Haines Junction, Yukon to Haines, Alaska
June 16th, 2018 and more than 1200 riders making up 315 teams of 1,2,4,6 or 8 people, took to their bicycles for the 238km race (4342m elevation) from Haines Junction in the Yukon to Haines, Alaska.
I was riding the full distance solo. How hard can it be anyways?
This race covers some of the most spectacular countryside in the world with mountain valleys, alpine passes and ocean views. I chose to compete as a solo rider following an 8 month training program that saw me cycling 400-500km per week in addition to regular fitness classes at Guelph Family Martial Arts 2-3x per week for muscle balance and flexibility.
Race Day
On race day, my alarm went off at 5am and I ate 2 cliff bars. I had a nap and ate another cliff bar at 6am. Got dressed, drank coffee and helped finish packing everything so that we could check out of the hotel and head to the race start just down the road. Brother George and friend Brigitta were going to be my support crew for the day. I left them instructions to overtake me on a regular basis throughout the race to check on my progress, cheer and hopefully assist (they were carrying a floor pump etc) if i had any mechanical issues. I also let them know to be sure to help any other cyclists who needed support. I waved them off and hoped they would be ok. They would be in for a long day!
The race kicked off shortly after 8am. It was cold and windy. No time to think about that, i needed to get moving. My plan was to find a pack at a similar pace, maintain a conservative effort and ideally keep my heart rate below 155bpm. I looked down at my watch soon after the race start and my heart rate was 180bpm! I told myself it was just early race anxiety and quickly found a a pack to work with and we got organized.
Intermittent drizzle, and relentless headwinds of 50-70km/hr made for a particularly tough race. Winds were so heavy at times that organizers say gusts tipped over a portable toilet along the route! I was fortunate enough to find a good group to ride with. Over the first 215km we developed consistent pacing and everyone took turns at the front to share the burden. Since the KCIBR is a point to point race, the headwind was relentless and we could hardly hear each other speak. The uphills provided a welcome break from the wind but the downhills required pedaling so there was little break in effort during the entire ride. I was afraid to be dropped off the back since it meant an almost inevitable DNF. Mentally it would have been extremely tough to envisage completing the race against the wind for the whole distance without a pace line. However, i was able to hold my own in the group.
Support Crew or Camera crew?
It soon became apparent that the front riders all had support crew in team cars passing food and drink to the riders in my group every 5-10 kilometers. I hadn’t really thought of organizing my crew to have responsibility for my race nutrition. They are not cyclists and I felt that they didn’t need the additional stress of knowing what to offer me and pass it successfully while on the move for 8-10hrs. Instead they were set up to carry spare nutrition, clothing, equipment, just in case I needed it. They were also my photographers and moral support (very important!). So unlike the other riders in the pack, i carried tubes, CO2, multi-tool, 2 bottles sports drink, 6 cliff flasks and 2 gel flasks containing the contents of about 22 energy gels in total. I guess that was quite a weight penalty!
I assumed that riders would stop to take on additional fluids and had dropped 4 bottles to be delivered to checkpoints for me to pick up along the way. However, it became clear early on that the riders in my group would not be stopping at all. So i decided to ride on the 2 bottles that i was carrying and hope for the best. I am a very light sweater and with temperatures of 5C or less i wasnt going to be sweating much on this day. George did manage to skillfully pass me a 3rd bottle in the latter stages of the race but with it being so cold, i really wasnt in danger of dehydration and i didnt drink much of it.
In the latter stages of the race we passed through border controls. The immigration officer was standing outside waiting for us and we were barely off our bikes for a few minutes before we were back racing again. Most efficient border crossing of my life!
In the last 30km, there started to be some discussion among the group about the the 4k
m construction zone. For the first time in the race history, part of the course in Alaska was being re-surfaced. The race organizers had told us that the majority of the road under construction would be rideable even with 700×23 tires but there might be a bit of walking if the surface wasnt further improved, which had been promised by the construction company. However, riders were given the option of being shuttled by their support crew if they felt unsafe or they could switch bikes for something with a wider tire. Since there was no stopping in the construction zone, shuttling would mean skipping 7-9km of the race course. I told the group (there was 5 of us at this point) that i was going to complete the entire distance. i hadn’t trained for 8 months to jump in a car for a chunk of it and road bikes could cope with a bit of gravel! However, i was alone in my decision, LOL.
Approaching the gravel section, the other solo and team riders in the pack disappeared into vans and trucks and leap-frogged ahead of me. I gritted my teeth and ran the gauntlet. It was rough, dusty and painful on the hands, neck, wrists and shoulders. Fortunately the tire tracks of some riders ahead of me helped lead me through the bone-shaking gravel and pot holes safely with no punctures and no falls. It took a lot out of me and i was significantly fatigued due to additional effort at this late stage of the race. But i was proud of myself and knew I was going to complete the distance. The final 20km were mostly a solo effort though one of the team riders that caught up to me gave me a tow for a few km until i couldnt hang on any longer and told her to go on ahead.
I crossed the line at Haines, completely spent and was very happy to see my support crew at the finish. I was also grateful to see a couple of porta potty’s since I had a full bladder at this point!
The After Party and Awards
After a quick clean up at our Haines hotel, we headed to the salmon bake for some food, drinks and a bit of a party before the awards ceremony. The after party was outdoors at the parade grounds. Despite wearing lots of layers, we could still feel the cold (and the wind) and after George asked around we got word that the awards ceremony was going to be delayed much later than usual because so many cyclists were still on the course at the time of the official race finish of 9pm. In fact 48 of the 315 teams ended up not officially completing the race because they did not finish before the cut off time.
So we decided to head to the warmth of the local bars for some much needed antioxidants (wine/cocktails).
The next day, we found out that I completed the race as 2nd fastest solo woman with a time of 10:17:36 and was 3rd fastest woman overall! I was just over 8mins behind the first female finisher who i had ridden with for the majority of the race (they were shuttled through the construction zone). I would be very interested to know the outcome of the race if we had both been able to cycle the route as normal and less wind would be a major bonus!!!
3 months later, I received my trophy and ribbon for the race. This little trophy is perhaps my hardest earned in my competitive career of running, cycling, triathlon and martial arts. One day i hope to be back for the gold!
A huge thank you to my support crew Brigitta and George. This race would not have been possible as a truly solo effort. Go team!
Chancie Cycles 
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