Our Fat Bike crew (on Facebook as Vernon Singletrack Fat Bike Riders of BC ) had a grand time on bikes celebrating Vernon Winter Carnival with a fat bike group ride and BBQ. Check out the photos here!
With snow coming down, it's a great time to get out and ride a fat bike. Let's RIDE Vernon and North Okanagan!
Thanks to Chalan McVey for the photos.
Welcome, GoByBikeWeek!
This unique winter presents an unparalleled chance to ride
Register at www.GoByBikeBC.ca, log your rides from February 5–11, and submit your entry to be in the running to win fantastic prizes!
Let’s RIDE Vernon & North Okanagan
The North Okanagan Cycling Society is proposing the Vernon Hill Trails, which would overlook the city above Galiano Road.
The trails would be located on 325 hectares of Crown land and would provide trail connections with the Gray Canal Trail, the planned Ranchlands trail network and eventually to BX.
The proposal was presented to the Greater Vernon Advisory Council on Nov 1, and will be discussed at their December meeting. The hope is to break ground in the spring.
Read more in the articles on Castanet and Vernon Matters.
Get your broomsticks ready and your pumpkins carved because something wickedly fun is coming! On Sunday, October 29th, from the witching hours of 2 to 4 PM, ghouls and goblins of all ages are invited to join the Halloween Trick-or-Treat Bike Ride. Hold onto your handlebars and prepare for a pedal-powered haunting like no other!
When: Sunday, Oct 29th
Time: 2-4 PM
Starting Point: Ellison parking lot
This event is sponsored by Destination Silver Star.
Interested in joining the Board of Directors? We are seeking candidates with skills and experiences in any of the following areas, although these points are not a requirement and we greatly encourage all interested candidates to apply:
events planning and management
previous board experience
fundraising
grant writing
human resources
governance
marketing
communications (e.g. community presentations, news releases, newsletters, website content)
cycling advocacy
Learn more about the board of directors.
All candidates must be a current member of NOCS
The deadline to apply is Monday, Nov. 13 2023 at 5:00pm
Each candidate is required to reach out to Chris Crawford at president@nocs.ca
Board candidates will be vetted and fit determined based on alignment with available board positions, and mutual agreement with the candidate and the board.
Candidates nominated by the board will be put forward for election at the AGM on Thursday, November 16th.
The RDNO is conducting a survey about the proposed Coldstream Ranchlands park. Did you know the RDNO Parks Master Plan that was finalized last year does not include the building of purpose built mountain bike trails?
This is a prime opportunity to let the RDNO know that our members and the community want purpose built bike trails. Spread the word and make sure every biker you know completes the survey. Act fast, the survey closes October 23rd.
We will soon see new trails on the King Eddy Plateau connecting to the BC Parks boundary and creating a circuit with the RSTBC trails.
NOCS Annual General Meeting
We hope you can join us at the NOCS Annual General Meeting!
What: NOCS Annual General Meeting
When: Thursday, November 16, 2023 @ 7:00 PM
Where: Alexander’s Pub (upstairs)
Our AGM is an opportunity to reflect on the past year, hear from our membership, and acknowledge the efforts of our volunteers. This year we are holding the AGM in November so as to allow for a longer transition and onboarding period for any new board members, provide more lead time to plan for next year and give us an opportunity to hear from our members before they shift into ski and snow mode.
If you are interested in joining the NOCS board please reach out to Chris Crawford (president@nocs.ca) prior to the AGM – we would love to hear from you!
You can review the minutes from last year's AGM here
There are two downhill sections to choose from: the connector and the mantle/granite. Participants can opt to tackle either one or both of these trails. The race begins at noon, and you will have a three-hour window to complete your chosen sections.
Registration will take place on webscorer and timing will be done by volunteers with the webscorer timing app.
You must register through the NOCS Predator Fiver 2023 Series and then choose which routes you would like to do.
Register for the Oct 7th Predator Fiver.
Meet at the climbers parking lot between 10:30 and 11 AM to register, and at Be Kind by noon.
Register for the Oct 14th Kal Park Fiver.
We need volunteers to help with this race.
Register here for the Oct 28th Noble Canyon Fiver.
We are searching for volunteers to assist us with:
• Flag set up / take down
• Timing
• Course marshal
• Registration
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!
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.
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.
We have photos, videos and ‘live photos’ (Which won’t work on this website, but you can pretend there’s motion…) if you see a video of yourself, share it with your friends, and send us a note, so we can add your name to it.
NOCS Fiver DH Race
Cody Cosens
Rider #129
Walter
Rider 146
Rider 144
Mike
Two riders. One Jason Martin
Pam
Billy
Jesse
Lori Robinson
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
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
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!
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!
Keep up to date with the latest NOCS news, ride info, trail days, events and more.
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