Northern Disclosure: Fireweed 2009

James and I did the Fireweed 200 again this year. Phil Edwards volunteered to be our relay driver. He did a fantastic job. Although his hopes of listening to a book on tape were dashed when he realized how our schedule was going to go: do a switch, drive 7-10 miles, do a switch, drive 7-10 miles. . . and repeat for 200 miles. Not much time to listen. But he held up well and we had a great time.

Despite my feeling that I was in worse shape this year, we dropped almost a half hour off our time from last year. I attribute this to James being a rock star and also our strategy of swapping riders more often. Thus we weren't so tired after each leg.

Lila, Carina, Callie and Elizabeth rode the 200 as a 4-person relay team. They also had a great ride.

One of the only worries prior to the race was air quality -- not usually a problem in Alaska. But there have been quite a lot of fires this summer. So the air was thick with smoke the week prior to the race. Luckily the smoke was less noticeable out at Sheep Mountain, where the race began. The further we went, the less smoke there was. Valdez was actually pretty clear. So we got quite lucky.

The weather was also on our side. Last year we had some rain to contend with at the start. This year it was slightly overcast, but soon cleared up. The whole ride was sunny and warm. We had a pretty stiff headwind to contend with over the pass (I actually starting laughing at one point because it was blowing so hard), but I can't complain.

We spent the night in Valdez and had salmon burgers. The next morning we endured a protracted search for coffee and breakfast, but soldiered through. Eventually we found some tasty breakfast burritos.

We roadtripped back to Anchorage and enjoyed the sunshine on the deck of the Snow Goose.

PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/Fireweed2009

Here's some pics from the weekend:

Carina talks bike maintenance with Callie, Lila and Elizabeth

A smoke sunrise at Sheep Mountain.

Callie and I at the start in Sheep Mountain

The first part of the ride was mostly downhill (with some noteable ups) from Sheep Mountain to Glennallen.

Fireweed by the roadside

Riders cresting a hill as we approach Glennallen

Carina and I at a rest stop in Glennallen. Carina was rocking her UCD team jersey.

Here's me climbing a hill near the Copper River

James beginning our ascent into the Chugach Mountains

Me waiting to swap near the top of the pass

The Worthington Glacier

James riding up the pass. We rode the last few miles to the top together so that we could take turns drafting off each other. (In the relay event, riders can only draft off their teammates.) The wind was ferocious, but the views were so spectacular that it was still my favourite part of the ride.

A view of the final turn up the pass. You can make out James and I in the distance.

James, another cyclist, and I heading up the final stretch of Thompson Pass. James and I later passed this guy's teammate a mile from the end. We were younger and used better strategy -- we drafted off each other for the final 2 miles where you couldn't make any more rider switches because of a narrow shoulder.

Thompson Pass - Elevation 2678 feet

James and I at the top of the pass

James descending Thompson Pass

James and I finishing -- only one rider from each team got to cross the finish line. So James did the honors and I looped around the outside. Both of us riding the final 2 miles allowed us to draft and really finish at a fast pace.