The Kluane to Chilkat International Bike Relay brought thousands of cyclists barreling down the Haines Highway towards a well deserved salmon barbecue. KHNS’s Alain d’Epremesnil caught up with a few athletes who shared what they found special in the event.
Christina, from Whitehorse: “I pedaled about 110 km. It was really good until the last 10 km, which were a lot of suffering on the bike. I had an amazing support crew that was around actually more than I was expecting to see them. And they were passing me peanut butter sandwiches. They were pretty messy. I think my handlebars are still covered in stickiness from jam.”
Ella from Whitehorse: “The weather was awesome, it was super sunny. We were kind of racing against another team, I don’t think they knew that, but were were kind of competing with the pirate team, we just liked their costumes, and and they were pretty close to us, and we were like, we are going to beat them, so we did.”
Eva, from whitehorse: “So, I’m a new road cyclist and right in the last few miles into Haines, a couple people passed me and said ‘stick with us, and we’ll teach you how to draft’. They just said ‘get in line’, and I did, and they said ‘have you done this before?’, and I said ‘not really’, and they said ‘well, when you get to the front, count to 30, and then go to the left and go to the back.’ And I just tried to stick with them and not get too close and cause a crash. Total strangers, they shook my hand at the finish line and I never even got their names.”
Julia, from Whitehorse: “I got that amazing downhill off the pass down 600 m into the big coastal forest. And it was probably the most fun 10 minutes of biking in my life.”
