Club Vision

The purpose of the Williams Lake Cycling Club is to maintain, enhance and develop a sustainable mountain bike trail network that guarantees perpetuity and diversity to promote fun for bike riders of all age’s abilities and interests.

This will be accomplished through mutual cooperation between club, government, industry and other land users adhering to the current best practice standards.

Club Executive:

Join The Williams Lake Cycling Club

Member benifits:

•     IMBA Club Membership Insurance that protects builders;
•     Access to club building materials and CRIMP
•     Having a voicein the priorities and affairs of the Club 

To join, click here. Yearly membership dues are $15 per individual, or $40 per family for 3 or more family members living in the same household. 

Trail Building Resources

In the spring of 2010 the Williams Lake Cycling Club joined an elite class of communities in the Province that have legally established mountain bike trails. There are significant benefits associated with legal trail agreements, as well as some process that the WLCC must adhere to. The WLCC executive wants its members to understand what we have achieved through this Agreement and has outlined a number of elements of the Agreement below.

Trail Agreement

The Trail Partnership Agreement achieves this goal by legally establishing trails and designating them for mountain bike use. The specific benefits of the Trail Agreement are outlined below:

• All trails on Fox Mountain, Westside and Desous will be legally designated for mountain bike use under the Agreement. This excludes destructive ATV use from our trails;
• The Club can establish new trails in all these areas under the agreement, including those with stunts;
• The trails will be managed such that other resource users (forestry, ranching) must respect the trails and maintain their integrity;

In addition to these direct benefits from the Agreement, there are other ancillary benefits that will result form the legal establishment of the mountain bike trail network. The Agreement allows the Province to provide funding assistance to the Club to enhance the riding experience. As many of you will note, the new trailhead kiosks on the Fox trail network were provided by the province. We are also working with the Province to fund re-construction projects throughout the Westside network.

All of these benefits however, come with some obligations for the Club and its members. These are not overly onerous, but are important to understand if we are to maintain this Agreement and its benefits.

Trail Agreement - Details

As with any contractual agreement, there are some obligations that the Club is required to maintain under the Agreement. These are outlined below:

• The Club must ensure that trails are signed, maintained and managed in a manner consistent with standards outlined in the Agreement;
• The Club is required to carry insurance for those trails with stunts, or what are called Technical Trail Features under the Agreement;
• The Club is required to seek permission from the Province prior to the construction of new trails.

Now we should clear up a few misconceptions that may be floating around about this Agreement.

Building A New Trail

• This process starts with the builder discussing the proposed trail with one of the WLCC Trail Coordinators, who are Mark Savard or Shawn Lewis. Builders can also consult members of the WLCC builders guild who is made up of Shawn Lewis, Jim Lepard, Chris Masters and Uncle Kenny. 
• Once the line is agreed to between the builder and Trail Coordinator, they will seek authority to construct from the Province. A builder must have a section 57 authorization to begin construction. 
• Trails need to be built in a manner consistent with standards, which will be provided to the builder.
• The Club will also be asking builders to GPS trails and assist with signage that is provided by the Club.

Trail Construction Standards

Trail standards under the Agreement are not too different than the ones we’ve been using for the past 20 years. Fast, with flow and stunts of every caliber. However, there are specific standards that builders will need to be familiar with so that each new trail can be built properly. Contrary to the rumors, we can build stunts that reflect the progression of free-riding that are big, scary and push the limits, we only need to follow the standards when doing so. The Club is building a long range plan that outlines our building priorities for the next few years. If you have ideas, bring them to us!

5 Year Operating Plans

The most efficient method for us to get approval to build is to develop an 5 year plan that forecasts all of our building projects. This way we will have approval up front and builders can work at thier own pace on thier projects. We are building a 5 year plan for the Westsyde right now, so contact Shawn Lewis is you have ideas for that network. The other areas will be worked on this winter. 

Rouge Building

What is the Club going to do if we find unauthorized building? Generally, if the line or stunt is unsafe, or lacks good flow, we're going to take it down upon discovery. If we find new lines that are unauthorized we will inform the Province who will undertake compliance actions. Generally, building without the Club wastes time and energy. They best thing is to work with us early in the game, and we will be able to expand the network to limitless potential. 

Moving Forward
The Club has posted the Management Plan below. If you are a builder and are interested in getting involved in this process, check it out and come talk to the Club for more information. 

Trail Network Management Plan

CRIMP

The Williams Lake Cycling Club has introduced a Cost ReIMbursment Program to assist those builders who are working on WLCC approved trails with the associted costs of building. This program is part of the ongoing collaboration between the WLCC and the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium to promote the progression of riding in the region. Attached is the CRIMP details. If you are interested in trail building for the WLCC contact them at puddlebike@gmail.com. 

Cost Re IMbursement Program

Westsyde Plan

As you know, the Club has been working on a plan to re-design the Snakes and Ladders seciton of the Westsyde trail network. The plan is complete and availible for review. Contact the Club through the discussion forum on this site if you'd like to get involved. 

Westdye Plan