It feels wrong to push a bike through fresh snow, I should be on skis, I kept telling myself. But sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do....
...and generally we feel great after it's over.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Alaska Ice Festival - Sign up Online
The second annual Alaska Ice Festival is March 5-7, 2010. I've been working on the website in my free time and it's finally up with Online Registration hooked up. If you want to sign up for a clinic, the climbing competition, buy tickets to the kick-off party or buy a t-shirt, it's ready to go!
AK Ice Fest Website
Sunday, January 31, 2010
It was pretty when it was easy
With the White Mountain Race coming up quickly and the Susitna 100 (Brian is doing this not me) we decided it was time to really get out there and test out our gear and put in some good hard miles. Saturday we woke up at 6am and drove up to Willow to start a long ride.
The moon was spectacular as we loaded up the bikes in the dark.
We arrived at the boat launch at Deshka Landing just around sunrise and loaded up the bikes. I still don't have much weight on my actual bike. I am used to carrying weight on my back and don't understand why more people don't do this on bikes. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, but to me it makes more sense to have most of the weight over my center of gravity on the bike.
This week I'm going to get a front rack in order to strap my sleeping bag, bivy and foam pad to, and I have a seat bag on the way from Epic Designs, but I am going to carry some weight in a backpack on my back unless I find that there is some disadvantage to this.
The temperature was 15 degrees at the car, but that quickly dropped to zero as we got down onto the Susitna River. We required a quick wardrobe change before we were ready to go.
The riding was flat and the conditions were great and I found the going easy as we started the 15 miles down the Susitna to the intersection with the Yentna. It was especially easy to ride in the tracks made by snow machines pulling sleds behind. But only a certain kind of sled makes for easy going.
Once we turned up the Yentna it felt slighty uphill and the snow got soft from the sun. This became difficult for me. I guess I've been spoiled on the pansy packed down, rock hard trails of Anchorage.
Flat rides are mentally and physically torturous for me, because of the non stop pedaling against the resistance of the snow. It's pretty much "pedal, pedal, pedal" the whole way with no break.
I don't remember what the exact conversation was late in the ride that sparked the quote that inspired the title of this post but it went something like this...
Brian: "How ya doin'?"
Me: "OK... actually, this hurts."
Brian: "We're almost there. It's beautiful though, right?"
Me: "It was pretty when it was easy. Now it's just pain."
After about 4 1/2 hours of riding we saw the sign for Luce's Lodge, climbed the steep hill to the lodge and parked our bikes...
Luce's is a fantastic place to stay. Not because of fancy rooms or food(although the food is good) or amenities, but because the Luce's (Janice and Dave) are really kind and generous people and it they make you feel very much at home in their lodge.
You walk in and you are greeted with free coffee and warm stove, cheeseburgers, great french fries and beer. We were amazed at how many snow machiners were stopping in, making this remote lodge pretty crowded during lunchtime.
Our cozy room at the lodge, where I took a nap in the evening while Brian went out for another 20 or so miles of riding in the dark.
They even have a hot tub where you can soak tired muscles and watch the sun set. In the morning we were greeted by the moon again and a huge breakfast prepared by the Luce's.
At 9:30 it was time to pack up the bikes and hit the trail again. It was 10 degrees at the lodge and zero again when we dropped down to the river.
The sun was so bright on the ride back down the Yentna that it was hard to take photos. Brian would occasionally disappear into the sunlight and then reappear when he stopped to let me catch up.
The view of Denali was spectacular on the way back up the Susitna. This picture doesn't do it justice. We were a little surprised at what seemed to be steam coming up off of this section of open river.
As we got closer to Deshka Landing where the car was parked my legs were screaming at me for not training more in these conditions. It made me realize that I cannot train in Anchorage much anymore on the weekends leading up the White Mountain Race. The snow is just too packed down to provide enough resistance.
As I approached the end of the ride, I had one more look back at the river that really was pretty even when it got hard.
The moon was spectacular as we loaded up the bikes in the dark.
