Thrive Outside

Waking up in a proper campground with an actual outhouse, was a dream.  We got in super late (1 am) because of the road closure and construction.  It was a short night.  We ate breakfast in a REAL RESTAURANT in Cold Foot.  I loved all the history of how the Gold Rush went all the way up to the interior of Alaska.  I knew it went to Fairbanks, Nome, Juneau, and of course Palmer.  But, the gold rush drew people who were "late" and finding it a bit crowed in the Fairbanks area, miners would take barges up the river to the interior in search of gold. One story I read the river froze early, and some walked back but others just survived the winter sharing what they had off the barge until they were able to retreat in the spring. Feeling like we could conquer the world, we left our luggage (panniers)  with our gracious support car and Uppa (James' Dad who searched for us and was willing to drive over 600 miles to help us since we flew to Prudhoe and needed ...

And we are off at 9:30 am.  I had a relaxing time in the Word but also had a great breakfast.  We left but forgot it being Memorial Day that our bathroom breaks locations would be closed.  We headed to the big arches and were thankful to run into friends who lent us some great head coverings for our helmets in case it rains.  They were just about to come look for us.  They sent us off with prayer and we headed down the road. Getting on the Seward Highway, we were blessed with sunny skies and light traffic. Enjoying the view, we were surprised to have perfect timing to meet our friends Haley and Mark @ Indian for the famous "Bird to Gird" trail.  We enjoyed the quieter ride (minus the road noise) and loved the fellowship with other people.   Little did we know that was the last of the bikers we would see until we saw a few bikers in the town of Soldotna.   We enjoyed refueling at the station and r...

My bookshelf and blogs have been filled with basic biking information.  "The Essential Touring Cyclist" even had a chapter of basic bike skills when on the road.  I have been diving into books. Well, when my tires hit the payment, today was definitely an adventure.  An adventure of DEATH.  I first misjudged pulling out and crossing the street in front of ongoing traffic because I thought I had the acceleration of a car (not yet anyway).   Then, as I was trying to stay off the sidewalks (meant for walking) and into the road, I veered a little too much to the right and was stuck in the middle of traffic with cars racing by me on either side. Finding encouragement in a "Bike Lane" sign posted ahead, I lost my proper tire placement and rammed into a bike curb nearly jolting me off the bike.  However, I am finding my little green machine being able to handle jarring and it thankfully lopped unto the sidewalk.   So, a de...