4,500 cyclists ready to ride from Vancouver to Whistler in GranFondo

What does it take to stage a 122-kilometrebike ride for thousands of riders on a windingmountain road in B.C.?

About 700 volunteers, 50 police officers,150 traffic control people and a whopping 8,000 road pylons, according to Neil McKinnon, the "chief enthusiast" for the GranFondo Whistler.

"It's a bike ride for people to have that Tour de France experience. What we do is provide them with a safe environment," McKinnon told CBC News.

Today marks the eighth annual ride fromStanley Park in Vancouver to Whistler, and McKinnon expects to see 4,500 riders grinding across the Lions Gate Bridge and up the daunting climb toward Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway.

Ride organizers provide a dedicated lane for the cyclists, creating what McKinnon describes as "the safest day of the year to be cycling."

A male-dominated event

The average rider is a 44-year-old man, and about three-quarters of participants tend to be male, McKinnon said.

But the percentage of women participating has increased over the years, climbing from the high teens in 2010 to an expected 27-28 per cent this year.

"It's actually a very high percentage for cycling, which is still a male-dominated sport," McKinnon added.

The age of participants ranges from the early teens to late 70s, and very few people fail to complete the ride.

"We have five aid stations along the way, a lot of support, and along the route there are tensof thousands of people particularly in Squamish cheering on those riders as they ride through," McKinnon said.

Elite riders who compete for a $50,000 prize purse in the Giro category of the ride can finish in as little as three hours and 17 minutes, according to McKinnon. The average rider takes more like five hours, and the last cyclists pull into Whistler after about eight hours.

Organizers say they do their best not to cause major delays to vehicle traffic, but numerous detours and closures will be in effect today as the cyclists make their way north.

For a complete list of traffic changes, visit the GranFondo Whistler website.

With files from Deborah Goble