It rained hard overnight and when we woke up our campsite was all gray mud. We tried to keep as clean as possible but by the time we left our shoes were caked and it took me 5 minutes to get my clip-in pedals to work properly.
As the mud dried and came off we though of Glenallen, our next checkpoint, 50 miles away. It rained lightly as we rode on gradual downhills and then medium-length steeper uphills. We could see the Chugach Range to our right and we passed Tazlina Lake.
Paul was ahead of me and we were 10 miles from Glenallen when it began to pour rain. My socks were soaked. I came to a diner called the Brown Bear and noticed Paul’s bike out front. I ordered the special: a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a bowl of chili. Paul and I laid our wet clothes by the fireplace. The lady who served us, Cindy, was in a photo on the wall with a trophy brown bear she had shot. The bar was filled with Sarah Palin paraphernalia. I chatted with her and she gave Paul and I each a bar of dark chocolate.
We headed into downtown Glenallen and stopped at the supermarket. We rode through town and on to the Tok Cutoff, another 16 miles. We turned north toward Tok and I called Dave Cramer, our host in Mentasta.
I was riding with my helmet chinstrap unbuckled and I went down a hill about 35 miles per hour. The strap flew back in the wind and started banging on the outside of my helmet as if to say “Buckle me! Buckle me!” It reminded me of Paul’s crash where a helmet saved him from the hopsital.
We made it to mile 18 past the Tok Cutoff and camped next to Tulsana River.
I got mad at night because after we went 75 miles, Paul and I agreed to stay together and look for a campsite. I stopped to pee and Paul took off. I didn’t see him again for an hour of riding on a dirt road in a construction area. A guy rode by me and suggested we stay at his campsite for $13. I asked him to tell Paul to stop and wait for me if he sees him ahead. I was getting worried by the time I got to Paul because we were supposed to make camp before it got dark and it was dark by the time I got to him.
When I got to him I said “what was that Paul? Why’d you just take off like that I thought we were supposed to stick together and look for a campsite.” He said “Yeah I just really got going there. And I was going really fast.” That was the end of his explanation.
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| I'm looking out over the Gulkana River. |
