Bike ride - Day 13

I'm home again and already preparing for the next round of adventures this summer. With the lift to into Valdez I cut my total distance to 736 miles in 13 days of riding. I'm glad I got the lift though because the 60 miles from Whittier to the house took the red warning stipe from 1/4 of the tire to 1/2 of it. I'm not sure it would have survived the decent into Valdez. I took the bike by REI today They could not identify anything wrong to cause it and declared it a defective tire. The good news is I get a new tire for free. 

From the ferry leaving Valdez.

One of the many small icebergs I saw. It was probably calved off the Columbia Glacier. 

Whittier.

I was originally planning to publish the blog posts I wrote on the ferry from Whittier. However cruise ships apparently overwhelm the town's internet connection when they dock...

I had to hitch a ride through the tunnel that connects Whittier to the road system as bikes aren't allowed. This is where they dropped me of on the other side.  

Farther down the valley as the creek turns into a river. 

Looking out across the Turnagain Arm just before getting to Girdwood.

I didn't take any pictures after I stopped for coffee in Girdwood. I met Kuba, who rode in on a full carbon bike with a low drag racing helmet, at the shop and we started chatting. After a bit I started for Anchorage and Kuba who left a few minutes later caught up about 5 miles in. He suggested riding the rest the way back together so I said I'd try to keep up with him. We rode 27 miles in an hour and a half. He wasn't trying to loose me and I couldn't quite hang with him pulling the trailer up hill but I always caught up going down the other side. It was good way to close out the trip and I rode into town feeling pretty high on adrenaline.

I feel pretty good today I think I'd like to do another ride in the future. I'd definitely like to recruit someone to go. I think splitting the minimum gear across two or more bikes would make it a lot easier and I enjoyed the days and evenings when I had company more.

I think this route from Fielding Lake to Wonder Lake would be a great week to ten day long mountain bike option for next year if anyone is interested.