations
Cineplex Entertainment
(416) 323-6648
pat.marshall@cineplex.com

It’s the time of year when IMBA Canada takes stock of what we’ve achieved for riders like you:

1. Taught 20 IMBA trailbuilding workshops in 9 provinces, educating more than 500 people on sustainable trailbuilding practices nationwide.

2. Expanded IMBA Canada’s Regional Office Program. We currently have part-time regional staff in BC, Ontario and Quebec, with plans to add more in 2010.

3. Secured new benefits for IMBA Canada members – Such as the Canadian Subaru VIP Program, and the addition of individual insurance benefits to the existing IMBA Canada insurance program.

4. Hired a full-time Trails Specialist – allowing significant growth in our on-the-ground efforts.

5. Hosted the first-ever IMBA Canada Provincial Mountain Bike Summit in Kitchener, Ontario.

6. Secured Federal Infrastructure Funding for trail expansion at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alberta. IMBA Canada clubs in BC, Ontario and Quebec also received federal money to expand their trails locally.

7. Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, enabling further collaboration with regards to trails planning, rehabilitation, management and use in Gatineau Park.

8. Created new Canadian resources - Such as the Take a Kid Mountain Biking Guide and the ADSVMQ’sGuide d’aménagement de sentier de vélo de montagne.

9. Launched the Ontario Tool Trailer program with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion. The end result: more trails on the ground, and free tools for use by IMBA clubs.

10. Provided assistance that has carved the way for new bike parks in urban areas.

Despite economic downturn, mountain bikers have helped IMBA Canada notch great successes all over the country, but threats fueled by anti-bike philosophies still loom over 2010.

Please click here to help build and protect mountain biking in your area.

Thanks for your support and here’s to great riding in 2010!

IMBA has limited 2010 full-colour calendars for contributors of $40 or more, but only while supplies last.

The latter half of October saw witness to IMBA Canada’s latest National Parks visit in Elk Island National Park, Alberta.  The purpose of said visit was to conduct an in-depth assessment of the +100 km of trails that can be found in the Park.  Each of the 11 trails in the Park were covered while being examined for sustainability.  The outcome of all this data collection is the development of a general trail plan for Elk Island National Park.  The Park hopes to use this plan to redevelop their outdoor recreational landscapes as well as further their educational merit, both cultural and ecological.

While not my favourite way to do an assessment, the ATV was ultimately necessary due to the time frame within which the work was to be done and the whole bison situation.  Mountain biking in Elk Island is not a “recommended” activity because potential safety concerns between bison and users.  What is the problem?    Mountain bikers tend to travel at a relatively fast pace and with minimal noise.  This, in conjunction with blind corners, can result in spooking bison.  I don’t know about you but the last thing I want on my hands is a 2200 lbs. animal with sharp, pointy horns being spooked.

So why is “IMBA” doing this work if there isn’t any mountain biking in the Park?

Ultimately, it is because of our growing relationship with Parks Canada, founded on our knowledge of sustainable trail construction and outdoor recreation as a whole that we are working in EINP.  Projects such as these help to further that relationship and open doors in other parks to possible mountain biking opportunities.

The final trail plan will incorporate hiking and nordic trails throughout the Park, highlighting the beautiful landscapes that EINP has to offer:  wetlands, grasslands, spruce & birch forests which provide homes to countless species for visitors to watch.  In my ten days in EINP I encountered countless bison as well as coyotes, beaver, golden eagles and more!

The good kind of difficulties that is…  Earlier this week IMBA Canada was asked to make the trip to Logan Lake, BC.  The reason?  Jay Hoots, bike park builder extraordinaire, brought IMBA on board to assist with rating the various trails that the town has to offer visitors.  Two days were spent inspecting all the trail using a revised version of IMBA’s trail difficulty rating system.  This new rating system has been in development for almost a year now and should provide land managers with a more accurate method with which to determine the difficulty of a particular trail.  Versions which deal with hiking and nordic trails are also rumoured to be in the works.

Should anyone find themselves near Merrit, BC and want something a little different, check out the quiet copper mining town of Logan Lake.  There are trails for riders of all skill levels and Jay’s park is a great way to spend a few hours on two wheels.

Logan Lake Trail Map

Interested in what Hoots Inc. is up to these days?  Check out their site for further info:

Hoots Inc.

One of the largest trail assessment projects that IMBA Canada has ever undertaken is coming to an end.  For twenty days I was Prince Albert National Park this summer examining over 230 km of trail with uses ranging from hiking and cycling to nordic skiing and equestrian.

Situated two and a half hours north of Saskatoon, Prince Albert National Park is a popular destination for families throughout the summer.  With beaches, a marina, superb fishing, the town of Waskesiu, a golf course and more, the Park has opportunities to offer something for everyone.  The trail system however was designed in an era when mountain biking wasn’t even an activity.  Many of the trails have extensive boardwalks, staircases, etc…. which are at the end of their life span.  This provides us with an ideal time to look at new solutions and alternate trail routings with current construction methods.

Like most of IMBA Canada’s trail assessments, the data collected from this process is then distilled and used to provide the Park with a general trail plan which will improve the sustainability and user experiences.  The new general trail plan provides PANP with locations throughout the Park to develop new stacked loop trail systems which cater not only to hikers but to mountain bikes as well.  It is IMBA & the Park’s hope to create a new trail network which provides visitors with a good weekend’s worth of biking, at minimum.

