Rotary bike ride a big success
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| Though never officially named to the post, Ron Sukenik, in the blue vest to the left, served as de facto chairman of the 9th annual Kootenai River Ride Saturday. |
Officially, 191 people rode in the event, including 40 who faced the challenge of the 100K course. One couple from Cranbrook had a double ride, having missed the turn up Katka the first time around and riding back to town. When told of the error, they set out to fix it.
Two girls, who decided to try the 100K for the first time after one had recovered from an earlier fall from her bike and the other had quit smoking this spring. When told they were still eight or nine miles from the turn around after the tough Katka climb, they let loose a few expletives, but decided that having come that far, they weren't turning around.
While no "official" Kootenai River Ride chairman had been named for this year's event, Rotarian Ron Sukenik fell into the role and did a superb job, working with fellow Rotarians and community volunteers to make a ride to remember.
Two riders, one from Issaquah, Washington, and the other from Calgary, both said emphatically that the Kootenai River Ride ranks "right up there with the best of them."
Every rider, whether on the 100K, the 16K or the one in between, was appreciative of the food and drink at stations along the way and the people who manned them, and they much enjoyed the picnic back at the fairgrounds after the race, though one emailed afterwards that he didn't get enough baked potato. This being his eighth Kootenai River Ride, he now knows to ask for more food if he's in the same predicament next year.
The "Kootenai Crew" from Boundary County Live was on hand to put together a 10-minute video of the event, and you can see it by visiting the Boundary County Live website by clicking here.