"NORTH TO ALASKA, THEY GO NORTH, THE RUSH IS ON” by Johnny Horton
18/11/09 11:15
Thanks to my friend Vaughn Dablemont, Dr. Steve Kopp and I traveled to Anchorage to bike for about 8 days. Sounded scary at first and then after surfing the Web, I thought it was doable. We signed up with a touring group led by Walt & Deb Rowland. Walt is from the Outside (anywhere but Alaska), while Deb is a native Athabascan. Between the two of them there wasn’t much they didn’t know about Alaskan history, culture or geography. Their company Alaska Bike furnished everything except the power to push the pedals. Great bikes…Cannondales equipped for the rugged road and hills.
There were 13 of us riders + Walt and Deb as we assembled and drove (sagged) to our drop off point at which point we were to ride to Glenallen 70 miles down the road. I had inadvertently had 3 cups of caffeinated coffee prior and when we started my heart rate jumped to 150 and stayed in that area for about 30 miles. Not able to work it out of the system, I called it a day and sagged to our 1st days’ destination. We were pretty much of a mixed bag of riders; some training for tri-athlons with extensive ability to those who were there for the sight seeing bike ride. Obviously all were in pretty good physical condition and had done “some” biking.
To put it into perspective, Alaska is HUGE. It is half the size of the lower 48. More than twice the size of Texas. Picture the western edge of Wyoming ala the Teton mountain range and then magnify it 5 times. There is a lot of nothing else. The word Vast, takes on a whole new meaning. It is a long way (miles) between buildings, either commercial or residential. There are very few finished roads in Alaska. Maybe 12-15. We travelled on 5 of them and they all had wide shoulders and were for the most part well maintained and smooth. Traffic? Not much and most of it was motor homes & RVs. Occasional motor cycles, but very few 18 wheelers. Snowcapped mountains were on both sides of the road most days. Streams and rivers were constant as the snow is still melting. Many of the rivers were grey from the silt of the glacier run off. Most of the plants were small, hugging the ground. The trees too were smaller than ours and many times older. To grow there is tough and slow.
There is a 3 hours time zone difference but the real difference is the latitude…the sun never sets, well it never got dark. If you go, take some sleep shades. Our 2nd motel didn’t have much covering for the windows, so if you wanted to sleep, it was either with the pillow over your head or towels on the windows. It is cooler also. Most days it was in the 50’s. Once I called home (pretty good cell service, considering) and we were at a 50 degree high and Linda said it was close to 100. On our 5th day we had snow falling, then sleet, then rain for the rest of the day…high temp 35 degrees. I think my hands are still cold. I counted 6 layers of clothing that day. Most days tho it was sunny and mild.
On the second day of the trip, my heart rate was not back to normal of 60 per minute so I sagged the morning and rode half the day totaling 56 miles. Linda and I have a pact for me to monitor and be strict about not riding if I can’t control the rate. Not too worry fans, it was normal on the 3rd day and with fresh legs, I was the first to the Hotel after 74 miles. Everything was ok after that.
Hotels and Food were excellent and I know I must have gained weight on this trip cause I ate like there was no tomorrow. Had a lot of fish and on occasion King Crab Legs. There is a local specialty of reindeer meat sausage. Very lean and tasty with just a little spice. Locals like it morning, noon and night. From what I gathered it is domesticated caribou. Halibut and Salmon are the 2 big fish everyone likes here. Most hotels were rustic, outdoors motif and the television was very limited. We were mostly interested in the showers and they had lots. The cold water was from the permafrost area and close to freezing. We stayed in Tangle River in some fishing cabins. No telephone, TV (not even at the resort lodge)…beds and showers were all we really wanted. It was a Mining Corporation set up there and they would helicopter core samples to this camp for analyzing. The geologists stayed in tents. Pretty bleak. Most of the motels, served buffets. UMMMMM.
