We rode on gravel for 15 miles until we were out of the construction area. We visited the Red Eagle Lodge. The guy I had talked to the night before was there. He was named Richard and he let us fill our water bottles, use their bathroom, and use their internet. It was a nice place.
We had nice views of rivers and such. We averaged 6.6 miles per hour due to a headwind. We had some climbs, but it seemed like a boring day until 9 o’clock at night when I came upon Paul on the side of the road with his trailer unhitched and he said, “Austen, I got bad news.”
I said, “What’s the matter.”
He said, “A bunch of spokes on my rear wheel have broke.”
I was always under the impression that spokes break every couple thousand miles, so I was surprised to hear that after a relatively short distance that Paul’s brand new bike had had many of the spokes break on the back wheel.
Paul was upset, but I told him to calm down and relax a little bit. He put his trailer in the bushes by the road and started digging for his bike maintenance books. He had brought 7 books with him, but he had forgot to bring his detailed technical bike maintenance manual. We were getting eaten by bugs so we got on our bikes, leaving Paul’s trailer behind at mile 72 of the highway. Our host, Dave Cramer, lived at mile 83.5.
Paul’s rear wheel was wobbling badly so we went slow for two miles until we came to an RV parked on the side of the road next to a river. I pulled up next to it and waited for Paul to come and I said “Hey Paul, do you wanna see if those people in that RV can give you a hand?” I talked him into it and before long he was standing at the door. He hesitated before knocking and I said, “Do it!”
He knocked and talked to a man inside the RV. The guy was willing to give Paul and his bike a lift to Dave’s. I thanked the guy and rode solo to Dave’s while passing the Mentasta Lodge and enjoying an amazing sunset for the last few miles of the day.
Paul and I reunited at Dave’s driveway and went to meet our host. We were given a nice guest apartment to stay in with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom. Dave and Paul drove back down the highway to pick up Paul’s abandoned trailer while I chatted with Dave’s wife, Cathy. Paul and I enjoyed our rest that night in the apartment. Paul slept in the bedroom and I was on the pullout couch.
We had a problem to solve: Paul needed to get to a bike shop. The closest one was in Fairbanks. We need a ride and we need to pick up Paul’s gear which is in the bushes. I expected a few days delay. We figured the spokes broke because of the crash Paul was in on the first day.
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| Finally out of the rain. |
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| Paul at Red Eagle Lodge. |
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| I have a protein shake at Red Eagle Lodge. |
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| Still in Alaska. |
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| Caribou crossing sign. |
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| Open road. |
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| Alaskan wilderness. |
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| Sunset near Mentasta. |
