Distance: 56.0 miles
Avg speed: 12.2 mph
Max speed: 31.2 mph
Ascent: 3225 ft
Saddle time: 04:34

I woke up before my 7:15 alarm. I felt anxious and nervous about this day 1 of riding. It’s been 4 years since I’ve done this so I had some doubt in my brain. I hit the gym 3+ times a week, play ice hockey on two teams and occasionally cycle to the office. Outside of my normal aches and pains I truly feel like I’m in good physical condition. That being said, history has taught me that nothing can prepare a Midwestern Chicago boy for the 8% inclines that the mountains will throw at me. I also know from past history that I overcame these exact doubts each and every time. Granted, solo is tougher as you don’t have a partner to help push you when the going gets tough so you have to manufacture your own… Within yourself.

First order of business this morning was to send my bike box and another package to the hotel in Anchorage for my return home. Last night I decided to lighten my laundry load by removing 1 padded cycling short, 1 convertible pant and two cotton t-shirts. I simply brought too much. So, I summoned the only Lyft driver in the map to drive me to FedEx. $53 later and the boxes are in their way.

I walked back to the hotel to finish finish packing up the bike and headed into the lobby. I forgot to mention in day 1 that this hotel services the cruise lines so the lobby is always packed with senior couples doing senior adventures (love you Mom…I mean no offense). They are always all decked out with the same tourist adventure hat and matching adventure vest. It’s funny to see but they do look adorable. They are always so polite and smile when you make eye contact. I thought to myself that I hope I too can grow old and enjoy these types of adventures with shonu. My mother didn’t have that luxury and I can only imagine how lonley she must feel. I’m proud of her for finding the strength to join her local senior groups. Hell, my mom is now more active then Swati and I!

Okay, I digressed more than I thought.. so, I enter the lobby with my fully loaded bike and all eyes were immediately glued to me. I could hear some of them gasp and say oh wow. I felt like a senior celebrity. 🙂. They asked many questions and we’re genuinely interested. It was a very sweet moment.

I checked out around 10AM and for the first time in 4 years mounted my fully loaded touring bike. Wow what a tank when she’s this heavy… I rode the short distance to the co-op market and picked up some tasty trail mix for snacking, banana and vegan sandwich for lunch. I then headed towards Parks Highway #3 towards Anchorage.

Today’s ride was going to be a grind for me. Most of my tours start off with big climbs. That’s were the cool stuff is so you gotta get it done. There just isn’t any other option. Today was no exception. I knew I had to climb approximately 3300ft and I just needed to stay mentally focused, take breaks and keep a nice and manageable pace. Do this and I will be successful.

It didn’t take but 10 miles before my first real climb began. It also didn’t take long before i started talking to my virtual partner. Many may not know this but I do talk to myself often. Don’t freak out and think I’m crazy… It just helps me work things out and sometimes calms me. I see a bird and I say hello. My bike spits a rock out from under her tire and I apologize for not seeing it. It also helps to to away the suck that is climbing… Especially when your bike is at its heaviest. I’ve got 6 days worth of freeze dried food for my remote camping in Denali that I’m hauling… Anyway, below are some of my roadside photos… Notice the nice clear blue skies… I’m so fortunate it didn’t rain on my first day…

My mission was to get to the mid point of the ride before stopping for lunch. That happened around 1:00 PM and my stomach was ready for some calories. Besides, my bike needed a break too…

The second half of the ride was fairly similar. I’d work up a sweat on the climbs and then freeze on the descents. My poor exhausted quads were so elated to see the Nenana City limit sign. So was my butt, knees, back and brain for that matter! 🙂

I got to the very nicely equipped campground where that have very nice hot showers and, as you can tell, very nice wifi! I set up camp lickety split and hit those showers!

I walked into town to try one of their two open restaurants Riverside Pizza. They specialize in Ney York style pizza but naturally I had low expectations.

I ordered a 14″ veggie pizza without cheese and they tossed in extra sauce and jalapenos at no extra charges. I gotta say this pizza was amazing… What the hell are they doing in this tiny town when they could be making a killing at and major US City? It was really that good. I didn’t manage to finish the entire pizza and took the remaining 3 slices back with me for tomorrow (or maybe second dinner) 🙂

I’m now going to head out of the laundry room/bath house where I’m writing all 3 days worth of blogs. I’ve managed to have 3 separate conversions with others staying here when they’ve come inside to use the facilities! Some have even seen me in the road (hey, you’re that biker guy I saw today). Plus it’s starting to get pretty cold in here. I’m going back to the tent to slather some Ben Gay on the achy knees. And probably pass out from exhaustion. I got 68ish miles and 2700ish ft to climb tomorrow. With a little luck the rain will stay away. Either way I’ll push through to Riley Creek! Isn’t that right mr. knee? He said yes.