The world’s longest, coldest ice race is ripping across Sandy Lake once more this weekend.
About a hundred hardcore off-road enthusiasts are at Sandy Beach this Feb. 15 and 16 to ride in the 29th Numb Bum 24 Hour Ice Race. Billed as the world’s longest, coldest race on ice, the event sees motorists ride quads and motorbikes on the frozen surface of Sandy Lake all day and night, with the aim of completing the most laps they can in 24 hours.
Last year’s race was cancelled due to a last-minute mix-up with provincial health and safety regulations, said event co-organizer and track master Dan Cheron.
“This year, we’ve got everything in place,” he said, and a brand-new 14.4-km track freshly plowed on Sandy Lake.
“It’s a busy, tight course,” he said, with two snail-shell-like spirals, plenty of twists and turns, and two-foot-tall snow banks all around which, depending on the weather, could flood parts of the course with water.
“It’s going to be demanding on the riders.”
Cheron said he and his team had about three-quarters of the course laid out before a massive snowstorm blew in on Feb. 11, forcing them to replow the entire thing Wednesday. Ice conditions were excellent, with 20 inches in most spots, and this weekend’s weather looked to be a balmy -5 to -10 C.
Team St. Albert
The Numb Bum is listed in the Guinness World Book of Records as the world’s longest, coldest ice race. Temperatures have been known to reach -48 C in some years, not including wind-chill, causing eyes to freeze and bike parts to shatter.
Back for his fourth Numb Bum is former Riverside Motosports employee Greg Zeniuk, who has roped current Riverside employee and Numb Bum rookie Ryan Bisanz into Team Riverside/RHMC 47. Zeniuk said he started racing in the Numb Bum in 2015, and was eager to get back on the course after last year's cancellation.
“We’ve been practicing for the last two years,” he said of the team, and they have a Yamaha YZ450FX motorbike that has proven itself in three prior Numb Bums.
Bisanz said he was a bit timid on the bike at first, but soon felt his old motocross skills come back to him. He was surprised by the amount of grip the bike had on the ice due to the razor-sharp screw-spikes on its tires.
“You can pretty much lay the bike on its side and still turn a corner. It’s pretty wild.”
That traction and the flat nature of the course mean you can run full-throttle for the entire race, Bisanz and Zeniuk said. Speeds of 150 km/h aren’t uncommon.
The biggest challenge of the Numb Bum is just keeping your bike running, as most motors aren’t meant to run for 24 hours straight, Bisanz and Zeniuk said.
“I don’t even put 24 hours (on my bike) in probably two years of riding,” Bisanz said.
While the cold can be brutal on riders and machines, warmth can be an even bigger concern, as it leads to melted snow and deep ruts chewed in the ice. Zeniuk said it was so warm in 2017 that there were 10 inches of water in some spots, causing engines to flood and crews to have to change oil every hour.
“Everyone who had been doing it for longer than we have said those were the worst conditions in Numb Bum history,” Zeniuk said.
While this was his first Numb Bum, Bisanz noted his dad actually rode in this race a few times in the late 1980s and won it at least once.
“For me to be able to race in the same race 30 years later is pretty cool.”
The Numb Bum runs from noon Feb. 15 till noon Feb. 16 at Sandy Beach. Tickets are $10, with half of all sales going towards the Sandy Beach recreation league. Visit www.pdramx.com/2020-race for details.
