You may think this face is a result of scoring a frozen pizza AND pizza hot pockets (two days after housing three pepperoni pizzas in Unalakleet) at the Elim grocery store (836)....and you may not be wrong. But I'd like to think it also had to do with finally having a great bike day. I think it's been maybe since Day 1 & 2 that Ryan was able to consistently bike without snow drifts, -40 windchills, 40mph headwinds, a busted bike tire, or a winning combination of both. While it couldn't have gotten much worse, it was great that if finally got better. Here's hoping the trail doesn't turn soft, either from warming temps or projected snow accumulation. He told me he had to pedal fast because he doesn't have any rain gear to mess around ha!
Ryan messaged as I was heading to bed that he intended to leave in four hours (midnight AKST), so I set the alarm for 3am CST to just be there (to chat, to get info, etc.). He was up and we spent entirely too much time discussing his instant oatmeal culinary skills.
He seemed all set to head out and then his trail fran Beat rolled in from his sea crossing. It had been a few days since they crossed paths, so I think there was a bit of war story exchange before pedaling off at 3am. And pedal he did.
(Beat fully kitted out with an enviable ruff)
Every time I looked at the tracker he was at 4+mph...bike speed! He bypassed the dilapidated Kwik River Cabin, blew past Moses Point Cabin, and hightailed it straight to Elim and its stock of frozen pizza (836) at 2:15pm. The only time I heard from him was to proclaim "I see the radar!" This was the initial sighting and then upon approach. Ask him his story about desperately trying to get into what was clearly a heated building solely existing out there to torture him.
Ryan just got word from Frank, the trail angel of Golovin, that he is ready and waiting for any and all racers (sorry Ryan, you're not that special) to come get a hot meal at the school. So Golovin it is tonight (864)! Golovin is where Ryan *had* to hole up last year due to a story...and by had to, I mean got fed moose open-faced sandwiches and shoot hoops ;-)
I leave you with pictures Ryan shared of the first part of his sea crossing, from Shaktoolik to Little Mountain. There were zero pictures after Little Mountain, an indication of just how miserable it was out there. The pictures are of the approach to Little Mountain and the video was inside the shelter cabin, where the wind was howling so hard it loudly rattled the metal all night. No bueno. But also, not a problem...anymore!
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