Cheryl Beattie nominated for Kazlaw Deserving Rider Award

If you’re an avid mountain biker in the Thompson Okanagan you probably know the name Cheryl Beattie.

She’s an active member of the biking community as owner of the Bicycle Cafe in Kamloops, B.C., a founding member of the volunteer community board that established the Bike Ranch in Kamloops as well as a coach and overall advocate of the sport.

Her passion for all things mountain biking and dedication to the community hasn’t gone unnoticed as she was nominated for the Kazlaw Deserving Rider Award this year.

Beattie was nominated by Dirt Chix Kamloops organizer Dana Heyman and said it was quite an honour to be recognized by someone like Heyman.

“When I read her nomination I was like ‘Oh my God.’ It’s pretty over-the-top-nice. She’s quite eloquent so I was pretty taken aback, pretty moved by the nice nomination,” said Beattie.

The winner is awarded entry into the BC Bike Race, a week-long race from North Vancouver, B.C. to Squamish, B.C. from July 6 to 13.  competing against 650 racers riding an average of 50 kilometres a day.

“I’m not scared of the prize. It’s really cool,” she said. “Ah, it’d be like a dream.”

Having never competed in a multi-day race before Beattie said she’d approach it more like an experience but rather a competition.

“I ride for fun and I ride everyday but it’s short, so I have to go out of my way to make sure when I have a day off I need to put in four or five hours just to get used to it,” said Beattie.

Before she can prepare herself for the big event she must win the award by gaining more online votes than the other five nominees.

“It’s obvious all these people are really invested in their communities so whoever wins I hope they have a wonderful time. They deserve it,” she said.

Voting for the Kazlaw Deserving Rider Award ends tomorrow and the winner will be announced March 8.

To vote for Beattie visit https://www.bcbikerace.com/kazlaw-contest-cheryl-beattie-kamloops/ .