The Live It! Love It! Foundation is hosting Revelstoke’s first official enduro/downhill mountain bike race at Martha Creek on Saturday, Sept. 15.
There have been rogue downhill races in the Revelstoke area in the past and the Revelstoke Cycling Association launched a downhill race series this summer, but the Martha Creek Meltdown will stand head and shoulders above the rest because of the course.
The Martha Creek trail (also known as the Sale Mountain trail) is an advanced, 9.4-kilometre long, 1,580-metre vertical plunge from Sale’s alpine meadows right down to the valley floor at Lake Revelstoke.
“It’s epic, it’s long,” says race organizer Izzy Lynch, the executive director of the Live It! Love It! Foundation.
“It’s just an awesome trail,” she said. “Anyone that’s ridden it loves it.”
The enduro format includes the downhill, as well as an option to climb up the mountain to the top first. The Revelstoke Cycling Association is doing the timing. Lynch has attracted sponsors including The North Face, Flowt Bikes & Skis, Clif Bar and Giro.
In its first year, Lynch hopes to attract about 60 riders to the race, including a mix of locals, hardcore locals and hardcore riders from around B.C. and beyond.
So, why did it take this long for Revelstoke to get a legit, big-mountain downhill race? “Everyone’s been talking about it but no ones’ done it,” Lynch said. “I’d love to see it grow.”
The race is a fundraiser for Live It! Love It!, an adaptive adventure outdoor recreation foundation with strong Revelstoke connections — including several local board members.
Lynch was just back from the Whistler area, where they hosted the Freewheel Whistler Camp, a camp for people in wheelchairs that included yoga, kayaking, bungee jumping, meditation and hand cycling in the Pemberton Valley.
Locally, they’re helping put together an adaptive ski program.
The Martha Creek Meltdown will feature an afternoon/evening awards after-party at the Martha Creek Campground. Everyone’s welcome to attend. The event will include music, mobile food vendors and yoga in the park.
PHOTO: Izzy Lynch