Weekend warriors converge on Nordic Centre
Sports
Posted By Pam Doyle/Canmore Leader
Posted 1 month ago
The A--less Chaps looked a little worn for wear after taking turns riding 24 laps through the night at the annual 24 Hours of Adrenalin, but the five-man mountain biking team from Canmore managed to pull their sorry bike seats across the finish line to win third in their category on Sunday.
The all day-all night mountain biking race, in its 13th year at the Canmore Nordic Centre, sold out again this year, with 1,650 mountain bikers entered. Out of those, 80 people, (five women and 75 men), entered the solo race.
For years cycling enthusiasts across the country plan their annual summer vacation around this popular event. For this one race only, campers are allowed to set up their tents on the Nordic Centre grounds, but they are asked to respect the rules and the wildlife that live at the provincial park. And that includes bears.
A cinnamon coloured black bear with a cub that has been frequenting the park decided to stick around even with the noise and hoopla of the all-night endurance party. There were no serious altercations between bears and bikers, but there was at least one close call.
At 7:30 a.m., on one of her 17 kilometre laps around the racecourse, Cansurvivor five-woman team member Bryce Chalmers-Stairs had a close encounter of the furry kind.
"It was just before I was finishing the race," Chalmers-Stairs said on Sunday morning. "I was at the top of the Georgetown trail. I came down a hill and rode around a corner and came face to face with a black bear."
The cyclist didn't need a cup of java to jolt her awake that morning.
"I slammed on the brakes," Chalmers-Stairs said. "We both looked at each other. We scared the crap out of each other."
Another rider came along and helped her to yell at the bear, which scared it off into the bush, she said.
"The bear wasn't there to do harm," Chalmers-Stairs said. "It was just there. Neither of us knew what to do. But the adrenaline rush got me up the other side of the hill. That's where 24 Hours of Adrenalin come in."
Alberta Parks Conservation officers confirmed that there was bear activity at the Nordic Centre over the weekend with periodic sightings at various locations along the trails.
"The shepherdia berries are still ripening," Conservation officer Arian Spiteri said. "The bear scat that we saw on the trails indicated that the bears are feeding on the shepherdia berries. And we probably didn't receive reports of all of the bear sightings."
But this year has been the best ever as far as racers putting their garbage in bins, storing their food and not leaving it out to attract bears.
"The bear attractant situation at the race has improved considerably over the past two years," Glenn Naylor, district conservation officer said. "Prior to then, we only had one officer on course. But since the inception of Bow Valley WildSmart, conservation officers have been able to draw on WildSmart's wildlife ambassadors to help out."
The Wind River Bear Institute also had teams of bear conflict specialists with Karelian bear dogs at the Nordic Centre to chase bears back into the woods if they made an appearance close to racers or campers.
And that was okay with the team of five chaps from Canmore, including Brent Bittner, Alistair Darichuk, Murray O'Shanyk, Darren Anderson and Mitch Klassen.
For complete race results for every category, please visit 24hoursofadrenalin.com.
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