Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle show on your VOCM. Now,
here's your host, doctor Mike Wall.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Doctor Mike Wall.
Today we're talking about mountain biking not just as a sport,
but as a tool for building stronger bodies, healthier minds,
and more connecting communities. Today my guest is Lachlan Robos,
the president of the Avalon Mountain Bike Association.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Or what it's better known as AMBA.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
With the Canada Games on the horizon, AMBA has just
unveiled a brand new skills track, a space designed to
help riders of all ages and abilities develop confidence, coordination.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
And a love for the outdoors.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We'll explore what this new facility means for local riders,
how it fits into the broader vision for active living
in the province, and why mountain biking continues to grow
as a wellness movement here at home.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hey Lachlan, Welcome to the show. Hey Mike, glad to
be here. It's great to have you here and seeing
you biking around town for a number of years now,
but it's nice to sit down and actually have a
real chat about stuff that's happening for our listeners it
might not know you. Can you give us a bit
of a background in yourself, sure thing. Yeah, my name
is Lachlan Robos.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
I'm the president of the Adela Mountain Bike Association. We're
local incorporated nonprofit that is infrastructure based, so real focus
on mountain bike infrastructure and more beginning intermediate trails infrastructure jumps.
In the last few years, we's listen to what the
community wants and we've branched out a bit. So now
(01:33):
we offer skills clinics, group rides, and community builder events
as well as our kind of trail building and advocacy
type work.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, you guys have really really grown a lot, and
so it's the support of bound biking as well. Like
for people that might not know before we get into
some of the questions about the stuff that's happening here recently,
I mean, what is mountain biking? What separates mountain biking
from other aspects of cycling. Mountain biking is unstructured, So
I guess all cycling in some aspects is unstructured. Mountain
(02:04):
biking is interesting because no trail is the same. No
two trails are saying there everything every time you go
out for a ride, even at your local trails, if
the conditions are different.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
You know, it's you always got to think.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
And the thing, I guess, the thing I really like
about it is that when you're riding, you have to
you have to be full focused, so you kind of
forget everything else that's going on for those moments and
it's a real good mental reset. But the other thing
that's I guess kind of unique about Mountain Mike is
a sport, is that as long as you can roll
(02:37):
down a trail, you can go for a ride with
pretty much anyone, right, but you can go on a
ride with with you know, you have someone that's super
advanced in the group versus you know, a complete beginner,
and as long as they're comfortable.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
With the trail they're riding, you know, you can all
have fun.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
It's just you know, a little bit faster, that's all. Yeah,
kind of like skiing.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I've done lots of times when I went down the
Beginning Hell with my beginner friends and had just as
good as time as I would if I was bombing runs.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
And I think that's the same money.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, yeah, And I think that's another thing is that
the community here has really grown as well. Was how's
the popularity of mountain biking changed over the last a decade.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
It's come a long way.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
The deputy to go when you'd roll up local trails,
you generally recognize was every vehicle there in the park,
you know exactly who was in there, way meeting a
couple of them anyway, And now it's like total opposite.
So I've been over the trails and I might be
(03:36):
luck to me if I know half the people. So
you know, there's probably from all walks of life. There's tourists,
but there's a lot more people mountain biking now than
there was a decade ago. Of course, COVID really helped
that as well. We've maintained, you know, the large proportion
of riders who started during COVID, and a lot of
(03:57):
people and people who might have grown up doing it.
They get to like dirty and they're like, I'm not
I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore, Like I kind
of don't have my sports anymore and I don't have
that many hobbies, and they're like, well, I used to
do this, this is kind of cool. Let's let's try
it out again. So there's been a few people come
back like that too. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's a nice sport that way, where you can do
it later on in life, and it gives you a
chance to be able to try different skill levels because
you guys have many places people can mountain bike. Now
obviously you can mountain bike almost anywhere you want, but
you guys have a couple of really key locations here
in the avalon that you guys have developed some pretty
comprehensive trails, right.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
Yeah, So the main, I guess the main mountain specific
the main mountain bike specific area is East White Hills
behind Kidyvidi.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And in there there's thirteen plus kilometers now purpose stilt
mountain bike trail. It's all been done by volunteers over
the years, over about less thirty years since that's started. Obviously,
over the over the course of the years, the you know,
the techniques, spill techniques have changed and the trail builders
(05:13):
have learned a lot, and so some of the first
trails are now they're they're permanently closed off, you know,
if due to various reasons, like you know, they were
constructed down the fall line and so maybe they just
got a lot of erosion and and so of course
we've we've closed them off, but right now there's about
their teen kilometers up there of pretty well maintained trail
(05:35):
and due to the you know, the population boom, mountain bigging,
we're actually struggling to keep out.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
So that's that's probably that's the major area.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
And that's say an area that caters or cold cater
anyway from anyone through from a beginner all the way
through to an expert.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
It's probably the only area in.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
The Avalon where you've got expert level train and and
the and the capacity to have the expert level trails
as well, right you need a specific paper terrain elevation grade.
And there's also there's a lot of trails in Pivvy
Park and Pevy Park is probably, i think it is
the only actual formal recognized mountain bike zone in the city.
(06:18):
And Pibby Park has been used for decades up there
and there's trails going everywhere. It's actually massively popular in
the winter as well. It's groomed for fat biking, and
it's also the location of the Canada Games and so
there's been some work going on with.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
That up there as well.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's right, and That's what leads us to our conversation
here today. Not only have you guys been developing trails
for like you said, thirty years and growing the sport itself,
but you guys have recently added something that's a really
important aspect of being able to develop new riders and
especially youth, and that's the new skills park. Can you
tell me why a skills park for mountain biking is
(06:57):
so significant for Saint John's the Avalon, but all so
for the whole province and the whole biking community.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Yeah. So there's a couple of things that make this significant,
I guess the The first one is that you know,
it provides an environment for people to progress their riding
and their bike handling techniques in a fairly controlled, like
purpose built environment. So you know, the jumps are built
by a jumping expert there, and it's all set up
(07:25):
in a progressive nature so that you don't actually necessarily
know that you're progressing until when you when you start
riding the park, but you get you start getting comfortable, say,
you know, the easiest line, and then you you progress
to the next one, You're like, oh, that's not so bad.
And then by the time you're you're through like a
couple of those I guess like feature sets, and then
(07:50):
you're actually able to move on to the next one,
but you don't necessarily realize it yet. So so it's
it's and of course you know it's accessible, and of
course consumerrize their kids, so it's a great place for
kids to practice in a controlled environment and their supervision. Right,
they're not just in the woods, similar to the pump
track down and kativity.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Today we're talking about how mountain biking is creating new
ways for people to connect with the outdoors, improve their
health and build community right here in New Atlanta, Labrador.
Speaker 7 (08:21):
We'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
With more from Lachland Robos and the work that AMBA
is doing to bring this vision to life. Welcome back today,
we're talking about mountain biking in the big role of
plays in promoting wellness, especially as.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
We look ahead to the Canada Games.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
I'm joined by Lachland Robos, president of AMBA, and we're
diving into what the new Skills track means for youth,
for accessibility, and for the future of active living here
in the Avalon.
