Thursday, February 18, 2010

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.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If we can help with your trip in any way, let us know! Sounds like fun. We are a new lodge located in the middle of the Denali Highway, 68 miles from Paxson, and 67 miles from Cantwell. You can see us at www.alpinecreeklodge.com

Jennifer Bondy

TheFrozenBikerHistorian said...

Iam thinking of doing it in my LHT it has Schwalbe Marathon Plus... Iam not sure if I can mount larger tyres on the rims. The Marathon Plus is 700c, 28mm.
Should I put larger width wheels on?

Kevin T said...

With the LHT I believe you can fit a 35mm+ fenders. I suggest one of the lower profile 'cross tires in a 32mm or 35mm. The Surly website will tell you the max size tire that will fit a LHT.

See you up there!