Years of hard work deep within the trail systems of 麻豆社国产has finally paid off for Roland Benesocky.
The furniture maker by day and member of the 麻豆社国产Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA) trail maintenance executive by night was nominated and eventually was one of two winners of the KazLaw Deserving Rider Community Award, announced last Wednesday (May 8).
The award recognizes those in the mountain biking community who help the sport thrive. The winner also receives a free entry into this summer's B.C. Bike Race (BCBR).
Benesocky said he was surprised to get on the ballot.
"I was working away in my shop when my partner came in and was bouncing up and down," he said. "I thought we had won the lottery or something but she showed me on her phone that some kind people from 麻豆社国产had nominated me for this award."
He said he's honoured to receive the award but admitted that the challenge of the seven-day BCBR is a little daunting.
"I'm surprised and terrified," he said, laughing. "I moved to this town for biking but I don't consider myself to be in the elite when it comes to fitness and endurance. I'm 麻豆社国产fit, which means you can get by in the real world, but when you compare yourself to people in this town, you just don't make the grade."
Despite a few reservations about the big race, Benesocky said he's thrilled to have been recognized by his peers. He said he lived in Banff for a number of years before spending some time in Victoria before finally settling in 麻豆社国产about seven years ago.
"It's an incredible community we live in," he said. "Part of the reason why I got into trail building in the first place was that back in Banff, we had OK mountain biking but couldn't do any trail work because it was in a national park. I was really excited to move here just to help build trails. I love building things and I contacted SORCA when I got here and have tried to help out as much as I could."
It's the fourth year that Benesocky has been on the executive with SORCA. The organization's president, Dwyane Kress, said Benesocky has a lot of respect in the mountain biking community.
"Anyone who has ridden here has benefitted from the work he's done," Kress said. "He's invaluable to us and spends a lot of his own free time on the trails. He could be riding or making some money but he decides to work for us. He spends more time in his boots on the trails than on his bike, but he's going to have to reverse that with the BCBR coming up."
SORCA vice-president Jeff Cooke echoed Kress's thoughts.
"Co-ordinating the maintenance of our massive trail network is not an easy task and Roland has done such an awesome job setting priorities and managing SORCA's limited resources," he said. "His work ethic, passion for great trails, and generosity has earned him the respect of the many volunteers who work on the trails."
Benesocky said he's getting ready for the BCBR and it'll be his first time at the event.
"I do the local Toonie races and I like pushing it for an hour every couple of weeks," he said. "Seven days in a row is going to be I need some preparation."
He said he's received a lot of offers to help train him and will be preparing for the BCBR with Jen Segger and the team at Challenge by Choice. He said he's still a little surprised by the win.
"I have a positive outlook on life and I attract others who think the same," he said. "I've met a lot of great people in Squamish. I'm lucky. I'd just like to give a huge thank you to everyone who helped me win. Knowing that all of the work I do into trail building is being noticed is great. I'm just blown away by the response and I hope to continue to help promote mountain biking in our town."