Speaker 7 (08:48):
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
But you mentioned a few things you mentioned features. You
mentioned lines like, can you explain to folks if they
were trying to picture in their head, what does the
Skills parduct actually sure?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Yeah, So, first and.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Foremost, the Skills Park is a jump park, so the
focus is on getting air worm, but of course not
everyone's ready to do that right away. So the easier
lines in the park are actually there are a mix
of different things. So we've got one that's got bank
corners or burms. It's also got one or two little
rollers in it. But basically that that's that line set
(09:24):
up to encourage people to learn how to, you know,
go around a bank corner without say breaking through it,
so like really learn to trust the corner, learn to
lean your bike over, and to carry.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
Speed through that corner.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
The next line in like the Progression series, I guess,
is a roller line, and that that really is to
is set up to it's to get people to start
to learn how to you know, carry speed over undulations
in terrain, and then of course as they get a
little bit more familiar with it, they actually start to
(09:58):
jump from the front side to the backside of the roller.
So it's even less I guess, it's less intimidating than
even like a tabletop jump. And then what people don't
necessarily realize is by the time they're going through that
was speed, they're actually more than able to hit the
first small set of tabletop jumps. So and then so
(10:20):
there's two jump lines. The first one is kind of
like I call it a beginner jump line in terms
of the difficulty.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
You can roll through everything.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Everything in the park is rollable, so you can actually
roll down and through all of it. But then as
you get so it it's set up so and there's
a kind of a we've got a code of conduct
for using the park, and it's it's kind of catchy.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
It's it's pre ride, re ride, free ride.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So pre ride is warming up the body of mind,
getting used to, you know, the terrain, the features, the conditions.
Re ride is to familiarize yourself with the jumps and
get more comfortable. And then free ride is you know,
once you're fully comfortable, you can start to say, Okay,
I'm gonna go for like more amplitude on this jump.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Right.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Yeah, So there's two two jump lines. The first one
is like, I guess, more beginner, more basic jumps. Everything
is straight there's one corner in the line, but it's
not in a jump, and then the larger jump line
has a larger drop to get the speed hit the jumps,
and then the lips and landings. There's still tabletops you
(11:31):
can still roll through, but there's a little knuckle on them,
so you get a huge advantage if you actually make
it all the way through, and they're set up so
they're actually they're corked, so if you're really comfortable, you
can hit them on the left hand side of the
jump and it's gonna it's a bigger gap and you're
gonna go higher and further. Well.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, the sort of sounds like a boxer hitting the
bag for practice before they get into a real fight,
and that's almost where.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
You guys come in.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
This is the difference between this and say traditional trail
riding the things you'd see in White Hills, is that
this is purely designed to improve skills. It's to practice
the jumps, as opposed to when you go out to
White Hills, you actually go for a full ride. And
I guess that would be really important because that's the
part of the type of stuff you could possibly get
hurt at or would be the most difficult.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
When you're on a real trail, right, that's right. So
the Skills Park is a place where you can practice
those skills, learn those skills, and then you can take
those skills to go mountain biking. So I wouldn't think
of it as you know, as trails, right. The skills
Park is supporting infrastructure. Mountain biking you always have to
(12:40):
have the trails as well. But yeah, the skills Park,
it encourages people to learn and practice their skills so
that they're more cable riders when they go and they
go for a trail ride, and they're probably going to
you know, be more confident and maybe take on something
that or try something new that they were scared to
(13:01):
do before.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I think that's so important A particular you said for
youth that are trying to learn, and that brings us
to the point like, why is it important to have
a facility like this ready for Canada Games? How's it
going to be used during the event?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Number one?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
And then number two? A lot of the key part
about hosting Canada Games as we end up with infrastructure
at the end of it. What's this going to do
for the youth in the future.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Yeah, so there's two parts of that, Like you said,
there's the during the Games and the lead up to
the Games, and then there's the legacy effect afterwards. So
the Canada Games course, there's been work remediation work done
to be on a route in Phibbie Park that's about
four point two four point three k and and kind
(13:46):
of loops back towards itself a couple of times. It's
a it's like a clover leaf type shape, and so
there's been there's been trail work done on that. That's
the bulk of the cross country course and for the
actual competition, and then you want to have you want
to have exciting features in that course. So we proposed
the idea of a Mountain bike skills park that was
(14:08):
going to be that would be next to the course
that then could be used as part of the course
during the Games. It would be a great area for spectators,
but of course it would also remain after the Games
as a legacy for athlete development and and for you know,
just for the general community to to learn and practice
their skills. But so it it it was a great
(14:29):
opportunity and it and it worked out perfectly. It was,
you know, something the community sorely needed anyway. And it's
going to be excellent during the games. It's going to
be a really good spectators own and and you know,
without having to go off further into the park. And
and either you're only going to see riders come past,
(14:51):
you know, once every lap, whereas here you'll see them
come out of the course through the skills tract. They
can have a battle on the climb out of the
skills track and then you're right by start finish area too,
so you can run over and see that. That's cool
and that's be exciting part.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Obviously, the skill part would probably offer some of the
most exciting aspects of the race itself with those features.
When it comes to this facility, does this help our
athletes to have this home field advantage number one? But
secondly to actually be able to practice and you ride
these trails prior to the event, because obviously we want
the best for our young people.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
I think our athletes in Newfoundland, I think they're more
used to technical riding than say athletes from the rest
of the country. I think the other athletes might be
a little bit surprised by the level of technicality of
the course in terms of like roughness, roots, rocks, and
I've heard some feedback that people are getting a lot
of flat tires, so there might be a you know,
(15:49):
mad rush when everyone shows up to get buy tougher
tires and tire inserts. But in general we tend to
struggle with I guess like the fitness and training side
when it comes to national competition more so than the
technical side. Were usually very good at that, but yeah,
I think so. And as far as a home advantage goes, Yeah,
(16:11):
in terms of it being a technical course that the
athletes here used to.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
For sure they got an advantage there.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Okay, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
I figured that.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
And I've been on those mountain bike trails before and
I'm very very very much a beginner, and I'll tell
you they are They're one of those things you need
to go fast over and you need to have a
lot of confidence in your riding. And I wonder that
if a park like this, in a trail system like
you guys have developed, how does this help young people?
Do you ever sometimes think I wish I had this
(16:38):
when I was a kid because it would have made
me such a better rider, Or is it something you're
really proud of sharing with the youth one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
And when I was a kid, we didn't have there
was no real there wasn't very much purpose built infrastructure
at all, and like the trails and White Hills were
in there infancy still, and of course me being a
kid with no money, I couldn't afford a bike that
was even sensible to be trying to attempt some of
(17:08):
the stuff.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
But we used to.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Build jumps in the vandon lots. We'd build them, you know,
down the backs of roads places, and they were you know,
we were building them ourselves, and they weren't always well built.
