November 16, 2015 – There’s a new rodeo in town and it’s going to be a big one. The mountain town of Golden, BC, which has been quietly creeping onto the mountain biking scene as a top destination with hundreds of kilometers of trails and great alpine rides is now hosting a 24-hour mountain bike event, presented by renowned event organizers, TransRockies Events.

Known as the Golden 24 (pronounced Golden Two-Four) the event will start and finish within Golden town boundaries, providing extensive camping areas and festival production but also close proximity to the town centre and all its amenities. Not to mention with the date scheduled for June 18 & 19, 2016, riders will get to enjoy the longest days of the year in the saddle and with their friends.

The partnership has all of the hallmarks for success. TransRockies Events has more than 20 years of experience producing top quality events across North America. Golden is a relatively undiscovered mountain biking mecca; particularly the Mountain Shadows trail system upon which the event will be based.

“We’ve been interested in hosting a 24-hour event for a long time,” said TransRockies president and founder, Aaron McConnell, “It’s not easy to find a suitable venue and we’re very excited by all of the opportunities available in Golden. The closer we move toward the event dates, the happier we are with how everything is coming together and all the great facilities and enthusiasm that are emerging in the town and area.”

Golden hosted two stages of the Singletrack 6 event, also hosted by TransRockies, in 2014 and will again in July of 2016. “While we’ve long been aware of the mountain biking opportunities in Golden with the publicity surrounding the Mt 7 Psychosis event in the early 2000s, we were truly introduced to the trails in Golden in the lead up to the 2014 Singletrack 6 event. You never know what to expect when you pull 6 days of racing in great venues together, but we were pleasantly surprised to see Golden come out as the rider-voted best host community and best trails in our post-event survey. Needless to say, we knew we needed to come back.”

From Golden’s perspective, the stoke is high. “We love having mountain bikers come to town and be impressed by our trails. We’re proud of all the work we’ve put in and more riders and events means more recognition and funding to build more,” shares Golden Cycling Club president, Jeremy Harris. “TransRockies Events have been good to our trails and we’re happy to support and race in the new Golden 24 event.”

Golden 24 will offer 24 hour and 8 hour options for solo and team riders. Registration opens on December 1, 2015 and is capped at 500 riders for the first year. Registration info here.

Registration Includes:

• race entry and trail access
• camping
• donation to local trail group
• professionally marked course
• experienced checkpoint crew
• fully stocked aid station with Honey Stinger chews and gel, Ultima Replenisher, fruit and other tasty treats
• professional medical support on course
• on course Ambassadors to ensure you are safe and having a great time
• professional race timing
• awards
• custom Golden Two-Four t-shirt
• Register beginning December 1st at www.golden24.ca!

Course Details

The Golden Two-Four course is approx. 14km per lap, with about 500 m of climbing per lap. The trails are primarily blue (intermediate) singletrack, with some double track sprinkled in to allow for passing. The trickiest part of the loop is the 2km “Rock About” section on the south end, which is rated difficult. The course will feature a unique over-under structure where Selkirk Slacker crosses over Snake Hill. The course rolls along the lower flanks of Mount Seven, just southeast of town.

Support the Golden Cycling Club by donating online here and check out the trails by downloading their trail map for Apple here and Android here.