Portage Junk Yard Dogs Cycling Club
From out of the dump
It’s a bike club with a creation story so good you almost think a local is putting you on. “A couple of good old local boys were using the old garbage dump south of town as a training ground,” says Bob Guenther, president of the Portage Junk Yard Dogs Cycling Club. “The north face of the renowned Portage dump hill provides 18 to 20 per cent grades for climbing. Then the guys built trails on its east and west side, too.” The bikers dubbed themselves the Junk Yard Dogs. It caught on. Nine years later the pack numbers around 75.
The bike club is the oldest in Portage la Prairie, a central Manitoba city of roughly 13,300. The jyd were initially quite keen on racing, but now they mostly assist and host events, although some members still contest epic stage rides and other races. The Dogs used to host cyclocross events but changes to venue availability and member interest have more or less ended their involvement in the mud, sand and barriers scene.
Guenther says, “We lean very much toward the recreational side of riding and encourage local folks and those in the surrounding area to just get on their bikes and ride.” There are plenty of opportunities to do so, as Environment Canada has declared that Portage has the most sunny days in the country during the warm months.
One of the club’s stomping grounds is the 40 km of trails at Birch Mountain, located almost an hour’s drive south of town. The jyd and other clubs groom and develop this terrific trail system. “No matter how skilled and fit you are, it will kick the crap out of you on the climbs and provides some great tactical trail riding and fast downhills,” Guenther says. The club has hosted kom Cup and Adult Mountain Bike Cup races. It also gets together with Woodcock Cycle Works of Winnipeg to put on the Birch Mountain XC Classic.
The jyd also maintain 8.5 km of singletrack on the southeast side of town, near the Assiniboine River. You can ride the Old Dump Hill, China Trail and Trevor’s Trail in this area. The club is planning to expand the trail system.
Guenther would direct visiting roadies to what the jyd call The Loop. “It’s about 70 to 80 km of fairly decent road riding (by Manitoba standards) with minimal traffic,” he says. Ask for directions at Two Tired Boys Bike Shop, a jyd sponsor, in the Portage la Prairie Mall.
The club also has a strong triathlon history, including the development of young athletes through the Kids of Steel competitions. The other associated youth club is Kids of Mud, with 25 members.
There are four lifetime members of the jyd: founder and quintessential “dogfather” of the club, Dale Cramer, owner of Two Tired Boys Bike Shop; Willem Boersma, 2013 Canadian junior cyclocross champion and current member of Team Race Clean; Oliver “Olli” Evans, in his first year with h&r Block Pro Cycling; and Nettie Neudorf, three-time masters (40 and older) national champion.
“No matter how skilled and fit you are, it will kick the crap out of you on the climbs.”