– Bill Collette is Executive Director of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at 250-724-6535.
PORT ALBERNI – The Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce that we have received funding through Canada 150 to host a very unique event over the Canada Day weekend in 2017.
Our event called the Tri-Conic Challenge is a ‘Staged Triathlon’ covering three days where we will Run the Train, Bike the Boat and Swim the Plane.
So what does that mean?
Well, on day one – Canada Day we’ll put on the running shoes and line up alongside the 1929 Baldwin Steam Train for our ‘Run the Train’ to McLean Mill – Canada’s only Steam Powered Mill – a National Historic Site. Four different runs are available ranging from 500m for the kids to a full marathon.
Day two our athletes will jump on their bikes at 8:00 am in Harbour Quay then ‘race’ the M.V. Frances Barkley out to Bamfield – 90 km – gravel, hilly and very bumpy let alone beautiful. The ship takes 5.5 hours to make the trek and our avid local bike enthusiasts confirm that they can win! Again, four choices ranging from a short 3 k ride all the way to a round trip Port Alberni/Bamfield covering a full 180 kms.
Day three we’ll open up Sproat Lake to four versions of swims ranging from 200m to 4000m each of will feature a link to our history – be it the famed Martin Mars Water Bomber and/or the 500 year old Petroglyphs. Take a peek for yourself at this epic adventure – we’d love to welcome you to Port Alberni for a Bucket List Weekend in one of the most beautiful settings on all of Vancouver Island.