You know, the speed control between the jumps wasn't really
well thought out, so they were inherently a lot more
dangerous than say something like the skills park we've got now,
(17:34):
because he really had to you know, you could easily
get kicked the wrong way or forget to break, and
whereas the skills track that we have now is much
more well thought out. I would say I've actually been,
and maybe I'm a bit naive to be thinking this,
but I wasn't expecting as many people to be there
(17:54):
all the time as there are. It's been totally mind
blowing and blown away. It's like the coolest thing of
seeing this. He here and yeah, like really happy with
how it turned out.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Today we're talking about how mountain biking is creating new
ways for people to connect with the outdoors, improve their
health and build community right here in Newfouland and Labrador.
Speaker 7 (18:17):
We'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
With more from Lachland Robos and the work that AMBA
is doing to bring this vision to life.
Speaker 7 (18:28):
Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Today, we're talking about mountain biking in the big role
of plays in promoting wellness, especially as we look ahead
to the Canada Games. I'm joined by Lachland Robos, president
of AMBA, and we're diving into what the new Skills
track means for youth, for accessibility and for the future
of active living here in the Avalon.
Speaker 7 (18:45):
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I think that for some people listening they may not
understand how big of a draw this is becoming for
mountain biking here in New Fotland and Labrador. When you
think about the White Hills Trail, for anybody who's hiked
that trail before, you know that the mountain bike trails
right next to it. It's got to be some of
the most beautiful views of any mountain bike trail in
the world. It's also, like you said, very technical and challenging.
We now have a pump track, we now have a
(19:10):
skills park, we now have another mountain bike set of trails.
Are we starting to become a destination for tourists and
also for young people that are wanting to like come
here and practice.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
We are, yes so, and it's been happening for a
few years. The biggest straw for a tourist the mountain
by tourists to come here is the coastal riding and
this like weird terrain that's like sea level alpine and
it's like this these like tundra plants and tundra s terrain.
It's that you normally find it on the top of
a mountain, but it's like right next to the ocean here.
(19:44):
And and that combined with you know, the rugged nature
of the trails, that's one hundred percent what brings the
tourists here. And we see them coming a lot of
them from Quebec. Now, yeah, they've come from further Afield,
you know. A couple of years ago we show two
guys around that have come drove driven here from California
and so yeah, there's that, and there's been you know,
(20:07):
multiple media outlets have come here, like the Mountain Bike Media,
Freehub magazine was here a few years ago with which
and Da Vinci Cycles actually the sponsored that that trip
and video story and Bike Magazine's been here, Red Bull
have been here, So it's yeah, it it's definitely a
(20:31):
tourist straw. The you know, the supporting facilities are are
for sure, like tourists are going to come here. They're
they're coming here predominantly for the epic coastal trails. They're
still going to take a swing by the Skills Spark,
They're still going to go to the pump track because
they need something to wind down at the end of
the day riding as well.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
The I'd say the only the only thing that we're missing.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
There now is actually formalizing those trails so you know,
installing proper signage and having the right land your screaments
in place so we can actually do all the maintenance
that we need to do and we're not always behind,
and that'd really put it over the edge and then
we'd be this weird niche Mecha for mountain biking because
(21:19):
of the uniqueness of the train and a lot of
people would come and.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
From people that are listening, what's your encouragement about them
trying You say that, you know, the skills Park is
busier than you could imagine. You obviously have your finger
on the pulse the community. Is it because there's more kids,
Is it because there's more adults? Like who is who
is joining up? And are you looking to have more
people join this sport? Is it something you guys are
trying to expand yeah, absolutely, We've had.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
A focus on beginner and intermediate terrain since we kind
of got the organization going, and that's kind of been
it was identified as a gap, like you know, you've
got the rail bed and then you've got white hills,
and in between difficulty level you have Pibby Park, which
(22:08):
is relatively flat in terms of elevation gain loss, but
you have to have a high level fitness to actually
carry the speed to ride over smoothly, like you kind
of mentioned earlier, and if you don't, it's way harder.
So those types of trails that are like smooth in
nature like the rail bed, but have more elevation gain
(22:29):
and loss and maybe a couple obstacles in a couple
of rocks, couple of roots without being overly hard. That's
that's where our focus had to be and that was
the gap we identified.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
And so in doing that or in.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Progressing towards that goal, you need a formal sale network.
So right now Hippy Park is kind of filling that gap,
especially with the Canada Games course now you know they're
starting to there's need to be more smoother trail there.
The ideally what you need is a trail network that
(23:07):
caters to everyone from beginners to experts, which is why
we've been so I guess so focused on trying to
formalize the White Hills area because it has that expert
terrain and it and have the beginner train. It's got
some intermediate train already, but even that could be better,
and it gets better with maintenance, it gets better with
(23:29):
surfacing and you know, some slight rerouting of trails to
you know, follow grade rules and things like that. But
all of that is extremely labor intensive, and so you
know that until there's a formal agreement there, we won't
have the capability to do it.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
It takes equipment.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
It takes material and that brings us to a larger point,
and that is that you know, you're the president of
the Avalone Mountain Bike Association and you've been involved for
a long time since I was aware of youranization. It's
interesting how you guys have such a major role when
it comes to this. I think about other sports where
maybe the associations don't have as much of an input
(24:11):
on the facilities, but you guys are really the advocates
for the like the whole sport here. Do you guys
play a big role in making sure that all of
this happened when it came to the Canadid Games.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Yes, it's interesting you say that.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
I never really thought about it in that way, but
I've just thought about it as in terms of, like,
you know, the people that are the most passionate about
the sport and in terms of participation and the people
that are building the trails probably ought to be the
ones at some point that start to organize that stuff.