We arrived at the boat launch at Deshka Landing just around sunrise and loaded up the bikes. I still don't have much weight on my actual bike. I am used to carrying weight on my back and don't understand why more people don't do this on bikes. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, but to me it makes more sense to have most of the weight over my center of gravity on the bike.
This week I'm going to get a front rack in order to strap my sleeping bag, bivy and foam pad to, and I have a seat bag on the way from Epic Designs, but I am going to carry some weight in a backpack on my back unless I find that there is some disadvantage to this.
The temperature was 15 degrees at the car, but that quickly dropped to zero as we got down onto the Susitna River. We required a quick wardrobe change before we were ready to go.
The riding was flat and the conditions were great and I found the going easy as we started the 15 miles down the Susitna to the intersection with the Yentna. It was especially easy to ride in the tracks made by snow machines pulling sleds behind. But only a certain kind of sled makes for easy going.
Once we turned up the Yentna it felt slighty uphill and the snow got soft from the sun. This became difficult for me. I guess I've been spoiled on the pansy packed down, rock hard trails of Anchorage.
Flat rides are mentally and physically torturous for me, because of the non stop pedaling against the resistance of the snow. It's pretty much "pedal, pedal, pedal" the whole way with no break.
I don't remember what the exact conversation was late in the ride that sparked the quote that inspired the title of this post but it went something like this...
Brian: "How ya doin'?"
Me: "OK... actually, this hurts."
Brian: "We're almost there. It's beautiful though, right?"
Me: "It was pretty when it was easy. Now it's just pain."
After about 4 1/2 hours of riding we saw the sign for Luce's Lodge, climbed the steep hill to the lodge and parked our bikes...
Luce's is a fantastic place to stay. Not because of fancy rooms or food(although the food is good) or amenities, but because the Luce's (Janice and Dave) are really kind and generous people and it they make you feel very much at home in their lodge.
You walk in and you are greeted with free coffee and warm stove, cheeseburgers, great french fries and beer. We were amazed at how many snow machiners were stopping in, making this remote lodge pretty crowded during lunchtime.
Our cozy room at the lodge, where I took a nap in the evening while Brian went out for another 20 or so miles of riding in the dark.
They even have a hot tub where you can soak tired muscles and watch the sun set. In the morning we were greeted by the moon again and a huge breakfast prepared by the Luce's.
At 9:30 it was time to pack up the bikes and hit the trail again. It was 10 degrees at the lodge and zero again when we dropped down to the river.
The sun was so bright on the ride back down the Yentna that it was hard to take photos. Brian would occasionally disappear into the sunlight and then reappear when he stopped to let me catch up.
The view of Denali was spectacular on the way back up the Susitna. This picture doesn't do it justice. We were a little surprised at what seemed to be steam coming up off of this section of open river.
As we got closer to Deshka Landing where the car was parked my legs were screaming at me for not training more in these conditions. It made me realize that I cannot train in Anchorage much anymore on the weekends leading up the White Mountain Race. The snow is just too packed down to provide enough resistance.
As I approached the end of the ride, I had one more look back at the river that really was pretty even when it got hard.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Missing the ice
What have I been doing for the month of January?
Riding...
Riding...
and more riding...
It's becoming a problem because the climbing people are getting restless. Mainly this girl...
She harasses me about my bike every chance she gets. She hates my bike. It's eating up all of my attention. We used to spend so much time climbing together that Brian started calling her my "winter boyfriend". But alas, I have not been out on the ice yet this year! It's very sad. I miss the ice and I miss climbing with Kim.
But I'm starting to realize that if I want to accomplish any of my goals that I need to be able to focus. It used to be that I would do a little of everything, but it's really hard to get good at anything like that.
The plan is to ride my ass of in January, February and early March, and then taper for two weeks before the race. During that time I can start ice climbing again. I'll have at least two months of good solid (warm weather, long daylight) climbing days after that.
So there it is. I can do everything I want to do, I just need to organize a little bit. And maybe Kim can be my spring boyfriend this year.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A whole month flew by...
...while I wasn't looking. It's the end of January already and I have neglected my blog. My days are now filled with work, riding my bike, climbing in the rock gym, cooking fabulous meals and then back to work at night on various websites I have volunteered to set up.