Aside from the snow capped mountains, lakes, streams, we were treated with the Alaska Pipeline paralleling 5% of the trip. Wildlife in Alaska is very abundant, but given the size of the state, there was not much per square acre. Hey, if you were a moose, or bear, would you hang out by the highway? Not likely. We did see several moose, swans, ravens, and snowshoe hares. We did not see armadillos. In fact, we saw very little road kill. Consider the odds…a car or RV every 10 minutes. When we got to Valdez we saw many, many Bald eagles. Everyday got even more beautiful than the last. Right up to the last day of Glacier viewing and 12 mile downhill at breakneck speeds into Valdez, followed by 2 of the largest waterfalls (save Niagara) that I have seen. Both were in the 1000 foot range and right by the road. I think the Rainbow Mountain range was the prettiest I have ever seen. Shaded with Iron Ore and Copper Runs, it completely dwarfed all surroundings. Took your breath away.
Following the drop down to Valdez, we had a ferry boat ride across Prince William Sound, where we saw whales, porpoise, sea lions. Several glaciers were viewable from the ferry.
We finished our bike tour back in Anchorage. In all we covered 360 miles. Linda then flew in from Arkansas to join me and we took a 5 day train and car ride around parts of Alaska I hadn’t seen, including Denali National Park. I will write on that later.
Thanks to Walt and Deb for an incredible, jaw dropping, inspirational trip. You guys were great! I suffered one injury?…a fixed smile on my face that hasn’t gone away yet.
Check out the website… www.alaskabike.com
Neal
There were 13 of us riders + Walt and Deb as we assembled and drove (sagged) to our drop off point at which point we were to ride to Glenallen 70 miles down the road. I had inadvertently had 3 cups of caffeinated coffee prior and when we started my heart rate jumped to 150 and stayed in that area for about 30 miles. Not able to work it out of the system, I called it a day and sagged to our 1st days’ destination. We were pretty much of a mixed bag of riders; some training for tri-athlons with extensive ability to those who were there for the sight seeing bike ride. Obviously all were in pretty good physical condition and had done “some” biking.
To put it into perspective, Alaska is HUGE. It is half the size of the lower 48. More than twice the size of Texas. Picture the western edge of Wyoming ala the Teton mountain range and then magnify it 5 times. There is a lot of nothing else. The word Vast, takes on a whole new meaning. It is a long way (miles) between buildings, either commercial or residential. There are very few finished roads in Alaska. Maybe 12-15. We travelled on 5 of them and they all had wide shoulders and were for the most part well maintained and smooth. Traffic? Not much and most of it was motor homes & RVs. Occasional motor cycles, but very few 18 wheelers. Snowcapped mountains were on both sides of the road most days. Streams and rivers were constant as the snow is still melting. Many of the rivers were grey from the silt of the glacier run off. Most of the plants were small, hugging the ground. The trees too were smaller than ours and many times older. To grow there is tough and slow.
There is a 3 hours time zone difference but the real difference is the latitude…the sun never sets, well it never got dark. If you go, take some sleep shades. Our 2nd motel didn’t have much covering for the windows, so if you wanted to sleep, it was either with the pillow over your head or towels on the windows. It is cooler also. Most days it was in the 50’s. Once I called home (pretty good cell service, considering) and we were at a 50 degree high and Linda said it was close to 100. On our 5th day we had snow falling, then sleet, then rain for the rest of the day…high temp 35 degrees. I think my hands are still cold. I counted 6 layers of clothing that day. Most days tho it was sunny and mild.
On the second day of the trip, my heart rate was not back to normal of 60 per minute so I sagged the morning and rode half the day totaling 56 miles. Linda and I have a pact for me to monitor and be strict about not riding if I can’t control the rate. Not too worry fans, it was normal on the 3rd day and with fresh legs, I was the first to the Hotel after 74 miles. Everything was ok after that.
Hotels and Food were excellent and I know I must have gained weight on this trip cause I ate like there was no tomorrow. Had a lot of fish and on occasion King Crab Legs. There is a local specialty of reindeer meat sausage. Very lean and tasty with just a little spice. Locals like it morning, noon and night. From what I gathered it is domesticated caribou. Halibut and Salmon are the 2 big fish everyone likes here. Most hotels were rustic, outdoors motif and the television was very limited. We were mostly interested in the showers and they had lots. The cold water was from the permafrost area and close to freezing. We stayed in Tangle River in some fishing cabins. No telephone, TV (not even at the resort lodge)…beds and showers were all we really wanted. It was a Mining Corporation set up there and they would helicopter core samples to this camp for analyzing. The geologists stayed in tents. Pretty bleak. Most of the motels, served buffets. UMMMMM.
