Paula White
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jun 11/99) - A number of Inuvik bikers will be doing their part this weekend to help fight blindness by taking part in the annual Ride for Sight.

"We don't need an excuse to ride, but it helps sometimes," said Inuvik chair Mike Whiteside.

Whiteside added that, to his knowledge, Inuvik is the only community in the Northwest Territories to participate in the Ride.

"There might be the one in Yellowknife, but we can't confirm that."

The destination for Inuvik participants is, as always, Rock River, Yukon, which is located a tough 310 kilometres away.

"It is probably the most unforgiving (Ride)," Whiteside said. "You have to be concentrating 100 per cent of the time. The Dempster Highway doesn't forgive anything."

Whiteside explained that when it rains, some spots on the highway can become very slick.

"It's like Saskatchewan gumbo and you can be on it without even knowing it," he said. "We find it's a challenging run."

It is expected that between 55 and 75 people will be making the trip this year. This includes about 15 or 20 motorcycles and several support vehicles such as vans and trucks.

"Usually it's a family thing," Whiteside explained. "(The size of the group) depends on whether it's nice out, that kind of thing."

The Inuvik contingent leaves Friday, June 11, at 1 p.m. They are due to arrive in Rock River at about 5:30 p.m., depending on whether there are delays at the ferries. The group will be spending the weekend camping. There are a number of activities planned, including a ride to the Arctic Circle and Eagle Plains Hotel, field games and reviewing the Mad Trapper of Rat River legend. The Ride returns to Inuvik on the June 13.

This is the 15th year Inuvik has taken part in Ride for Sight. Whiteside said the town's foreman at the time, Gary Kaulbach, was the original organizer.

"When he left town...he left a legacy and we took it over."

Nationally, Ride for Sight is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It is the world's largest motorcycle fund-raising event, with approximately 10,000 bikers taking part each year. All money raised from Ride for Sight goes to the RP Research Foundation and its efforts to find a cure for Retinis Pigmentosa, a group of degenerative eye diseases which affect more than half a million Canadians.

Last year, participants across Canada raised $716,000. In Inuvik, just under $8,000 was raised. It isn't known yet how much has been raised this year to date, but the tally should be in by the end of the month.