I haven't had time to stop and think. The only time I get to really think is when I'm on the bike. Bike rides are getting longer now and we are preparing to start adding weight to our bikes while training in order to simulate the White Mountain race conditions.
By the way, the BLM permit for the White Mountain Race went through, so it's official. On March 21st Brian and I will be starting our 100 mile journey north of Fairbanks into the White Mountains. Woohoo! Or OMG, WTS? depending on what day you talk to me. But if there wasn't an element of panic in me it wouldn't be fun, right?
Our Saturdays have been spent riding all the daylight hours away. Last weekend we rode out to the Knik Glacier, wow! What a beautiful ride.
We started out at noon at Hunter Creek...
Niko was full of energy on the first half of the ride...
We arrived at the glacier about two hours later...
There are so many cool places to explore in this area. You can weave your bike in and out of ice formations. I was kicking myself for not bringing the ice climbing gear, but then again it felt like the temperature had dropped to about -10 on the glacier and the sun was about to set, so we didn't stay long.
We headed back to the car after eating a couple of burritos. I'd definitely like to go back and wander around here for a few hours (or days). In addition to the glacier I could see multiple waterfall climbs down further in the gorge.
We arrived back at Hunter Creek at sunset with Niko dragging behind, his paws bleeding from running on hard crusty snow all day.
I'm feeling pretty good about the upcoming race. February is going to be a big mile month on the bike for me. This weekend Brian and I are heading down the Susitna to ride and stay at Luce's Lodge for a night. More photos to come!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Happy New Year
I created a slideshow from my favorite photos of 2009. I finally got this thing working and uploaded it after a few days of fiddling around with it, but here it is... I hope you like it.
I have heard many people saying 2009 was a tough year, but we have been fortunate to have had a great year in 2009. I chose the song "Hold your Head High" by Heartless Bastards that reminds me that even if I am going through a rough time, things will eventually turn around and be great again.
(Some of the photos were taken by Brian and also my friends Tim, Heather and John.)
I'm not really one for New Year's Resolutions and saying, "in 2010 I'm finally gonna get my act together and do 'fill in the blank'". I'm more of a "I want to do something so I'm going to start now." kind of person. Why wait until a new year, or until Monday, or until the weekend? Do what you want to do now. Walk outside of your door and start.
I have heard many people saying 2009 was a tough year, but we have been fortunate to have had a great year in 2009. I chose the song "Hold your Head High" by Heartless Bastards that reminds me that even if I am going through a rough time, things will eventually turn around and be great again.
(Some of the photos were taken by Brian and also my friends Tim, Heather and John.)
I'm not really one for New Year's Resolutions and saying, "in 2010 I'm finally gonna get my act together and do 'fill in the blank'". I'm more of a "I want to do something so I'm going to start now." kind of person. Why wait until a new year, or until Monday, or until the weekend? Do what you want to do now. Walk outside of your door and start.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Crab Feast!
I brought with me five pounds of Alaskan King Crab and a pound of Alaskan Scallops so that we could have what might become our annual Crab Feast in Allentown.
Scallops wrapped in bacon...
The crab...
Eric, my sister's fiance enjoying a huge chunk of crab...
Angie dumping her crab onto the plate...
Tony wrestling with a claw...
I could eat like this every night!
Scallops wrapped in bacon...
The crab...
Eric, my sister's fiance enjoying a huge chunk of crab...
Angie dumping her crab onto the plate...
Tony wrestling with a claw...
I could eat like this every night!
Monday, December 28, 2009
New York City
Everytime I go back east lately, the women in my family take a bus to the city and go see a show, eat good food and drinks, and just generally cause trouble around town.
My sister...
My mom, Nana, and Aunt Carol...
Times Square, which for me is generally a pretty annoying place to be and not really what visiting New York is about. it's like riding the bus in Denali, you have to do it when you visit, but it won't be the best thing you did while you were there. We always tried to get off this street when we ended up there...
We saw the Lion King on Broadway, and I have to say, the production that came to Anchorage on the National Tour was just as good as the original...