Aside from the snow capped mountains, lakes, streams, we were treated with the Alaska Pipeline paralleling 5% of the trip. Wildlife in Alaska is very abundant, but given the size of the state, there was not much per square acre. Hey, if you were a moose, or bear, would you hang out by the highway? Not likely. We did see several moose, swans, ravens, and snowshoe hares. We did not see armadillos. In fact, we saw very little road kill. Consider the odds…a car or RV every 10 minutes. When we got to Valdez we saw many, many Bald eagles. Everyday got even more beautiful than the last. Right up to the last day of Glacier viewing and 12 mile downhill at breakneck speeds into Valdez, followed by 2 of the largest waterfalls (save Niagara) that I have seen. Both were in the 1000 foot range and right by the road. I think the Rainbow Mountain range was the prettiest I have ever seen. Shaded with Iron Ore and Copper Runs, it completely dwarfed all surroundings. Took your breath away.
Following the drop down to Valdez, we had a ferry boat ride across Prince William Sound, where we saw whales, porpoise, sea lions. Several glaciers were viewable from the ferry.
We finished our bike tour back in Anchorage. In all we covered 360 miles. Linda then flew in from Arkansas to join me and we took a 5 day train and car ride around parts of Alaska I hadn’t seen, including Denali National Park. I will write on that later.
Thanks to Walt and Deb for an incredible, jaw dropping, inspirational trip. You guys were great! I suffered one injury?…a fixed smile on my face that hasn’t gone away yet.
Check out the website… www.alaskabike.com
Neal
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Hwy 71 Continued…Ahhh, The Summer Winds by Frank Sinatra
18/11/09 11:12
Earlier this year I wanted to ride from the Arkansas State Line to Iowa, i.e., the length of Missouri. Steve Kopp couldn’t join me until his school year was up so I rode Arkansas. Well, Steve said he was now ready and we boxed up our bikes and put them aboard the bus and headed to Iowa to begin our trip home through the state of Missouri. The thought was that it would be easier to box here than there, since we were not sure of a bike shop available in that area.
Our bus trip took us through KC and we met another biker. His name was also Steve. He was a real world traveler on bike. He soloed everywhere including across China in 1988. Rode the AlCan to Alaska, he was also a hiker and did some amazing hikes including the Appalachian Trail. Seems this time he had started in Florida and was headed for the West Coast when he hit Phoenix…it was 108 degrees and was stopped. He hopped on a bus and was headed home to Minneapolis when we met him.
We arrived in Lamoni, Iowa on a Sunday morning following an all night bus ride.
After assembling our bikes and a lunch of an Iowan sandwich called a Maid Rite, (Steve had never eaten one), we started down Hwy 69 to Bethany MO. I discovered about 5 miles into the ride that my rear brake was slightly on. That coupled with a head wind of about 15 mph, plus I was carrying about 25 lbs of saddlebags made for a very slow morning. I tried to fix the brakes but didn’t have the right tools. It was later that we discovered that Steve had the perfect wrench to loosen and adjust the brake lever. By that time the wind was picking up to 20 mph. I was averaging about 11 mph. It was going to be a long day to Cameron, 72 miles away.
WhooHoo, made it to the motel and we were almost too tired to eat. After a forced food dinner we decided to sleep in until 8 am and make it a shorter day on Monday. As it turned out that was a good decision. We did 51 miles on Monday into a vicious headwind of about 20-25 all day. We did have a great lunch in Polo, Mo at the Family Café on the corner. We limped into Richmond around 4 pm. Have I mentioned that there are some hills in northern Missouri? They were relentless. Each one slightly higher than the previous. I think that Missouri is only an up state. Going South in MO is a mistake…from 2 points…wind and elevation.
