Mountain biking is Mark Trumphour's lifeblood.
Not only is he a hardcore rider but he makes his living off the sport as owner of a Prince George store that sells high-end downhill, free-ride and cross-country bikes, accessories and gear.
So when Trumphour heard about last weekend's reopening of Tabor Mountain's bike park 20 minutes east of the city off Highway 16, he could barely contain his excitement.
Tabor owner Fern Thibault invited Trumphour and his staff at Ruckus Skis Boards and Bikes to check out the park last Sunday and they were blown away by what they encountered.
After riding the lift-accessible trails Thibault and his son Mitch have created at Tabor, Trumphour says Prince George riders now have a mountain bike paradise in their own backyard and no longer have to leave the city for resorts in southern B.C. to find their lift-assisted thrills on the hills. He's confident the bike park will thrive and Tabor will become a summer destination for tourists.
"They've made something that people like myself would travel six hours one way to get to at Sun Peaks or Whistler, and you would spend a lot of money on travel and accommodation and food," he said. "It will bring people to Prince George and that really helps my business and the whole community.
"There's already been a lot of chatter down south at bike races and a lot of hype on bike websites and social media and it's only been open one weekend. People always want something new. It's like in the ski world. Some people love uphills, some people love downhills, and some of us just go uphill to get downhill."
The Prince George Cycling Club had been planning an enduro bike race for this Sunday at Pidherny recreation site, however, that has been postponed because so many riders have indicated they want to ride instead at the new facility.
Tabor first opened its lifts to bikes in 2004 and operated for three summer seasons but there weren't enough riders to justify the cost of staffing the resort.
But with advancements in bike technology over the past decade and widespread use of disc brakes and tires that offer better control, more people own two-wheelers built to go fast on downhill grades.
Trumphour says demand for trails suited to that kind of riding is on the rise and in this area it's been an under-served market.
"It makes a lot of sense to do what they've done and I think the timing's right with how many people in this community ride bikes now," said Trumphour. "There are lots of events which have drawn more women to ride. The demographic is far greater than it was 10 years ago."
Improvements made to Tabor's snow trails to bring it up to standards as host of the 2015 Canada Winter Games snowboarding, ski cross and freestyle skiing events have made the mountain a draw for international ski and snowboard events. Fern Thibault thinks the biking world will show similar enthusiasm for recreation riding and races.
It took five years of planning and construction to undertake all the earth-moving and tree-clearing needed to build the ski/snowboard trails, which wiped out all but five of Tabor's 15 mountain bike trails. So the Thibaults put their heads together and using Mitch's experience as a longtime bike racer they built nine new trails which are now open to the public.
"These are not just single-track trails, they're big, wide machine-built trails with tabletops and berms," said Fern Thibault.
"One of our trails, Beaver Berms, has 26 berms on it alone. It's kind of like a BMX track downhill. It's completely different from what we had before.
"We have things here, like four linked berms, that you won't find anywhere else in the province. These berms aren't little, they're 50 or 60 feet long and 10 feet high, built with a big excavator. That's an intermediate run, not super high-speed. Instead of building this crazy stuff for the high-end people, we're trying to build a lot for intermediate riders."
Tabor does have a few advanced trails as well as some for beginners that are just plain fun, like the roller-coaster-like Absolute Beginners run. The longest trail is about three kilometres. Several trails are yet to open and should be finished within the next few weeks. About half of the runs are single-track trails and many of those incorporate machine-groomed terrain.
Tabor will be using this season to survey riders as to their likes and dislikes and will continue to make improvements to serve riders of all abilities. And it's not just bike riders who could benefit as thrill-seekers.
Tabor is looking into the logistics of building a zipline, which will depend on whether there's enough summer demand at the bike park.
"If we have people here that's just a natural progression for us - we already have the cable here and we're not far from doing it," said Fern Thibault.
Tabor could also be suitable terrain for an alpine coaster, on which riders sit on a bobsled-like car which follows a high-speed track down the mountain.
The wait at the lift lines last weekend was about five minutes. It takes 11 minutes to reach the top and most riders are back down within about 10 minutes, with faster riders taking about three minutes to get to the bottom.
Lift tickets are $35 for adults and $30 for the 17-and-under crowd. The lifts will be open on weekends through the summer from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Riders must wear helmets with chin straps and only bikes equipped with disc brakes are allowed.
Tabor recommends riders wear body padding and full-face helmets. The bike park will soon be offering bike rentals.
For more information go to tabormountain.com.
