Article by Grant Shilling
Originally posted on http://www.thecumberlander.ca/ Dec 7, 2007
The Bucket of Blood was a popular pub in turn of the century Cumberland. And yes, more than just pints were spilled at the establishment. Today it is remembered in the form of a popular mountain biking trail as part of a network of trails (which back onto the magnificent Beaufort Range) that surround Cumberland today.
Now there is concern that blood might spill over Timberwest's plans to harvest timber and build logging roads around the trail located west of Allen Lake (Cumberland's water reservoir). A few preliminary logging roads have been built in the area and areas have been flagged for logging- as early as next spring.
The question is - which in the long run is more valuable; mountain biking or logging?
Cumberland has become a mecca for mountain bikers and the Bucket of Blood is one of the areas most popular rides.
Jeremy Grasby,33 owner and operator of Cumberland's Riding Fool Mountain Biking Hostel since 2003 describes it as the "quintessential" mountain biking trail attracting riders of all styles.
Cumberland is surrounded on three sides by wilderness (including Strathcona Provincial Park to the west). It is this remote setting or "back eddy" that Grasby is trying to capitalize on. Grasby has a Resource Management Diploma as well as a Parks and Recreation diploma and worked for several years in the Forest Sector until government cut backs caused him to re-evaluate his career options.
He had also established himself as one of the top riders on the Provincial Mountain Biking Circuit.
"Before I left the forest service I began to research some ideas and a hostel and bike shop in Cumberland where at the top of my list," says Grasby.
" There are a strong core of riders here and you don't have to drive anywhere to reach the trails they are just out our door," says Grasby.
In the early 1990s's the first mountain bike trails were built by a group of local mountain bikers on the foundation of the forgotten mining roads and railway beds built all the way up through Cumberland to the head of Comox Lake. The group dubs itself THC -Trail Harvest Crew and includes Dan Espeseth owner of Dodge City Cycles.
Espeseth and his buddies started building trails back in 1990 while they were in Grade 10 at the age of 16. Their first trail named Black Diamond ran out to Comox Lake. From there they just kept building. By 1997 the renegade group had built 12 trails.
Some of the more notable trail names include Knuckers, Bucket Of Blood, ***-Gui, Space Nugget, Buggered Pig and Cupcake
As a result of this activity and interest a lot of bikers started to move to the funky, old mining town of Cumberland.
The Riding Fool Hostel and Dodge City Cycles are both located in the two-storey Tarbells Building, one of four commercial structures from the 1890s to survive in Cumberland. The Hostel has 24 dorm beds and three private rooms, a kitchen with two stoves and a large cozy common room with a woodstove and pool table. The two establishments form the economic hub for this former coal-mining town that is struggling to regain its economic footing.
Grasby, points out that only one study-in the Squamish/Whistler area- has been carried out on the economic benefits of Mountain Biking. Grasby notes however that the Bucket of Blood was a highlight in the 2007 BC Bike Race and has been featured for the past 5 years in the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race Series. Timberwest-the company that plans to log the area sponsors both events.
Bucket of Blood is also used in the Perseverance Creek Trail Run, which raises money for the Cumberland Community Forest Society. "The direct economic impact and positive media exposure of these activities lead to increased ridership and drive a growing recreation and tourism industry in Cumberland and the Comox Valley," says Grasby.
A couple of years ago the Cumberland Community Forest Society, a non-profit group of concerned citizens dedicated to purchasing local forests for recreational and aesthetic concerns purchased a 56-hectare area of second-growth forest that forms a scenic backdrop to the town. A second 50 acre parcel parcel was purchased from Hancock Forest Management in 2006.
Grasby is happy to point out the so-operation that has existed between local mountain bike riders (who recently have formed a group called UROC-United Riders of Cumberland) and Hancock. "They'll come into the shop when they are blasting, are very respectful of buffers and we have enjoyed a good relationship."
With over a decade of coexistence between the mountain biking community and the logging industry, Grasby believe that now is the time to facilitate dialogue in order to plan and protect the growing assets of the mountain biking community in accordance with the needs of the logging industry.
"People come to Cumberland just to ride the Bucket of Blood -how can we afford to lose it?"