But yeah, so with the Canada Games, there were multiple
(24:50):
groups involved. Bacepool, Newfland Labor was involved and the other
stakeholders in Pippie Park. So like there's a tree poond
variants Groooner's Rumors co Op. They're the organization that grooms
of the trails in the winter, so they were involved
and I think there were there was some you know,
there's some early work done and then they asked for
(25:11):
our involvement to just basically just asked what we thought
of the course fruit that identified. They were getting to
a point where they had to make a decision, and
between us and I think the coaching lead actually a
bicycle New finland E Laborador, we kind of and and
and a number of other factors came into play. We
(25:32):
ended up rerouting the course completely and the route so
Amber was a little bit of feedback was actually instrumental
in designing the course layout for the canad of Games
as it is now. And without the I guess we
we ended up we ended up driving the work and
(25:53):
being the technical lead on the coursework as well, So
I guess without yeah, without that, as think, it probably
wouldn't have gone as Soosie And we definitely wouldn't have
a skills park because that was it was our idea,
just to make something that was more exciting but would
also have that legacy piece as well, because we'd already
(26:15):
identified it as a need and we could see the fit,
so it was we suggested it to Canada Games. They
were kind of perked up their ears, they liked the
idea and it just kind of all snowball from there.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Today we're talking about how mountain biking is creating new
ways for people to connect with the outdoors, improve their health,
and build community right here in Newfoulant and Labrador.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
We'll be right back after the break with.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
More from Laughlin Robos and the work that AMBA is
doing to bring this vision to life.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
You're listening to what we broadcast up the Wellness and
Healthy Lifestyle Show with Doctor Mike Wall and listened live
Thursday nights at seven pm and Sunday's at four pm.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Welcome back today, we're talking about mountain biking in the
Big Wall up in promoting wellness, especially as we look
ahead to the Canada Games. I'm joined by Lachlan Robos,
president of BAMBA, and we're diving into what the new
Skills Track means for youth, for accessibility, and for the
future of active living here in the Avalon.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
That's amazing and you guys, you know obviously you're very
organized now you guys have one of your first big
agms recently as well, And what's your role, like, what's
your mission, what's your sort of goals for the organization
as a whole.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Our main goal is to grow the sport of mountain biking,
to increase this exposure of people to the sport or
to reduce barriers barriers to entry. And our primary focus
is to do that by the development of sustainable, beginner
and intermediate friendly infrastructure. But then of course we we
(27:54):
also listen to our community and so a couple of
years ago we developed a strictrategic plan and we have
seven guiding principles in that strategic plan. But it basically
it comes down to providing providing ways for the community
to develop their skills, providing ways for them to network,
(28:14):
networking ourselves and trying to grow I guess the strength
of the various organizations and groups that are evolved education,
So growing education and trying to spread knowledge, share our
knowledge to other organizations, help them out and talk to
(28:35):
different municipalities, help them develop mountain bike infrastructure if they're
if they're interested, and where things that run in the
skills clinics as well as obviously trying to formalize existing infrastructure.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
That's fantastic. That's a big mandate. And you know we're
coming around to the health benefits of this obviously is
a health and wellness show, and you are somebody who
who participates in it because you love it, so you're
the perfect person to ask, you know, beyond the sport
aspect of it, you know, what physical and sort of
mental health benefits do you get from mountain biking? You know,
(29:12):
especially when I think about like being in a place
this as beautiful as newfoun Lad.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
So it's yeah, I mean we kind of alluded to
it earlier, and I take the biggest benefit for me
is the mental benefit. So I've been doing this since
I was like nine years old, and I always enjoyed it,
and then I guess it changed as you grow, right,
how you participate in the sport changed as you grow.
(29:39):
And I find now because I have to focus so
much when I do the sport, and I really do
clear my mind because I can't think about anything else.
So it's like you go for a ride and then
at the end of it, you have a clean sight
startles again, which so I found that like massively beneficial
helps me deal with stress. It helps me deal with
(30:01):
you know, anything that's going on, like like like family
type issues or like you know, like loss and things
like that. I've found that incredible, Like it's the only
thing that does it for me for that. Obviously, the
physical benefits are massive as well. You know, cardiovascular benefits
are great. You're always working and you have to work.
(30:24):
If the train's tough like it is here, you can't
just go for an easy ride. You can kind of
do it now because we've got e bikes, but you're
still in order to carry flow and actually get through sections,
you're still working and you're still thinking. So it's it's massive,
and I think a lot of people, and certainly I've seen,
(30:45):
you know, in my travels and here at home locally,
a lot of people will come back to it at
some point and if they were a participant before, because
they remember that, you know that the that mental benefit
and maybe they're struggling a little bit and they'll come
back to sport and and you see them kind of
(31:07):
turn a page in Yeah, I love that. I found
a thing, A couple of things in my life that
have really done that for me as I've gotten older,
those things that just draw you away from anything else
you have to focus on one hundred percent. And it's
like a forced meditation. Some people just can't meditate the
way that other people do. And and and sometimes doing
things that are active help for that. The other thing
I think it's really big, and you've said it a
couple of times already too, is community. How does this
(31:30):
give a sense of community in particular in a time
when people are lonelier than ever at all ages? Does
it Does it foster that?
Speaker 5 (31:39):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
So you know, as a at a base, most people
ride with a friend or two and maybe more. And
so there's lots of you know, lots of group riding happening,
just as a you know, if you're going for a
mountain bike ride, typically you're going with your friends. And
there's other things you know that help that as well,
Like we have our trail building nights on Tuesdays. That's
(32:04):
a group event. There's lots of you know, lots of
banter as you're working. It's meant to be a fun environment.
It's not meant to be you know, you're you're working hard,
but it's meant to be fun places like the Skills Park,
little hobs, they're they're excellent for that that sense of community, right,
and everyone's respectful. It's a it's a funny sport.
Speaker 7 (32:25):
Maybe not.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
Actually, it's probably similar to a lot of sports where say,
the more experienced people in that sport they want to
help people who've got questions. You know, they don't there,
No one's really stand off ish. It's it's very much
a happy community in that respect. Everyone everyone wants to
see everyone else succeed. And of course you know there's
the there's the after ride like storytelling sessions right where
(32:49):
where we hang out in the at the tailgate and
all the jumps we did get bigger and and the
gaps get larger, right of course, yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Just get bigger. Yeah, I hear you. Yeah, I call wallfleation.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
I always made fun of it.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
I always tell stories a little more dramatic than they
actually were. But that's a bit of fun too, isn't it.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. So I guess you know,
the question would be that what's the vision for for
mountain biking here in Newfoundland?
Speaker 4 (33:14):
And you know, what where do you see it going?
I'd like to see it get to the point where
we're a well established forest destination and not just and
it's more you know, it's more for our community than
it is for for tourism in terms of I think
(33:36):
it's important for the more important for the community than
it is for say amm of tourists have somewhere else
to go. But the metric that you can measure it
by is by having that tourism ready product. Because once
you have that, you've got it means you've got a
lot of infrastructure, you've got it formalized, it's well accessible.
Like it's accessible, people can figure it out, they can
(33:56):
find it online, so and that that goes for the
community as well, right, so they can go up there,
they can they know it's there number one, then they
can go there. They can see signage, there's maps, there's
a way finding, you know, and it's it's sepped up
even better because it's it's well funder this point as well.
(34:17):
And that's what I'm that's what I'm visaged for this
the sport here, and that's the goal.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Yeah, after seeing what you guys have accomplished in such
a short period of time, I feel like that's a
very achievable goal. I love seeing what you're doing and
if people have been inspired there, they want to find
out more.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
How do they reach you, guys? At Amba You can.
Speaker 5 (34:37):
Visit our website it's Amba NL dot ca A.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
You can also find us on We have a Facebook page,
have Long Outaine Association, and we're also on Instagram and
at No.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Perfect and I'm sure folks will be able to find
you around the track when Canada Games is in full swing,
and if not, they'll see you coming down the Hills
and White Hills most evenings.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Well, thanks so much for joining me today and I
appreciate you giving us insight and congratulations on everything you
guys have done.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
Yes, thanks again, Mike.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
Well.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
That was Lochlan Robos of the Avalon Mountain Bike Association
sharing how something as simple as a bike and.
Speaker 7 (35:14):
A trail can spark a.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Powerful movement in health and community. From the new.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Skills track to growing youth programs and a broader culture
of outdoor living, it's clear that mountain biking is helped
redefine what wellness looks like here in our province. Thanks
again to Lochlin for joining me and to all the
volunteers and leaders working to keep us moving forward. Well,
that's our show this week. I'm your host, doctor Mike Wall.
We'll see you back here next week for another episode
(35:39):
of the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle Show on the Stan
Ray Podcast Network and your BOCM
Welcome to the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle show on your VOCM. Now,
here's your host, doctor Mike Wall.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Doctor Mike Wall.
