Executive Director NOCS

Becker Park - the long awaited Biking Skills Park

Most of us can remember when we started riding a bike. The first scraped knee. The first time on a two wheeler. And especially the first “sweet” jump we made out of a 2x4 and piece of plywood. I know I do. Becker Park is going to be officially open in a couple of days. This biking skills park is the result of many people’s passion and dedication towards seeing this sport we call biking keep going in a safe and fun way for generations to come. It is a testament to the importance of our city listening to the community and what it wants to see and accomplishing these tasks together.

I am of the age that my first bike was a banana bike. It had sissy bars, a wide tire in the back and skinny one in the front, chopper style, not really made for taking jumps, but that didn’t matter. I still wanted to hit every little bump and see if I could get a little air. With the introduction of mountain bikes in the eighties and the kid like attitude of the pioneers of this sport, bikes and their riders have taken riding and made it a profession. Mountain biking has become a sport with its athletes competing around the world at elite levels.

We are privileged to have some of the best riders with some pretty amazing resumes living right here in our own community! And who, if we ask, are always willing to help.Come and meet them at the Becker Park opening.

Of course most of us bike for the fitness and the fun ....or was it the fun and fitness ....or was it just for the fun! The planning for this park didn’t happen overnight. It took years of persistence by people who just would not let the project go. Road block after road bock would come up but a dedicated group of cyclists were determined to see this through.

They were instrumental in making sure this project wouldn’t be left on the shelf. This was a big part of how our cycling club got its roots.

I have been involved with the bike club in our community called the North Okanagan Cycling Society (NOCS) since it inception and I have seen how having a organized group of like minded folks can get things done. If it wasn’t for this group of bike riders and trail runners we wouldn’t have one of the best trail networks in the province and we wouldn’t have been able to work with the city to build this beautiful park.

As a business owner in the cycling industry, it has been a joy to witness kids coming into the shop, with their allowance saved up, ready to buy a new bike. It is so fun to watch these kids as they roll their new ride out the door, so proud and smiles that are completely contagious. And watching these same kids come back year after year is so satisfying.

Under the umbrella of the NOCS is a program that is close to my heart called the Trail Ninjas. It is focused on the next generation of riders. The program involves coaching and skill building for young riders. It also has produced young coaches that have gone through the program to teach the younger riders. On our weekly rides I always enjoy watching the new skills of the kids emerge. And after Trail Ninjas is over for the year, these kids leave with greater riding skills, confidence and always with a few new friends.

My son and I share the same passion for this sport and when he was getting into mountain biking there weren’t safe places to learn and there weren’t coaches to teach these vital skills.

Many times while I was working in the yard I would hear my son say “Hey dad watch this” as he proceeded to wheelie drop off of the picnic table on his bike, landing perfectly. I would try not to freak out and instead just say “Good job son”.

I have witnessed the results of learning the hard way with a “let’s hit this and see what happens” attitude. I have experienced it myself (many times while trying to keep up to the young guys )and still have the scars to prove it. This is why I am excited to see how this park will bring a whole new progression to riders young and old. It enables the coaches to bring the riders to a safe and controlled environment where they can hone their skills before hitting the trails.

Yes, there will be scrapes and bruises but that is part of the sport we love.

We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and we get to enjoy the great outdoors right in our back yard. The building of this park and pump track are really a form of art. We are privileged to have artists such as the City Engineers, Jackson and Mark, our Trails Director, Jason, Contour Trails, Velo Solutions, and other contractors who can turn this dirt canvas into a beautiful biking skills park that will bring fun and learning for years to come!

To Quote my granddaughter. ”I Love it”

Michael D Giesbrecht

NOCS Youth Director

Co owner Skyride.

Congrats Deana, ProMotion Plus Leadership Award recipient

ProMotion Plus and the Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games Society partnered to honour an outstanding community leader making significant contributions to the women and girls of BC in sport, recreation and healthy living.

A committee of representatives from the Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games Society considered deserving leaders whose work and dedication exemplify the vision of the ProMotion Plus Leadership Award.

This year’s ProMotion Plus Leadership Award recipient is DEANA FRANCKS!

“Deana Francks started mountain biking approximately 20 years ago, joining a group ride with a local bike shop. She instantly fell in love with the sport and the joy it brought to her life.

Working with the North Okanagan Cycling Society and local bike shops, Deana started a women specific weekly bike ride nearly a decade ago to provide a safe and comfortable environment for women to learn and practice riding skills and explore mountain biking regions around the North Okanagan. The group rides have grown so enormously that multiple volunteers are required to break the groups into different riding levels to accommodate demand.

