BONSHAW, P.E.I. — How far can you toss a bike?
Geoff Murray, the P.E.I. Bike Guy, said the technique is fairly simple.
“(You) basically grab a wheel, swing it around like a shotput and let ‘er rip.”
But bike toss isn’t just about how far it’s flung.
“Hopefully it bounces down the hill. Get it a little extra distance.”
Bike toss has become a sort of tradition among the Island's mountain biking community. Many of them were busy hucking bikes at Strathgartney Provincial Park during the second annual Strathaganza Mountain Bike Festival, which ran from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1.
But mostly, they were actually riding them.
More conventional biking events during the weekend campout included obstacle courses, hill climbs and descents and time trials. The festival is held by Cycling P.E.I. and the Rigid Racers Mountain Bike Club.
Murray, who earned his nickname in part thanks to his mobile bike repair business, attended Strathaganza both years. About 40 people attended last year.
“It’s just a unique event on P.E.I. Partly because of the park,” he said. “To see everybody using this space for something so much fun, it’s just wicked.”
Strathgartney Provincial Park is closed to camping, meaning Strathaganza needs to get a permit with the province each year.
Mark Weeks and Mark Steele, event organizers and board members with Cycling P.E.I., would love to see the park reopened for camping. It’s natural beauty and bike trails make for a great weekend, Weeks said.
“It’s just a pile of fun out here.”
How to bike toss:
- An area is fenced off and contestants are tasked to toss a small, BMX bike as far into it as they can, similarly to discus or shotput.
- Contestants typically hold the bike by one of its wheels and spin in a circle to build momentum, then let go taking care not to get hurt.
- After the first toss, a flag is placed to mark it’s distance.
- Each time it’s surpassed, the flag is moved accordingly, until each contestant is done and the furthest distance is measured.
They started the festival last year because there wasn’t anything like it for the mountain bike community on P.E.I. This year, they upped it from two days to three.
“It just evolved from a group of like-minded people wanting to do some awesome stuff," Weeks said.
“Except this year we have a larger concentration on the youth,” Steele added.
They have many youth, some as young as four years old, registered in the Rigid Racers weekly summer rides. After working hard to hone their mountain biking skills, Strathaganza acted as their summer wrap-up.
To cap off a summer well spent at @PEIGuardian, I tried my hand at Bike Toss, an annual tradition for the Island mountain bike community. Story soon!#PEI #MountainBike #BikeToss
— Daniel Brown (@dnlbrown95) August 30, 2019
(Also, I'll be sticking around as the weekend/casual reporter for the foreseeable future) pic.twitter.com/dO1sPBiQed
