There's hardcore cyclists, those that are somewhat competitive and then those who do it purely for recreation, and the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay (KCIBR) always manages to showcase a few of them all.

Nearly 1,200 people hit the pavement in the 13th annual relay on Saturday, divided into 236 teams, which is the most ever to take part in the event.

Even more impressive was the fact there were 21 solo riders this year, including Whitehorse resident Jonah Clark, who took first place in the men's solo category. Clark also won the men's solo field in the 24 Hours of Light race earlier this month, proving he is one of the top riders in the territory.

The overall winner of this year's KCIBR was a four-person male team from Fairbanks, the Animals of Fairbanks.

Yukon group Up North Adventures finished second behind the Fairbanks squad in the four-person men's category, with a time of seven hours and 58 seconds.

'If we were only one minute faster,' smiled Mike McCann, in an interview following the awards presentation. 'There were four of us, so surely we could have shaved a minute somewhere.'

McCann has competed in all 13 KCIBRs, on various teams over the years. He was part of a team that set the record in the relay for the four-person men four years ago. But this year, he said, the team didn't really aim for any records.

'We didn't set so many goals. We all wanted to have a good ride and then what happens, happens. You can never really count on what other people do. You do what you can.

'Everybody on the team did really well. We had an excellent time and the whole team was really supportive of each other.'

McCann said while it was sunny and clear over most of the relay course some of the Leg 4 riders were sprinkled with rain for a few minutes the head winds caused some problems for the later riders.

'I think from Leg 5 on is where they could really feel it. You just get it all at once up there. The winds were so bad that more than one person I talked to said they had to pedal down the hills, which you usually don't have to do.

'Nobody was going to break records with these winds.'

It was relatively new rider Will Merchant that got stuck with Leg 5 for Up North, and McCann said he did an admirable job, considering it's only his second year riding.

The head winds were also a bit of an issue for 16-year-old Reid Campbell of Haines Junction, who competed in the solo men's category. Campbell, who finished the relay in about 10 and a half hours, only started training hard for the event about three weeks ago, and was originally under the impression he would be competing on an eight-person team.

'I got home from hockey (he was a member of the AAA midget team in Fort St. John this past season, and then attended the B.C. Best Ever camp in May), started school and work right away, and didn't really think about it until a few weeks ago,' he explained. 'I was supposed to go on a team of eight, but no one got anything together. I just signed up like four days before the race.'

Campbell entered the race by himself in order to train for an upcoming hockey trip to Europe.

When he was at the Best Ever camp, the young defenceman was invited to join Team Canada Polar, a midget select team from Alberta and B.C. that will travel to Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic from July 30 to Aug.14 fellow Yukoner Adam Henderson was also invited but declined because of other hockey obligations.

Campbell set up a poster in his family's Haines Junction bakery asking people to sponsor his trip to Europe by donation, mentioning that he was also biking solo in the KCIBR.

He'd received $500 in donations by the start of the race, and the event itself, he said, was a great experience.

'You don't notice they're such big hills until you climb them on a bike,' he laughed. 'Your legs get pretty tired after all that and so does your butt.

'I was expecting it. I knew it would be long and hard, but I'm not a quitter. I just kept going. When you cross the finish line, you think, Wow, I can't believe I just did that.''

Campbell, who admitted his friends thought he was crazy to be competing in the solo category of the race at just 16 years old, said he's probably going to do it again next year, perhaps on a two-person team with his younger brother Evan.

For now though, he will keep working at the bakery, and also the town's pool, to raise money for his Europe trip. He takes off in two and a half weeks for a hockey camp in Kelowna before he leaves the continent.

Full results from the 2005 Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay will be printed in Tuesday's edition of the Star.