Now, having this plan is one thing, but having a trained staff who understands the principles with which it is to be built and maintained is another.  Earlier this season I had the opportunity to run a IMBA trail workshop with staff at the Park.  People from management, resource conservation, trail maintenance, and other departments all participated in this three day course.  We spent two mornings in the classroom covering everything from design process to sustainable construction techniques and trail maintenance.

In the afternoon of the first day we all walked the Shady Lake trail, stopping along the way to discuss various trail issues and possible solutions.  Upon finishing the loop the group set about tackling a low lying wet area and the fall line section of trail before it.  Everyone spread themselves out and had at it with shovel and McLeod, Pulaski and rake.  Staff installed knicks and rolling grade dips to help shed water off the trail, flagged a new, higher trail routing above the soggy, existing trail and did a beautiful job benching in the reroute while closing and rehabilitating the old trail.

I think its pretty safe to say that these photos show what a great job they all did!  In the last photo, the old trail is on the left and the new on the right… looks like it has been there for ages!

With the Shady Lake build under their belts, the staff were ready for something a bit more complex and so for the afternoon of the second day and the entire third day a yet to be built section of the Red Deer Trail was their project.  This second project had the staff using clinos; shooting grades, benching, rock armouring, landscaping and more… all by hand!  By the end of the third day, with the last rock in place, this staff crew had managed to complete a solid section of benched trail and had designed the remaining trail up to the end.

This past weekend, two IMBA employees along with a big group of volunteers from both the Upper Thames Conversation Authority and the London Mountain Bike Club, congregated at Fanshawe Lake for an IMBA trails workshop.

Equipped with the IMBA Trail Solutions trailer, Trail Specialist Daniel Scott along with Ontario Rep Jason Murray led this band of keen mountain bikers in taking a fall line section of trail which led to a bridge and transforming it into a winding section of singletrack.

The classic weekend format was followed with a Saturday morning classroom session to discuss the principles of sustainable trail design followed by that afternoon and the following day in the field putting these to practice.

The volunteers worked tirelessly to bench cut new approach trail sections as well as two bermed corners with inside climbing lines.  They also worked extensively to closed and rehabilitate the old piece of trail, which was in fact an old road bed, breaking up the soil along with transplanting grasses & shrubs.

The UTCA provided some stellar lunches for us all while the local golf course’s tent gave good shelter during the spatters of rain we saw throughout the weekend.

By the end of Sunday’s build, the trail was complete and test ridden both directions with the results being a relatively easy up and big smiles down!

I’d like to thank all the volunteers who came out to build, either for one day or two.  You guys were awesome and really put the principles to practice.  The rehabilitation work, while not glamourous, was critical to the reroute and you guys tackled it with vigor and determination.  The results show all this with great effect, nice work!!

Time Lapse of Trail Work

This past week IMBA’s resident trail specialist, Daniel Scott, got the opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia to work with a local mountain bike club, Annapolis Valley Mountain Bike Association.

Situated along the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy, the Annapolis Valley is the “bread basket” of Nova Scotia.  Two escarpments border this beautiful rural landscape which is home to farmlands, vineyards and a keen mountain bike community.

IMBA was initially asked to visit with the AVMBA regarding a proposed management plan for one of the gems of the area, Cape Split.  This stunning geographic feature is slated to become a new provincial park.  With this new proposed management plan was a section stating that “no wheeled vehicles” were to being permitted to use this new Park.  That included motorized & non-motorized vehicles as well as potentially strollers, etc…  Flags immediately went up within the AVMBA and a meeting with the Department of Natural Resources was arranged.

Members of the AVMBA, IMBA Canada, the DNR and a few other key concerned locals met to discuss this situation and after a good two hours a new understanding was reached with the following points:

• a need to review the Cape Split “no wheeled” vehicles clause

• a need to review and revise the proposed trail resurfacing plan with a more sustainable alternative that would accommodate multiple user types wishing to witness the spectacular vista that Cape Split provides
• an understanding that the province needs a mountain bike lobbying group with which to work for better understanding the wants and needs of mountain bikers in Nova Scotia
• opportunities are available in many of the nearly 200 pieces of Crown Land under the DNR’s supervision for mountain bike specific trail systems

All in all, everyone was super constructive and eager to reach a positive agreement that was beneficial to everyone involved.  A big thank you to DNR for hosting the meeting and to everyone for their support in this matter!

The visit did not however end with just the Cape Split meetings.  AVMBA & IMBA decided to host a weekend trail building workshop with two separate build sites.  Saturday saw a whole whack of folk from all over southern Nova Scotia brave the 40 degree weather to help build a new bridge on one of the locally owned, private trail networks.

We had folk come from as far away as Halifax to help build the new bridge and the end product is truly impressive.  It was a tough build with lots of wood to haul into the trail but everyone had at it with great intensity, matched only by the crazy heat!

Sunday was a rather different situation as hurricane Bill hit Nova Scotia.  A dedicated handful of AVMBA members met at the Links Trail System to tackle a rock armouring project.  In spite of the torrential rains, the group of volunteers worked hard to establish the footprint for a new rock causeway along the top of one of the waterfalls within the trail network.

These guys were hardcore!  Working in water, around water, with water coming down on us and they didn’t complain once.  In fact, the crew spent most of their time laughing or smiling about the build conditions.  Great work guys!

I would like to thank Glenn & Angela for providing me with amazing accommodations during my visit to the Annapolis Valley.  Your hospitality was truly amazing as is your support of IMBA Canada and mountain biking in Nova Scotia!  Also, thanks to Barry and other members of the AVMBA for the guided tours of local trails.  You guys are doing some great work and I look forward to revisiting the trails in a few years to see how they are progressed.  Keep it up!