Dustin Labby loves his hometown of Kamloops, B.C., and will do whatever he can to make it the best place possible. As an avid enduro racer, Labby has latched onto his role as director of trail maintenance for the Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association (GKMA).
“I’ve really enjoyed riding in Kamloops the last few years and working with our local bike club,” Labby said. “It’s really fulfilling maintaining trails and riding them afterwards.”
Labby and his Husqvarna FX 350 have left nary a stone unturned in the Thompson-Nicola region of south central B.C. If there’s a trail or track worth riding, Labby’s done it. Read his local recommendations in the sidebar below.
Throughout the summer, Labby is working with the GKMA on a monthly ride series where people ride the loop in a new area every month.
“I really want to increase the ridership in our off-road community to keep these epic trails open for the future,” said Labby.
Uncle Moto and Enduro
Labby’s competitive nature and love of enduro stems from a couple of family mentors who pointed him in the right direction.
“My uncles always had bikes—Jason rode motocross and Glen rode enduro,” Labby said. “I rode a few hard enduro trails with Glen and was hooked after that. I love sharing the passion for the sport with great people.”
Enduro on the go
Labby looks to be busy this season. He competes in Pacific North West Motorcycle Association (PNWMA) series, Vancouver Island Hare Scramble Series (VIHSS) and World Enduro Canada’s Cross Country Championship West (CXCCwest).
One of Labby’s favourite rides occurred a few years ago at the Black Lung race in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.
“I overheated the bike on the top of a climb and had to push it up a few hills and into a creek to fill up my hydration pack with water so I could fill the rad up enough to make a big climb to get off the mountain,” he said. “After making it up this big hill, I checked in with the sweepers and coasted down the mountain to finish and hand in my tag.”
Wherever Labby goes for enduro racing or otherwise, he always comes back home where he belongs.
“Before I got into enduro, I used to travel overseas a lot for surf trips,” Labby said. “It really just made me love Kamloops and B.C. even more.”
Kick up the dust:
Here are Dustin Labby’s local ride recommendations for the area around Kamloops, B.C.:
Greenstone Kawi Trail: CP trail with rocky, rooted uphills with long climbs as well as flowy quad track trails with technical single track in the upper sections in the pine forest
Duffy: Fast flowy single track around Duffy Lake
Chuwhels Melbo: Long sections with no splits and lots of rocky, rooted single track at high elevations
Lac DuBois: Grasslands with long rocky hills
Lafarge: Sandy, flowy, rocky trails with pine trees
Inks Lake: Lots of quad tracks with nice alpine forest trails in the upper sections
Noble: Forested single track with some quad tracks
Whispering Pines Motorsports Compound: An off-road riding facility in Black Pines with several moto tracks, kids tracks and an enduro/X. The dirt at Whispering Pines is great in the rain with lots of sand.