Canadian Club
Getting northern riders out on bikes at home and across the country
The U Kon Echelon gets northern riders out on bikes at home and across the country
The northern territories of Canada can boast a certain hardcore Canuck cred. Canadians who live south of the 60th parallel project an admirable hardiness and resilience onto the 0.33 per cent of their compatriots who live in the country’s “attic:” the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Trena Irving, Yukon territorial road cycling coach, says, “Southerners think we’re isolated, but really we don’t feel that way.” Irving is the head of a Whitehorse bike club called U Kon Echelon that focuses on encouraging and developing youth cycling. Out of the 40,476 souls in the Yukon, 25 belong to U Kon Echelon, most of them youth. There might be another
Zach Bell in that group. The Yukoner is a two-time Olympian i n track cycling and the 2013 national road champion who now directs the Rally uhc Cycling women’s team.
Because of the Yukon’s northern latitude and sparse population, the biking is a little different. “The daylight is unique and energizing for riding late at night,” Irving says. She recalls sneaking out to ride from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. when she first became a mother and everyone in her family was asleep. “You can get lost in the scenery,” she says, referring to the scant traffic and amazing views. Both road and mountain bikers can encounter moose, bears and coyotes, or, with luck, lynx and wolverines.
The majority of U Kon’s activities occur when there’s plenty of daylight. The club’s big annual events include the Tour de Haines Junction in May, with a record 21 riders tackling this year’s hill climb, time trial and road race. Later in the month comes the Tour de Skagway along the South Klondike Highway between Fraser, B.C. and Skagway, Alaska. Irving describes the hill-climb stage of the Skagway race as “one of the best hill climbs in Canada, and has almost 951 m of climbing in a 20-km uphill battle.” The Skagway road race adds more climbing to the Tour via the White Pass Summit. June brings the midnight sun and the Yukon road cycling championships. The summer of 2019 saw several club members training to compete in August’s Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current, Sask., by practising on the road and dirt five to six times a week. Irving’s goal is for the Yukon to host a Western Canadian championships in road cycling and cross country mountain biking.
U Kon Echelon works to help riders improve their riding abilities. “In the past,” Irving notes, “we’ve held weeklong road cycling skills camps headed by our good friend and coaching expert, Houshang Amiri.” After the club’s participation in cross country races in June’s Whistler Canada Cup, Irving concentrated on developing her riders’ dirt skills. Autumn sees weekly fat-tire races come into the schedule. Irving not only coaches those who are competing on a national level, but as a Can-bike instructor, also holds bike safety courses for Whitehorse commuters.
To visiting mountain bikers, Irving recommends the Grey Mountain and Mount Mcintyre trails near Whitehorse. An hour’s drive south, there’s Montana Mountain, which she calls “an internationally acclaimed mountain biking mecca” in the Carcross/tagish First Nation territory. Being hardy Whitehorsers, the local two-wheel set rides fat bikes in the winter, when good lights are no doubt crucial.