Mountain Bike Challenge!
Second of this year’s events on the Breakaway Series was the Mountain Bike Challenge held this past Sunday at McLean’s Park. The day featured a short kids race, designed to encourage the youngest two-wheelers a start in the sport. It turns out that super speller Emily Anstice is super fast as well! She won the intro race followed by sister Chloe. Finishing up the class were Orion Demers and Napoleon Demers. Shout out to Napoleon who crashed near the finish but quickly got himself up and finished with a smile!
Following that, the two-, three- and four-lap race began with a mass start along New England Road to spread everyone out a bit. In the U-17 three lap category, Nathan Quackenbush was first in 34 minutes, followed by Arken Eddy, Nathan Walback, Josh Roubal, Isaac Quackenbush, Laine Coleman, Mitchell Walker and Jacob Cruz. In the Recreational Two-Lap race, Sarah Quackenbush, Rachel Quackenbush and Paula Ferguson owned the podium.
In the four lapper, Tehkummah’s own Alex Anstice led the race, lap by 10 minute lap to win in 40:03! Teen racer Dane Gibeault was just a couple of minutes behind although I’m sure that having to lap, yours truly, slowed him down. From there, the 3-lappers who kept going were Nathan Quackenbush, Arken Eddy, Josh Roubal, and Isaac Quackenbush. Also in the mix were Jim Walback, Billy Slaght and Hannah Brown.
It was a great event to match the weather and the cheerfulness of gathering. I had a quick chance to catch up with Alex who has seen every root on the course, more and faster than anyone, ever. Alex has had a lot of success at the elite level over the years, at the Provincial O-Cup races in the past and one-off races these days (see results below!) He credits the McLeans Park’s 4km loop as part of his success in technical courses. Many thanks to Sarah and Ben Quackenbush for their organizing and the ‘kids’ who all pitched in!
Mountain Bikers represent, again!
The Hardwood Single Track Classic mountain-bike race took place on May 31st, drawing riders from across the province to tackle its fast and technical trails. Two Manitoulin athletes rose to the challenge and delivered strong performances. Nathan Quackenbush claimed second place in the U16 division of the 18km race while Alex Anstice captured first place in his age category in the demanding 36km event—earning Manitoulin a spot at the top of the podium.
Adventurers race!
The Storm Adventure Race was held on May 24th in Angus, Ontario, challenging teams with a grueling mix of mountain biking, canoeing, and trail running—all while navigating with map and compass. Representing Manitoulin, the team “Donut Follow Us,” made up of Bill Slaght and Hannah Brown tackled the 62.5km Long Course and finished as the second-place co-ed team of two with an impressive time of 5:41:48!
MMA catch-up!
Manitoulin original and mixed marshal arts fighter Cole King finally got his fifth bout in a year this spring and now his sixth. He had been plagued with lots of injuries and people backing out but won his fifth in the first round by TKO. If you see the video of the fight, Cole was dominant, dishing out a fury of pain for his win.
The organization he fights under is BTC and held its Prometheus BTC 29 over the weekend in Burlington over the weekend. Cole fought hard but got caught in a submission to lose just his second fight and his record of 4-2. Keep up the hard work, Cole!
FOMOS Golf Tourney filling fast!
The Friends of Mindemoya Old School golf fundraiser is next Friday, June 20 and still has some room but is steadily filling up. for the 18 Hole, best ball format event. A single ticket to play can be had for just $115 and includes a box lunch delivered to you on the course and then a delicious steak dinner at the clubhouse that evening.
This event is to raise funds to further their mission to renovate, retrofit and repurpose the historical Mindemoya Old School as an accessible senior centre and year-round hub for artists and artisans.
The event also still has some attractive sponsorship opportunities remaining with great name/product placement opportunities. For more info on playing or contributing you can contact Ian MacKenzie at 905-979-8712 or through ikmackenzie53@gmail.com.
Pickleball update
28 pickleball players from five Northshore communities converged on Little Current on Saturday to compete. The Manitoulin Pickleball Club was well represented in this tournament with 11 players! Little Current played host to this event, one of 10 competitive events scheduled over the summer period. Next event will be held in Blind River on June 27. The tournament moves back to Little Current in September.
