Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd - Ubertor
Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd
10-09-13 6:50 AM
Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd The RBC Gran Fondo is sure to be a testosterone-fuelled event of 4,000 riders BY JIM JAMIESON, THE PROVINCE
SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
P.J. Murphy is a middle-age man in Lycra ready to ride in the Gran Fondo Saturday. Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost - PNG, The Province
P.J. Murphy has been riding a road bike for just three months, but he's typical of a trend that has been sweeping the world the past few years. The North Vancouver dentist has fallen in love with road cycling and has found a new athletic passion at the age of 43. "People are pretty passionate about their biking," says Murphy. ''Now that I'm getting into it, I can see it's a whole sub-culture.'' It used to be that men Murphy's age bought shiny sports cars or fancy motorcycles to soothe their mid-life crisis, but now it's carbon-frame road bikes.
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Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd
10-09-13 6:50 AM
''I've got a 27-pound commuter bike that I'm humping home to North Van every day but then I got this 18-pound road bike that is just so efficient, so quick. ''Just to be able to go so fast under your own steam is a great feeling" ''But it isn't just the bike, it's the camaraderie of riding in a group, preferably on a sunny weekend morning. Road cycling is replacing more traditional social weekend sports such as golf. ''Me and my buddies used to mountain bike every weekend and then people got married, had kids, got injured, got old and then no one was mountain biking any more. So everyone went over to road biking. I was kind of holding out, but once the Gran Fondo came that was the thing that got me into it.'' Murphy and his $3,000 Specialized Roubaix racing bike will be one of about 4,000 roadies participating in Saturday's first RBC Gran Fondo Whistler, a ride that begins at Georgia and Burrard in downtown Vancouver and finishes in Whistler, 120 kilometres, mostly in a dedicated lane on the Sea to Sky. Gran Fondo, loosely translated as ''Big Ride'' in Italian, has been popular for decades in some parts of Europe. Neil McKinnon, co-founder of the event, believed along with business partner Kevin Thomson when they hatched the idea in May of 2007 that road cycling was becoming the sport for Baby Boomers. The BBC recently called them MAMILS-- Middle Aged Men In Lycra -- although there are plenty of female riders. The idea was to offer 1,500 spots at $175, but after three weeks that number was sold out: 72 per cent of the field is male, the average age 45. Canucks icon Trevor Linden, an avid cyclist for years and one of the celebrity riders in the RBC GranFondo, says he's noticed the rise in cycling locally over the past few years. --RBC GRAN FONDO What: RBC Gran Fondo Whistler When: Saturday, 7 a.m. start at Burrard and Georgia. Where: From Vancouver to Whistler, via the Sea to Sky Hwy. Need to know: Expect some road closures and land restrictions and travel time northbound on the Sea to Sky highway to be double what it is normally. http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=3503586&sponsor=
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Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd
10-09-13 6:50 AM
By the numbers: Although the event cost $175 to enter, co-founder Neil McKinnon said it won't turn a profit this year. He said the costs alone of the getting roads cleared for the ride was about $500,000. RED BULL 5000 Whistler will be also be hosting the Red Bull 5000 Downhill this weekend at Whistler Bike Park. The event takes place Saturday and Sunday with some top North American and European riders. Qualifying goes Saturday from 12 noon to 6 p.m., while the women's mass start goes Sunday at 11 a.m. followed by the men's at noon. © Copyright (c) The Province
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10-09-13 6:50 AM
Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd The RBC Gran Fondo is sure to be a testosterone-fuelled event of 4,000 riders BY JIM JAMIESON, THE PROVINCE
SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
P.J. Murphy is a middle-age man in Lycra ready to ride in the Gran Fondo Saturday. Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost - PNG, The Province
P.J. Murphy has been riding a road bike for just three months, but he's typical of a trend that has been sweeping the world the past few years. The North Vancouver dentist has fallen in love with road cycling and has found a new athletic passion at the age of 43. "People are pretty passionate about their biking," says Murphy. ''Now that I'm getting into it, I can see it's a whole sub-culture.'' It used to be that men Murphy's age bought shiny sports cars or fancy motorcycles to soothe their mid-life crisis, but now it's carbon-frame road bikes.
http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=3503586&sponsor=
Page 1 of 3
Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd
10-09-13 6:50 AM
''I've got a 27-pound commuter bike that I'm humping home to North Van every day but then I got this 18-pound road bike that is just so efficient, so quick. ''Just to be able to go so fast under your own steam is a great feeling" ''But it isn't just the bike, it's the camaraderie of riding in a group, preferably on a sunny weekend morning. Road cycling is replacing more traditional social weekend sports such as golf. ''Me and my buddies used to mountain bike every weekend and then people got married, had kids, got injured, got old and then no one was mountain biking any more. So everyone went over to road biking. I was kind of holding out, but once the Gran Fondo came that was the thing that got me into it.'' Murphy and his $3,000 Specialized Roubaix racing bike will be one of about 4,000 roadies participating in Saturday's first RBC Gran Fondo Whistler, a ride that begins at Georgia and Burrard in downtown Vancouver and finishes in Whistler, 120 kilometres, mostly in a dedicated lane on the Sea to Sky. Gran Fondo, loosely translated as ''Big Ride'' in Italian, has been popular for decades in some parts of Europe. Neil McKinnon, co-founder of the event, believed along with business partner Kevin Thomson when they hatched the idea in May of 2007 that road cycling was becoming the sport for Baby Boomers. The BBC recently called them MAMILS-- Middle Aged Men In Lycra -- although there are plenty of female riders. The idea was to offer 1,500 spots at $175, but after three weeks that number was sold out: 72 per cent of the field is male, the average age 45. Canucks icon Trevor Linden, an avid cyclist for years and one of the celebrity riders in the RBC GranFondo, says he's noticed the rise in cycling locally over the past few years. --RBC GRAN FONDO What: RBC Gran Fondo Whistler When: Saturday, 7 a.m. start at Burrard and Georgia. Where: From Vancouver to Whistler, via the Sea to Sky Hwy. Need to know: Expect some road closures and land restrictions and travel time northbound on the Sea to Sky highway to be double what it is normally. http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=3503586&sponsor=
Page 2 of 3
Whistler's 'Big Ride' draws big crowd
10-09-13 6:50 AM
By the numbers: Although the event cost $175 to enter, co-founder Neil McKinnon said it won't turn a profit this year. He said the costs alone of the getting roads cleared for the ride was about $500,000. RED BULL 5000 Whistler will be also be hosting the Red Bull 5000 Downhill this weekend at Whistler Bike Park. The event takes place Saturday and Sunday with some top North American and European riders. Qualifying goes Saturday from 12 noon to 6 p.m., while the women's mass start goes Sunday at 11 a.m. followed by the men's at noon. © Copyright (c) The Province
http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=3503586&sponsor=
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