Alberta's longest, coldest motorized ice race is back, says its organizer, and it could be bumpier than ever.
Thousands of race fans will gather at Sandy Beach this Saturday and Sunday for the 23rd annual Numb Bum 24, an event where riders race their motorcycles and quads across the frozen Sandy Lake for 24 hours straight — no matter how cold it gets. The Guinness World Book of Records lists it as the world's longest, coldest ice race.
The event was cancelled last year due to unsafe ice conditions brought on by thick snow and warm weather. While the event had been cancelled before, organizer Dan Cheron said it was the first time in memory that it had been called due to the weather.
The ice is plenty thick this year, Cheron said, but the constant freeze-thaw cycles of late have made it extremely rough — some of the bumps are almost 10 centimetres tall.
"That's going to be something at 90 miles an hour."
He calls these bumps "tank-slappers" due to their ability to send an unwary driver's crotch slamming into a bike's gas tank.
But there's almost no snow on the lake, he added, which could make it tough to mark out the 14-kilometre, 160-corner track. They might have to use sticks.
"It'll look more like a downhill ski race."
There will be plenty of snow by the end of the race, he noted: racers typically grind 46-centimetre deep grooves in the ice with their screw-studded tires.
Ready to race
Ryan Dixon and his four teammates at St. Albert's Riverside Yamaha-Suzuki dealership will be some of the 120 racers expected to take part in this year's Numb Bum. A 15-year veteran of the event, he'll be racing a 2012 KTM 500 XC-W dirt bike in the bike pro-open (24-hour) class.
It's the challenge that keeps bringing him back, he said. Racers have to ride for hours at a time on sheer ice, often reaching speeds of over 100 kilometres an hour.
"It can be -50 C with the wind chill, easily."
Returning in the daylight-only Red Eye class is Frank Barry, who works at Riverside Honda. He'll be doing a solo run on his 2007 Honda CRF450R dirt bike, and expects to spend 11 hours in the saddle.
This year's warm weather has made ice racing much easier for riders, Barry said.
"I'm just wearing long underwear and a normal jacket."
Injuries are always a risk at races like the Numb Bum, Dixon said — he's had broken knees and shoulder injuries, and recently had surgery for his rotator cuff.
"If you get run over with these [screw-studded tires], it hurts."
And then there's the weather, which can include blizzards, freezing rain and -40 C temperatures.
"Mother Nature is always the big winner of the Numb Bum," said Cheron.
But the biggest challenge may be mental, Dixon said.
"Come 3:30, four in the morning, that bed looks really, really cosy."
Race fans should definitely get to the lake in time to see the mass start, Dixon said, where 10 to 40 riders will sprint to their bikes, fire them up and go roaring off the line. "It is epic."
The finish the next day is also worth a look — the difference between first and second place can be as small as one minute.
The way to win at the Numb Bum is to have a smooth, steady pace, Barry said. Many riders go hard and fast in the early hours only to wreck their bikes and times later on.
"If you're not smooth, you won't last."
The race starts at noon Saturday. Tickets are $10, a portion of which goes towards the Sun and Sand Recreation League. For details, visit www.aeira.com.
