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Andrew
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« on: June 21, 2009, 10:14:49 AM » |
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This amazing race can be summarized in a few short lines...
240km from Haines Junction, Yukon to Haines, Alaska.
Can be ridden as a relay, but my brother and I rode it solo this year.
Perfect Weather, if you don't mind 40km/h headwinds.
8 hours in the saddle.
6600 calories burned.
4 Solo bars, 7 bottles of e-Load, 6 e-Zone tablets, and 3 Snickers bars consumed.
This event really should be on everyone's "dream" calendar, if you love to ride interesting routes, that can be both challenging and fun at the same time. There are over 1200 athletes in this event, with most taking part in the 8-person team event, where each rider rides approximately 30km of the 240km route. Over the past few years, there have been a growing number of solo and 2-person teams entering, and my brother and I decided we would give the full route a whirl, having raced well in the 2-person team category in 2007 and 2008.
The dynamics of this race are really exciting, as the start gives the 4-person teams a 15 minute head start, and puts the solo and 2-person teams together in the second wave. This means there are constantly changing groups of riders working together to catch the leaders, while picking up riders from teams that have been passed earlier in the day.
The scenery really is spectacular, and I will try to get a few photos up on the site so everyone can see what I mean. There are no towns, villages or outposts between Haines Junction and the border into Alaska just outside of Haines. So, the only traffic is from all the race support vehicles, manned by cheering fans and family members. It is a festival-like atmosphere the whole way, and is more like a huge community event, rather than a real race. Having said that, there are always some spectacular athletes who go hard from the gun, and put on a really good show.
My brother Tim, who heads up the BPR-Whitehorse group and I donned our gear on Saturday morning and were shuttled from our little cabin at Kathleen Lake to the race start by our support driver, Lisa Vowk. Lisa, and her daughter Kate, as well as Tim's wife Rose and daughter, Dana, along with our Mum, had all volunteered for support duty. The huge support was a definite must, and we needed every ounce of the fluids and food we had packed into 2 different coolers.
Tim had a rough section in the middle, but was saved by the e-Zone tablets I had stored away, which dissipated his cramps nearly instantaneously, and we stayed together for the entire ride, celebrating a strong finish with a very good sprint to the line. Both a little weary, but smiling the whole way.
If you are looking for a cycling adventure to do alone, or with friends and family, you won't find anything quite like the KCIBR!
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