A History of Alaska's Iditasport Bike Race
1900: Gold rushers who can’t afford dog teams begin riding bikes between Dawson City, Yukon Territories, and Nome, Alaska.
1973: Alaska dog musher Joe Redington Sr. launches the 1,000-plus-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
1983: Redington challenges Anchorage-area skiers with a 100-mile Iditarod Trail race that he calls “Iditaski.”
Early 1980s: Mountain biking is born in the United States.
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1986: Year mountain bikes first outsold road bikes on the mass market.
1987: Redington challenges the mountain bike community with a 200-mile out-and-back on Iditarod Trail. Coins it “Iditabike.” The group expects 10 riders; 26 show up.
Late 1980s: Bike builders experiment with better ways to ride snow and sand. Alaskans weld multiple rims together; Ray Molina, in New Mexico, manufactures an 82mm-wide rim and 3.5-inch tire.
1989: Four Alaskans, including Dan Bull, pedal standard mountain bikes the entire Iditarod Trail from Knik to Nome.
1991: Having taken over the Iditabike organization, Dan Bull renames it Iditasport (opening it to cyclists, snowshoers, and skiers).
1994: Simon Rakower of Fairbanks, Alaska, begins production of the 44mm-wide Snowcat rim, the first dedicated snow-bike rim.
1997: The first 350-mile “Iditasport Extreme” runs from Knik to McGrath, over the Alaska Range.
1997: Launch of the Susitna 100 that follows the same course as shortest Iditasport distance.
1999: Alaskans Mark Groneweld and John Evingson pair two different, specially made frames with 3.0 to 3.5-inch tires, birthing the first modern fat bikes.
2000: The first 1,000-mile “Iditasport Impossible” takes riders from Knik to Nome.
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2001: Iditasport dies, the result of poor organization.
2002: Iditarod Trail Invitational replaces Iditasport, organized by Bill Merchant.
2005: Surly Bikes launches the Pugsley, the first mass-produced fat bike.
2007: Alaska competitors Fatback and 9:ZERO:7 create race-worthy fat bikes.
2013: Alaskan Billy Koitzsch pedals 2,000 miles from Knik to Nome and Nome to Fairbanks, in 44 days.
2014: Koitzsch revives the Iditasport name, building on the Susitna 100 and Iditarod Trail Invitational.
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