June is traditionally bike month around Vancouver, but don't try to tell that to September. Or October, for that matter. The calendar of cycling events over the next two months is quickly filling up with mountain bike, BMX, and cyclocross races, plus a mass community road ride led by none other than seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

One person who is all too aware of the intensity of interest in two-wheeled action is Cliff Miller, one of the organizers of the Test of Metal bike race held each June in Squam­ish. When the Georgia Straight talked with him recently about the upcoming Grass Roots Championships originally scheduled for later this month, Miller admitted: "We've run out of weekends in September to hold events." Now he and his fellow directors of the recently formed Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association (GRMBA) are planning to stage the six-hour, multiteam race, also called the Bill Landry Memorial Loonar Enduro, at the end of October in bike-friendly Alice Lake Provincial Park.

When queried about the aim of the new cycling association, Miller said that the GRMBA's goal is to facilitate "fun, safe mountain bike races, both for downhill and cross-country riders. Make no mistake, mountain biking in B.C. is still a growing sport. And it's especially thriving with 30- to 50-year-olds like me." As an example, he cited the fact that this year's 67-kilometre Test of Metal sold out all of its 800 places in less than an hour. "Cross-country lap races are pretty much dying out among most West Coast mountain bikers, who prefer point-to-point events such as this summer's seven-day BC Bike Race, and the Cheakamus Challenge later this month between Squamish and Whistler." (For those riders leery of attempting the entire 70-kilometre course, this year's fall classic offers a new 40-kilometre "light" version.)

When is a mountain bike not a mountain bike? When it's a hybrid. The same query could be extended to mountain bike races that, when run on both cross-country and road terrain, morph into cyclocross contests. The BC Cross Cup series kicks off this Sunday (September 9) in Fort Langley. Cyclocross has a long history in Europe as off-season training for both road and mountain bike riders. The combination of high speeds, obstacles that require running dismounts, and slippery sections guaranteed to send unwary riders flying builds fitness while improving bike-handling skills

A typical cyclocross race lasts for an hour and is carried out over a short course with a variety of terrain, such as that found around Aldor Acres farm, site of the season-opening event. Youth and novice riders who line up are in for a rare treat. Because cyclocross is relatively new to the West Coast, there is far less pressure during these workouts than the high-profile road contests, with their arcane rules of etiquette. For many newcomers, cyclocross simply offers a chance to ride in the woods with like-minded crazies. You don't need a hybrid bike to compete; a mountain bike will do just fine.

This summer marked a turning point for BMX racing on the West Coast when Victoria hosted the world championships in July. But just to prove the season is not quite finished, next weekend (September 15 and 16) the Ridge Meadows track is hosting the ninth and final event on the Western National Series calendar. These little bikes are extremely popular with families. As proof, the parking lot around the Pitt Meadows site will be filled with RVs from across the western provinces. Racers as young as five years old will compete on a rolling dirt course with their parents in hot pursuit, albeit in different age categories. As one young mother told the Georgia Straight at a previous BMX event in Abbotsford: "If anyone had said to me at age 20 that one day I would be wearing body armour and getting big air on a little bike, I would never have believed them. Now I'm over 30 and look at me. I've got my two kids to thank." Put that down to BMX's appeal as a sport the entire family can enjoy and afford.

Without a doubt, the local road-racing calendar peaks in July with the BC Superweek, a series of tours and giros held over 10 days in Delta, Vancouver, Burnaby, and White Rock. Come September, skinny-tire types with road-hardened posteriors have all but wrapped up their season. Just when it looked safe to retire their chamois crotch pads, along comes the Tour of Courage, led this year by Lance Armstrong. Armstrong, no stranger to local streets, won the Tour de Gastown in 1991. This month's three-day (September 21 to 23) Courage event is a fundraiser on behalf of the BC Cancer Foundation. While a select group of 35 riders will participate in the 100-kilometre Challenge Ride on September 22, a community ride the following day is open to anyone–novices and experts alike–willing to straddle a seat post over a 30-, 60-, or 90-kilometre course.

Odds are that just about everyone who participates will have bought into cancer survivor Armstrong's message, "It's not about the bike"–which is more than most competitive cyclists can say about the month of September.

ACCESS: For information on the Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association, visit www.grmba.com/ . Twice-weekly cyclocross conditioning camps are offered in Vancouver's Musqueam Park through September 20; for details, call 604-879-8114. A full schedule of cyclocross and BMX races is posted at www.cyclingbc.net/ . For details on the Chea­kamus Challenge Fall Classic, visit www.cheakamuschallenge.ca/ .