....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
Thanks Emily 😊
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