Canadian Club

Rebuilding after the fire

Wood Buffalo Cycling Club rebuilds after the fire

For decades, Fort Mcmurray was synonymous with Northwest Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands, a boomand-bust city at the heart of Canada’s petroleum industry. Since 2016, “Fort Mac” conjures up images of the colossal wildfire that destroyed 20 per cent of the city’s homes and forced the third-largest environmental disaster evacuation in Canadian history.

The Wood Buffalo Cycling Club (wbcc) takes its name from the municipality of Fort Mac. Active since 2012, the club seeks to make cycling a better, safer experience for the riders of Fort Mcmurray, including working with the local constabulary to ensure its officers understand bicycle laws and safety practices.

Patrick Dardis, the founder and president of the club, says that 90 per cent of the 35-strong membership is mountain bikers, with women comprising half the club. Although Fort Mcmurray has a strong cycling community and the Wood Buffaloes have a steady core of fat tire enthusiasts who never miss a group ride, Dardis admits, “We struggle as a club to attract membership growth and participation.”

One of the Buffaloes’ playgrounds is the Fort Mcmurray Bicycle Park, a legacy project of the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in the Thickwood area. The trails in the park range from difficult skill testers such as The Edge to easier rides such as Cool Story. A little to the southwest

“Most of last year, the bike park, which is a series of cross country trails, was closed due to the fire.”

of the park are the longer loops of the Little Fisheries Trails. Most of the riding is west of the Athabasca River. Dirt routes can be also found in the Birchwood Trails near Timberlea and a couple of trails on the northern edge of Timberlea, although much of Fort Mcmurray’s mountain biking infrastructure was damaged in the fire. Dardis speaks of the effect of the fire on local riding: “Most of last year, the bike park, which is a series of cross country trails, was closed due to the fire. Late in the season, half the park was reopened.” Although the municipality maintains the park, the wbcc and other members of the cycling community have pitched in to rebuild the trails outside the park, like Little Fisheries Trail, which is built on Crown land. Northwest Alberta seems like a natural setting for fat bike riding. Dardis notes that the club gets more people out for winter group rides than those in the summer. On wbcc’s Facebook page, the club reminds local riders to stay off groomed cross-country skiing runs in the snowy months. Community minded, the wbcc supports Fort Mac bike shop Habitual Sports and uses its Facebook page to find volunteers for local events, such as triathlons and marathons. The club is expanding its calendar for 2018. On Aug. 25, it is sponsoring the inaugural Wood Buffalo Gran Fondo, a new addition to the Alberta Gran Fondo Series. Riders will be able to choose from four different ride options: a family ride, a 50-km route, a 100-km course or a 160-km big day out. Each one will have rest stops, snacks, roadside assistance and a free lunch.