Bike ride - Day 6

Some people say Alaska only has two seasons, "winter" and "road construction". The summers are short and the days are long so work sometimes runs around the clock. I've probably been fortunate to only see road work on one day of the trip so far. It did cut Thursday's ride by about 25% which made it a pretty easy day. 

Corrie found the 49th state brewery in Healy. A massive delicious burger and good homemade root beer too. (Photo from the night before)

I've seen seven moose (including two new calves) and couple of bears in the trip so far. This one in Healy was the most cooperative for a photo...

Summer time in Alaska! No pilot car here, but the gravel was in pretty good shape and since it was between to sections with pilot cars I had the road to myself between waves of cars.

Waiting for a pilot car in the rain.

Free ride across the construction site. The driver said she's carried a few bikes the last week. 

The friendly host at the Nenana camp ground suggested I put my tent up under the pavilion so it would be dry in the morning if it kept raining. They also had a hot shower which is awesome after riding half the day in the rain.

I accidentally left my spork with Corrie. A tent stake is a serviceable plan B...

My ongoing experiments trying to simmer wild rice on the camp stove... This is the best solution so far. 

Bike ride - Day 5

I can see why support vehicles are so popular...

It was a clear beautiful morning in Cantwell and after an omelet for breakfast (thanks to Corrie bringing eggs and veggies with her) I decided it was too nice out to pass up a side trip into the park. This turned the easy 40 mile ride to Healy I had planned into a 54 mile day but Corrie agreed to haul the trailer. Wow, it was easy to ride without the trailer!

It was only 26 scenic miles of pretty easy riding to the park entrance. 

The first 10 miles into the park is all uphill, but the views are amazing on a clear day. Unfortunately Denali was clouded in by the time I got to the summit. It was still clear to the north though. 

Savage river 15 miles into the park. The bridge is the end of the pavement on the park road and also the limit for private vehicles most of the year. It is possible to take bikes all the way to wonder lake at the end of the road. Anyone want to join me for a dedicated Denali bike ride next summer? 

I caught a ride back to the park entrance with Corrie after lunch at savage river. From here I rode on to Healy for supper.

Bike ride - Day 4

Breathtaking scenery and heart breaking hill climbs against the wind. A long 49 mile ride to Cantwell.

I woke up to clear skies and perfect view of Denali from our camp site.

Matt planning to ride farther than I was a broke camp about about half an hour before I did. I really like this shirt, but it turned out to be a better for hiking than biking. I've started to get a little bit of sunburn and the shirt isn't quite long enough when leaning forward on the bike...

The view from the road.

My chain jumbled the rear sprocket and wedged itself in when I down shifted for this hill. I had to the break the chain to get the wheel off before I could fix it... Thankfully it was a nice day and it happened near a stream so I could wash my hands after an hour working in the chain grime.

Back on the road again. 

Halfway to Fairbanks! This trick using the yak as a stand was one of the things Matt told me about. 

Denali kept poking up behind the other mountains throughout the day as I rode. This is the best picture since the first one I took in the morning. 

I didn't realize it until I was at the summit but the high point between Anchorage and Fairbanks is actually a few miles before Cantwell. Between the long hill climbs, the head wind, and the broken chain, what I thought would be a pretty easy 50 mile day turned out to be the most difficult so far. On the bright side Corrie decided to drive down from Fairbanks to camp and visit me and she brought me an enormous burger from Healy. Also I found a campground with a shower! It was almost enough to get all the grease off of my fingers.