Dear GranFondo Whistler,
It is not you; it is us.
Well, it is you, actually, but it isn’t completely your fault.
On Saturday, 5,000 riders will cycle from Vancouver, 122 kilometres up Highway 99 to Whistler in North America’s largest Gran Fondo.
Starting the same year as the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the ride is put on by a private Canadian event management company, charging between $200 and $440 per participant.
Now, there’s no doubt this is a bucket list event for athletes who get to ride the spectacular corridor protected from traffic thanks to the Ministry of Transportation-sanctioned road closures.
With 1,900 metres of total elevation gain, it’s an athletic feat to be proud of.
Between 50 and 100 locals participate.
The idea is that it supports sustainable tourism and active transportation.
Squamish is the event hub for the event’s staging, traffic management, operations, medical and security, employing over 100 Squamish residents, a spokesperson for the ride says.
Also, this year, participants will be able to raise funds for the YWCA Gear Up program, which exposes kids to hands-on bike mechanics, employment and life skills. That’s cool.
But given the—let’s just call a spoke a spoke—shit show the highway is for locals all summer, this event makes plenty of us grumpy.
Since its inception, some residents have questioned how much we benefit from this for-profit ride that makes it harder to get around on the same day as our beloved, long-standing Brackendale Fall Fair.
“This is the Fondo’s 15th consecutive year sharing a date with the Brakendale Fall Fair and both events have figured it out. With so few summer Saturdays available, many events overlap,” a GranFondo spokesperson said.
“We understand all communities from Vancouver to Whistler, including Squamish, are impacted, but we hope that the economic, social, touristic and environmental benefits outweigh the few hours of disruption one day a year.”
That is the thing, though. It is yet another day of traffic chaos after months of putting up with it.
And the fact it’s an exclusive event adds saddle sores to the whole thing for some.
It is likely that if there were a non-profit, inclusive event, like an open highway day where all those who live in the corridor could ride, walk or roll through the Sea to Sky, traffic-free, in support of the same charity or another, most of us would turn our Sept. 7 frowns upside down. But that isn’t what happens.
Ultimately, when your event started in 2010, we were a much different and smaller place. Now, we are bursting at the seams. So, thank you for the last 15 years, but you can’t blame us if we get a little chaffed when you roll through town.
Best, Squamish
