MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Spring 2018

78 ML BLUE SPRING 2018 get better every day at your own pace. So we focus on creating the connection with fun.” And watching kids in last fall’s program, it was clear they were having a blast while truly progressing week after week. Most programming is aimed at the six-to-eleven-year- old bracket, but he’ll also take older kids out riding on a more informal basis. “I would like to grow this program around Ontario, and eventually Canada,” he says. “I’d love to get as many kids loving mountain biking as I can. I also would like to get lots of girls out. I have a 10-year-old daughter, and I really believe that mountain biking is so beneficial for girls as well. But sometimes girls shy away, because they think it's a boys’ sport, or they think it's dangerous. But all kids, girls included, are naturally drawn to their bikes, and somewhere along the line, we see girls gravitate to sports with less adrenaline or dirt involved. I think that's sad. Girls can benefit from this sport as much as boys, and we want to encourage them to come out. So we have a focus on inspiring girls to join and we have a focus on hiring female instructors as well.” If you want to get your kids involved, head on over t o radadventures.ca . words & photography :: Colin Field When it comes to mountain biking in Ontario, let’s face it, Collingwood is one of the best places around. And with the addition of Rad Adventures, it just got a little better. Created by the former publisher of Our Homes magazine, David Loopstra, Rad Adventures began last spring and was a sold-out success. Offering mountain bike programs for youth in both Thornbury and Collingwood, Rad Adventures has after school programs, weekend programs and summer camps available. It doesn’t take long to see that Loopstra is in it for all the right reasons. “I believe in the power of youth and the power of ideas,” says Loopstra. “If we can teach youth how to have fun on their bikes in a natural environment then we accomplish a bunch of things. First, we give the youth a fun, accessible and affordable activity they can do their entire lives. It doesn’t matter their skill level; if they are having fun, they will want to do it again. Second, we teach youth to value natural areas. It’s a lot harder to preserve natural areas if people don’t care about forests and natural places. And finally if we create more mountain bikers, we advance the sport of mountain biking. This will mean more access, more trails being built and more youth engaging in a very healthy activity.” Using Loopstra’s property in Thornbury and the Free Spirit Forest School at Bygone Days on Sixth Street, his goals are to teach safety, trail etiquette, basic mechanics, environmental stewardship and riding skills in a fun and supportive environment. “We focus on the joy of riding and less on competition,” says Loopstra. “Mountain biking is an individual sport with the opportunity to JOYFUL TRAILS RAD ADVENTURES CULTIVATES TOMORROW’S MOUNTAIN BIKERS “We focus on the joy of riding and less on competition…” "If they're having fun, they will want to do it again..." COLIN FIELD WHEEL WELL