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Surrey's fat tire scene thrives on city trails

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Summer is here and it's time to get out and enjoy this special time of the year. Over the next three months the Now will offer you some unique sporting ways to experience summer without leaving town.

SURREY — To call it mountain biking is somewhat misleading - that is, if you live in Surrey.

The term might be more appropriate if used in Marin County, California; the place largely credited for giving rise to the sport during the 1970s.

The name would seem tailor-made for Vancouver's North Shore where in the '90s the sport was redefined with extreme riding and wooden stunts that would make even Ewoks jealous.

But despite Surrey's lack of gravity-fuelled terrain, mountain biking has found a home south of the Fraser.

"In the early days it was just a question of people with mountain bikes. There were a few trails that were available that weren't bike trails necessarily but they were available to ride," said Barry Dalziel co-owner of South Surrey Cycles.

Locals were riding trails in areas like Crescent park, Stokes pit, Sunnyside Acres and the Delta Watershed. As the sport's popularity grew during the late '90s, advocacy groups and trail builders began to create a home and voice for a sport that was often frowned upon by municipalities and other trail users.

"It really took off when a small group of guys developed an off-road club called Surrey Off Road Cycling Enthusiasts," said Dalziel.

Their mission was to build an advocacy group to encourage biking and create a dedicated mountain bike park within Surrey.

"That really was a groundswell of biking in the neighbourhood and everything that came after that was really an offshoot of that particular organization," said Dalziel.

Members of the Surrey Off Road Cycling Enthusiasts, or SORCE, worked together with the City of Surrey to develop the city's first dedicated mountain bike park in the forest bordering Softball City in South Surrey.

At its inception, the park was designed with a variety of trails for beginners and advanced riders as well as a practice area to hold riding camps for kids and adults.

"Following the early days we've seen a lot of racing in there and we've seen a lot of things go from both-wheels-on-the-ground riding to stunts and drops and dirt jumps, so more black diamond stuff," said Dalziel.

And by "black diamond stuff," Dalziel means that mountain biking has gone through a continued evolution from the proverbial ride-in-the-park to a sport with a lexicon that includes terms like "riding skinnies," "hucking drops" and "taking dirt naps" - and, no, the last one isn't a restful sleep with a mud mask.

During the past 20 years, mountain bikers pushed the boundaries of the sport which now includes offshoots like dirt jumping, cross country, downhill and freeriding, to name a few. Each style of riding had different requirements from a bike so along with the progression in riding came the technology.

"As the riders became more extreme the bike companies had to build more extreme bikes and they just fed off each other so now you have very light, very strong technology where the rider can actually dial in their own specifics," said Dalziel.

The evolution of the mountain bike has made the sport more accessible and has helped to offer riders a safer and more comfortable experience. While riders used to have bikes with no suspension at all, now a bike with four to five inches of suspension in both the front and rear is the norm. In recent years the industry has made the biggest changes to wheel technology; moving from a standard 26-inch wheel to 27.5-and 29-inch wheels.

"With the new choices of wheels, now we've got 26, 27.5, 29, everybody can have a bike that fits them exactly for not only their size but for their style of riding," said Dalziel.

The larger diameter wheels offer better roll-over performance on rough terrain while the smaller ones are easier to maneuver in tight trails. The 27.5 size seems to have become the favourite in the Lower Mainland where there is a wide variety of terrain.

And while Surrey might not be thought of as a mountain-bike destination, there is certainly a variety of places to ride. There are now five dedicated bike parks throughout the city and purpose-built trails in the Delta Watershed and Latimer Lake parks.

Unlike the mountain-bike meccas of Whistler and the North Shore, Surrey's relatively flat terrain has meant riders and trail builders have had to adapt from a gravity-focused sport.

"Because we don't have the big steeps to be able to do that sort of stuff there's a lot more opportunity for freeriding in this area," said Dalziel.

From smooth gravel trails to twisty singletrack, log rides and dirt jumps, the parks in Surrey are designed with every rider in mind.

Getting rolling in the sport doesn't require access fees to the parks, all the trails are free to ride and open to the public. And while you don't need to be a member of any organization to be a mountain biker, there are groups like SORCE who maintain the trails on a volunteer basis and hold community events like skills camps and Toonie races.

Organizations like SORCE can also be a great way to learn some of the basics. Whether you take a skills camp or just get out and ride with more seasoned bikers, joining a club can help you progress in the sport.

But becoming a mountain biker doesn't require anything more than that youthful sense of adventure from when you first learned to pedal a bike.

As Dalziel says all you have to do is "grab your bike and go ride."

GETTING STARTED

The Gear

Along with the many styles of riding come many, many styles of mountain bikes.

The key is to find a bike that suits your needs and the type of terrain you will be riding In the Surrey parks a bike with front suspension (known as a hardtail) or a light full-suspension mountain bike will serve most riders well. If getting air on dirt jumps is your jam, you may want to look at a bike specifically designed for this use.

Prices for entry level mountain bikes start at $600 -$700.

A properly fit helmet is a musthave item and a pair of gloves can save your hands from cuts if you happen to pick a fight with the ground.

Where to Go

Whether you live in North Surrey, South Surrey or Delta there are trails near your doorstep.

The South Surrey Bike Park is home to dirt jumps for varying abilities and a host of crosscountry trails. It is located near the South Surrey Athletic Park on the 1400-block of 20th Avenue.

For a more dirt-jump-focused park, visit the Invergarry Bike Park at the corner of Surrey Road and Wallace Drive in North Surrey. This park also features a selection of cross-country trails.

Both the South Surrey and Invergarry bike parks are designated as true bike parks so users, such as walkers and runners, are asked to yield to cyclists.

The Delta Watershed and Latimer Lake parks also offer a well-rounded selection of trails for riders to enjoy.

Several smaller bike parks have been established in Surrey, Cloverdale, Brookswood and Ladner. For more information on these parks, visit www.sorcebikeclub.org.

matt@mattlaw.ca