Recognizing the need and desire for competitive mountain biking among women, Deana created, organizes and runs an annual all-women’s enduro mountain bike race in Vernon. Not only does the

race sell out every year, with a waitlist, it also is stacked with diverse volunteers who come out to support the racers. Deana works tirelessly to ensure the competition runs smoothly and her enthusiasm is contagious.

Deana has made this sport accessible to many women, from beginners to competitive riders, affecting individual riders and also the community as a whole.

She feels strongly that, particularly for girls and young women, being connected to sports and the outdoors is an important social feature in their lives that must continue to be actively supported by everyone in the community.

Congratulations Deana!

AGM January 26th - Virtual

NOTICE OF AGM

NOCS Annual General Meeting

2022 was a great riding season, without smoke, but a lot of early rain that made everything grow!

We’d like to thank our amazing members who continued to support us this year, as well as a massive thank you to all of our community partners and sponsors who stepped up in a huge way. Our successes this past year would not have been possible without all of you.


What: NOCS Annual General Meeting

When: Thursday Jan 26 @ 7:00 PM

Where: Zoom!


2023 NOCS members can register for the AGM HERE. Those attending will need to hold a 2023 membership as you will be voting on out 2023 board members.

A meeting invite will be sent to members following registration.

Why: Join us to find out more about our plans for 2023. You can review the minutes from last year's AGM here

With this new year comes some big changes to the Board - we owe an immense thank you to our President - Diana Wilson, Vice President - James Cotter, Youth Director - Nicole Guerrero, and DaL Demian Carson who are stepping down from their roles. Their contributions to the Board over the years have significantly shaped where NOCS is today. Join us in thanking them at the AGM and make sure to show them your appreciation next time you see them on the trails!

Nominations have been made for the following positions:

President, Chris Crawford

Trails Maintenance Director, Jeff Holliday

Youth Program Director, Aaron Mogerman

Events Director, Kyle Johnson

We have two positions open.

Communications Director and Fundraising Director
If you are passionate, motivated, and want to make a difference in the community, we'd love to have you! Please submit your nominations to president@nocs.ca by March 10th.

2023 Trail Maintenance Crew wanted

Are you a professional trail builder looking to support trails in the North Okanagan? NOCS is engaging Trail Building Contractors for our 2023 trail maintenance contract.

This includes maintaining all trails that NOCS is responsible for including Kal, Ellison and Silver Star Provincial Parks and King Eddy Plateau. There may even be a few new trail builds coming online! If you are interested please email trails@nocs.ca for the RFP. Applications are due by November 11.

A Thank-you to the BCBR volunteers from Brett Woods. It was a success!

BC Bike Race came through Vernon in Spetmeber, with stages at Silver Star and in Kalamalka Provincial Park.

I would like to give a huge shout out to the North Okanagan Cycling Society (NOCS) for supporting the Vernon Stage of the 2022 BC Bike Race (BCBR).

The BCBR came at a time when NOCS and the trails were busy: The Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association (mbta.ca) had just wrapped up the Mountain Bike Tourism Symposium at SilverStar Resort and Bush Babes and Bros held their huge "Freaky Creeky" event at Kal Park with just 48 hours between. All of these events required the support of volunteers to whom we owe a round of applause!

The BCBR had approximately 350 riders from 27 countries set out on this epic 4th stage - which proved to be one of the most daunting courses of the 6 days! I was at the finish line and talked to many riders who were simply STOKED with the quality and variety of our trails.

Events like these help promote NOCS and reaffirm our sponsors they are involved with a professional organization. Sometimes the trails get a little extra love in preparation for the event and generally come with an influx of cash from the organizing body. These are a couple of the benefits of hosting events. At the end of the day though, events do not happen without the support of the Community - the entire NOCS Community that has built and maintains the organization and the trail network all year long!

Thanks specifically to those that helped pull this off - from trail maintenance and flagging / de-flagging the course to those that brought their voices, enthusiasm and local knowledge on race day! It was a day that the BCBR riders will remember for the rest of their rides:

  • Cynthia Kapicki

  • Randy Savoie

  • Kieran Eglin

  • Pedar Ree

  • Cody Cosens

  • Jason Martin

  • Brian Clark

  • Mike Giesbrecht

  • Scott McKenzie

  • John Matthews

  • Lyle Hinds

  • Daryl Chymko

  • Julie Melanson, Darlene Wood, Vanessa and Craig

  • Lynne - I'm not sure you signed up with through the NOCS channel but you were there...again! You've been a volunteer at every event I've been to lately - it is noticed!

