Fernie’s mountain trails are host to professional Canadian mountain bikers and locals alike and last weekend the Fernie Mountain Bike Club (FMBC) held its annual Spring Bike Blitz to ensure those trails are groomed and maintained for another season of riding.
Mountain bikers were encouraged to bring any bike related parts to the Elks Hall where bikes, parts ranging from seats to helmets and FMBC t-shirts donated by Giv’r Shirtworks were sold.
A major portion of funds from Saturday’s sale will go to the Fernie Trails Alliance so that they can continue to work on building more trails, maintaining the existing trails and ensuring biker’s safety through proper signage, organizer and FMBC president Angela Etheridge said.
“All the good things to keep us riding on the trails,” she said.
Funds for the Fernie Trails Alliance are also raised through FMBC memberships. Etheridge said that the club typically has between 350 to 500 members each year and the Spring Bike Blitz is their main membership drive.
But not all the money raised during this annual event goes to the Trails Alliance. The FMBC hosts several events every year including the Wam Bam Dirt Jump Jam — an event that brings amateur and pro stunt riders to Fernie during the summer to perform gravity defying tricks and daring stunts.
The club has also added some new events to this year's itinerary including kids races and group rides — Etheridge said she hopes to get new members involved in mountain biking.