Today we're talking about mountain biking not just as a sport,
but as a tool for building stronger bodies, healthier minds,
and more connecting communities. Today my guest is Lachlan Robos,
the president of the Avalon Mountain Bike Association.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Or what it's better known as AMBA.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
With the Canada Games on the horizon, AMBA has just
unveiled a brand new skills track, a space designed to
help riders of all ages and abilities develop confidence, coordination.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
And a love for the outdoors.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We'll explore what this new facility means for local riders,
how it fits into the broader vision for active living
in the province, and why mountain biking continues to grow
as a wellness movement here at home.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hey Lachlan, Welcome to the show. Hey Mike, glad to
be here. It's great to have you here and seeing
you biking around town for a number of years now,
but it's nice to sit down and actually have a
real chat about stuff that's happening for our listeners it
might not know you. Can you give us a bit
of a background in yourself, sure thing. Yeah, my name
is Lachlan Robos.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
I'm the president of the Adela Mountain Bike Association. We're
local incorporated nonprofit that is infrastructure based, so real focus
on mountain bike infrastructure and more beginning intermediate trails infrastructure jumps.
In the last few years, we's listen to what the
community wants and we've branched out a bit. So now
(01:33):
we offer skills clinics, group rides, and community builder events
as well as our kind of trail building and advocacy
type work.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, you guys have really really grown a lot, and
so it's the support of bound biking as well. Like
for people that might not know before we get into
some of the questions about the stuff that's happening here recently,
I mean, what is mountain biking? What separates mountain biking
from other aspects of cycling. Mountain biking is unstructured, So
I guess all cycling in some aspects is unstructured. Mountain
(02:04):
biking is interesting because no trail is the same. No
two trails are saying there everything every time you go
out for a ride, even at your local trails, if
the conditions are different.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
You know, it's you always got to think.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
And the thing, I guess, the thing I really like
about it is that when you're riding, you have to
you have to be full focused, so you kind of
forget everything else that's going on for those moments and
it's a real good mental reset. But the other thing
that's I guess kind of unique about Mountain Mike is
a sport, is that as long as you can roll
(02:37):
down a trail, you can go for a ride with
pretty much anyone, right, but you can go on a
ride with with you know, you have someone that's super
advanced in the group versus you know, a complete beginner,
and as long as they're comfortable.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
With the trail they're riding, you know, you can all
have fun.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
It's just you know, a little bit faster, that's all. Yeah,
kind of like skiing.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I've done lots of times when I went down the
Beginning Hell with my beginner friends and had just as
good as time as I would if I was bombing runs.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
And I think that's the same money.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, yeah, And I think that's another thing is that
the community here has really grown as well. Was how's
the popularity of mountain biking changed over the last a decade.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
It's come a long way.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
The deputy to go when you'd roll up local trails,
you generally recognize was every vehicle there in the park,
you know exactly who was in there, way meeting a
couple of them anyway, And now it's like total opposite.
So I've been over the trails and I might be
(03:36):
luck to me if I know half the people. So
you know, there's probably from all walks of life. There's tourists,
but there's a lot more people mountain biking now than
there was a decade ago. Of course, COVID really helped
that as well. We've maintained, you know, the large proportion
of riders who started during COVID, and a lot of
(03:57):
people and people who might have grown up doing it.
They get to like dirty and they're like, I'm not
I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore, Like I kind
of don't have my sports anymore and I don't have
that many hobbies, and they're like, well, I used to
do this, this is kind of cool. Let's let's try
it out again. So there's been a few people come
back like that too. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's a nice sport that way, where you can do
it later on in life, and it gives you a
chance to be able to try different skill levels because
you guys have many places people can mountain bike. Now
obviously you can mountain bike almost anywhere you want, but
you guys have a couple of really key locations here
in the avalon that you guys have developed some pretty
comprehensive trails, right.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
Yeah, So the main, I guess the main mountain specific
the main mountain bike specific area is East White Hills
behind Kidyvidi.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And in there there's thirteen plus kilometers now purpose stilt
mountain bike trail. It's all been done by volunteers over
the years, over about less thirty years since that's started. Obviously,
over the over the course of the years, the you know,
the techniques, spill techniques have changed and the trail builders
(05:13):
have learned a lot, and so some of the first
trails are now they're they're permanently closed off, you know,
if due to various reasons, like you know, they were
constructed down the fall line and so maybe they just
got a lot of erosion and and so of course
we've we've closed them off, but right now there's about
their teen kilometers up there of pretty well maintained trail
(05:35):
and due to the you know, the population boom, mountain bigging,
we're actually struggling to keep out.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
So that's that's probably that's the major area.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
And that's say an area that caters or cold cater
anyway from anyone through from a beginner all the way
through to an expert.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
It's probably the only area in.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
The Avalon where you've got expert level train and and
the and the capacity to have the expert level trails
as well, right you need a specific paper terrain elevation grade.
And there's also there's a lot of trails in Pivvy
Park and Pevy Park is probably, i think it is
the only actual formal recognized mountain bike zone in the city.
(06:18):
And Pibby Park has been used for decades up there
and there's trails going everywhere. It's actually massively popular in
the winter as well. It's groomed for fat biking, and
it's also the location of the Canada Games and so
there's been some work going on with.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
That up there as well.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's right, and That's what leads us to our conversation
here today. Not only have you guys been developing trails
for like you said, thirty years and growing the sport itself,
but you guys have recently added something that's a really
important aspect of being able to develop new riders and
especially youth, and that's the new skills park. Can you
tell me why a skills park for mountain biking is
(06:57):
so significant for Saint John's the Avalon, but all so
for the whole province and the whole biking community.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Yeah. So there's a couple of things that make this significant,
I guess the The first one is that you know,
it provides an environment for people to progress their riding
and their bike handling techniques in a fairly controlled, like
purpose built environment. So you know, the jumps are built
by a jumping expert there, and it's all set up
(07:25):
in a progressive nature so that you don't actually necessarily
know that you're progressing until when you when you start
riding the park, but you get you start getting comfortable, say,
you know, the easiest line, and then you you progress
to the next one, You're like, oh, that's not so bad.
And then by the time you're you're through like a
couple of those I guess like feature sets, and then
(07:50):
you're actually able to move on to the next one,
but you don't necessarily realize it yet. So so it's
it's and of course you know it's accessible, and of
course consumerrize their kids, so it's a great place for
kids to practice in a controlled environment and their supervision. Right,
they're not just in the woods, similar to the pump
track down and kativity.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Today we're talking about how mountain biking is creating new
ways for people to connect with the outdoors, improve their
health and build community right here in New Atlanta, Labrador.
Speaker 7 (08:21):
We'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
With more from Lachland Robos and the work that AMBA
is doing to bring this vision to life. Welcome back today,
we're talking about mountain biking in the big role of
plays in promoting wellness, especially as.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
We look ahead to the Canada Games.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
I'm joined by Lachland Robos, president of AMBA, and we're
diving into what the new Skills track means for youth,
for accessibility, and for the future of active living here
in the Avalon.
