Bike Sense

Will Gravel Races Replace Fondos? Keeping Mass Rides Alive in Uncertain Times

• The BC Cycling Coalition • Season 3 • Episode 13

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Two beloved BC fondos disappeared this year — and not because riders lost interest. We sit down with veteran organizer and Panache Cycling Sports CEO Jon Watkin to unpack the real reasons: traffic control costs spiralling to double-time rates, six-hour minimums, and newly required engineered traffic plans that turn a single intersection into a budget breaker. Jon explains where safety policy helps, where it overreaches, and how a one-size-fits-all approach can sink small, community-driven rides.

From there, we pivot to what’s thriving: gravel. Jon lays out why gravel cycling has become the most welcoming doorway into the sport, and how municipalities and tourism boards, eager to rebuild after the pandemic, are partnering to bring high-quality events to Vancouver Island and beyond.

Learn more about Jon's races at www.panachecyclingsports.com

Sign up for the BC Gravel Series 2026! https://www.bcgravelseries.com

Speed traps on Bowen Island: https://rcmp.ca/en/bc/careers/volunteer-programs/speed-watch (To set up a speed watch program, contact your local RCMP.)

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Peter:

Welcome to Bike Sense, the BC Cycling Coalition's podcast, where we talk about all things related to active transportation advocacy in BC. I'm your host, Peter Ladner, Chair of the Board of the BC Cycling Coalition. I hope you enjoy the show. My guest today is John Watkin, the CEO of Panache Cycling Sport, and we're going to talk about what's with the Fondo cancellations and why is it so hard to put on bike events these days. But before I do, I want to share a message from a listener who heard our podcast with the RCMP Media Relations Officer about enforcement of the safe passing distance. Dan Park from Bowen Island writes, I've been cycling for many, many years and from time to time speak with the police about speeding traffic. They are invariably sympathetic, but they say they just don't have the resources to be out all the time to monitor traffic. But ICBC has a neighborhood speed watch program that is run in conjunction with the RCMP. The local RCMP works with interested neighborhood volunteers who are concerned about speeding in their neighborhoods and communities and trains people to use radar guns. Volunteers are not able to issue tickets, but they can forward identifying info to the police who will send warning letters. Repeat offenders or serious speeders will likely receive a call or visit from the police. We are just getting it up and running here on Bowen Island. If you'd like to get this up and running in your community, we will post a link to the program in the show notes. So back to my guest today, John Watkins has been a commuter, a cyclist, a competitor, a volunteer, manager, and event director. He's the co-founder of the Wheelhouse Cycling Society. Maybe you'll tell us what that is. And has served on the Cycling BC board for many years. He's a former elite racer in Europe and at the highest amateur level here in Canada until 2001. Welcome, John.

Jon:

Thanks for having me, Peter. I really appreciate it.

Peter:

So just to help flesh out the introduction and give listeners a better idea of what you do, could you describe some of the events that you've founded or are currently involved with and also your most current upcoming event?

Jon:

Sure. Yeah, actually, um I cut my cloth with the uh Bastion Square Grand Prix, which has been a mainstay cycling event in Victoria since 1994. It was a legacy event from uh the Commonwealth Games. And so I inherited that in 2001. And uh you could call it Trial by Fire. Uh so I ran that event for a number of years and then pivoted to moving the venue from Bastion Square to the BC legislature, which uh continues on to this very day. Uh, if your listeners are aware of what's what criterium racing, they should be Googling the uh uh Gas Town Grand Prix. Uh there's the Robert Cameron Lost Cycling Series. So it's very spectator friendly. And uh all this time I was doing it uh while I had a new family and working a full-time job, uh, but I've been able to learn the craft. And uh just after the pandemic, I decided to go full-time and I started a new company called Panache Cycling Sports. And um I'm now doing uh anywhere from seven to nine events per year, and we've uh evolved to hosting major uh national championship events. And uh in the last uh five years, we've hosted two national cyclocross championships. And uh this summer, this past summer, we hosted the Canadian Mountain Bike Championships, and then next year we're uh looking forward to hosting the Canadian Gravel Championships and uh and then continuing our second year of hosting the mountain bike championships. So it's it's been fun and uh doing it full time has been interesting, but uh yeah, I'm just enjoying it. You could call this semi-retirement.

Peter:

What did you do before?

Jon:

I was primarily in the tech industry. I was working for a major uh Fortune 500 company uh in in sales, and then I pivoted to quality management systems and I became a trained uh quality systems auditor and uh did that for 10 years. And then I I was uh VP of business development for a product design firm uh in Victoria. So learned a lot of good things from the tech industry and uh but no pun intended, it just didn't turn my crank.

Peter:

Well, now that your crank is turning, well, first of all, you have you were gonna tell me about an upcoming event.

