Denali Highway 300K Traverse of the Alaska Range

The month of May typically brings very stable weather across Southcentral Alaska. If you're at all familiar with the writings of author David Roberts, and his seminal mountaineering book Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative, you'll stand an excellent chance of seeing Deborah on our newly approved, May 29th, Denali Highway 300K brevet (a 200K is in the works as well). The map above explains the ride pretty well. As you can see, it'll be almost entirely on a freshly graded dirt highway, traversing a significant portion of the Alaska Range. This ride also tops out on the second highest mountain pass on the entire, albeit small, Alaska road system. The stuff of pure adventure, this ride is. The ride will be at the end of May. We'll be less than a month away from Solstice, so we'll have plenty of light. It's on dirt (I already said that) so ride 28mm or larger. And it's remote. That means two things: very, very low traffic, and minimal services. Let your imagination loose on this one, because it can't possibly compare to what the real thing will be like.

I have to express my thanks to Carlos Lozano. He started the spring rides up on the Denali Highway years ago as the "Denali Classic", part of his Alaska Endurance Association series of rides. Over a few beers at the Spenard Roadhouse last fall, Carlos finally relented to letting us rando-types hop aboard his adventure train. Carlos has a lot of style, and imparts it well on all the rides he puts on. With the two of us now teaming up for the magic-weekend-in-May, this should be double the fun, double the adventure, double the experience. If you need logistical assistance with this ride (flights, hotels, how to get to the start, where to stay, etc.), let either of us know. We'll be glad to help.

Two housekeeping items for local riders:

You really need to know what's going on w/ the rewrite of Title 9 here in Anchorage, and the wording proposed by our friends at the Anchorage Police Department. Please read the latest by the truck-drivin' cyclist Thomas Pease in the Anchorage Press.

Second, the Arctic Bicycle Club will host their annual bike shop on April 10th. Save the date!

AT&T Sports Pavillion

12:00-1:00 setup

1:00-4:00 sales

No fees or commissions.

Airlines Boost Flights to Alaska This Summer for Randonneurs

Okay, so I'm stretching it a little. The truth is though, that if you've ever entertained the idea to travel to Alaska to ride a brevet or two with us, there's never been a better time. This afternoon the Anchorage Daily News broke a story saying that commercial airlines are adding up to 930 MORE seats EACH DAY to Alaska this summer. The article also mentions that there also might be some great deals to be had. Check out the article HERE.

The earliest flights begin May 14th, just in time for our 200Km brevet through the fertile Matanuska Valley. Also consider coming up for our legendary solstice 600Km loop from Gakona to Delta Junction to Tok and back to Gakona. Or...what about the Denali Dirt Road Randonnee on July 17th - a 200km and a 300km option on the only road within Denali National Park.

While you're rolling the crazy notion of flying to Alaska for a brevet, wander over to our Flickr site to be enticed by photos of some of our rides last season. Then...call your travel agent! Click HERE to see our brevet schedule.

Come ride with us!

Thanks to Royston Rascals' via Flickr (Creative Commons) for the phun photo!