Tri-Cities Off Road Cycling Association

The Tri-Cities Off Road Cycling Association (TORCA) is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit, charitable organization that advocates for trail use and access in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and the villages of Belcarra and Anmore.

TORCA’s mission is to provide public recreational amenities by planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining trails in our local networks. While we are predominantly mountain bikers, TORCA advocates for all trail users, including mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers, and dog walkers.

Histoire de l'entreprise

TORCA was originally called the Tri-Cities Off Road Cycling Coalition (TORCC) and was founded in 1998 by a group of avid outdoors people and mountain bike enthusiasts. At the time, there was a concern among the founders of TORCC about the increasing development on the slopes of Eagle Mountain that began to encroach on several beloved trails in the area. In 1999, the land owners and developers had some trails dismantled for liability reasons but agreed to allow a re-routed trail to be constructed. The re-route occurred when TORCC teamed up with the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) and the City of Port Moody. The city and TORCC co-hosted a seminar and trail building weekend in November 1999 when the re-route was roughed in. Both the seminar and the trail days were well attended despite the usual winter weather conditions in our region. At the same time, this was IMBA’s first foray into Canada and the birth of a partnership.

Once the re-route was complete, busy lives intervened and TORCC essentially became dormant. In 2006, the original Starz trail was built and maintained by a number of local riders since. On November 16, 2006, the City of Port Moody Council discussed the creation of a short term City Task Force on Mountain Biking to create a viable strategy for mountain biking in Port Moody. At the same time, the North Shore, Squamish, and Whistler were promoting mountain biking as contributing to the health, enjoyment, and well-being of their residents and visitors in addition to boosting their community economy.

TORCC registered as a not-for-profit organization in November 2013, becoming the association it is today known as TORCA. Since 2016, TORCA has been a Canadian registered charity. TORCA has grown as an organization with dedicated directors from a variety of backgrounds and age groups, most of whom are long-time residents of the area.

TORCA has expanded its membership base, enhanced its web presence and has been involved in numerous community projects related to mountain biking in the Tri-Cities. TORCA Directors and members have donated thousands of volunteer hours for advocacy, trail building and maintenance, charity work and community events in the Tri-Cities.

Données sur l'entreprise

– Our membership is growing annually. In 2021, our membership reached over 680. As of April 2022, we are already at over 425 members.
– TORCA is run by 11 volunteers, including a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and seven members at large in the board of directors