Jon:

Well, yeah, we've got um we're we're actually about to launch the 2026 uh BC Gravel Series, um, and we're gonna be adding uh Port Alberni uh into the mix. So we're looking at four gravel events for 2026. So that's uh Campbell River in April, Port Alberni in May, uh in the Cowitan Valley. Uh uh that'll be the Canadian Gravel Championships, and then in September will be the uh the last event, which is in Cumberland. Um and then we are hosting the BC Cyclocross Championships actually uh in two weeks. So if we're trying to look at an event that's in our community in Victoria coming really soon, uh that'll be at Layritz Park in Saanich on November the 9th.

Peter:

Well, I wanted to back down from those very impressive championship level events and have a quick look at what's going on with the fondos, because we've seen the cancellation of two big fondos in BC this year, the Victoria one and the Penticton one. And a fondo, for people who aren't familiar with one, is a mass participation long-distance bike ride, sort of like a marathon for cyclists, where there's a mass start and they're usually 80 to 160 kilometers. They're timed, but they're not races necessarily, although many of us tend to race when we go in them. They have support stops with stations with food and drinks and mechanical help, and a festival atmosphere, and they generate usually a lot of spectators. They're very fun events, and anyone who's been in one usually really loves the experience. But why are these fondos being canceled? And is that part of a larger trend of cancellation of bike events for reasons that you're about to explain to us?

Jon:

Um, I would say the there's commonalities in terms of why these events were canceled, and fundamentally it was due to uh rising costs of traffic control, and it became so high to the extent that it does not make the uh the events uh commercially viable, whether they're a for-profit or a nonprofit organization. So it's a common trend across the board, I would think. I don't think it's isolated. I think this is maybe a bit of a canary in a coal mined uh situation with these two events. But um speaking to other fellow event organizers, I mean, I think they're seeing the same thing where the the costs are rising. I think there's some reassessment of risk management from different municipalities in terms of what they perceive is is uh is appropriate uh risk mitigation. But uh the the the fundamental costs of traffic control are are the real reasons. And um, you know, you can only imagine traffic control uh uh costs are driven by the rising developments. And if you look around Victoria, there's construction everywhere, so there must be absolutely high demand for traffic control services. So a lot of these traffic control companies can more or less charge whatever they want. And it's the small community events that I think end up suffering the most because um they're, you know, we're running on much smaller budgets.

Peter:

Well, granted that there was a fatality in the Penticton Fondo, and and I think there was a problem something similar in Victoria occurred at some point. Um are these concerns justified? Are are the municipalities and regional districts overreacting to the risks?

Jon:

Do you think um well each instance needs to be evaluated on its own sort of uh issues? Um as far as the Victoria one, um, you know, the uh the traffic control plan uh had been signed and approved by both the police and the district, and everything looked good. And even to the extent that um from what's been released from the police report, there was no fault ascribed to the trap, the volunteer marshal or the driver. And it was just a tragic accident. Um with that being said, the decision to show no distinction between marshalling a small side cul-de-sac versus a major four-way intersection, that's where the issue is. And so in in our instances, when we work with municipalities, um there's a reasonable assumption of risk where if you have, if the cyclists already have the right of way and uh vehicles have to stop anyway, having a marshal there is reasonable to allow the driver of the vehicle to take the extra time to make sure that there are no cyclists passing by before they're able to proceed. However, having a certified traffic controller would not necessarily change the outcome of the situation, but it would certainly drive the cost significantly. If you can imagine a certified traffic controller on a Sunday, they they're they're they charge double time. And typical traffic control companies require a minimum six hours of billing. So if you're running a small event and you just need a single person for just an hour, it doesn't matter. You're paying for six hours at double rates.

Peter:

What what is that amount, roughly?

Jon:

Uh it it can go anywhere from $130 to $180 an hour. Wow. Yeah. So in a case of the triple shot cross-fondo, my understanding is in past years they've run this event for for many, many years with only seven certified traffic controllers. Um, and that uh and again, without any any issue. And now they're being asked to uh come up with 24. And this is a double time rate at a minimum, you know, four to six hours of time. So those costs just are astronomical. And I think the other new requirement is the requirement for an engineered traffic control plan. So when we've done uh events in the past, we would have a certified traffic control company create a traffic control plan. Um, and that would be sufficient to get permit approval from different municipalities. However, in this particular instance, it needs to be an engineered uh traffic control plan uh signed off by a civil engineer, and that could add more cost to the event. And I I can't I can't think of what a civil engineer costs or what their billable rate is.

Peter:

Does their contribution make a significant difference, do you think?

Jon:

We don't know. We we've never, I mean, I certainly have never had an engineer uh devise a traffic control plan. Um so I don't know to the extent of what else they would provide that uh a traffic control company uh would provide us anyway. I mean, the the the traffic control plans that I've seen are quite thorough. They they specify positions and locations of people, the flow of traffic, the types of signage that's being used, um you know, all those things. Um so I can't think of anything else that the engineer would would suggest to make it more safe.

