Neighbours’ concerns put brakes on cyclocross race

Wiping out on wet grass after riding his bike through four inches of mud and wet snow is Mark Jung’s idea of the perfect weekend.

But after what he’s calling a “knee-jerk reaction” to complaints, the cyclocross enthusiast is concerned for the future of his messy pastime in Edmonton.

Jung is one of the organizers of a cyclocross event planned for this Saturday at Capilano Park. The sport, which is relatively unknown to non-racers, involves a cross between on- and off-road biking and is a favourite for many two-wheeled competitors.

Not everyone is equally enthusiastic. An event two weeks ago at Fulton Place Park, west of 50 Street and south of 106 Avenue, provided the ideal conditions for racing, but ended with neighbours complaining to the city about damage to the grass.

On Tuesday, organizers were told the Capilano event would not be allowed to go ahead.

The decision prompted some disappointment from racing fans, including Mayor Don Iveson who tweeted about it.

“It’s devastating that the city is cancelling all cyclocross races in all parks …” Iveson tweeted. “I feel sad for organizers and racers.”

Julie Stormer, Edmonton’s supervisor of festivals and events, said the city is trying to help the group come up with an alternate location for the event. She also pointed out the city regularly monitors park land and sports fields, and will close them to events if damage is likely.

“Sometimes what happens with events that happen on park land is, given the weather conditions, they ’re asked to either tweak their event or we need to find another location,” Stormer said. “The original location for cyclocross for this weekend is too saturated; we know a lot of damage is going to occur.”

She said a few other events also fell victim to the wet weather and the city was working hard to try to find an alternative.

“We want them to be able to hold their event, but we just need to manage the environmental stewardship piece as well,” she said.

The cyclocross organizers had a backup location of Hermitage Park, but it is also deemed to be too wet. Moving the event to Terwillegar Park is being considered.

“With cyclocross, given the weather conditions, we’re also looking for a less pristine area and more of an area that can actually take a little bit of wear and tear,” said Stormer.

Jung does not think Terwillegar would be a good fit for the event, given the likelihood of pitting racing enthusiasts against dog walkers in the Terwillegar off-leash areas.

He said the city has been “very co-operative and very helpful,” but hopes the decision to outright stop the races in areas where grass could be damaged won’t stop the events altogether.

“What we’re trying to do is prevent this from setting a precedent that will exclude cyclocross regardless of weather,” Jung said.