Prince George has a deserved reputation as a mountain biker's heaven.
On Sunday, a little piece of that paradise will finally receive protected status when Pidherny recreation site becomes officially part of the city's network of off-road trails.
For the past four years, the Prince George Cycling Club (PGCC) has taken on a job spearheaded by the North Nechako Ridge Residents Association to give fat-tire fanatics and hikers a place to play on the northwestern corner of the city.
What began as a series of cross-country paths and steep downhill runs for mountain bikers to take advantage of hilly terrain soon spawned a playground of challenging jumps, ladders, and log crossings for riders to make use of advances in bike suspension technology.
In co-operation with woodlot owner Jim Burbee, the Pidherny trails existed in relative obscurity until four years ago, when the Prince George Golf and Curling Club announced plans to build on a plot of Crown land that encompasses part of the trail system for a new golf course, still under development. That set the wheels in motion for the PGCC to gain protected status for the trails its members spent hours of time and volunteer energy to build. That day has finally come.
"The big thing is any other industry or interested party in the Pidherny area, if they want to develop it or do something to it, they're going to have to talk to the cycling club before they can do it," said Brett Woods, the PGCC's Pidherny development director.
"We have 650 hectates of land that's going to be available to people for multi-use purposes and nobody can just move in there and take it over."
This Sunday, starting at 10 a.m., the public is invited to take walking and riding tours of the area with club volunteers, with a barbecue lunch to follow. Part of the fun will be a poker ride that covers some of the estimated 20 kilometres of cross-country trials and the 10 kilometres of freeride (downhill) trails.
See Thursday's Citizen for more
