Official Ride in Alaska

Skagway, Alaska
July 8, 2019
22 miles

Today was our official ride in Alaska because we are actually on a tandem bicycle. We threw in yesterday's ride in Juneau as an "extra". It is another perfect weather day. How could we have been so lucky? We rented a Trek tandem from Sockeye Cycle Co. and are on our own, no group tours today.  

We rode 11 miles out to Dyea, Alaska, which was a boomtown during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897-1898, but is now a ghost town. The road started out paved but 4 miles out of Skagway it turned into a dirt road. Fortunately the bike was outfitted for that kind of surface. It is a good thing we left our tandem at home and rented one here. Our shoes were not locked on to the pedals and we struggled throughout the day because of that. My foot kept slipping off of the pedals and we were unable to stand when we would go uphill. And, we had plenty of uphill! It's Alaska, I shouldn't have expected anything else! Let's just say - our legs got the best workout in all of our previous 48 states that we have ridden in.

After the first uphill, overlooking Skagway and the cruise ships.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking!!!

Along the way were several places to stop and read about the area, the gold rush and Chilkoot Trail. We took advantage of all the stops so we could learn about the history and to rest our legs! There were times along this road where we were the only people around. It was an amazing feeling to be bicycling with no one in view and to have the majestic mountains, the crisp cold water and a regal bald eagle as our backdrop and companion. 

Alaska was the 49th state to enter the Union and it was our 49th state to ride a tandem bicycle in. Cheers to number 49!

Juneau, Alaska

Juneau, Alaska

July 7, 2019

8.5 miles

Disclaimer: I know that we are not riding a tandem bike (that will come later in our trip). I still felt like writing a blog about our experience here in Juneau. This was an excursion offered through the cruise line. Since it involved bike riding, hey what the heck, why not do it!

We were met at the dock by our tour guide and driver. There were ten of us from two different cruise ships participating in this excursion. My cousins, Byron and Christy Cate, decided to join us on this tour. We were driven to the starting point on the campus of the University of Alaska Southeast. Alaska was in the midst of an unusual heat wave, it was a perfect riding temperature of 77 degrees. As a matter of fact, all the biking clothes I brought on this trip were for cool to cold temperatures and possible rain. I didn't need any of those clothes today. As you can see from the picture, I am wearing regular clothes.

Our first stop was by a rain forest. It is strange to me because I wouldn't have thought that Alaska and rain forest would have been used in the same sentence. Our second stop was a viewing point for Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls in Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in North America. We had a clear, picturesque view which our guide said does not always happen. I am so thankful that we had a perfect weather day!

We ended our ride at the visitor center for Mendenhall Glacier. From there we decided to hike to Nugget Falls. It was beautiful and gave us a close up view of both the glacier and falls. 

We saw lots of Bald Eagles today. No bears or moose (I was watching for them)! To celebrate our fantastic ride we ended up at Tracy's King Crab Shack for the biggest and best crab legs EVER!