The 3rd Day was no different from the first 2 as the wind was really building all day. It was different from a scenic view tho. We crossed the Missouri River and when we turned onto Hwy 224 we had a great ride along the river. Flat and fast as it was shielded from the wind. Then south once again to Holden MO where we had a great lunch at Galles Restaurant. BBQ. I had giant breaded tenderloin and Steve had BBQ Chicken. Maybe we were starved but it was a real treat to eat there and we talked with the owner/chef and he guided on the next leg of our trip. Good news/Bad news. First part of his tout was excellent. Nice side winds and no hills. The second part dumped us out on Hwy 7. It had the most traffic of the trip and there were many times that there were no shoulders to which to retreat. When we got within 5 miles of Harrisonville while climbing up a curvy hill, I was chased by a Semi about 15 feet from my rear tire. He started to blare his big Semi Horn at me. There was no shoulder. I would have crashed for sure trying to exit the road. He blared again…Finally I reached the top of the hill and found a place to pull off. While I was stopped and shaking I noticed a house with a pickup truck in the drive. I went to the house and made a proposal to the owner to take me the rest of the way into town. It was nearing rush hour and the traffic was overwhelming given the no shoulder road. He agreed and we soon caught up with Steve and piled his bike into the back with mine. The owner took us to the motel on the other side of town. Now for Steve’s sake I will admit that he fought hard and did not want to give into my offer to SAG him to the Motel. As it was, it was a good decision. On the way, the driver of the pickup truck informed us that the hill we were climbing was known in the area as Dead Man’s Curve. Many people have been killed on that stretch. Mileage for the day 82.
Day 4 was different in that we decided to travel on Hwy 71 to Nevada. It had a great shoulder and the surface was ok. Fourth day of 20-25 mph headwinds. At this point I’ve about had it. Steve and I discussed who we would call to come and get us if we couldn’t make it any further. Linda was out of the question as she warned me not to call and if I did, she would only laugh into the phone. Steve said his 75 year old mother would come and get us…she lives in Florida. I said I thought my sister in Denver would laugh also but would consider coming for us. When I told Linda that nite of our discussion I mentioned that I could also call Brenda, my riding partner in Cave Springs. Linda said that Brenda might come but only if she could ride with us. (Brenda loves to ride) We tried to eat all the food on the Chinese Buffet for super, but they must have had a report on us arriving.
Back on Hwy 71 for day 5 to Carthage. I like Carthage and it brought back memories of traveling to art shows. They had some dangerous bridges back then and lo and behold they were still there. The new highway skirts around the edge of town now but I wanted to reminisce by trekking over the old pathway. Thank goodness there was no traffic on the old route. I stopped at a traditional sandwich shop on the old route called Whistlers Burgers. HmmmmGood. The winds seem to give us a break today and we pulled into the Econolodge to be greeted by Donna. She amazed us by giving us an update on the Giro de Italia (race in Italy) and Lance Armstrong’s progress. Seems she watches the race everyday on the computer. See Linda, there are more of us out there.
I think the horses were smelling the barn cause we were up early on the final day to push through to Arkansas. Light winds today and slightly overcast. Stopped in Neosho for breakfast and then as we were passing through the major Metropolis of Goodman MO, we got separated and ended up waiting for each other at different spots on the road. Linda was waiting for us at the State Line and with a surprise. She had called the reporter with the Bella Vista newspaper. He was waiting with camera in hand.
6 Days----360 Miles….Whewww.
Being at the mercy of the road, weather, traffic, other pitfalls, only heightens the wonderful safety and love waiting at home.
Epilogue…I had always liked the song by Frank Sinatra “The Summer Winds” and it was an earworm for many a day, but now????
Our bus trip took us through KC and we met another biker. His name was also Steve. He was a real world traveler on bike. He soloed everywhere including across China in 1988. Rode the AlCan to Alaska, he was also a hiker and did some amazing hikes including the Appalachian Trail. Seems this time he had started in Florida and was headed for the West Coast when he hit Phoenix…it was 108 degrees and was stopped. He hopped on a bus and was headed home to Minneapolis when we met him.
We arrived in Lamoni, Iowa on a Sunday morning following an all night bus ride.
After assembling our bikes and a lunch of an Iowan sandwich called a Maid Rite, (Steve had never eaten one), we started down Hwy 69 to Bethany MO. I discovered about 5 miles into the ride that my rear brake was slightly on. That coupled with a head wind of about 15 mph, plus I was carrying about 25 lbs of saddlebags made for a very slow morning. I tried to fix the brakes but didn’t have the right tools. It was later that we discovered that Steve had the perfect wrench to loosen and adjust the brake lever. By that time the wind was picking up to 20 mph. I was averaging about 11 mph. It was going to be a long day to Cameron, 72 miles away.
