Vancouver couple hits Yukon River after biking 24 Hours of Light

As if riding the 24 Hours of Light Mountain Bike Festival wasn’t challenging enough.

As if riding the 24 Hours of Light Mountain Bike Festival wasn’t challenging enough.

Now Lina Augaitis – who with her partner Andrew Dye finished first in the two-person team in the bike race – is attempting to stand-up paddleboard the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson.

She finished the 24 hour bike festival Sunday at noon, after completing 24 laps of the 13-kilometre course, with her sights set on Dawson on Monday.

She laughed when she said it.

“We’ll sleep a lot the next 24 hours and then we’ll take off tomorrow evening,” she said, noting that Dye will be riding along in a sea kayak. “We kind of wanted to combine both the expedition and the race.”

The two Vancouverites are what you’d call adventurers.

Especially Augaitis, who competed in the Kalamalka Lake Classic SUP (Stand Up Paddle) race in Vernon, B.C., from June 18-19.

As an adventure racer, the Yukon was a natural progression, she said.

“I really wanted to explore the north. I’ve never been up here. I really like (traveling) to do events because you meet people and you see a different part of the town, other than just being a tourist. I really enjoy combining new places with events and races.” Dye, who rode the 24 Hours of Light previously, seemed pumped to return, despite his exhaustion at the finish line.

“This race is amazing,” Dye said. “I came here in ’07 and it’s the best 24-hour race anywhere. It’s a great course, it’s really fun, people know how to have a good time in this, everyone’s really friendly, it’s really well organized and there are great, great trails.”

Augaitis said the added novelty of there being light through the night was a bonus.

“I would say the hardest hours are between 12 and 4 a.m. You can’t use lights in this race, so it definitely gets just light enough to sort of see the outline of the trail.

But luckily in a two-person team we had already done seven or so laps, so we kind of could remember where the roots or rocks were, which helped us in the dark.”

Dye added that surviving the event depends on knowing when to pace yourself. 

“It varies. If you’re having a good time – one lap there was a bunch of guys, we were enjoying riding together, so I was going a bit harder to stay with them because it’s fun – but then I paid for that later on. You want to enjoy it, that’s the whole point of being here.”

The two were absurdly ebullient and articulate at the finish line.

How are you stringing together sentences?

(Laughter.)

“I think I’m ready for some sleep,” Dye said.

Added Augaitis: “I think once a bed is in front of me I will crash.”