VICTOR — A race near the Fred Burr Reservoir aims to raise money to buy bikes for local veterans while also honoring a Bitterroot biking fixture.
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"I kind of want to carry on just giving back to the community the way that my husband did," Dawn Whaley of the Marland Whaley Foundation told MTN.
A five-time national motorcycle champion and ultra-endurance mountain biker, her husband, Marland Whaley, was always on two wheels.
"It means the world to me just to honor him. We just had many great memories in 19 years of marriage. And so it's just an honor to do so and to reach out and to support our veterans in our community as well," Whaley said.
Victor's The Property is running MarlandFest and donating all proceeds to the Marland Whaley Foundation with the goal of getting bikes for Bitterroot veterans.
"Biking really has saved my life," The Property's Arthur Sykes said. "As a veteran myself, I just know how much biking has done me and for other veterans out there who might be looking for outlets. What a great way to fire up some endorphins and get their bodies moving in a healthy way."
"Katie [Sykes] came up with the name for the event in honor of my late husband Marland. We're going to have bike races, a mountain bike race, a running race, kids races, food, fun, and screening of Red Bull Rampage," Whaley explained.
The event takes place from Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 with support from the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office.
"It's kind of an open race format. There's not a mass start. You can come throughout the weekend, log your time on Strava. We'll be tracking it. We'll have award ceremony on Saturday and Sunday. It's 10 miles round trip and we'll have aid stations and search and rescue out there making sure everybody is safe," The Property's Katie Sykes explained.
"If you're interested in just riding your bike and not doing the race, we have open trails that are going to be available to the public also," Arthur Sykes added.
Camping is available on-site for those planning on staying the whole weekend.
“It's pack in, pack out, bring your own water. We will have supplementary water, but trying to reduce bottled water. So, bring meals, bring snacks. We'll have some concessions. We'll provide a meal on Saturday night. But yeah, pretend like you're going camping in the backcountry," Katie Sykes said.
Tickets and a full schedule can be found here.
