The Contagious Mountain Bike Club held its annual 5+ Hours of Light Fat Bike Festival on Dec. 21 at Wolf Creek Campground near Whitehorse.
A total of 78 riders participated in this year’s event, which features riders racing to complete as many laps of the nine-kilometre course during daylight hours as possible. All together, riders completed 214 laps or 1,926 km in total.
The uptick in riders is something Colin McCann, vice president of the CMBC, attributes to the excellent conditions on the day — well-packed trails and temperatures around -17 C.
“This year I think people knew it was good conditions,” said McCann. “So they all decided to come.”
In individual competition, Francois Pigeon, Steve Ball and Crispin Struder each completed eight laps in the men’s category, and finished one through three based on the order of finish.
Maren Bradley and Jenn Baardseth each completed six laps in the women’s category and finished first and second based on finishing time.
The top team was James Mitchell and Adam McDougal, under the name Team Jadam, who completed eight laps.
McCann said the hardwork from Mitchell, who spearheaded the event, and a group of approximately a half-dozen volunteers really made the the event special.
“The highlight for sure was the prep,” said McCann. “The tree cutting, the trail grooming and the trail making that was done for the event was pretty awesome.”
In addition to riding, the festival also included a potluck meal, coffee and hot chocolate, a place to warm up and prizes courtesy of festival sponsors.
The festival is the final event of the year for the CMBC, but club has its annual planning meeting scheduled for Jan. 20, 2020, at the Whitehorse Public Library.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com