WhooHoo, made it to the motel and we were almost too tired to eat. After a forced food dinner we decided to sleep in until 8 am and make it a shorter day on Monday. As it turned out that was a good decision. We did 51 miles on Monday into a vicious headwind of about 20-25 all day. We did have a great lunch in Polo, Mo at the Family Café on the corner. We limped into Richmond around 4 pm. Have I mentioned that there are some hills in northern Missouri? They were relentless. Each one slightly higher than the previous. I think that Missouri is only an up state. Going South in MO is a mistake…from 2 points…wind and elevation.
The 3rd Day was no different from the first 2 as the wind was really building all day. It was different from a scenic view tho. We crossed the Missouri River and when we turned onto Hwy 224 we had a great ride along the river. Flat and fast as it was shielded from the wind. Then south once again to Holden MO where we had a great lunch at Galles Restaurant. BBQ. I had giant breaded tenderloin and Steve had BBQ Chicken. Maybe we were starved but it was a real treat to eat there and we talked with the owner/chef and he guided on the next leg of our trip. Good news/Bad news. First part of his tout was excellent. Nice side winds and no hills. The second part dumped us out on Hwy 7. It had the most traffic of the trip and there were many times that there were no shoulders to which to retreat. When we got within 5 miles of Harrisonville while climbing up a curvy hill, I was chased by a Semi about 15 feet from my rear tire. He started to blare his big Semi Horn at me. There was no shoulder. I would have crashed for sure trying to exit the road. He blared again…Finally I reached the top of the hill and found a place to pull off. While I was stopped and shaking I noticed a house with a pickup truck in the drive. I went to the house and made a proposal to the owner to take me the rest of the way into town. It was nearing rush hour and the traffic was overwhelming given the no shoulder road. He agreed and we soon caught up with Steve and piled his bike into the back with mine. The owner took us to the motel on the other side of town. Now for Steve’s sake I will admit that he fought hard and did not want to give into my offer to SAG him to the Motel. As it was, it was a good decision. On the way, the driver of the pickup truck informed us that the hill we were climbing was known in the area as Dead Man’s Curve. Many people have been killed on that stretch. Mileage for the day 82.
Day 4 was different in that we decided to travel on Hwy 71 to Nevada. It had a great shoulder and the surface was ok. Fourth day of 20-25 mph headwinds. At this point I’ve about had it. Steve and I discussed who we would call to come and get us if we couldn’t make it any further. Linda was out of the question as she warned me not to call and if I did, she would only laugh into the phone. Steve said his 75 year old mother would come and get us…she lives in Florida. I said I thought my sister in Denver would laugh also but would consider coming for us. When I told Linda that nite of our discussion I mentioned that I could also call Brenda, my riding partner in Cave Springs. Linda said that Brenda might come but only if she could ride with us. (Brenda loves to ride) We tried to eat all the food on the Chinese Buffet for super, but they must have had a report on us arriving.
Back on Hwy 71 for day 5 to Carthage. I like Carthage and it brought back memories of traveling to art shows. They had some dangerous bridges back then and lo and behold they were still there. The new highway skirts around the edge of town now but I wanted to reminisce by trekking over the old pathway. Thank goodness there was no traffic on the old route. I stopped at a traditional sandwich shop on the old route called Whistlers Burgers. HmmmmGood. The winds seem to give us a break today and we pulled into the Econolodge to be greeted by Donna. She amazed us by giving us an update on the Giro de Italia (race in Italy) and Lance Armstrong’s progress. Seems she watches the race everyday on the computer. See Linda, there are more of us out there.
I think the horses were smelling the barn cause we were up early on the final day to push through to Arkansas. Light winds today and slightly overcast. Stopped in Neosho for breakfast and then as we were passing through the major Metropolis of Goodman MO, we got separated and ended up waiting for each other at different spots on the road. Linda was waiting for us at the State Line and with a surprise. She had called the reporter with the Bella Vista newspaper. He was waiting with camera in hand.
6 Days----360 Miles….Whewww.
Being at the mercy of the road, weather, traffic, other pitfalls, only heightens the wonderful safety and love waiting at home.
Epilogue…I had always liked the song by Frank Sinatra “The Summer Winds” and it was an earworm for many a day, but now????
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