Speaker 7 (08:48):
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
But you mentioned a few things you mentioned features. You
mentioned lines like, can you explain to folks if they
were trying to picture in their head, what does the
Skills parduct actually sure?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Yeah, So, first and.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Foremost, the Skills Park is a jump park, so the
focus is on getting air worm, but of course not
everyone's ready to do that right away. So the easier
lines in the park are actually there are a mix
of different things. So we've got one that's got bank
corners or burms. It's also got one or two little
rollers in it. But basically that that's that line set
(09:24):
up to encourage people to learn how to, you know,
go around a bank corner without say breaking through it,
so like really learn to trust the corner, learn to
lean your bike over, and to carry.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
Speed through that corner.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
The next line in like the Progression series, I guess,
is a roller line, and that that really is to
is set up to it's to get people to start
to learn how to you know, carry speed over undulations
in terrain, and then of course as they get a
little bit more familiar with it, they actually start to
(09:58):
jump from the front side to the backside of the roller.
So it's even less I guess, it's less intimidating than
even like a tabletop jump. And then what people don't
necessarily realize is by the time they're going through that
was speed, they're actually more than able to hit the
first small set of tabletop jumps. So and then so
(10:20):
there's two jump lines. The first one is kind of
like I call it a beginner jump line in terms
of the difficulty.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
You can roll through everything.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Everything in the park is rollable, so you can actually
roll down and through all of it. But then as
you get so it it's set up so and there's
a kind of a we've got a code of conduct
for using the park, and it's it's kind of catchy.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
It's it's pre ride, re ride, free ride.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So pre ride is warming up the body of mind,
getting used to, you know, the terrain, the features, the conditions.
Re ride is to familiarize yourself with the jumps and
get more comfortable. And then free ride is you know,
once you're fully comfortable, you can start to say, Okay,
I'm gonna go for like more amplitude on this jump.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Right.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Yeah, So there's two two jump lines. The first one
is like, I guess, more beginner, more basic jumps. Everything
is straight there's one corner in the line, but it's
not in a jump, and then the larger jump line
has a larger drop to get the speed hit the jumps,
and then the lips and landings. There's still tabletops you
(11:31):
can still roll through, but there's a little knuckle on them,
so you get a huge advantage if you actually make
it all the way through, and they're set up so
they're actually they're corked, so if you're really comfortable, you
can hit them on the left hand side of the
jump and it's gonna it's a bigger gap and you're
gonna go higher and further. Well.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, the sort of sounds like a boxer hitting the
bag for practice before they get into a real fight,
and that's almost where.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
You guys come in.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
This is the difference between this and say traditional trail
riding the things you'd see in White Hills, is that
this is purely designed to improve skills. It's to practice
the jumps, as opposed to when you go out to
White Hills, you actually go for a full ride. And
I guess that would be really important because that's the
part of the type of stuff you could possibly get
hurt at or would be the most difficult.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
When you're on a real trail, right, that's right. So
the Skills Park is a place where you can practice
those skills, learn those skills, and then you can take
those skills to go mountain biking. So I wouldn't think
of it as you know, as trails, right. The skills
Park is supporting infrastructure. Mountain biking you always have to
(12:40):
have the trails as well. But yeah, the skills Park,
it encourages people to learn and practice their skills so
that they're more cable riders when they go and they
go for a trail ride, and they're probably going to
you know, be more confident and maybe take on something
that or try something new that they were scared to
(13:01):
do before.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I think that's so important A particular you said for
youth that are trying to learn, and that brings us
to the point like, why is it important to have
a facility like this ready for Canada Games? How's it
going to be used during the event?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Number one?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
And then number two? A lot of the key part
about hosting Canada Games as we end up with infrastructure
at the end of it. What's this going to do
for the youth in the future.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Yeah, so there's two parts of that, Like you said,
there's the during the Games and the lead up to
the Games, and then there's the legacy effect afterwards. So
the Canada Games course, there's been work remediation work done
to be on a route in Phibbie Park that's about
four point two four point three k and and kind
(13:46):
of loops back towards itself a couple of times. It's
a it's like a clover leaf type shape, and so
there's been there's been trail work done on that. That's
the bulk of the cross country course and for the
actual competition, and then you want to have you want
to have exciting features in that course. So we proposed
the idea of a Mountain bike skills park that was
(14:08):
going to be that would be next to the course
that then could be used as part of the course
during the Games. It would be a great area for spectators,
but of course it would also remain after the Games
as a legacy for athlete development and and for you know,
just for the general community to to learn and practice
their skills. But so it it it was a great
(14:29):
opportunity and it and it worked out perfectly. It was,
you know, something the community sorely needed anyway. And it's
going to be excellent during the games. It's going to
be a really good spectators own and and you know,
without having to go off further into the park. And
and either you're only going to see riders come past,
(14:51):
you know, once every lap, whereas here you'll see them
come out of the course through the skills tract. They
can have a battle on the climb out of the
skills track and then you're right by start finish area too,
so you can run over and see that. That's cool
and that's be exciting part.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Obviously, the skill part would probably offer some of the
most exciting aspects of the race itself with those features.
When it comes to this facility, does this help our
athletes to have this home field advantage number one? But
secondly to actually be able to practice and you ride
these trails prior to the event, because obviously we want
the best for our young people.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
I think our athletes in Newfoundland, I think they're more
used to technical riding than say athletes from the rest
of the country. I think the other athletes might be
a little bit surprised by the level of technicality of
the course in terms of like roughness, roots, rocks, and
I've heard some feedback that people are getting a lot
of flat tires, so there might be a you know,
(15:49):
mad rush when everyone shows up to get buy tougher
tires and tire inserts. But in general we tend to
struggle with I guess like the fitness and training side
when it comes to national competition more so than the
technical side. Were usually very good at that, but yeah,
I think so. And as far as a home advantage goes, Yeah,
(16:11):
in terms of it being a technical course that the
athletes here used to.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
For sure they got an advantage there.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Okay, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
I figured that.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
And I've been on those mountain bike trails before and
I'm very very very much a beginner, and I'll tell
you they are They're one of those things you need
to go fast over and you need to have a
lot of confidence in your riding. And I wonder that
if a park like this, in a trail system like
you guys have developed, how does this help young people?
Do you ever sometimes think I wish I had this
(16:38):
when I was a kid because it would have made
me such a better rider, Or is it something you're
really proud of sharing with the youth one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
And when I was a kid, we didn't have there
was no real there wasn't very much purpose built infrastructure
at all, and like the trails and White Hills were
in there infancy still, and of course me being a
kid with no money, I couldn't afford a bike that
was even sensible to be trying to attempt some of
(17:08):
the stuff.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
But we used to.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Build jumps in the vandon lots. We'd build them, you know,
down the backs of roads places, and they were you know,
we were building them ourselves, and they weren't always well built.
