January 2/07 9:17 am - Test of Metal Sells Out in Under One Hour

Posted by Editor on 01/2/07
 

Test of Metal Sells Out in Under One Hour

It took only 48 minutes on January 1st for the 800 spots available for the North Shore Credit Union Test of Metal mountain bike to sell out.

"This simply blew away our expectations," said race organizer Cliff Miller. "We thought that we'd beat last year's 4 hour record, but under an hour is mind-blowing."

Miller prepared for this year's registration by organizing a "Test of the dog that bit you" registration party at a local Squamish warehouse.

"We set up a LCD projector and computer to watch the registrations come in. We cooked up some double-smoked ham, but it all happened so quickly that no one got a chance to eat before the registration was full," Miller said.

About 50 Squamish NSCU Test of Metal supporters were on hand for the registration party.

Local rider Greg Van Hierden arrived at the party after successfully registering for the race.

"I was much more nervous trying to register than I've ever been for the race," Van Hierden said.

Many people reported trying to get on right at 6:00 pm, but the incredible volume slowed the system down leaving many struggling to log into the system.

Squamish local Garry Cotter was the first registrant this year.

"Last I missed by a few minutes," Cotter said, "so this year, I had pizza for dinner and started at the computer at 5:55 and kept hitting refresh until I got in. First place, eh. This is the only chance I have of coming in first in this race."

The number of people on the waiting list after one hour was 255 and the list will be capped at 500.

The Test of Metal has become one of the most successful mountain bike races in North America on the strength of its dedicated volunteers, the strong community support and committed sponsors.