Iditarod Trail Invitational - Day 4

The first bikers have completed the 350 mile ITI. Peter Basinger took out the win just 33 mins ahead of equally experienced Jeff Oatley. This was Pete's 4th ITI win. Both riders were in a league of their own, approx a full day ahead of third place Jay Petervary who has yet to finish. Pete finished in 3days 9hrs 45mins. Given the length of this race, Jeff came very close to catching Pete given Pete had built up a 6hr lead going into Rainy Pass Lodge check-point 165 miles into the race.


All of the back of the pack has now passed the half way.

It'll be interesting to see how many continue the full 1100 mile trail to Nome, and also how conditions pan out further north.

Above photo was taken from a ITI flicker photo site; no credit listed.

Iditarod Trail Invitational

The 2010 race is underway, and the favourites (Pete Basinger, Jeff Oatley & Jay Petervary) are leading the way with a wealth of experience in these tough conditions. This year I'm watching from the luxury of my couch, but hopefully next year I can be on that startline myself. What an adventure[:-}

Here's a link to the latest news update.

Here's the current leaderboard:


Pete (race leader) has recently left Puntilla heading towards Rohn. Looks like tough territory even on the topo. I can only imagine what it will be like there next year ....

Alaska Ultrasport

Iditarod sled dog race:

Toughest Race on Earth - Discovery Channel

I'd like to be doing the bike version of this race next year, but it will have to wait till 2011. The bike race follows the same course as for the sledders.

Wheels in the Wind - Alaska Ultrasport

Forgive the cheesy music!

There were 45 starters in the 2008 event. Of those, 28 completed the short course (350 mile) to McGrath. Of those, 13 continued racing the full distance to Nome (1100 mile). Only 6 finished! The whole race travels along snow mobile/sled tracks. It's not so bad when the tracks are cleared, but they quickly re-fill from snow drift or fresh snow.


Alaska is a beautiful place. It's called the land of lakes. The state bird is the mosquito. Bull moose are more dangerous than bears. Innumerable creek crossing have no bridges. In winter when this race is held, -20 to -30C is not uncommon. When the wind kicks in, -60C wind-chill is also not uncommon. The Northern Lights are something to behold. I've witnessed a glimmer of these in autumn, but I am sure they'll be a dancing delight in the winter darkness.

This is certainly gonna be one hellova challenge. Already, I can't wait.