Excellent weather contributed to a great turnout for the 5+ Hours of Light fat bike festival at Wolf Creek Campground Sunday.

The event was co-hosted by Contagious Mountain Bike Club and Cycling Association of Yukon.

The Star spoke with organizer Jesse Weyman about halfway though the event.

He said the final number of riders that registered was 62.

Weyman agreed that the weather had something to do with the large turnout.

“Very likely, yes. The last time we hosted the event, the morning temperatures at sunrise were at about -29ºC and this year it clocked in around -3, -2.

“It’s a gorgeous, sunny day here. The trails are great as well.

“It’s been a tough year. I coordinate the grooming for the Contagious Mountain Bike Club (CMBC) as well and it’s been a tough year with all the strange freeze-thaw pattern we’ve had in terms of getting the trails groomed at Mount McIntyre and on Grey Mountain.

“And the volunteer, Jim Hawkings, who packs the trail out here, has done a fantastic job. So it’s a real nice course out there.”

Weyman said the course is 8.5 km long and “nice and wide, packed. There’s a couple sections that are single-track but a lot of it is wider because it’s the walking trails here at the Wolf Creek campground. And really nice rolling terrain, not too many big hills. Just a couple little ones along the way to keep you on your toes.”

Weyman said he’d gotten really positive feedback from the riders.

“It seems like everyone’s having a great day. There may be a couple slippery spots out there down by the river but overall, reports that the trail’s in great shape and everyone’s having a great time.”

Weyman said there were a couple people in holiday theme costumes, as well as copious amounts of food available through a pot luck.

He also thanked the volunteers for their efforts.

“It really takes a community and we’re so lucky in the Yukon to have so many people that not only fat-bike, but mountain-bike too and get engaged in their community events. So really just grateful to everyone who’s lent a hand to participate and for all the people who chose to register and show up. It makes putting these efforts in to host these kinds of events worthwhile.”

Aaron Foos was taking a break after doing three laps on the course.

“It’s great. Pretty ideal. Nice temperature.”

Foos said his goal for the day was to “have fun.”

“I do at least five (laps.) I’m not trying to race for the win. I’m just having fun.”

Of the festival, Foos said, “I don’t know if I’ve ever missed one of them. I usually help organize them.

“It’s just fun to ride with people that are like-minded on bikes in the winter. When you get a nice day like today and get a chance to do a bunch of laps with friends, it’s great.”

Foos said the warmer temperature gets more people out on the course and added it was -4.2ºC on the trail Sunday.

“As long as it doesn’t get warmer. When it gets above freezing, it’s not great,” related Foos.

“It’s good fun. Jim’s got the course in great shape, as usual.

“It’s nice to have a dedicated neighbour like that who keeps the course in such great shape.”

Foos said he set up the course.

“I designed this course when they moved it from the Grey Mountain course. We started this event on Grey Mountain years ago and then we had a winter that was too warm and all the trails iced up really badly on Grey Mountain and it was too dangerous to have it.”

Foos pointed out that the Wolf Creek course is pretty intermediate.

“It’s friendly for everyone. Its not too hard. If people want to try out the fat bikes and get a taste for it, it’s not going to ‘crush their soul’ and make them hate it.

“And there’s lots of options to make it shorter if you just want to go for a spin.”

Foos said, however, there’s enough of a challenge for people who want to take it seriously.

“It can bite on a few spots on the course, which is kind of nice. I think it’s a good balance for participation and still challenging people that want to go hard.”

Foos said the conditions Sunday were almost “too good.”

“You’ve got to slow down or else you ‘overcook’ a lot of corners. I’ve seen a number of people who’ve done that on a few corners because conditions are so good. You can go too fast.”

Foos added Icycle Sports had a fleet of rental bikes there for people who wanted to have a go at the trails.

Brooke Alsbury was splitting time on a bike with her friend, Alison Sisson and had done two laps.

“It’s beautiful. What a spectacular day,” she exclaimed. “The conditions are amazing and the temperature is just magical.

“The trail conditions are excellent. I’m not a racer, but for the race today, I think it’s been really great. It’s all packed down and it’s fast and it’s fun.”

Alsbury, a first-time 5+ rider, figured they’d do five or six laps.

She added, “This time of year, any event that brings people out and brings community together, I think is really important.

Weyman figured the total number of laps ridden by all riders was likely somewhere in the 700-800 range.

Hudson Lucier, president of the CMBC, head coach of the Yukon Mountain Bike team and local athlete, completed the most laps and set a new course record with nine laps completed, riding over 70 km during the five hour event.