John and Petra's Alaskan Diary
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21st June, 2001, Alaska
Biking the Chena Hotsprings Road
On a recent weekend we went to accompany our friends Nancy and Jay on their trail bike ride. Our trip was only about 60 miles one way, spread over two days, while their grand plan is to take two weeks to bike a loop of 1000 miles from Tok (Alaska, USA) via Whitehorse and Dawson (Yukon Territory, CANADA).
On a sunny Saturday in early May we set out to ride from Fairbanks, AK along the Chena River to Chena Hotsprings. Being lazy, John and I skipped the first 20 miles, which is the very hilly part of the way. Nancy, Jay and Chris, another friend, had started biking in Fairbanks, while we loaded our bikes into our car and drove out to Tack's General Store to start our trip. It was the first time for John to come out along this road. It is pretty scenic, especially once you leave the numerous dwellings along the road behind and get further east. The road runs along the river for the most part, sometimes it is even flooded by little tributaries of the Chena River.
Our part of the bike ride was pretty easy; at least that was what we expected. We went along with the other three pretty smoothly, John being in the lead providing the rest of us with a windbreak. The road snakes through low-lying river flats, all pretty much forested. There are many pullouts (all suited for RV = recreational vehicles, here: enormous campervans) and also lots of access to the river. We were hoping to see a moose, but except for the rotting carcass of one that had been shot a while ago we did not get to see one.
Petra and John taking a break at the Granite Tors lookout, Mile 36
By the time we had reached Mile 36 the wind blowing in our faces had become quite strong, and we took frequent stops to allow Chris and Jay (both using bike trailers) to catch up. The pullout at Mile 36 allowed us the first views of the Granite Tors. They are large lumps of granite which can be found in several locations around Alaska, and provide good rock climbing. Unfortunately the shooting from a nearby rifle range interrupted the peaceful feel of the place.
For the next 10 miles the road crosses several times over the river. Most parts were still frozen solid, but the gushing water underneath could be heard.
As we rode on the wind picked up, and we were happy to catch sight of Angel Rock, another granite formation further along the road. We had decided to camp out near the Angel Rock parking lot (Mile 41) in order to get some shelter from the wind. By this stage we all felt the wind and cold. Finding a suitable campsite proved to be a challenge. Most of the ground was still covered in snow. Finding no better place we decided to camp out on the snow-mobile track, hoping that no one would come along during the middle of the night.
John prepares a hot drink
Once the sun had set behind the hills (about 10pm) it got very cold very quickly. John and I had a chilly night in our tent, and it was nice to feel the sun coming around early the next morning. After warm tea and breakfast and packing up we went back along the same route. Going downhill and with the wind was a nice change to the day before and we got back in very good time.