8.4.04

Hard to believe its been 4 years

Day 65: August 4 Beaver Creek, YT to Northway, AK (gas station) 71 miles

I woke up wrapped up and still cold from the night’s frigid temperatures. I felt surprisingly good after riding as hard as I could the previous day. I shivered as I packed up my belongings and helped tear down the tent. I could feel the excitement mounting. After breakfast the biggest and last race of the trip would take place—the race to Alaska. The race filled every topic of discussion as the teams ate breakfast and readied for the day.

Many of the riders from the Rocky Route and a few of the slower riders from our route opted to not race to the border. We lined up on the highway with Skip filming, and before I could even feel excitement in the pit of my stomach, the race began. I started toward the back of the long pace line. My legs still felt good riding at the quick pace. So far the road was quite flat, and I knew there wouldn’t be a separation in the pack until we reached some hills.

After a few miles, I could tell that I wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace once we started climbing, so I decided to take a few minutes of glory. I moved to the left toward the middle of the road and began my assault on the front of the pack. I increased my pace and began passing rider after rider until I found myself in the front. I moved back to the right and began pulling the pack. My quads began to burns as I continued the quick pace of the peloton.

I continued to pull for a few miles until I saw a slight dip before the road beckoned skyward. I turned to the left and pushed hard down hill, but as soon as we started climbing, the pack broke apart. I watched helplessly as the entire field blew by me. For a split second, I felt defeated as I watched the racers distance themselves from me, but I recalled my strong ride the day before and remembered my choice to move into the lead, ending any hopes I had of competing.

At that moment, I decided to readjust my goal for the race to Alaska. I was now in last of the racers, so I decided to see how many people I could pick off before reaching the border. I picked up the pace and saw Doug ahead of me. I finally reeled in Doug and as I passed I said, “Come on, let’s go!” Doug was tired, but pulled in behind me and the two of us pressed on. We quickly overtook Don, who had to drop out with a broken spoke. Next, we passed Dan, who was having back issues.

The landscape was rising and falling as Doug and I continued our pursuit of the border. My legs were burning, but I continued to press on. Doug and I took turns pulling each other while we hammered away. We picked off a couple more riders before catching up to Paul. When Paul saw me, he picked up his pace, as did I. Doug fell off a bit and Paul and I challenged each other to push our limits. I saw Suchin ahead and set my sights on him as I began to put a little bit of space between myself and Paul.

I saw a building at the top of the next hill that I figured was probably the U.S. Customs building. I thought I had enough distance left that I could catch Suchin before he made it to the border. I pushed myself harder and zeroed in on Suchin. I couple minutes later, I saw Suchin stop at the bottom of the ascent before the customs building. I was so focused on trying to catch Suchin that I didn’t even realize that the border was actually at the bottom of the hill. I continued a hard push to the border even though I had no chance to catch anyone else.

When I crossed the border, I was so tired I couldn’t even celebrate. I immediately put my bike done and went to sit down on a bench completely exhausted. It took me a few minutes to regroup and settle down before I was able to get up and join the rest of the riders in celebration. We cheered as rider after rider crossed the border. Once all the riders entered Alaska, the picture taking started.

We took a series of group pictures with the sign welcoming visitors to Alaska. Several riders climbed on top of the sign, while the rest of us gathered in front. I stood on the back row pointing at the location of Anchorage on the depiction of Alaska on the sign. After the group shots, I took several pictures in front of the sign, both alone and with Tommy, Steve, and Dbear.

There was a bench that resided half in Alaska and half in the Yukon. The actual border was a fifteen foot wide strip cut into the thick forest extending indefinitely in both directions. We talked with several groups of tourist who were quite intrigued when they learned of our undertaking. We began to wind down the celebration and the extended break, as we still had a little over fifty miles left on the day.

Unfortunately, pursuing our ultimate goal of Anchorage meant we had to bid farewell to Dbear. He was supposed to meet his mother in Seattle in a few days and would not have time to drive down to meet her if he proceeded to Anchorage. Dbear leaving us made crossing into Alaska bittersweet. He had been an integral part of our team, a tentmate, and a good friend. After a series of hug, we all watched as Dbear drove away back into the Yukon.

One less vehicle and friend, we rode up the hill to proceed through customs. When I got to the top of the hill, I read the signs forbidding photographs. We lined up at the customs building to the queer looks of the customs agents. One by one, an agent inspected our birth certificates and driver’s licenses while asking a few questions to each rider. After the last rider made it through customs, we continued our ride.

A few miles after customs, we came across a gas station. Although we had an extended break at the border, we stopped at the gas station for lunch. Since we were back in the U.S., I decided to take the chance to make a call to my parents for the first time since Seattle. I was able to inform them of our crossing the border and was given congratulations.

After the lunch stop, I decided to set out riding alone and enjoy the Alaskan landscape. Although the mountains had receded the past couple days, the road still rose and fell with the rolling landscape. The forest was thick with trees but spotted with lakes. As I rode through the crisp air, I smiled at the thought of entering a state I’d longed to visit all my life.

As I rounded a corner, I saw a small collection of riders off their bikes looking at something in the distance. When I pulled up, someone pointed to a marshy field where there was a moose standing in the tall grass. It wasn’t a bull moose, but it was still very amazing to see the massive animal. She stood almost motionless in the meadow below as we took pictures.

A couple short miles later, I came upon the van where some of the riders were already enjoying mid-ride snacks. We discussed the moose and then they pushed out. A couple minutes later, I decided to continue riding alone and pushed out as well. The miles seemed to ride themselves as I was lost in my thoughts of actually being in Alaska. Before I knew it, I happened upon a store where the van was parked in the dirt parking lot, marking the destination for the day’s ride.

We obtained a series of spots in the campground just behind the store. After setting up the tent, Tommy and I went in to the store to use the showers in the back. After showering, I bought some chips and a Pepsi before returning to camp. We ate dinner and then I settled in to the tent, where Tommy shared deer sausage that his family had sent from home. With Dbear gone, there was an available space in our tent, which Meg, from the Rocky Route, decided to occupy. Meg and I talked about music for a little bit before everyone went to sleep.