Test of Metal sells out in under one hour

It took only 48 minutes for the 800 spots available for the North Shore Credit Union Test of Metal mountain bike race to sell out. The race will be held June 16, 2007, in Squamish, British Columbia. The 67km course features tough climbs and technical sections.

"This simply blew away our expectations," said race organizer Cliff Miller. "We thought that we'd beat last year's four 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 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, "but 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."

After one hour, 255 people were on the waiting list. Up to 500 will earn spots on that list.