Get on your bikes and ride

The Kinsmen Club of Sault Ste. Marie wants you to get on your bike and ride.

In a race to beat cystic fibrosis.

For the first time in Sault Ste. Marie, a solo/ team eight-hour mountain bike relay race will be rolling through Kinsmen Park and the Hiawatha Highlands.

The club is calling the event 8 Hours of Superior Singletrack.

Last night, SooToday.com caught up with a few soggy, smiling race organizers to get the scoop on the new track.

Shown are John Myles, Jesse Wetzl, Scott Elgie and Mike Fetherston.

8 Hours of Superior Singletrack Marketing Coordinator Scott Elgie said that so far, the July 19 race has more than 55 participants ranging in age from 9 to 61 years.

Each participant must bring a minimum of $40 in pledges for cystic fibrosis and has a chance to win some of the $5,000 worth of prizes offered.

The top prize for the individual raising the most money is an Edge 205, Garmin's GPS-enabled personal trainer and cycle computer.

The trail system was designed and is being maintained by the Algoma Trail Crew, a division of the Sault Cycling Club.

Elgie said much of the course uses existing single and double ski trails, but new singletrack has been added to the trail system for this event.

"Races like this are fairly common all over the place now," said Elgie. "Sault Ste. Marie happens to have some amazing terrain and people up here from out of town really love what we have."

He said race organizers hope to make this an annual fun event.

"Hiawatha really has some great trails that we'd like to showcase both for local and for out-of-town people," said Elgie. "We have long recognized the value of these trails and we wanted other people to enjoy them in an official capacity."

Preparation for the race really got underway last January when Elgie, Brad Phaneuf and John Miles, who are all members of the Sault Cycling Club, joined the Kinsmen Club.

The Algoma Trail Crew has been busy making and erecting signs and trail markers to designate the trail and is in the process of creating maps of the new trails.

They also have plans to work with the Sault Ste. Marie Regional Conservation Authority to expand into the old Pinder Farm area with more trail systems and to offer more events for families and children next year.

For more information on the race or to sign up using an online form, visit the website.