Saturday’s Kluane-Chilkat International Bike Relay promises to feature fancy bikes and packs of precision riders drafting each other for advantage.

The KCIBR didn’t start out so sporty. Held on July 3, 1993, the first relay drew 166 participants, more than half riding mountain bikes or hybrids. There were no solo riders.

The relay was the brainchild of City of Haines tourism director Susan Bell, local bike shop owner Thom Ely, and Pat Egan, an RCMP in Haines Junction, Y.T.

The two-man team of Sean Sheardown and Dan Shier of Whitehorse, Y.T., won the event in 8:21:51. That’s slow by today’s standards, but the pace was faster than many expected, with riders on some teams arriving at checkpoints to make hand-offs to teammates either absent or not yet ready to ride.

The weather on race day included gray skies, patches of rain and a stiff south wind, according to a newspaper account. Eight of the top 10 fastest teams were from Whitehorse.

Below are some recollections from participants:

Cynde Adams, Haines: “I remember I rode a red bike. It was my first mountain bike. I rode for two different teams. I did that for quite a few years. I’m not in shape to do that today. We could do anything back then, couldn’t we?”

Buckwheat Donahue, Skagway: “I was wearing cut-off jeans. About 10 miles in, I lost all feeling in my crotch. I was scared to death I’d permanently damaged something and there were things I wasn’t going to be able to do.”

Dave Ringle, Juneau: “We had no clue where the checkpoints were. We had no clue what to wear. I spent 30 minutes in the RCMP truck, hypothermic. There might have been 10 people in the race who knew what they were doing.”

Heather Lende, Haines: “The finish line was at the dock. It was pouring at the finish. (My husband) Chip invited everybody over to our apartment for spaghetti after the race. All the guys were sprawled out on sofas and I was standing there at the stove, cooking.”

Dan Shier, Whitehorse, Y.T.: “I just remember it being something new to do. The feeling was, ‘Let’s go out and see what this is all about.’ The Klondike (running relay) had been around for about 10 years and a lot of people wanted something that was easier on the knees than running. It nicely balanced that as something fun to do. It was clear from early on that this was going to be a happening event.”

Sean Sheardown, Whitehorse: “There weren’t that many people. There wasn’t a real big group who even rode road bikes regularly. It was more of a fun, social thing than anything.”

Pat Egan, Ottawa, Canada: “My wife and I were on mountain bikes. We were on a mixed-8 team and we were all on mountain bikes. And we won our category. That’s how competitive it was.”

Paul Wheeler, Haines: “I was pissed. I did really well and when I got to the checkpoint, the next rider on our team was still trying to get his work boots on.”