bikeyukon.com forums

NSMB article

2009-06-06T10:45:07-08:00

In case you haven’t heard the news, a Vancouver-based website called NSMB (North Shore Mountain Biking) is currently here writing and shooting photos for an upcoming article.

Their itinerary looks good:

Day 1 - Arrive in Whitehorse. Build bikes, 2-3 hour ride - a little taster - BBQ at yurtville
Day 2 - Big brunch, shuttle ride Goat Trail, tour of Whitehorse, brewery tour, early dinner, big night ride. Epic evening/night ride (midnight sun ride) We will be shuttling up Grey mountain then hike a bike for 45 min to the top of Grey mountain and start our way down from there. From there we will be making our way down to the Yukon River and then follow the river bank for about 15km. The entire ride should be about 4 to 5 hours
Day 3 - Carcross all day, Skagway AK for dinner
Day 4 - Grey Mountain/Yukon River/Carcross - which ever is the favourite! BBQ and party with a bunch of local mt bikers
Day 5 - recover, fly home

But what’s most cool is that I bet there’s a lot of locals who’ve done the same tour themselves (sans the glamour and return flight). Man, we live in such a killer place, don’t we?

2009 King of the Canyon

2009-09-12T08:52:21-08:00

I’ve lost count of how many King of the Canyon events have run - I’d guess six? - but the big day is happening again. This year it’s on Saturday, September 19, 2009.

King of the Canyon (KOC) is the Yukon’s only honest-to-goodness epic mountain bike race and is also the territory’s XC championship, wrapping back, forth and around nearly all of Whitehorse’s local trails. Two courses are available - the longer 50 km version and a shorter 25 km.

Start location is the boat launch area at Schwatka Lake Recreational Area. Registration opens at 11:00 a.m. and the race starts at noon.

Cost per rider is $20 for the 50 km course and $15 for the 25 km. This fee includes everything: aid stations, draw prizes and a huge BBQ at the finish. Speaking from experience, the aid stations are amazing. Nothing makes the misery of a 50 km slog go away faster than stumbling upon a glorious spread of fruit, chocolate and energy drinks in the middle of the forest, hosted by a smiling group of volunteers.

Participants must be Cycling Association Yukon members, or if you’re not from the Yukon, have insurance from your own club that covers you while traveling.

The ultimate Yukon mountain bike

2009-07-06T14:29:20-08:00

I first came to the Yukon over a decade ago. At the time, I was very much still into xc racing, so my bike was a light, 22 lbs. race hardtail with a 3” travel fork.

After a summer spent riding in Whitehorse, I had not only many new scars but also two broken frames. Riding a hyper-light race bike is not the way to go when there’s rocky trails and fast bumpy singletrack all over the place. Whitehorse trails are pretty smooth, just not as buttery smooth as those in Southern Ontario.

Now more than 10 years later, I own two bikes: a 28 lbs. steel 29er hardtail with a 4” fork and a near-40 lbs. all-mountain bike with 6” at either end. They are awesome rides, but I don’t think either represent the ultimate Yukon mountain bike.

To me, the ultimate Yukon ride is a relatively light, but still strong, all-mountain, full-suspension setup. Something under 30 lbs., 5” travel front and back. Fast-rolling, but grippy tires, 2.3” width at maximum. Fairly upright position, but still aggressive enough to comfortable tackle the occasional race or group event.

An example bike that immediately comes to mind is the Norco Fluid.

What about you? What’s the ultimate Yukon mountain bike?

Montana Mountain trail map

2009-07-25T13:11:02-08:00

Montana Mountain in Carcross is home to some of the best riding in the Yukon, perhaps even Western Canada (depends on your definition of “best”). For me, Montana is that place: an epic location with amazing trails that challenge all levels and types of mountain bikers.

As Montana is still pretty new on the radar, there’s not much available in the way of official trail maps. No worries though, Bike Yukon got its hands on a recent version that we’re happy to share: download the Montana Mountain trail map (PDF, 1.1 MB).