Using drone technology, TRU student and professional photographer Riley Schutz captured footage of riders making their way down the trails.
If the pilot tour is any indication, there is a strong market for guided mountain biking tours in the Kamloops region.
In mid-October, Steffen Masaites, Tourism Management student and owner/operator of ShredLoops Mountain Biking, invited guests to participate in a guided tour at the Kamloops Bike Ranch. The event included a catered lunch from Earls and shuttles courtesy of Mostly Mental Shuttles.
“I think the pilot went amazing. Everyone was super happy to be involved and keen to listen to some of the points I had to talk about,” said Masaites.
“My future plans for ShredLoops are to continue running tours at the Bike Ranch with the possibility of taking riders to other sanctioned trail networks here. I would like to be an ally in the Kamloops mountain biking community and to bring people together on the beautiful Kamloops trails.”
Opening eyes to trail networks
Masaites received entrepreneurial mentorship through Kamloops Innovation and financial support to develop his experiential tourism idea as part of the TRU Innovation Lab. Financial resources for the program were provided by Tourism Kamloops and the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior.
Following the event, Tim Foster offered Masaites a glowing review: “Just wanted to say thank you for the great experience. Your knowledge of mountain biking in Kamloops and specifically the history of the Bike Ranch was in depth. The many new routes you guided the group through has opened eyes to new ways to use the trail network, allowing opportunities for the next time. The tour overall was fun, safe and allowed time to meet and connect with other riders in the group. As the group was diverse in both confidence and experience, your effort to keep the tour focused on all participants did not go unnoticed.”
Tom Eustache of Simpcw First Nation (right) listens as Steffen Masaites talks about the area.
Tim Foster, chief of mountain operations for Sun Peaks Resort, on a ranch trail.
