A winner has been chosen for the Rockstar Bike Rodeo — Dream it, Drop it! contest, which ran from June 13 to July 8.
The contest challenged biker enthusiasts to design their own feature for the Panorama Mountain Village Bike Park.
The winning design was chosen by pro freeride mountain biker and East Kootenay local Kurt Sorge, and built at Panorama.
The winning design?
“The Mouse Trap,” by Kyle Wynia, 25, of Abbottsford.
“I saw the contest on pinkbike.com,” said Wynia, who took one of the first spins on the newly-built feature along with three friends and Sorge himself during the July 16 official opening.
“I figured why not enter, drew up a sketch and submitted it and…boom!”
Wynia and friends Peter Gronau, Josh Maurer and Will Oleksuik were also the recipients of the prize package, which included a four-night stay at Panorama with full bike park access.
The Mouse Trap features a lead-up dirt ramp and jump that flings riders into the air. They then land on a wooden train, before launching once again — this time onto a wall ride.
“I’ve been building trails and I thought it would be pretty cool to end a trail with a wall-ride,” said Wynia.
As for being the chosen winner, Wynia said he was “stoked”.
“I hadn’t ever won something for biking before,” Wynia said.
“This is the first time. It was great driving through the Rockies from Abbotsford to get here, it was really cool.”
Wynia first got into mountain biking when introduced to it through a neighbour.
Since then, Wynia has been biking for close to 11 years, as have all his friends.
The feature was officially opened with a brief presentation and an opening ride by Sorge, followed by Wynia.
The Mouse Trap was then open to all riders, who took the daring new feature head-on, or face-first, depending on how successfully they could ride it.
“It’s a great addition to the resort,” said Sorge.
“It’s a nice, fun, flowy stunt for beginners and advanced riders to tackle. It was a good choice for sure.”
The Mouse Trap and other great bike courses are open at Panorama Mountain Village for the summer.
For more information, visit panoramaresort.com