June 25: Introducing the “Trusty Steed”

I have a new love – I’m calling him my “Trusty Steed.” Today I started out on my quest to reach the Arctic on my rental adventure bike. I’m so pleased with how he performed on the first leg of my trip north from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

There are always issues involved with changing out bikes, but things went relatively smoothly transitioning from “My Baby” to the “Trusty Steed.” Although the owner of the bike, James Siegel, had kindly offered to provide me with panier bags for his bike, we found out last night that they could not be attached to the rack that was on there. Fortunately, a few weeks ago, I mailed myself supplies for the rental bike including back up panier bags. Last night I was able to attach the bags to the rental bike and pack them up with essential supplies – four MSR bottles with extra fuel, spare inner tubes for both tires, patch kits, and protein bars.

I left Anchorage today accompanied by James. He wanted to give me a great send off and followed me up to the Talkeetna Junction before heading back to Anchorage.

The drive up was beautiful, even though the air was very thick with smoke from fires in the area. The skies would occasionally clear but for most of the trip north a thick blanket of fog obscured much of the view. I was still able to make out the beautiful foothills and overall silhouette of Denali Mountain, the third highest of the seven summits.

When I stopped for gas near the entrance to Denali National Park, I got an evacuation warning on my phone for a subdivision of the Denali Borough. I decided not to linger at the station and hopped on the bike, determined not to miss getting to Fairbanks tonight.

For most of the trip I focused on enjoying what I could see well – the beautiful evergreen and deciduous trees immediately surrounding me and a myriad of rivers, valleys, and gulches.

I must say I am very happy with how the bike performed. I hit a particularly challenging section of road that was dirt with loose gravel. Unfortunately, the loose gravel became the size of golf balls with almost no warning. I only had a second to react, so I downshifted quickly, said a quick prayer, and prepared for the worst. The bike just motored through that patch almost as if nothing had changed. What a relief! Fingers crossed the next few days will continue to go well.