Alaska: May the Road Rise…to “Greet” You
April 27-29, 2023
After enjoying another couple days at RoseHip, our plan was to head into Fairbanks to resupply and then make our way to Fox and further toward the Dalton Highway.
Out and back bike trips are not our norm. The downside being, the hills climbed, you get to climb again - this time for 30+ miles to reach the end of Chena Hot Springs road. At about the 15 mile mark we noticed the pie and coffee place we passed on the way out, was now OPEN. For cyclists, a lunch of pie and coffee is always part of the meal plan. And for dessert, the offer of a dozen just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies, well who would say “no” to that?
Just as we started out again on our sugar buzz, we recognized the driver of an approaching car. To our surprise, she pulled over and crossed the road to say hello. We had met right before leaving Chena. She was excited and surprised to still see us on the same road 3 days later. Asking if we had been approached by the local news yet, she took our photo to send in to the Fairbanks newspaper, Miner News.
A couple more miles along, we caught the attention of a local musher just returning from a trip up North and crossed the road for a quick chat and intel on road conditions. From the time we had left Chena, it was amazing how much further the snow had melted away from the road in just a few days. It definitely felt like Spring might be taking hold and we hoped that would continue as we rode further North.
A few more miles with two back-to-back long ascents and we were convinced, it was time to lose the studded tires. A quick road-side call and our gracious hosts welcomed us to stay another night so we could make the switch to our summer tires before doing our resupply in town. Still in the midst of our sugar burn and about 17 miles to go, we estimated arriving about dinner time. Our only option for bringing a thank-you gift was the sole gas station on our route, so we decided to pickup a bottle of wine. No sooner had we parked alongside the entrance, than a woman and her young daughter approached us in excitement. Years ago the woman had travelled New Zealand by bike and eagerly shared her experience, pointing out gear on our bikes to her daughter. She broke away from conversation only briefly to return with a 4-pack of Blueberry Mojitos so that we could share a “toast to adventure” and take two for the road.
Needless to say, after our sugar lunch, and surprise happy hour toast, we were moving slower than anticipated up the last few hills to finally depart Chena Hot Springs road. It was another 10 miles to our host’s driveway near the top of a long hill on a gravel road. We were excited to discover the bike trail had been plowed along the next few miles of tarmac, but we only made it about 5 more miles before our hosts called to check our progress. A few minutes later, our gear, our bikes and our weary bodies were loaded into their SUV and whisked up the hill for dinner and another much needed restful night.
The next morning, Nivaun switched out our tires and we hurriedly repacked our bikes. Even still it wasnt until after lunch with our hosts that we headed back down the hill into town. Considering the time and not knowing where to camp near Fox, we decided to stay in town one more night. A local hotel, 7 Gables, just happen to have a ground floor studio, jacuzzi tub included, with immediate check in available. We dropped our gear, cruised around town to get what we needed, and ended the day enjoying dinner and a soak in our room.
Forecast the next day called for rain at some point over night/early morning. Our hope was that it would subside before we left. Instead, we awoke to a 3 hour power outage and rain showers. By 11am, the power was restored and the showers departed. A late check-out gave us just enough time to make a breakfast out of last night’s leftovers before heading North.