kevrider

my wife and i will be moving for work, probably at the end of next year. we are open to lots of locations, preferring to remain out west. who knows where we will end up, but i have been whispering "alaska" into her ear ever since we met four years ago, as i have really enjoyed my short visits there in the past. as a matter of fact, i interviewed in anchorage before i ended up in my current city. anyway, wifey recently gave me a non refusal, which was surprising and exciting, so maybe this can happen.

i am a mtn biker, though i also ride the road quite often. she is a road cyclist and budding mtn biker. we had designs on soon getting a tandem road bike, but since we have started talking about about moving to alaska, i am not sure that it makes since to invest in a tandem if we can't ride it. hence my question... is anchorage a decent place to be a cyclist? i understand that the season may be short, but are there safe, fun, interesting roadie routes. how is the mtn biking? i imagine the trails would be muddy most of the summer.

we do not have fat bikes and i am not keen on buying one, though i have not tested a fat bike. whenever i see people riding fat bikes, they look like they are working too hard for what little speed they are carrying. i think i'd rather just ski.

so, i guess i'm asking... is the riding in alaska worthy of all of one's free time? we have xc skis for winter, maybe we can even develop some skills, but i will spend all of the long night waiting to ride. wondering whether i will quickly grow weary or be satisfied with what is available, year-in and year-out.

any insights appreciated.

Seattle Forrest

I can't say anything about the riding up there but do have one useful piece of info.

* It's amazing how much carry-over there is from cycling to XC skiing, especially from road skiing. It's an endurance sport that gets you outside, lets you spend a day speeding down a trail, gear and technique are both important.

* Anchorage has free, groomed XC ski trails in town.

kevrider

yes, bike trails in summer become ski trails in winter. people skip to work, supposedly. we'd definitely take advantage of that!

regarding cycling, i've come across this podcast, which seems encouraging...

So Square

Anchorage is a good place to be a cyclist. Plenty of good places to ride in town and plenty more around the rest of AK. I moved here 2.5 years ago from Seattle and have been satisfied with the options. For road riding there are paved multi-use trails all around the city if you're into riding them. There's plenty of safe rides on the road as well and a few cycling groups you can get involved in. From randonneuring to cross, road racing, and mountain. There's some gravel road options as well. It always good to get out of Anchorage and explore other parts of AK too.

For mountain biking the trails are usually dry and ready to ride from the middle or end of May and there's a ton of beautiful scenic trails. There's no shortage of scenery in Alaska.

I was a fat bike skeptic myself. Never even considered getting one, until I tried one. Then went and bought one immediately. It's a blast. it's not slow, and some of the best riding in Alaska is in the winter There's fast trails, there are glaciers, there is the mudflats. If I was forced to own only one bike in AK, it would be a fattie. They are super versatile.

So Square

I realize my response is kind of sparse on details. If you have any specific questions about anything, fire away.

kevrider

quite useful, in fact, thank you. i will hit you up if we make the move. cheers!

BigWoolie

I'm in Cooper Landing, south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. There are some great trails here, everything from 2- mile trails for beginners to the 38 mile trail through the Resurrection Pass to Hope. Many, many options.