Anyone ride in Alaska?
11-24-18, 06:32 PM
#1
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Anyone ride in Alaska?
I have an opportunity to work in Anchorage from June - November. There's lots of reasons to take it or not. I'll work out most of those elsewhere.
So how is the riding? I like long rides and steep climbing. How are the mountains around there for roads, paved or otherwise?
So how is the riding? I like long rides and steep climbing. How are the mountains around there for roads, paved or otherwise?
11-26-18, 11:49 AM
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I took a vacation to Alaska in 2014. While I only did a small amount of biking, I did pay attention to the roads, in case of a return trip. A lot of the roads are gravel, because pavement and permafrost don't work well together. The gravel is well maintained. I understand there is a period in the spring that some roads are pretty messy, after they thaw but before they dry out. Anchorage looked like any typical American city, except with snow capped mountains dominating the skyline. You can catch the train to Denali from downtown and bikes can be checked as luggage for $20.
The 24 hours of daylight was weird. When we first got there, we were confused that everything was closing when it wasn't even dark yet. Turns out it was after 10 pm. Depending how far north you are, it can be dusk to full daylight. Our bus driver at Denali said, during the summer solstice, he liked to take the last bus of the day to the end of the route and try to ride the 92 miles back to the park entrance before it opened in the morning.
We had a great experience in Alaska. When I got back I was seriously considering how I could retire early and go there to work over the summers. I talked to many of the service workers about their experience and they all seemed to love it.
The 24 hours of daylight was weird. When we first got there, we were confused that everything was closing when it wasn't even dark yet. Turns out it was after 10 pm. Depending how far north you are, it can be dusk to full daylight. Our bus driver at Denali said, during the summer solstice, he liked to take the last bus of the day to the end of the route and try to ride the 92 miles back to the park entrance before it opened in the morning.
We had a great experience in Alaska. When I got back I was seriously considering how I could retire early and go there to work over the summers. I talked to many of the service workers about their experience and they all seemed to love it.
