2024 (1000): Day 2 - Love An Uneventful Day! Bentalit (76.6) to Shell Lake (102.7)

Let me say again for those in the back...I love an uneventful day!  

As such, I have little to report tonight!

Ryan left a crowded Bentalit Lodge (76.6) shortly after my post at 6pm (AKST).  Matt Webb & Co. decided to hunker down at Bentalit in case the gaggle at Skwentna weren't stirring.  Ryan sounded on the fence as to what to do, but opted to push on to Skwentna. He reported it got down to -15 the night before, but that everyone seemed to be managing the significant swing in temperature (aka no frostbite issues).  He also said they got maybe 1.5 in. of snow, so nothing too terrible.

Arrived at Skewntna (86.6) around 9pm. Ate, showered, and caught up with some favorite trail friends.

Rumor had it that Shell Lake's cabins weren't shoveled out or stocked with wood for fires. Deciding any shelter would be welcomed, and that Nome wasn't going to come to him, he opted to press on ;-) Ryan arrived at Shell Lake right at noon today...to find wood-a-plenty and accessible cabins. Sad news to share that our dear friend Jeff Goldstein had to scratch due to a deteriorating meniscus. Heal fast my friend!

We discussed a bit about the slower speeds witnessed ahead, making a game out of guessing what was the cause. I thought I was pretty accurate with overexerted athletes inevitably slowing down on a technical part of the course....and maybe some snow.  Ryan went with this might be a pretty rough piece of trail...the Iron Dog race the ITI uses basically as trail breakers, took a different route over the pass.  I can't say that I'm wrong, but I'm betting he's right. Good news is that in a day or so, he can tell us himself!

Took off for Finger Lake (123) without much chatter...as sign I take that things are going well. It will be getting significantly colder in the next few days, so there's that to look forward to.

(Janky photo of the iPad while dreadmilling it this morning bleeblarblarb)

Oh! A Theo Challenge update!!

Tonight carrots were pitted against a red bell pepper. The carrot was chosen because it seems a common food to give dogs... Red peppers were a result of our last dog, George, who would only eat red-colored bell peppers...certainly not the cheaper, just fine green bell peppers.

As you can see, not a huge fan of either, but I'm calling this a win for CARROTS!

Last night, 6/44 entrants guessed correctly with cheese (Ryan was NOT among them). Tonight, 22/46 guessed correctly...including Ryan. Nice work, y'all! Next up: turkey lunch meat vs. ham lunch meat.

2024 Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000....Fancy Meeting You Here....

 

....and we're back!  Thanks for joining in the fun again OR welcome, glad you're bored enough to hear a somewhat accurate account of Ryan's adventures on the historic Iditarod Trail!

If you're just finding out about all of this, check out the previous two year's worth of blog entries or for the Cliff's Notes:

- Ryan is riding in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, which is a multi-sport winter ultra (bike, foot, ski), and there are two distances (350 and 1000 miles).  You must qualify and apply for the 350, and you must finish the 350 and apply for the 1000.  Ryan has done the 350 twice on foot, the 1000 (northern route) on foot, and last year the 1000 on bike (southern route).

- Ryan is biking the same trail as the famed Iditarod Dog Sled Race.  This year it's on the northern route, starting just outside of Anchorage, through the Brooks Range (up and over Rainy Pass), splitting with the 350 race in McGrath, and then up to Ruby where he hops on the Yukon River down to his favorite pizza place aka Peace on Earth in Unalakleet, across some sea ice, then west to Nome.  Hoping for 20ish days.

- You can track his, and all the other racers' progress, through Trackleaders.

(Who wouldn't want to join in the dot watching?!?!)

On to this year's shenanigans :-)

Ryan started yesterday at Knik Bar (outside of Wasilla) after five days of bopping around Anchorage, visiting old friends, tinkering with his bike (BIG shout out to Nicholas and the infinite bike wisdom found at The Bicycle Shop!), and having too much fun with his Alaskan family.  Thank you again and again Samuelson's for your friendship and hospitality!

2pm start had sunny skies and balmy temps.  Trail was set in nicely and the speeds were up!  Ryan was all smiles, enjoying the day and catching up with so many trail friends!  He arrived at the first checkpoint, Butterfly Lake (26.9) around 6pm...almost 6 hours faster than last year's slog!  He stayed roughly the same amount of time (45ish minutes, long enough to get his picture took), and then carried on to Yentna Station Roadhouse (56.1).  

Arriving 12 hours faster than last year at 1:15am (AKST), he caught up with some more friends, most importantly The Perry Jewett of Spearfish, SOUTH DAKOTA. 

 His stop lasted 7 hours, so maybe he was able to see Die Hard I AND II.  No, I just heard from him that there were close to 30 people at Yentna around this time, so only minimal sleep in the main room recliner was had.  He's currently debating between an hour nap at Bentalit (second official checkpoint at 76.6) or carry on to see what's the deal 10 miles up the trail at Skwentna (86.6).  Maybe Aga has something to say about this choice.

Spirits are high, as the trail and company continue to be top notch.  This time when the 350 racers are around is such a treat for those in it for the long haul.  I'm grateful he's being entertained :-)

Oh!  You were maybe not here for any of this bike stuff...maybe you were here for Theo's Matchup!  

I had 37 people fill out the entire form...which you can still do (obviously for the ones that haven't happened yet) or you can comment on the FB post with your individual selections.  First up, BEEF STICK vs. CHEESE STICK.  These were a huge hit for Ryan at Arrowhead, a discovery made while rifling through the abandoned drop bags.  As such, they were added to this year's ITI drop boxes...to which there were leftovers :-)  Ryan went with BEEF STICK....which was WRONG!  But, boy oh boy, Theo does seem to have his mom's inability to pull the trigger while making a decision hahaha