You know, the speed control between the jumps wasn't really
well thought out, so they were inherently a lot more
dangerous than say something like the skills park we've got now,
(17:34):
because he really had to you know, you could easily
get kicked the wrong way or forget to break, and
whereas the skills track that we have now is much
more well thought out. I would say I've actually been,
and maybe I'm a bit naive to be thinking this,
but I wasn't expecting as many people to be there
(17:54):
all the time as there are. It's been totally mind
blowing and blown away. It's like the coolest thing of
seeing this. He here and yeah, like really happy with
how it turned out.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Today we're talking about how mountain biking is creating new
ways for people to connect with the outdoors, improve their
health and build community right here in Newfouland and Labrador.
Speaker 7 (18:17):
We'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
With more from Lachland Robos and the work that AMBA
is doing to bring this vision to life.
Speaker 7 (18:28):
Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Today, we're talking about mountain biking in the big role
of plays in promoting wellness, especially as we look ahead
to the Canada Games. I'm joined by Lachland Robos, president
of AMBA, and we're diving into what the new Skills
track means for youth, for accessibility and for the future
of active living here in the Avalon.
Speaker 7 (18:45):
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I think that for some people listening they may not
understand how big of a draw this is becoming for
mountain biking here in New Fotland and Labrador. When you
think about the White Hills Trail, for anybody who's hiked
that trail before, you know that the mountain bike trails
right next to it. It's got to be some of
the most beautiful views of any mountain bike trail in
the world. It's also, like you said, very technical and challenging.
We now have a pump track, we now have a
(19:10):
skills park, we now have another mountain bike set of trails.
Are we starting to become a destination for tourists and
also for young people that are wanting to like come
here and practice.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
We are, yes so, and it's been happening for a
few years. The biggest straw for a tourist the mountain
by tourists to come here is the coastal riding and
this like weird terrain that's like sea level alpine and
it's like this these like tundra plants and tundra s terrain.
It's that you normally find it on the top of
a mountain, but it's like right next to the ocean here.
(19:44):
And and that combined with you know, the rugged nature
of the trails, that's one hundred percent what brings the
tourists here. And we see them coming a lot of
them from Quebec. Now, yeah, they've come from further Afield,
you know. A couple of years ago we show two
guys around that have come drove driven here from California
and so yeah, there's that, and there's been you know,
(20:07):
multiple media outlets have come here, like the Mountain Bike Media,
Freehub magazine was here a few years ago with which
and Da Vinci Cycles actually the sponsored that that trip
and video story and Bike Magazine's been here, Red Bull
have been here, So it's yeah, it it's definitely a
(20:31):
tourist straw. The you know, the supporting facilities are are
for sure, like tourists are going to come here. They're
they're coming here predominantly for the epic coastal trails. They're
still going to take a swing by the Skills Spark,
They're still going to go to the pump track because
they need something to wind down at the end of
the day riding as well.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
The I'd say the only the only thing that we're missing.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
There now is actually formalizing those trails so you know,
installing proper signage and having the right land your screaments
in place so we can actually do all the maintenance
that we need to do and we're not always behind,
and that'd really put it over the edge and then
we'd be this weird niche Mecha for mountain biking because
(21:19):
of the uniqueness of the train and a lot of
people would come and.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
From people that are listening, what's your encouragement about them
trying You say that, you know, the skills Park is
busier than you could imagine. You obviously have your finger
on the pulse the community. Is it because there's more kids,
Is it because there's more adults? Like who is who
is joining up? And are you looking to have more
people join this sport? Is it something you guys are
trying to expand yeah, absolutely, We've had.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
A focus on beginner and intermediate terrain since we kind
of got the organization going, and that's kind of been
it was identified as a gap, like you know, you've
got the rail bed and then you've got white hills,
and in between difficulty level you have Pibby Park, which
(22:08):
is relatively flat in terms of elevation gain loss, but
you have to have a high level fitness to actually
carry the speed to ride over smoothly, like you kind
of mentioned earlier, and if you don't, it's way harder.
So those types of trails that are like smooth in
nature like the rail bed, but have more elevation gain
(22:29):
and loss and maybe a couple obstacles in a couple
of rocks, couple of roots without being overly hard. That's
that's where our focus had to be and that was
the gap we identified.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
And so in doing that or in.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Progressing towards that goal, you need a formal sale network.
So right now Hippy Park is kind of filling that gap,
especially with the Canada Games course now you know they're
starting to there's need to be more smoother trail there.
The ideally what you need is a trail network that
(23:07):
caters to everyone from beginners to experts, which is why
we've been so I guess so focused on trying to
formalize the White Hills area because it has that expert
terrain and it and have the beginner train. It's got
some intermediate train already, but even that could be better,
and it gets better with maintenance, it gets better with
(23:29):
surfacing and you know, some slight rerouting of trails to
you know, follow grade rules and things like that. But
all of that is extremely labor intensive, and so you
know that until there's a formal agreement there, we won't
have the capability to do it.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
It takes equipment.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
It takes material and that brings us to a larger point,
and that is that you know, you're the president of
the Avalone Mountain Bike Association and you've been involved for
a long time since I was aware of youranization. It's
interesting how you guys have such a major role when
it comes to this. I think about other sports where
maybe the associations don't have as much of an input
(24:11):
on the facilities, but you guys are really the advocates
for the like the whole sport here. Do you guys
play a big role in making sure that all of
this happened when it came to the Canadid Games.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Yes, it's interesting you say that.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
I never really thought about it in that way, but
I've just thought about it as in terms of, like,
you know, the people that are the most passionate about
the sport and in terms of participation and the people
that are building the trails probably ought to be the
ones at some point that start to organize that stuff.
But yeah, so with the Canada Games, there were multiple
(24:50):
groups involved. Bacepool, Newfland Labor was involved and the other
stakeholders in Pippie Park. So like there's a tree poond
variants Groooner's Rumors co Op. They're the organization that grooms
of the trails in the winter, so they were involved
and I think there were there was some you know,
there's some early work done and then they asked for
(25:11):
our involvement to just basically just asked what we thought
of the course fruit that identified. They were getting to
a point where they had to make a decision, and
between us and I think the coaching lead actually a
bicycle New finland E Laborador, we kind of and and
and a number of other factors came into play. We
(25:32):
ended up rerouting the course completely and the route so
Amber was a little bit of feedback was actually instrumental
in designing the course layout for the canad of Games
as it is now. And without the I guess we
we ended up we ended up driving the work and
(25:53):
being the technical lead on the coursework as well, So
I guess without yeah, without that, as think, it probably
wouldn't have gone as Soosie And we definitely wouldn't have
a skills park because that was it was our idea,
just to make something that was more exciting but would
also have that legacy piece as well, because we'd already
(26:15):
identified it as a need and we could see the fit,
so it was we suggested it to Canada Games. They
were kind of perked up their ears, they liked the
idea and it just kind of all snowball from there.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Today we're talking about how mountain biking is creating new
ways for people to connect with the outdoors, improve their health,
and build community right here in Newfoulant and Labrador.