Peter:

Could you talk a little bit about what the impact is on a community when it has a fondo? You're probably most familiar with the Victoria one. You've got thousands of riders coming in and their friends and family. Talk a little bit about the economic impact and the impact on just the popularity of cycling.

Jon:

These events, I mean, they draw so like hundreds of people from outside the area, from Victoria. They come over from the lower mainland, the interior of the Fraser Valley, uh, Kootenys. Um typically they spend one or two nights, they stay in hotels, they spend money at restaurants. So the economic impact on these events is is is huge. Um, if you look at an event like the Triple Shock Cross Fondo, it actually takes place during the shoulder months of the year in October, and that's when the hotels are at their lowest occupancy. So these events are critical to help the hospitality industry kind of maintain a bit of a flat line as it relates to the their revenues and economic benefits. Um, and then you've got the local bike shops, uh, travel to and from locations. So yeah, they're they're significant. And you know, if if you were to speak to you know Tourism Victoria, I think they would have some very ponding things to say about the cancellation of these events because it really affects their mandate, which is to really bolster uh tourism and sport tourism in the region.

Peter:

Tell me about the fundraising events, the cops for cancer and the and the various events where a lot of amateur cyclists uh polish up their bikes and head out for fundraisers. Are they still going strong? Are they having problems?

Jon:

Uh I'm not aware of any issues with like uh like the Tour de Rock Cops for Cancer. Obviously, they have the benefit of uh having police services and support. And you know, if you have a police uh escort of your bike ride, I mean that's that's huge. Um it's very rare to ever get the police involved with any cycling event for that matter. But I I know the the the there's a local grassroots cycling group called the Victoria Cycling League, and they've been faced with cancellation of their own events because they're trying to basically start bike racing development at the most fundamental level, which is getting young kids and young adults into bike racing. So we've seen them affected by by these changes. So just as a foot in the door getting people into learning the sport of cycling, um, we're seeing that um, you know, for the smallest uh, you know, grassroots events.

Peter:

You mentioned that Tourism Victoria is probably unhappy with the cancellation of the Fondo. You also mentioned to me earlier that you've been approached by municipalities who really want these events to come to their communities. And tell me a bit about that and then what they have to learn and do to make that happen.

Jon:

Yeah, I mean, up until I think it was post-pandemic, um, we've I've had a number of municipalities reach out to me, particularly uh City of Campbell River, and um we've developed strong partnerships with the Calaghan Valley Regional District and Tourism to Naimo. And they they see uh these types of events as being fundamental to help to uh businesses recover from the the losses during the pandemic. So before the pandemic, it was the opposite. It was us begging and pleading the municipalities and cities to host these events, and then for us having to jump through a lot of hoops to get the permits. So it was interesting to have a situation where municipalities coming to us because they they're trying to revitalize their own economies and they see these events as as being uh very complementary to what is what is already there. If you look at Vancouver Island, especially, there's hundreds of kilometers of trails and gravel roads. So if you're a a gravel or mountain bike enthusiast, it's a it's a playground. And so uh inviting people to come to the island and to take advantage of this this outdoor stadium that we have, um, they they they see the the big picture here. And so yeah, we've we've we've worked with these partnerships and most recently uh Port Alberni, um, they want an event on their doorstep, so we're working with them to make that happen.

Peter:

You talked about uh some gravel events. What's a gravel event? Is that a race? What if I were just taking up gravel biking, could I go in there and enjoy myself, or do I have to be sponsored and very fast?

Jon:

Uh not at all. Gravel cycling is probably the most uh inclusive and accessible cycling discipline in North America right now.

Peter:

Describe to me what you mean by gravel cycling.

Jon:

It's um think of uh roads that take you away from the hustle and bustle of the city, yeah, whether it's through crown land, and they just take you through these remote areas where you're just away from the city and you're you're essentially in the middle of nowhere. The the forestry industry is probably responsible for most of the gravel roads that we're seeing uh on Vancouver Island and the lower mainland. Uh, love or hate the logging industry, it's really made uh people appreciate the the wilderness and the outdoors, and especially now that people are getting so frightened about riding their bikes on paved roads. And in spite of the fact that there's all these uh separated bike lanes, um I'm noticing more and more people are scared to ride their bikes around the city because it's just too congested, it's too busy. I'm seeing more and more motorists being distracted and instances of fellow cyclists being hit or almost hit by distracted motorists. So it's becoming a more fundamental problem. But gravel just seems to invite people to like get away from downtown, enjoy your bike on the outdoors, ride on the galloping goose. Uh, I would I would consider the galloping goose as gravel riding. And um, and if you go into a bike shop, you'll see there's more offerings of gravel bikes to buy than there ever was before.

