Location | 4385 Hwy 59 Courtland, Ontario, Canada N0J 1E0 |
---|---|
Time zone | UTC−05:00 |
Owner | Derek Schuster |
Operator | Gopher Dunes, Inc. [1] |
Opened | 1986 [1] |
Major events | Motocross Facility |
Gopher Dunes is a dirt track near the community of Courtland in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada. [2] Many of its sponsors are either locally based companies or local franchises of popular restaurants like Wendy's and Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar & Grill . [1]
The track is internationally renowned for being one of the toughest tracks which require conditioning. [3] There are 26 kilometres (16 mi) of trails in addition to a child-oriented track that is much shorter - all strategically places on 20 acres (870,000 sq ft) of land. [1] [2] The kiddie (referred to on the official web site as pee-wee) track can only be attempted by motorbikes up to 125cc (e.g., Suzuki DR-Z 125) and quads up to 110cc. [1] Dirt bikes can commonly be seen on the track as recreational biking is encouraged along with organized racing. Rider training is also provided along with memberships. CMRC Pro National races and Mudfest are scheduled races done by the organized motorsports leagues for the purpose of racing their respective seasons. [3] [4] [5] It is considered one of the most difficult tracks on the national tour. [6] [7] [8]
A "weird" wedding occurred here involving Mr. and Mrs. Nick Zavitz of St. Thomas, Ontario. [9] They got married in their respective tow straps deep in the mud of the main pit. [9] A trio of quad riders would pull up in front of the Trans Am on a pickup truck chassis and spray the newlyweds with mud instead of rice. [9]
BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation.
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat that is straddled by the operator, and has handlebars. As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider variety of terrain than most other vehicles. It is street-legal in some countries, but not in most states, territories and provinces of Australia, the United States, and Canada.
The AMA Supercross Championship is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from January through early May. Supercross is a variant of motocross which involves off-road motorcycles on a constructed dirt track consisting of steep jumps and obstacles; the tracks are usually constructed inside a sports stadium. The easy accessibility and comfort of these stadium venues helped supercross surpass off-road motocross as a spectator attraction in the United States by the late 1970s.
An off-road vehicle (ORV), sometimes referred to as an off-highway vehicle (OHV), overland vehicle, or adventure vehicle, is considered any type of vehicle capable of driving off road on non-paved surfaces, such as trails and forest roads that have rough and low-traction surfaces.
Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter, and consist of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount. Races for senior categories are generally between 40 minutes and an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ice, it is usually found at higher latitudes in Canada, the northern United States, and in northern Europe, although limited indoor events are held in warmer climates, typically on ice hockey rinks. Tracks in North America vary from 1/4 mile to several mile-long circuits.
The Ohsweken Speedway is a 3/8 mile dirt track in the village of Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. Ohsweken’s weekly Friday night racing program runs from May to September each year, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Crate Sprint Cars, Thunder Stocks, and Mini Stocks, while the season finishes each year with the annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Ohsweken Speedway also hosts weekly Micro Sprint racing on Thursday nights, and hosted the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series from 2007 until 2017.
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Mountain bike racing is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Durango, Colorado. The first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series took place in 1988. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North America—and was sponsored by Grundig. Cross-country racing was the only World Cup sport at this time. In 1993, a six-event downhill World Cup was introduced. In 1996, cross-country mountain biking events were added to the Olympic Games. In 2006, cross-country mountain biking events became part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.
GasGas Motorcycles is a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer specialising in off-road and trial bikes. The company was founded in 1985 in Salt, Girona, Catalonia, by Narcìs Casas and Josep Pibernat after the closure of the original Bultaco factory, where they previously worked. GasGas gained a reputation for producing high-quality, reliable motorcycles, particularly in trials riding, a sport that requires precision, balance, and control over challenging terrain.
Boler Mountain, previously known as the London Ski Club, is a not for profit recreation club in London, Ontario. The mountain is located in the western suburban neighbourhood of Byron and is used for skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing in the winter and for mountain biking, hiking, zip lining, and beach volleyball in the summer. Despite its title, it is more accurately described as a hill than a mountain. The facility is relatively small but very conveniently located for Londoners. After the 2012 completion of the West Hill expansion, Boler has 3 quad chairlifts, a magic carpet and a tube carpet serving 16 trails.
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
Beach racing is a motorsport offshoot of enduro and motocross racing. As the name implies, riders on solo motorcycles, quad bikes, or sidecar combinations compete on a course marked out on a beach, often with man made jumps and sand dunes being constructed to make the course tougher.
MotorStorm is a racing video game series created in 2006 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, mostly developed by Evolution Studios with some titles by BigBig Studios and Virtuos.
Gravity Park USA is a off-road and Stock car racing facility near Chilton, Wisconsin in the Town of Chilton. It hosts weekly motocross races between April and October, featuring off-road trucks and quads. It also has a 1/3 mile stock car dirt oval which was enhanced in the middle of 2017. The world record for the greatest length traveled on a motocross track during 24 hours was set at the track.
A fatbike is an off-road bicycle built to accommodate oversized tyres, typically 3.8 in (97 mm) or larger and rims 2.16 in (55 mm) or wider, designed for low ground pressure to allow riding on soft, unstable terrain, such as snow, sand, bogs and mud. Fatbikes are built around frames with wide forks and stays to accommodate the space required to fit these wide rims and tires. The wide tires can be used with inflation pressures as low as 34 kPa; 0.34 bar (5 psi) to allow for a smooth ride over rough obstacles. A rating of 55–69 kPa; 0.55–0.69 bar (8–10 psi) is suitable for most riders. Fatbikes were developed for use in snow or sand, but are capable of traversing diverse terrain types including snow, sand, desert, bogs, mud, pavement, or traditional mountain biking trails.
Albion Hills Conservation Area (AHCA) is located in the Town of Caledon within the Regional Municipality of Peel. AHCA is located eight kilometers north of Bolton, off of Highway 50 at 16500 Highway 50, Palgrave, Ontario. It is owned and managed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). AHCA sees about 120,000 visitors each year, who visit the conservation area for mountain biking, camping, swimming, special events, cross-country skiing and more.
Gravel cycling, gravel biking or gravel grinding is a sport or a leisure activity in which participants ride bicycles, mostly on gravel roads. The marketing man would have you believe that one must own a specially designed gravel bike to participate, when in fact any bicycle capable of covering the terrain can be used.