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08-01-02, 12:00 PM
I got up this morning earlier than I thought I would. The day looked perfect for cycling, slightly overcast but not too cool. I said goodbye to Gerry and Bob and another hostel guest before taking off.
I got a little french onion soup in front of me and I am fixing the mac and cheese right now. I'm just about finished with my first day after a long break in Fairbanks, and so far it's been excellent. Most of today's ride had been pretty smooth with a few exceptions. What had made it great is the asphalt! I have done about 95 miles so far and will complete my first century before setting up camp. While riding through the Eilson Airforce base about 25 miles South of Fairbanks, I spotted a ground hog off to the side of the road. He just sat there and looked at me. He made a few sounds and raised up on 2 legs but didn't run. I got a few photos of the furry creature and continued on my ride. Before that, I passed through North Pole, about 10 miles outside of Fairbanks. I mailed off a letter to my friend Suzie in Canada and got a burger at Wendy's for lunch. I stopped for an ice cream twice today. Once at the Knotty Shop, a gift shop where they sell wood with these abnormal knots in them called burls. They look pretty cool actually. They grow in a few local tree species but most of them were spruce, which is pretty abundant up here. I also stopped for ice cream at about mile 53 at a small snack and ice cream shack. I ended up talking to the father and son for about a half-hour about bikes, hunting and the road ahead before leaving. It had been drizzling a bit before and I tried to pedal out from the clouds but managed to get a little wet in the light rain until about another 15-20 miles. I hit some inclines that weren't too bad. I was ready for a change from the flat road. As I cycled towards Delta Junction, I checked out the nice views of the Tanana River that ran beside me. It is a huge river that seems to push a lot of dead trees along and pile them up occasionally as it flows. I saw a bit of a rainbow off in the distance, nice and thick. I got a photo of that. I snacked on chocolate chunk granola bars smeared with peanut butter for added calories. I stopped near Tenderfoot, an old gold mining area and read a couple of interpretive displays on the Gold Rush era and how this area was involved. It was pretty interesting and made me think about the difficult lives these prospectors must have had searching for even flakes of gold in these harsh conditions.
As I neared Big Delta, North of Delta Junction, I saw a couple of moose grazing on the roadside vegetation. I stopped to get a better look and possibly a photo but that's when they became a little wary and took off into the bush. I'm going to ride down a few more miles after dinner then call it a night. I'd like to get some more good mileage tomorrow and maybe even make it to Tok. (100 miles)
Peace and thanks for reading
Dave
I got a little french onion soup in front of me and I am fixing the mac and cheese right now. I'm just about finished with my first day after a long break in Fairbanks, and so far it's been excellent. Most of today's ride had been pretty smooth with a few exceptions. What had made it great is the asphalt! I have done about 95 miles so far and will complete my first century before setting up camp. While riding through the Eilson Airforce base about 25 miles South of Fairbanks, I spotted a ground hog off to the side of the road. He just sat there and looked at me. He made a few sounds and raised up on 2 legs but didn't run. I got a few photos of the furry creature and continued on my ride. Before that, I passed through North Pole, about 10 miles outside of Fairbanks. I mailed off a letter to my friend Suzie in Canada and got a burger at Wendy's for lunch. I stopped for an ice cream twice today. Once at the Knotty Shop, a gift shop where they sell wood with these abnormal knots in them called burls. They look pretty cool actually. They grow in a few local tree species but most of them were spruce, which is pretty abundant up here. I also stopped for ice cream at about mile 53 at a small snack and ice cream shack. I ended up talking to the father and son for about a half-hour about bikes, hunting and the road ahead before leaving. It had been drizzling a bit before and I tried to pedal out from the clouds but managed to get a little wet in the light rain until about another 15-20 miles. I hit some inclines that weren't too bad. I was ready for a change from the flat road. As I cycled towards Delta Junction, I checked out the nice views of the Tanana River that ran beside me. It is a huge river that seems to push a lot of dead trees along and pile them up occasionally as it flows. I saw a bit of a rainbow off in the distance, nice and thick. I got a photo of that. I snacked on chocolate chunk granola bars smeared with peanut butter for added calories. I stopped near Tenderfoot, an old gold mining area and read a couple of interpretive displays on the Gold Rush era and how this area was involved. It was pretty interesting and made me think about the difficult lives these prospectors must have had searching for even flakes of gold in these harsh conditions.
As I neared Big Delta, North of Delta Junction, I saw a couple of moose grazing on the roadside vegetation. I stopped to get a better look and possibly a photo but that's when they became a little wary and took off into the bush. I'm going to ride down a few more miles after dinner then call it a night. I'd like to get some more good mileage tomorrow and maybe even make it to Tok. (100 miles)
Peace and thanks for reading
Dave