The rest of the ladies got back on the bus after dinner and Angie and I took the subway downtown to see Gogol Bordello at Webster Hall. They just so happened to be playing the same night we were going to be there. Sweet!
You could feel the floor bouncing up and down under our feet. Later we went downstairs under the concert to buy a tshirt and realized the whole building was bouncing, the doors and windows were rattling... a little freaky when you are in a building that's over a hundred years old.
Then the subway back to the bus station and the hour and a half ride back to my moms house. But first, we had to have a slice of pizza. Take a good look Anchorage. This is what a piece of pizza is supposed to look like. This slice was bigger than my head. Notice the crispy, yet floppy crust, and that there ARE NOT a thousand toppings piled on top. Just cheese. This is where that crap everyone eats with all those toppings messing up the flavors on it came from. So simple. Salty. Delicious.
We crashed on the bus and arrived back at my mom's house in PA at 2am. Good day! Despite my love of the outdoors and nature, which do not exist in NYC, I love to visit and sometimes wish I lived near a city so that I could experience the culture and food more often. But Alaska is fun in so many other ways, and I'm not ready to give that up yet.
My sister...
My mom, Nana, and Aunt Carol...
Times Square, which for me is generally a pretty annoying place to be and not really what visiting New York is about. it's like riding the bus in Denali, you have to do it when you visit, but it won't be the best thing you did while you were there. We always tried to get off this street when we ended up there...
We saw the Lion King on Broadway, and I have to say, the production that came to Anchorage on the National Tour was just as good as the original...
The rest of the ladies got back on the bus after dinner and Angie and I took the subway downtown to see Gogol Bordello at Webster Hall. They just so happened to be playing the same night we were going to be there. Sweet!
You could feel the floor bouncing up and down under our feet. Later we went downstairs under the concert to buy a tshirt and realized the whole building was bouncing, the doors and windows were rattling... a little freaky when you are in a building that's over a hundred years old.
Then the subway back to the bus station and the hour and a half ride back to my moms house. But first, we had to have a slice of pizza. Take a good look Anchorage. This is what a piece of pizza is supposed to look like. This slice was bigger than my head. Notice the crispy, yet floppy crust, and that there ARE NOT a thousand toppings piled on top. Just cheese. This is where that crap everyone eats with all those toppings messing up the flavors on it came from. So simple. Salty. Delicious.
We crashed on the bus and arrived back at my mom's house in PA at 2am. Good day! Despite my love of the outdoors and nature, which do not exist in NYC, I love to visit and sometimes wish I lived near a city so that I could experience the culture and food more often. But Alaska is fun in so many other ways, and I'm not ready to give that up yet.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas!!
This was the most festive picture I had that I took of Brian showing off his sweater that he planned on wearing to his brothers Christmas sweater party this week. Hopefully he got those buttons straightened out. He won best overall outfit (I hear some pants were added).
I'm in Pennsylvania now and finally got about 7 hours of sleep last night after waking up Wednesday, working, having dinner with some friends, packing, cleaning the house, then going to the airport, flying 10 hours overnight, and arriving in Newark at 3:30pm yesterday.
Then my mom picked me up and I went and got a quick shower and we were off to my family Christmas Eve party, followed by visiting with my best friends after that. I finally got to bed at about 2am (Eastern time).
Now it's 9am Christmas morning and I am still in bed at my mom's house, but I smell the coffee brewing so it's time to get up, even though I still feel pretty sleep deprived.
Merry Christmas!!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Multi-use trail?
When I was hiking with Niko this summer on the Tank Trail in one of the designated off leash areas in town this summer. I discovered a trail that I've been wanting to check out for awhile. The trail isn't much of a trail in the summer. You eventually run into a swamp, but that meant that in winter this trail would be frozen.
So on Sunday Niko and I went to go check it out. The trail was awesome. It seemed so remote even though it was right in town. I thought it would be the perfect place to do some training rides because it is closer to my house than having to drive all the way up to hillside. And it was in the off leash area, so Niko could run free on it. This trail had everything.
Niko was excited as I was...
On top of that it was gorgeous...
