麻豆社区

Mountain bikers from the Yukon and beyond gathered to celebrate the midnight sun in Whitehorse this weekend.

The 24 Hours of Light Bike Relay saw 140 cyclists complete a 13-km track behind the Copperbelt Railway and Mining Museum as many times as possible between noon Saturday and noon Sunday.

The race was celebrating its 13th year, organizer David Troup told the Star today.

"A third of the participants are from outside Whitehorse,鈥� he explained. "We've got people who came from California, Alaska, Alberta, Ontario, Newfoundland. There were people from all over this year, so it's really nice to have that kind of a turnout.鈥�

Troup said the unique bike relay event is a big draw for mountain bike enthusiasts across the continent.

"A lot of people do centre a trip around the event,鈥� he said. "There's lots of towns in Canada and the U.S. that have 24-hour races, but the unique thing about this is that it's the 24 hours of light, and we don't allow the use of lights or anything. I think that's actually what the appeal is for a lot of people 鈥� the unique attribute of light that just makes this event stand out a little bit more than other 24-hour races. It's a unique way to celebrate the solstice with like-minded individuals.鈥�

As the northern dusk sets in between 1 and 3 a.m., track times tend to slow down as cyclists become more cautious.

Many riders were in awe of the supermoon, which was very visible on the section of track known as Porcupine Ridge.

Karl "Blastmann鈥� Blattmann was the top solo rider, completing 21 13-km laps (273 km total) in 21:42:38.

Californian Heidi Volpe was tops among solo female riders, completing 16 laps (208 km) on a single-speed bike in 19:58:53.

Team Mangold (Chuck and Vastyl Mangold from Anchorage, Alaska) topped the two-person team standings, finishing 19 laps, while Weekend Warriors (Adrian Campbell, Michael Povaschuk, Ben Crutchfield and Carl Landry from Calgary) won the four-person category by completing 30 laps.

Speed of Light, a local five-person team, won the eight-man division by completing 26 laps. Whitehorse cyclists Isabel Beauregard, Finn Matrishon, Sean MacKinnon and Karl McEwan were joined by Terrace resident Bruce Martindale to form the winning team.

The winning teams received medals and a half-pound of Midnight Sun coffee at a post-race awards ceremony. The two solo category winners also received bike jerseys.

Troup said many of the race categories came down to a final lap.

"The last few hours were kind of interesting,鈥� he said. "There were a lot of categories where teams were tied for first, second or third. People really had to push themselves and start crunching numbers to see how many laps they could squeeze in. It really made those last few hours exciting.鈥�

While the relay attracts both competitive and recreational riders, Troup said he was most impressed with the solo cyclists.

"The teams usually seem to make it through pretty well, but those solo riders are in a totally different mental state than the teams,鈥� Troup said. "

Running on Empty, a four-man team from New York attended the race in honour of late cyclist Jeff Miller.

Longtime friend Joe Nacca rode with Miller's son Maxx and Lawrence and Jack Creatura, finishing in fifth place.

"It was a really special thing for those guys to do,鈥� Troup said.