Thanks again,

Brett Woods

Fiver XC Race

A gorgeous sunny day. Good company on the trails. A fun race.

What more could you ask for? Prizes? Yep, we got those too!

Photos by Ryan Van Veen @ryanvanveenphotography

Our voice in the Budget Report

We spoke they listened

A large part of NOCS is advocacy and having our concerns heard at at government level as the Society’s mission is to create positive trail experiences for mountain bikers and outdoor enthusiasts in the North Okanagan. NOCS works collaboratively with its membership, stakeholders, local First Nations, local/ provincial governments, and the community.

The release of the budget report on the 2023 Budget Consultation show that the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services has heard our recommendations for parks and recreation.

We are proud to see NOCS mentioned directly in the report!

My first mountain bike race

Olivia Anderson racing the Liv Bombshell Enduro

Last weekend (July 23, 2022) I participated in the Liv Bombshell Enduro. My first mountain bike race.

It was crazy. It was cool. It was hard. It was exhausting. It was inspiring. It was so many things. It was really awesome to see so many women doing such cool things. I need much improvement in many aspects of this event but it felt so rewading to participate and get through it. I had a small crash on Rock is the New Berm (Rock is the New Bruise as I like to call it) and there were many cases of my confidence and skill lacking.

The Sovereign Lake aid station was a godsend when we finally for there (pancakes! and margaritas! What!) but the best part (y’know, besides the entire experience) was the burger I got back in the village (finish). Nothing tastes better than a good burger after a hard race day.

My time came in at 38 minutes and I’m going to spend the next year trying my best to learn and improve so that next year is even better!

Thanks @livbombshellenduro for such a great event!
Thanks @jumpintoframe for the sick pictures!

Bombshell race day

After 2 years of uncertainty the Bombshell enduro was finally able to commence! After competing in the inaugural race in 2019, I knew I had to be back for 2022. 

The day started with an early 6am wake up to be up at Silverstar for registration at 7:30. As soon as I rolled up to the main parking lot I could hear tunes bumping and knew the vibes were going to be high. After I registered, some lovely volunteers gave me a timing chip and I was on my way.

A friend and I started climbing up the Silver Shack trail to get to the first stage, which started at the top on Shazam. As we reached the first stage, we were greeted by some more volunteers running the aid station who were cheering and dancing as we reached the top. I had a piece of watermelon and some candy, and was ready to roll. 

I dropped in the first stage which was the top of Shazam and the lower portion of Flow. Shazam is fast and flowy which was a perfect intro for the rest of the day. The berms were fast and I was feeling good, trying to not overshoot the jumps but maintaining speed.I reached the bottom of the section and was met by volunteers cheering me on as I pedalled my brains out on the road that led me to the bottom of Flow. Although it's in the name, Flow is definitely not flowy, the exact opposite actually. Nonetheless, I was able to squeeze my way through the tight trees while maintaining my speed and staying consistent through the chunky rocks and roots. 

Once I rolled over the timing mat at the bottom of the stage, I continued down the trail to the bottom of the chairlift where we loaded up to reach stage 2. Stage 2 consisted of the top portion of Flow and the lower portion of Double Dog. The top of Flow is probably the most technical downhill of the race with many tight sections and a few rocky chutes, which definitely claimed a few racers during the day. Luckily I was able to ride it clean enough and continued my way down to the Double Dog section. Double Dog happens to be my favourite trail at the park so I was stoked to be able to race it. I made my way through the chunky tech sections, fast corners and wooden features as smooth as I could and finished the stage with a smile on my face. 

I loaded up the chairlift for the second time and made my way to stages 3 and 4 which were located just a short traverse away at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre. Stage 3, aka the Raw Bones trail, was by far the hardest stage, as it consisted of many punchy uphill sections, and happened to be the only trail in the race I had not ridden before. I dropped in then immediately was met with an uphill rock garden. Being unprepared for the trail, I was in too hard of a gear to make it up the rock garden while simultaneously was unable to unclip from my pedals, resulting in a small crash. That being said, once I could conclude that my bike was okay, I hopped right back on and started pedalling up the next section to make up for lost time. I bombed through the finish of the stage, absolutley gassed after pedaling my brains out on the rest of the trail. Not my cleanest work but made it through in one piece. 

After I rode down from stage 3, still in one piece, I was met with the fiesta aid station where I was welcomed by a group of awesome volunteers, dancing, handing out margaritas, water, and keeping everyone fed with whatever we needed. I refuelled there for a couple minutes then decided it was time for the next stage.

