The ribbon was cut for the new ‘Miller Time’ adaptive bike trail this weekend southwest of Revelstoke, creating a universally accessible spot for riders in the region.
The trail, built by the Revelstoke Cycling Association, offers a wider pathway than traditional mountain bike trails as well as adjusted climbing and turning angles for those using specialized bikes such as trike bikes, hand bikes and wheelchair bikes.
President of the Revelstoke Cycling Association Henning Schipper says the accessibility of the trail should lend itself to fostering a more accessible mountain biking community.
“It’s just nice to see that we have a trail now that everybody can ride,” says Schipper. “The community aspect is what I think is most important about it — for the biking community and for the town itself.”
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The trail was named after Chris Miller, a local adaptive mountain biker.
On Saturday afternoon, Miller cut the ribbon near the Griffith Creek parking area on Mount MacPherson before leading the pack on the trail’s inaugural first run on his trike bike.
While adaptive trails like ‘Miller Time’ are currently uncommon, Schipper says he hopes to see inclusive trails become a trend in the area.
“We want to build more of them, it’s just not easy to find the right spots. You are a bit more limited with an adaptive bike than you are with a mountain bike,” says Schipper. “Maybe the next thing will be an adaptive downhill trail. It could also be a great beginner trail, we don’t really have a beginner trail over here. It’d be the same thing, just using gravity a little more rather than pedal power, which this one is. You get your sweat on.”
Along with ‘Miller Time,’ the RCA opened two new green trails, ‘Leap Frog’ and ‘Beaver Tail,’ at the Mount MacPherson trailhead on Saturday afternoon.
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