Jasper鈥檚 already a bike town, but with the help of the Tour of Alberta, the park is on its way to becoming a cycling destination.
In recent years, Parks Canada has begun marketing Jasper鈥檚 cycling opportunities, focusing mostly on the park鈥檚 extensive network of multi-use trails. But, to date, little has been done to market the fabulous road biking opportunities that also exist in the park.
The options are endless: Maligne Lake Road, Marmot Basin Road, the ride to Mount Edith Cavell or even to Athabasca Falls.
Until now, road biking has been an untapped market, but once the Tour of Alberta makes its way to town next September, and 120 of the world鈥檚 best cyclists ride our roads, the secret will finally be out that Jasper is more than the Glacier Skywalk and Spirit Island: it鈥檚 a mecca of cycling opportunities.
That message will be broadcast to more than 40 million viewers in 161 countries, to people who, presumably, love cycling and are looking for their next vacation spot鈥攑ossibly a place where they can test their endurance against the greats, cycling the same routes and taking in the same views.
The town couldn鈥檛 ask for a better marketing opportunity.
It鈥檚 a chance to show off not only our roads and our mountains, but our ski hill鈥攚hich will mark the finish line on Sept. 5鈥攁nd our community spirit, as we cheer on the riders.
And, perhaps, we鈥檒l also be able to show the world that Jasper鈥檚 cycling opportunities extend well beyond our roads; they snake their way through our untouched wilderness on trails that range from easy to extreme, and are open year-round, with cyclists trading in their mountain bikes for winterized fat bikes when the snow falls.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Jasper. For $180,000鈥攕plit between the municipality, Parks Canada and Tourism Jasper鈥攖he Tour of Alberta will showcase the park as the next big thing in the cycling world, allowing us to take that leap from bike town to cycling destination.
