Where do you live?
Moving from Banff, AB to Colwood, B.C.

What’s your day job?
Town Manager

What’s your favourite local trail?
Lake Minnewanka Shoreline

Favourite riding destination(s)?
Invermere BC

When did you first become an IMBA Canada member?
I cannot recall. My local club the Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance is a long standing member, and I have been a very active member at that club since the mid 2000’s. I believe the first time I joined as an individual member was at the IMBA booth at 24Hours of Adrenaline Race in Canmore. I still have the socks.

When did you join the board?
2016

What brought you to riding?
I bought my first mountain bike in the early 1990’s when I lived in Prince Rupert BC. It was a Diamondback with bullhorn bars (terrible bars). My wife, Jeannette and I were into adventure racing at that time, and I fell in love with mountain biking. I upgraded to a Rocky Mountain Cardiac, which was a rocket, but as I wanted to ride more challenging terrain, I needed more bike (elastomer forks were not cutting it) . A Kona Mokoko was my first full suspension with disk brakes (game changer), and from there I have not looked back. Over time it seemed that all my close friends were also riders. In mountain bikers, I found my tribe.

What’s drawn you to trail building and trail advocacy?
When I lived in Invermere, I began to invest time in trail building. When not hanging out at the local bike shop (Rob’s Bicycle Works), I was either riding, or working to improve the trails. After I moved to Banff, I joined the local club and continued to spend time building and maintaining, but my day job also brought me into regular contact with land managers. I found myself in the unique opportunity to have influence at the planning level, and jumped at the chance.

What do you hope to see for Canadian mountain biking and trail building three years from now?
I hope to see more and more Canadians taking advantage of what their local trails have to offer. Technology seems to be continually slackening the learning curve for mountain biking, and I am hopeful that more and more folks from all walks of life will discover how easy and enjoyable it is to explore the outdoors on a bike.

 

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