Peter:

And a gravel bike is a regular road bike with wider tires?

Jon:

Yeah, from first appearances, a gravel bike looks like a road bike. You know, it's got the the drop handlebars, but the the bikes themselves are configured so you can accommodate a tire width of about you know almost two inches. But they're they're much lighter than a mountain bike. They typically don't come with with suspension, although I think that's starting to change. There's you have to understand here the bicycle industry is is constantly trying to reinvent itself. So they'll they'll come up with a new category that's it's not a mountain bike, it's not a road bike, it's kind of a merge of of the two together.

Peter:

So people are coming to these gravel events. You don't have to be a fancy racer, you can be just a person who likes to get out in the backwoods.

Jon:

That's right.

Peter:

And that sounds very appealing. Yeah. Um are you are they getting a lot of uptake?

Jon:

Absolutely. I mean, you know, our event, we we kind of there there, we have two arms in terms of what we try to do. We want to be a sport tourism event, but we also want to be an eco-tourism event. We want people to feel that they can go to our event and not having to be too concerned about their finish time. And and we also try to select routes that bring people to the most beautiful, most scenic parts of Vancouver Island. And we have three distances. You can be just a beginner-level cyclist, and typically that's about 30 to 40 kilometers. Intermediate is about 70 kilometers. And if you're a hardcore enthusiast, you're looking at about 110 to 120 kilometers of riding. So there's something for everybody, and we even have a category for e-bikes. So if you I think I've got a couple of uh participants that are in their mid-late 70s and they have an e-bike and they're able to tackle those 20% grades without any problem.

Peter:

Uh just to wrap up, I'd just like to look at what you do in the context of cycle tourism, because uh when I think of cycle tourism, I think of a group of people who decide they're going to do the Kettle Valley Railway or something. But you also attract tourists. And do you work with other cycle tourism promoters, tour guides, what hotels, uh tourism agencies, whatever, to make that happen? And what do you think we need to be do to do to make more tourists come and cycle at BC?

Jon:

Yeah, I mean, we work with Tourism Victoria, Tourism Couch, and Tourism Danaimo, Campbell River, Port Alberni. Uh, there's an organization called 4VI, which is sort of like a consolidated group that supports uh tourism on Vancouver Island. I haven't worked directly with any tourism offices or agencies outside of Vancouver Island, but I think the uh transportation and getting uh to and from the area is a big one. I I can only speak to being on Vancouver Island. Like if if the ferries, BC ferries costs keep increasing, I think we're gonna start seeing fewer and fewer people that are gonna be able to come to Vancouver Island. We would want to encourage people to ride their bike to our events instead of driving. So that would kind of make it so that it makes it more easy for people to get to the island. But beyond that, I think it's just more of like a messaging uh thing. You know, people don't realize how beautiful uh the British Columbia is, how beautiful Vancouver Island is, and and there's no better way to enjoy those, the the beauty of the outdoors than on a bicycle. And one thing I'd like to add too, like when we partner with these municipalities, we collect uh tens of gigabytes of video and and professional photography, and we share that with all uh our municipal partners so that they can then use this professionally uh produced video and photography and then use that to promote their own respective regions, right? So we we try to take an active role to making that happen.

Peter:

Terrific. Well, one day we were we're gonna get the BC Ferries on this podcast and talk to them about how they can be more cycling friendly. But until then, is there anything else you would like to add before we wrap this up?

Jon:

Yeah, uh stay tuned for the 2026 BC Gravel Series uh coming to Vancouver Island starting in April of next year. And um, if you're from Vancouver Island and you wanna um, if you don't want, if you want to ride, but you also want to support our events or even volunteer, I mean, we're always looking for people to help us out in different ways too. So uh if you visit bcgravelseries.com, uh you can sign up. We'd love to have you on board.

Peter:

Thanks, Jonathan. Uh, I think if I wanted to come next April, I should start making my ferry reservations right now, right?

Jon:

Uh unless, unless, yeah, I mean, unless if you're just a walk-on, you should be fine.

Peter:

Yeah, right. Thanks so much for telling us all these stories and filling us in on this whole aspect of cycling, which we haven't really covered on this podcast before, which is clearly a major part of how people cycle in our communities. And uh congratulations on your role in making it happen and best of luck for getting these fondos back in gear, as they say, and surmounting some of these, sometimes it seems ridiculous, requirements for very expensive safety measures. But all the best with that. Thanks, John.

Jon:

Thank you. Appreciate it.

Peter:

You've been listening to Bike Sense, an original podcast from the BC Cycling Coalition. If you like the podcast, we'd be grateful if you could leave us a rating on whatever platform you use. You can also subscribe so you don't miss future episodes. If you have comments or suggestions for future episodes, email me at peter.ladner at bccycling.ca. You can help us amplify BC Cycling Coalition's voice by simply becoming a free member at bccycling.ca