But it was too good to be true. Niko had run off (back to the car I found out later) after about 20 minutes of riding, which seemed strange. Maybe Niko had sensed what this trail was about before I did. So after losing Niko I decided to ride back and forth on a two mile stretch of trail until he came back. He doesn't run away much, but when he does he always comes back to the same place where he left.
And then I was almost run over by dog sled team, when I realized my dream of the perfect trail that I had all too myself was not a reality. The woman on the sled yelled, "THIS IS NOT A MULTI USE TRAIL! THIS IS A DOG MUSHING TRAIL!" At that moment I just so happened to be going the wrong way too, so I looked like a real a**hole.
I didn't know what to say, so I just yelled back, "OK!" and started back to the car. As a user of the trails in Anchorage, I generally don't care much for certain trails being designated for only certain sports.
I ski, bike and run on the trails of Anchorage and I honestly don't give a crap if someone walks down the middle of a groomed trail with their unleashed dog and their giant hoofed horse. It's just good to see people out being active. I can deal with ruts, skid marks, hoof holes, dogs running around, etc, that's all a part of the adventure of recreating off-road. It's not supposed to be all smooth and easy.
But this is a huge issue amongst trail users here. I have never lived in a town where there is so much a conflict of users groups on the trails. People can get really nasty. Everyone wants to point the finger at someone else, when really maybe they should be looking at themselves.
But I do understand why the dog mushing trails are designated for just them, because it's dangerous. Those sleds go fast and their are blind corners, just like the one where I almost had a collision with 10 dogs. THAT is a legitimate reason to restrict trail use.
All that other stuff I will never understand. But I follow the rules so as not to piss too many people off.
So I'm off to Pennsylvania tonight. I fly into Newark at 3:30pm tomorrow! And I just upgraded to first class for only 79 dollars for the entire duration of the flight. Maybe I will get some sleep after all. Vacation!
So on Sunday Niko and I went to go check it out. The trail was awesome. It seemed so remote even though it was right in town. I thought it would be the perfect place to do some training rides because it is closer to my house than having to drive all the way up to hillside. And it was in the off leash area, so Niko could run free on it. This trail had everything.
Niko was excited as I was...
On top of that it was gorgeous...
But it was too good to be true. Niko had run off (back to the car I found out later) after about 20 minutes of riding, which seemed strange. Maybe Niko had sensed what this trail was about before I did. So after losing Niko I decided to ride back and forth on a two mile stretch of trail until he came back. He doesn't run away much, but when he does he always comes back to the same place where he left.
And then I was almost run over by dog sled team, when I realized my dream of the perfect trail that I had all too myself was not a reality. The woman on the sled yelled, "THIS IS NOT A MULTI USE TRAIL! THIS IS A DOG MUSHING TRAIL!" At that moment I just so happened to be going the wrong way too, so I looked like a real a**hole.
I didn't know what to say, so I just yelled back, "OK!" and started back to the car. As a user of the trails in Anchorage, I generally don't care much for certain trails being designated for only certain sports.
I ski, bike and run on the trails of Anchorage and I honestly don't give a crap if someone walks down the middle of a groomed trail with their unleashed dog and their giant hoofed horse. It's just good to see people out being active. I can deal with ruts, skid marks, hoof holes, dogs running around, etc, that's all a part of the adventure of recreating off-road. It's not supposed to be all smooth and easy.
But this is a huge issue amongst trail users here. I have never lived in a town where there is so much a conflict of users groups on the trails. People can get really nasty. Everyone wants to point the finger at someone else, when really maybe they should be looking at themselves.
But I do understand why the dog mushing trails are designated for just them, because it's dangerous. Those sleds go fast and their are blind corners, just like the one where I almost had a collision with 10 dogs. THAT is a legitimate reason to restrict trail use.
All that other stuff I will never understand. But I follow the rules so as not to piss too many people off.
So I'm off to Pennsylvania tonight. I fly into Newark at 3:30pm tomorrow! And I just upgraded to first class for only 79 dollars for the entire duration of the flight. Maybe I will get some sleep after all. Vacation!
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