Riding Tally

Anchorage Alaska's greatness continually amazes me! Sadly all good things must end...but I will definately return. So much riding, a fun little town, and I obviously just scratched the surface of nearby towns.

Here is the riding tally for the last few days of the trip:

Resurrection Pass: 10 out of 10
38 miles, 2500 ft of climbing, ALL SINGLETRACK
Wildlife sightings include bobcat, beaver, ptarmigan, bear prints, and marmot.
Bonus points, seeing the remains of a float plane crashed at Devil's Pass and seeing the stunning cabin at Juneau Lake (a future family getaway), and we were some of the first few riders this year.
And kudos to Jenny for going all out with Karen and I, she is a brave (and STRONG) soul. Go Jenny!

Johnson Pass: 8 out of 10
10 miles out and back, 1600 feet of climbing, all singletrack
We couldn't make the full run over the pass, but it was still good.
Wildlife sightings were mainly ptarmigan, beaver, and bald eagle, but we saw mountain Dahl sheep on our drive down, as well as the strange local Furious Taco Guy.
Bonus points included seeing the floatplane practicing take offs and landings on the the lake at the top of the pass. And taking a cool dip in the freezing lake as well.

Middle Loop 8 out of 10
Miles ? Elevation ? Fun factor SUPER!
This was a beast of our own creation (hiking path only, we found out later) which treated us really well. This ride was from the storage lockers, up through Hilltop ski area, along the Powerline Trail (guess why?) to Wolverine Peak. We wanted to avoid riding straight up the Powerlines, so we found a parallel path that would be more scenic. And amazingly muddy, and covered with moose and bear signs (read: poop/scat). But super fun wooden rails covered most of the mud, making riding fun and tricky.
Bonus points, two locals armed to the teeth who pointed to a bear (behind some bushes) and who wondered what on earth we were doing on a hikers only trail. Good local color...

Hilltop Ski Area 5 out 10
Kickass for a local ski hill
Rides included Spencer Loop, Rover's run (mud in the eyeball is no fun!), and Upper Gasline Trail.

I think that is most of what we rode since ending our work, here is to home and family and the rest of the summer

Meeting the Natives

I love the 19.5 hour days! You can work until six thirty, ride the mountains until ten thirty, eat pizza until twelve thirty, and it's still NOT DARK! Wow...

Yesterday's ride was amazing, partly because it was a hiking trail that prohibited bikes. It's not like we disturbed very many hikers...only two guys with guns. Shotguns and pistols, and they tried to point out a black bear. We moseyed...crazy natives.

I will get some pics up of the Middle loop trail, and we desceded the Powerline trail. We plan on going back for Powerline pass, but another day.

Tonight is the season kick off party here in Anchorage, and also the finals of Ultimate Fighter Three on Spike TV!

I hope Tina and the Rone-Man have a good flight, and meet great Aunt Ceceila in Portland. She is coming all the way from Australia...Halley's are spread far and wide.

Moose through the fence, but who is in the zoo?

Well here in Anchorage we had a good day. A healthy mix of work weather and wildlife. No riding (yet) because the girls stole my van! Luckily nineteen and a half hours of daylight mean I can ride until twelve thirty pm.

Today the sky poured rain on us. Karen and I rigged up two tarps with a dozen bungees and a twenty foot long van next to the building. We stayed toasty dry, and the Jetboil stove keeps the coffee presspot full at all times!

Midday, Karen says my name from down the row of storage lockers. She is ten feet from big ole moose. It ambled along chomping grass, luckily on the OTHER side of the chain link fence. Mandatory pictures ensued. I wanted to feed it (only opportunity right?) but it didn't like my shifty look. Away it went. That is the closest moose, but overall it is number four.

Karen is off seeing her high school friend Cheryl. They havn't seen each other in eighteen years. Now they are thick as thieves again. If she and I aren't riding, she is of with Cheryl and her family. The have a giant posse up here, hubby has a clan.

I am looking at a few days off soon, and hopefully we will ride 39 miles of singletrack at Resurrection Pass, the Lost Lake, then onto Seward and Homer. With luck I will see Annelisa, then who knows, maybe a little kayaking in Homer.

Mountain Bikes Have Arrived!!!!

Work, ride, hangout, tour , hike. But now, the real fun begins because our mountain bikes arrived today!!! Vans drove from Berkeley (6days and 3300 miles!!) and were kind enough to bring our loot, saving us the airline'$ extortion racked.

My steed sits restlessly in the corner of the Polar Internet Cafe. It wants my attention, I have to leave it unsatisfied until tomorrow after work.

The hard decision is to go downtown to celebrate the Solstice with a party in Anchorage. Or celebrate is celestial event with a ride to actually use every bit of the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere!

Oh, the dilemmas.

We did get a great ride in yesterday, with a ride from the work area up into Chugach State Park, to Flat Top Mountain. Then the hike to the top, a little 3 mi up jaunt. A good little biathalon really. But biting COLD, youch! Good pics of the whole of anchorage from the top...

Must run, sleep is required, but it just doesn't feel right up here. No wonder the natives are a little off...

Jama

Human experimentation proceeding to plan....

Weather report. 29 degrees, with snow flurries. Just checking how close you were following....

The sun never sets. Well, from midnight until two. Never deal in absolutes. This will be an odd work experience. Let us see, it's eleven pm, long flight, longer day, but if it wasn't for VERY dry contact lenses, bed might not be in my future for some time.

Kids are playing soccer (organized league soccer) across the street at 9:30 as we pulled into the house.

Tina, you might not remember, but the leader house is just past lake with all the float planes. And it is very near the freezing bike path...all very green and lush.

I'll continue and get some pics up soon.