Ripping it up Hornby style_by Craig McGregor
Mountain Biking on Hornby Island
Peel yourself away from the beach and discover some of the best mountain biking on the West Coast. Hornby's interior hosts over 80 km of trails, the majority of which are smooth singletrack designed and built over the years by local mountain bikers.
The sedimentary geology of Hornby is different than that of Vancouver Island and the mainland. Here the sandstones and conglomerates provide the base for smooth, flowing trails well-suited for even hard-tail bikes.
For the most part, these trails are fast, swooping, non-technical rides suitable for intermediate riders. They climb to the very peak of the island, hug ridge-line cliff edges, bank back and forth across gullies, and wind freely through mixed forest. A few are wide fire roads shared with horses and hikers and a couple even feature North Shore style stunts for the adventuresome.
There are also lowland rollers suitable for beginning mountain bikers and upland steeps with a bit more challenge.
Really, there is something for everybody!
Pump Track at Joe King
If you want to practice your aerial maneuvers before hitting the trails, stop by the Joe King Ballpark where the Hornby Island Mountain Bike Association has been building a pump track. The track is currently made up of two interconnected loops totaling about 400 meters of track. Their goal was to create a safe and easily accessible cycling practice area for all cyclists but with an emphasis on younger riders. After 200 + hours of time the pump track is now in use by many riders and is being hailed as a welcome addition to the islands recreation options.
From Helliwell to Shingle Spit
Not up for riding up the mountain? There are also kilometres of "commuter" trails that take you all around the Island. You can ride along Central Road from the Cardboard House Bakery to Whaling Station, from the end of Anderson Drive to Big Tribune Bay and also from Fords Cove to Shingle Spit. It is a fantastic way to get around Hornby and a great reason to leave your car parked.
Resources
Zucchini Cycles located at the Ringside Market you can drop in for bike rentals, repairs, accessories and good advice.
The Hornby Island Mountain Bike Association (HIMBA) exists to create, preserve, protect and promote the Hornby trails, maintain trail access for cyclists of all levels and styles of riding and to support cycling related community projects and events while building our cycling community. HIMBA is involved in many aspects of cycling on Hornby Island, their main focuses are the Pump Track and noted below:
- Creating and updating the Hornby Island Trail Map: The Hornby Island Trail Map was first produced by HIMBA in 2005 as a fundraising and educational tool and it continues to fulfill that purpose. More than just a trail map, it is a map of the entire island and with it visitors can find their way around Hornby's roads and trails and includes important trail etiquette and riding habits messages that we islanders feel are important. The HIMBA trail map is available through the Zucchini Cycles and Gas Bar by donation. All funds raised go toward buying tools, paying for machine time, purchasing materials and providing volunteer meals.
- Trail Maintenance and Creation Projects: Hornby is blessed to have a very active Regional Park Steering Committee that employs a regular maintenance contractor to look after the trail system. However, Hornby's trail network is far too big for one man and so HIMBA members work with the contractor on special projects as well as conducting small maintenance tasks. In 2011 HIMBA was involved in several projects, for more information see their 2011 Annual Report at himba.ca
