Days 7-9: Nikolai (228) to McGrath (307)

Sorry for the delay in posting…as always seems to be the case, I sit around waiting, waiting, waiting for communication and the opportunity to write an update with nothing to show for it.  Yet, the minute I go to sleep, go for a run, make a delicious chicken mushroom spaghetti squash dinner with my mother who came to visit, he’s a chatty cathy.  Probably just sits around in the -13 degree weather for the least convenient time to get to a checkpoint and cell service (at least how that goes in my head).

Lots to report and nothing much to report all at the same time.  Such is the way the 1000 mile unfolds I feel.  Getting to McGrath is such a big deal, with such a buzz from the 350 competitors and the dot watchers from afar…but really, the work has only just begun (McGrath is only about ⅓ of the way to Nome) for the 1000 milers. Coupled with the fact that there just isn’t really a trail beyond McGrath leading racers to be completely reliant on the snowmobile traffic from the Iditarod Dog Race, makes it seem like we’ve all just been sitting and waiting to get this show on the road.  Well, I can say from this update, the show is on the road!

                                                        (If ya know, ya know)

Last we left, Ryan was a few miles outside of Nikolai.  He arrived just as I was picking my mom was landing in Rapid City, 8:30pm AKST (again with the timing!).  He said it was the best two days he’s ever spent in The Burn, he loves having 2 hours of morning coffee time (probably the most Ryan thing he could possibly say for this entire adventure), and that he’s been riding about 80% of the time.  Sounded like Nikolai was a bit crowded, so after two burgers, a few cups of their famous(ish) Hot Tang, and a good night's sleep, Ryan departed for the 13ish hour trek from Nikolai to McGrath.  This year almost everyone took Haul Rd., the overland option, as the dog sled trail breakers hadn’t been through yet to make a trail on the river route.  Whatever snowmobile traffic did come through made the road perfect for a fat bike, and so with really nice weather, we saw some of the fastest speeds for racers, generally, and Ryan in particular.

We broken-texted from 1-3am MST, where he was forced to use his CGI sim card (cell carrier with broader service in remote Alaska…Verizon is dead to us now), as the WiFi was down.  I was secretly glad for this; it was nice to make sure all was squared away with this set up.  He was winding down, sharing a few beers with fellow SD finisher Perry, and settling in for a not great night of sleep (they generously open up the community center for racers to hang, reorganize, and sleep…unfortunately for sleep, this area doubles as the town’s coffee shop, complete with bean grinding starting around 6am).  This was the same as last year, so at least he knew what was coming.  

He spent 32 hours in McGrath, mostly eating, reorganizing, celebrating the 350ers finishes while also getting his head right for what feels like the real start of the 1000 mile race.  Bike is apparently being a model citizen, and save a little frostbite (he says frostnip, which I think is cute) on his neck, he appears to be faring quite well.  He said it was already on the mend and that thankfully it wasn't his "money maker" 😆. He maintains no one will escape without a little nip somewhere at some point. We had one of those annoying FaceTimes where you catch every third or seventh word, so it turns into a lot of awkward pausing and cutting each other off. Most importantly, we were able to troubleshoot an Audible issue and get at least the book about the sad and lonely bird downloaded (Lonesome Dove)....thanks to all the family and friends sending podcasts, books, and music recommendations! Very much appreciated!

He scored a pizza from the Iditarod Roadhouse, blueberry mancakes (an ITI ritual) at the community center, and even became a local celebrity ;-) 

We got caught up on all the important things, like how the plants were doing at the Sturgis house, when Sam was getting to pick up his venison from the meat locker, family updates, whether it was, in fact, Bob who shoveled the sidewalks, and his sister’s dominance over local fat bikers (Happy Birthday Marie, hope it’s a “bad ass” day!!).  I’m so glad he was able to stay long enough to celebrate his good friend Jeff’s first ITI 350 finish last night..CONGRATS again Jeff!

And congratulations to all the 350 finishers…it certainly started off a bit rocky with the temps and snow, but y’all made good choices and did work!  We saw a new female ski record, besting the 2018 record by an hour (6 days, 23 hours), so it was entirely awful out there ;-)

The four lead 1000 mile bikers left in a group Sunday at 10:30am, Miron having waited FOUR days to leave McGrath!  They got all the way to Ophir before having to hole up for another two days until the dog sled snowmobiles came through…and broke the trail (hopefully now that the lead dog sled racers are catching up to the ITI racers, breaking trail will no longer be a problem).  A group of three Italians biking and one Frenchmen on foot left yesterday and made it to Takotna (mile mile 325.1) before having to stop for the night…they needed the lead four to leave Ophir so there would be room for them. And then there are two more on foot who were also on the trail between McGrath and Takotna.  All of this matters because it delayed Ryan’s start, as he needed all those in front of him to leave so he’d have room at Takotna or Ophir.  He departed today (Tuesday) around 6am AKST towards the next checkpoint at Takotna (one of my favorite names to pronounce FWIW). It sounds like the plan is to stick close enough with George Adams so that they can stay in touch with a buddy as they move to more and more remote Alaskan backcountry.  Here is a picture of George, Ryan, and bike angel/casual bike tourer to Nome, Nicholas, at Bear Creek Cabin.  

The same sounds true of the two women still biking to Nome.  In total (with two foot guys TBD, as he is still on his way to McGrath), it looks like we’ll have eleven bikers, one skier, and possibly five, but definitely three foot people attempting to make it Nome!