Preparing to Ride

This year Russ and I are off to Alaska on our Bike Fridays.  Folks joke about our small tires and how the bikes look with tiny wheels but they are really fun and easy to ride.  They are designed especially for touring and have very low gears which helps on the hills.  The tires are wider than our road bike tires and that is a benefit on such a long ride. But most important is that these bikes fold and fit into a suitcase which makes it possible for train and airline travel at no extra cost.  Russ can assemble them in around 40 minutes and they are ready to ride.

Some of you know about our trip and some don't.  Here is an overview:

On May 18 we board Amtrak in Seattle to Shelby, Montana.  Our ride begins in Cut Bank, Montana on May 20.  Ten cyclist are on this tour organized by Dean Fasette who planned our Northern Tier ride in 2014.  Most of the riders we know from the previous trip, from Yakima and Green Valley.  It is 2355 miles from Cut Bank, Montana to Anchorage, Alaska.  Our tentative arrival date in Anchorage in July 4.  We will average about 60 mile per day (wish it were kilometers) especially since the first few days are 80+ miles each.  We were told that it is flat the first few days and I am hoping for a strong tail wind!  We travel thru Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska.

We have a SAG vehicle that is a 5th Wheel RV that will carry all our gear.  Dave, the SAG driver, is from Georgia.  We all will be tenting along the way and sharing cooking responsibilities.  The challenge on this route is that we may have days with no designated campground
and that means no showers also.

Folded Bike Friday

Russ and I have been biking pretty strong for the last month but how do you get in shape for a trip like this?  Russ says "the first week is training" but I am sure we will be pretty tired, have sore legs and seats and of course, you have the weather to contend with.  Anyway, we will keep you posted with this blog.

We may not be able to blog daily, it will depend on internet access but we will do our best.  Hope you enjoy following our travels.