Speaker 7 (26:38):
We'll be right back after the break with.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
More from Laughlin Robos and the work that AMBA is
doing to bring this vision to life.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
You're listening to what we broadcast up the Wellness and
Healthy Lifestyle Show with Doctor Mike Wall and listened live
Thursday nights at seven pm and Sunday's at four pm.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Welcome back today, we're talking about mountain biking in the
Big Wall up in promoting wellness, especially as we look
ahead to the Canada Games. I'm joined by Lachlan Robos,
president of BAMBA, and we're diving into what the new
Skills Track means for youth, for accessibility, and for the
future of active living here in the Avalon.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
That's amazing and you guys, you know obviously you're very
organized now you guys have one of your first big
agms recently as well, And what's your role, like, what's
your mission, what's your sort of goals for the organization
as a whole.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Our main goal is to grow the sport of mountain biking,
to increase this exposure of people to the sport or
to reduce barriers barriers to entry. And our primary focus
is to do that by the development of sustainable, beginner
and intermediate friendly infrastructure. But then of course we we
(27:54):
also listen to our community and so a couple of
years ago we developed a strictrategic plan and we have
seven guiding principles in that strategic plan. But it basically
it comes down to providing providing ways for the community
to develop their skills, providing ways for them to network,
(28:14):
networking ourselves and trying to grow I guess the strength
of the various organizations and groups that are evolved education,
So growing education and trying to spread knowledge, share our
knowledge to other organizations, help them out and talk to
(28:35):
different municipalities, help them develop mountain bike infrastructure if they're
if they're interested, and where things that run in the
skills clinics as well as obviously trying to formalize existing infrastructure.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
That's fantastic. That's a big mandate. And you know we're
coming around to the health benefits of this obviously is
a health and wellness show, and you are somebody who
who participates in it because you love it, so you're
the perfect person to ask, you know, beyond the sport
aspect of it, you know, what physical and sort of
mental health benefits do you get from mountain biking? You know,
(29:12):
especially when I think about like being in a place
this as beautiful as newfoun Lad.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
So it's yeah, I mean we kind of alluded to
it earlier, and I take the biggest benefit for me
is the mental benefit. So I've been doing this since
I was like nine years old, and I always enjoyed it,
and then I guess it changed as you grow, right,
how you participate in the sport changed as you grow.
(29:39):
And I find now because I have to focus so
much when I do the sport, and I really do
clear my mind because I can't think about anything else.
So it's like you go for a ride and then
at the end of it, you have a clean sight
startles again, which so I found that like massively beneficial
helps me deal with stress. It helps me deal with
(30:01):
you know, anything that's going on, like like like family
type issues or like you know, like loss and things
like that. I've found that incredible, Like it's the only
thing that does it for me for that. Obviously, the
physical benefits are massive as well. You know, cardiovascular benefits
are great. You're always working and you have to work.
(30:24):
If the train's tough like it is here, you can't
just go for an easy ride. You can kind of
do it now because we've got e bikes, but you're
still in order to carry flow and actually get through sections,
you're still working and you're still thinking. So it's it's massive,
and I think a lot of people, and certainly I've seen,
(30:45):
you know, in my travels and here at home locally,
a lot of people will come back to it at
some point and if they were a participant before, because
they remember that, you know that the that mental benefit
and maybe they're struggling a little bit and they'll come
back to sport and and you see them kind of
(31:07):
turn a page in Yeah, I love that. I found
a thing, A couple of things in my life that
have really done that for me as I've gotten older,
those things that just draw you away from anything else
you have to focus on one hundred percent. And it's
like a forced meditation. Some people just can't meditate the
way that other people do. And and and sometimes doing
things that are active help for that. The other thing
I think it's really big, and you've said it a
couple of times already too, is community. How does this
(31:30):
give a sense of community in particular in a time
when people are lonelier than ever at all ages? Does
it Does it foster that?
Speaker 5 (31:39):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
So you know, as a at a base, most people
ride with a friend or two and maybe more. And
so there's lots of you know, lots of group riding happening,
just as a you know, if you're going for a
mountain bike ride, typically you're going with your friends. And
there's other things you know that help that as well,
Like we have our trail building nights on Tuesdays. That's
(32:04):
a group event. There's lots of you know, lots of
banter as you're working. It's meant to be a fun environment.
It's not meant to be you know, you're you're working hard,
but it's meant to be fun places like the Skills Park,
little hobs, they're they're excellent for that that sense of community, right,
and everyone's respectful. It's a it's a funny sport.
Speaker 7 (32:25):
Maybe not.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
Actually, it's probably similar to a lot of sports where say,
the more experienced people in that sport they want to
help people who've got questions. You know, they don't there,
No one's really stand off ish. It's it's very much
a happy community in that respect. Everyone everyone wants to
see everyone else succeed. And of course you know there's
the there's the after ride like storytelling sessions right where
(32:49):
where we hang out in the at the tailgate and
all the jumps we did get bigger and and the
gaps get larger, right of course, yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Just get bigger. Yeah, I hear you. Yeah, I call wallfleation.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
I always made fun of it.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
I always tell stories a little more dramatic than they
actually were. But that's a bit of fun too, isn't it.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. So I guess you know,
the question would be that what's the vision for for
mountain biking here in Newfoundland?
Speaker 4 (33:14):
And you know, what where do you see it going?
I'd like to see it get to the point where
we're a well established forest destination and not just and
it's more you know, it's more for our community than
it is for for tourism in terms of I think
(33:36):
it's important for the more important for the community than
it is for say amm of tourists have somewhere else
to go. But the metric that you can measure it
by is by having that tourism ready product. Because once
you have that, you've got it means you've got a
lot of infrastructure, you've got it formalized, it's well accessible.
Like it's accessible, people can figure it out, they can
(33:56):
find it online, so and that that goes for the
community as well, right, so they can go up there,
they can they know it's there number one, then they
can go there. They can see signage, there's maps, there's
a way finding, you know, and it's it's sepped up
even better because it's it's well funder this point as well.
(34:17):
And that's what I'm that's what I'm visaged for this
the sport here, and that's the goal.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Yeah, after seeing what you guys have accomplished in such
a short period of time, I feel like that's a
very achievable goal. I love seeing what you're doing and
if people have been inspired there, they want to find
out more.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
How do they reach you, guys? At Amba You can.
Speaker 5 (34:37):
Visit our website it's Amba NL dot ca A.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
You can also find us on We have a Facebook page,
have Long Outaine Association, and we're also on Instagram and
at No.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Perfect and I'm sure folks will be able to find
you around the track when Canada Games is in full swing,
and if not, they'll see you coming down the Hills
and White Hills most evenings.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Well, thanks so much for joining me today and I
appreciate you giving us insight and congratulations on everything you
guys have done.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
Yes, thanks again, Mike.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
Well.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
That was Lochlan Robos of the Avalon Mountain Bike Association
sharing how something as simple as a bike and.
Speaker 7 (35:14):
A trail can spark a.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Powerful movement in health and community. From the new.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Skills track to growing youth programs and a broader culture
of outdoor living, it's clear that mountain biking is helped
redefine what wellness looks like here in our province. Thanks
again to Lochlin for joining me and to all the
volunteers and leaders working to keep us moving forward. Well,
that's our show this week. I'm your host, doctor Mike Wall.
We'll see you back here next week for another episode
(35:39):
of the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle Show on the Stan
Ray Podcast Network and your BOCM
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