This year Bike Parks BC decided to host a contest to send one rider on the trip of a lifetime across British Columbia. While visiting some of the world's best bike parks would be great for anyone, Vinay Menon truly deserved it.
---
Vinay Menon Says Knowledge Gained During Trip Will Be Crucial To Progressing Sport Back Home
Vinay Menon arrived in Vancouver last night pumped for his first trip to North America and even more pumped for the opportunity to ride a lift-accessed bike park for the very first time. The winner of Bike Park BCs Ultimate Summer of Freeriding hopes to use his experience in some of the worlds best bike parks to progress biking back home in India. Although he is one of the founding members of Ride2026, the first mountain bike organization in India, Vinay Menon has never been inside a bike park.
The BC Bike Parks experience is going to be like a mountain biking university education, said an enthusiastic Menon one week before arriving in Canada. I have no doubt the knowledge I will gain during my visit will be crucial to progressing my sport in India.
The top Indian mountain biker learned everything he knows about the sport from painstakingly watching videos and reading magazine articles over the past ten years. His hard work and passion has allowed him to become one of the most recognized mountain bikers in India, a country whose organizations have not yet fully embraced the sport.
Menon is always looking for innovative ways to push the sport in his home country. Among his many projects, he is currently adding to his extensive trail network by building a new bike and BMX track on the outskirts of his hometown.
He plans to make the most of his trip through British Columbia by learning novel ways to craft trails into the Indian landscape. He is also looking forward to competing in amateur category competitions at the Kokanee Crankworx mountain bike festival in Whistler and riding the legendary Kamloops territory.
"I am hoping the summer of 2010 will be one of the most memorable experiences of my life, said Menon. Since Ive never been to a bike park before, visiting the best bike parks in the world will surely blow my mind.
Menon arrived in Vancouver yesterday and will travel throughout BC this August as he enjoys his prize pack from the Bike Park BC competition.
Among the perks, Menon will get season passes to Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Silver Star Bike Park, Sun Peaks Resort, Fernie Alpine Resort and Mount Washington Bike Park. He will also get $1,000 and two lift tickets, two nights accommodation, two days of bike rentals and a half-day of expert guiding to share with a friend.
Vinay sending it in India!
Background on Vinay Menon
Growing up in the Maharashta State of India, Vinay Menon did not have the luxury of learning from other riders how to run lines or do tricks. Almost everything he learned came from television and bike magazines.
He saw his first downhill and cross-country bike competition on TV when he was 12 years old and was immediately hooked. Three years later, in 1999, he started to meet people in his hometown of Pune with similar interests, which further sparked his interest. Together, they watched every mountain bike video they could and did their best to emulate what they saw.
During the early days, Menon and his friends would build two-foot jumps in local playgrounds and traverse them on their bikes. Around that time, they also started riding walking trials in the hills around town. As their equipment got better, they continued to push into the mountains, taking the sport of mountain biking in India to the next level.
This sport has given me the best times of my life, says Menon. I remember my growing years in terms of riding, bike building sessions and watching the latest bike videos.
He was a key factor in the formation of Ride2026, the first mountain bike and BMX organization in India, which he formed with friends in 2000. The clubs name comes from the size of BMX tires, which are 20 inches, and the size of downhill tires, which are 26 inches. Initially, Ride 2026 was mostly a website to promote mountain biking in India and introduce new people to the sport. Riders affiliated with Ride 2026 performed demonstrations, conducted ride clinics and appeared in television commercials for Indian bicycle manufacturers.
Over the years, Ride 2026 has evolved to become a group of like-minded riders, and most of the members get together once a week to go on club rides through the mountains near Pune.
Menon said it is difficult to be a mountain biker in India. The sport is not yet recognized by many of the countrys sports organizations, and there is almost no money to be made by top mountain bike athletes. In fact, many of the originally members of his group have moved away from the sport because there is so little support.
Despite these challenges, the pioneer mountain biker continues to promote the sport in his home country, and the network of trails he built years ago is now being used by a younger generation of riders who look to him as inspiration.
Over the years, I have been pushing myself to ride at a certain level that people here thought was impossible for an Indian athlete to reach, said Menon. Quite a lot of the new riders consider me to be an inspiration, and that is a big thing for me.
About Bike Parks BC
Formed in 2005, Bike Parks B.C. is a partnership of British Columbia's top all season resorts, Tourism British Columbia and the Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association. Bike Parks B.C.'s resort partners offer the very best facilities and services for mountain biking found anywhere in North America.
Bike Parks BC partnership is managed and coordinated by the Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association (MBTA). The goal of the partnership is to create greater awareness about the many mountain biking resort destinations found in British Columbia. Each resorts offers a full range of accommodation and service options, professionally lead programs, high speed lifts, outstanding trails and fabulous mountain scenery.
