July 29
28 miles
1100 feet elevation gain
With only a little bit of climbing and a mostly flat/downhill ride into Delta Junction, we had an easy morning and made it to town by noon. While it’s nice to cruise, highway riding with no shoulder is not ideal, especially with all the roadkill to remind us that cars are inherently dangerous. We did see a couple Moose though, which is always cool.
We got a room for only $80, by far the cheapest accommodation we’ve seen in Alaska. This place has no one on duty, no front desk, just a cleaning lady and a phone number if you need to contact someone. You reserve online and they text you your room number and access code. There is a big common room with sofas and television, a pool table, a shared kitchen space, laundry room, and shared bathrooms and showers, with private rooms. The kitchen has cereal, oatmeal, milk, juice, and coffee available for everyone, and multiple fridges for guest use. It’s not up to my mom’s standards but it’s perfect accommodation for travelers on a budget. The best part: it’s raining tonight. Nothing better than being indoors in the rain.
We’ve officially cycled 1,000 miles in Alaska! I thought this might be a good time to reflect on how long distance biking is different to long distance hiking. For me, the biggest difference is that my entire body isn’t sore! On a long hike, at the end of the day the feet are tired, the body is tired from carrying the load, and my hips often ache. On a bike, while I do get aches in the neck or hands from time to time, it’s pretty much solved by getting off the bike. I’ve had some pain in the right knee in the mornings, but it’s been slowly getting better as my body gets used to the riding. And my butt isn’t happy after about 40 miles, but again, a bit of rest pretty much takes care of it, and it’s been improving over time as well.
The other big difference is that on a bike, amenities are much closer. More opportunities for hot food, hot showers, and real beds. This does make it more expensive, but that’s optional. Similarly, water access is simpler. When backpacking, water is the single heaviest thing on your back, so you only carry what you need to get to the next water source. Filtering can be time consuming. On the bike, the filter is still necessary at times, but we avoid using it when possible. If I have access to a tap, I will fill up with extra. It tastes like tap water, but we save the hassle of having to stop and filter.
And probably the last big difference is the ability to carry a few extra luxuries. We still keep things pretty minimal, but we do things like make hot coffee every morning (we would drink it cold on thru hikes because we didn’t carry a mug for hot beverages), carry shampoo and small towels (for those extra showers), and some real food, like fresh fruit and vegetables. Overall, as in backpacking, we are more ultralight than the average traveler, but in my opinion this makes the journey easier, and we still have everything we need.
Each of these adventures is different, so I can’t say that one is better than the other. On foot you can travel places where bikes cannot, but on a bike you can cover more ground. Both are challenging, and both are better than going to work!
Nice update. Thanks for the reflections. Do you notice a difference in the way primer receive you when you get to town? I’ve noticed that a room with a real bed are tempting me away from the nights in a tent these days too. It’s true, on a bike, you’re never that far away.
Congratulations on 1000 miles. Still in one state, too!