Stage 4 was made up of 2 trails; Rock is the New Berm, and Threads. This stage was made of pretty much every type of the terrain the Okanagan is known for; tight and chunky tech, flow, exposed rock slabs and some fun rolls and side hits. I was definitely feeling the most fatigued on this trail as it was long with lots of traversing where you needed to pedal. When I got to the bottom I was met by some volunteers and other riders cheering me on, which boosted my morale. 

Once I was feeling ready, I started to make my way towards the last climb that led to stage 5. The climb was made more enjoyable as we passed the fiesta aid station again. 

Stage 5 consisted of the Outer Limits trail, which was an awesome way to finish off the event. This trail is fast and fun with tight corners between trees to keep you on your toes. By the end of the stage I could barely hold onto my bars and was just barreling down the last shoot hoping for the best, but as soon as I crossed the last timing mat I felt relief and was super stoked. 

All in all, the day went awesome for me and I was lucky to take home the best time of the day. The event was awesome and you could tell the organizers, Deana and Mel, put in so much work for us to have such a great time. Thanks so much to the volunteers for making it happen and to Silverstar for hosting, until next year!

-Kate

What about the mud?

You heard it earlier this season, RIDE DIRT - NOT MUD. It’s been a wet intro to summer, so why is it now OK to keep riding, even though it keeps raining? 

The spring thaw lifts the dirt as it thaws out leaving the ground unstable and perfect conditions for bike tracks to dig deep into the singletrack. This is why we were advocating for not riding the trails earlier in the season. 

The trails are now hard packed and the rain should be beading off these surfaces instead of sitting, penetrating and ultimately creating ruts and mud bogs.  The daily freeze/thaw cycling is also over (at most elevations) which is what contributes to the extra soft, mucky conditions earlier in the spring.  There is still a chance for these conditions at Silver Star Provincial Park (Sovereign) so we need to be observant. 



Having said that, let’s keep in mind…

What is wet and what is muddy? Do you sink into it? It’s mud. 

Ride Dirt. Not Mud.

What is wet and what is muddy? Do you sink into it? It’s mud. 


When hitting our local trails, if it looks like it’s super slimy mud, you may well leave deep ruts that harden while drying, making many trail sections seriously damaged. Every trail and network manage water differently, be observant and watch your ruts. 

For example, riding up Upper Stone Free this past weekend, there was a muddy section deep enough for the bottom of the bike tire to disappear. When this dries out, these tracks may remain. So what do you do when you come across this? 



There’s a few things you can do: 

  • Ride slow and in the center to lessen your impact

  • Walk your bike, your feet don’t leave trenches

  • Take 1 min to use your foot, a rock or stick to improve the drainage and dig an exit for the water

  • Report major issues on Trailforks


Mud on your bike looks cool, until it dries. 

After riding in mud, wash your bike with care before it dries. Use your garden hose with a soft setting. Use soft brushes on the body, and tougher ones on the greasy chain. Our local shops have cleaners that will help with this job. 

Ride Dirt - not MUD

MUD leaves tracks, and when people ride around mud puddles, it widens the trail, increases trail damage and ultimately ruins our beloved single track.

 

The NOCS slogan for spring, well, every bike club’s motto really. Why do we say stay off the trails when they are muddy? Because riding muddy trails or avoiding mud on the trail leads to trail crew nightmares to come! 

But isn’t that the trail crews job? Well yes and no… if we want trail crew to maintain all of our trails we need to be good trail stewarts in the spring so that the trail maintenance is a manageable load to bear. Our volunteers and trail crew have a list of trails that need work and when early spring riding wrecks trails they then need to come in to fix these trails rather than working on other ones.

How to approach riding your bike in the early spring

While the snow is still on the ski slopes, it has melted in town, so you’ve started to have bike dreams instead of the other kind of wet dream (you know, the one where snow falls in abundance.)

We know you are all so eager to get on your bikes and ride so here’s how to do it without wrecking the trails

  1. Be ready to re-route. If you go up a trail and find it’s muddy – turn around. Ride that one another day and maybe post in Trailforks that it is too wet to ride which gives other riders the option to choose better sun baked trails.

  2. What is wet and what is muddy? Do you sink into it? It’s mud.

  3. Get off and walk your bike. Don’t ride around a mud puddle, that’s what we call trail expansion, and it’s not in the plan we send to parks each year for added km’s to the trails. Also – we want to keep our single track single and riding around a mud puddle creates chariot width trails in no time!

  4. Check out Trail Forks for reports of trails that are already dry

  5. Be a trail Ambassador, if you find mud, report it to Trail Forks

  6. Watch our social media. We will be posting trail updates each Wednesday throughout the spring on trail conditions.