*BIKE/PED COMMITTEE MEETING NEXT WEEK* FAST Planning’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will have its monthly meeting on Nov 17. On the agenda:
* Bike Lane Signing and Striping Pilot Project * New Airport Path Connection Signage * Richardson Highway Milepost 351 Interchange * Steese/Johansen Expressway Interchange
notice.alaska.gov/208795
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*WHEELS ON ICE: WHAT MOUNTAIN BIKING MEANS TO ME* In a great essay, “Last Ride of the Season,” David James, long-time co-leader of the Fairbanks Tuesday Night Mountain Bike Rides, takes a ride around Fairbanks’ Ester Dome while musing on how biking, and especially mountain biking has shaped his life.
“I took to those trails like nothing else in my life. As GPS units rose in popularity, I started tracking my miles, and every year they run into the thousands. In summers, I’ll frequently head up Ester Dome after dinner. The endless daylight from May until early August means there’s no real curfew. In the shoulder seasons between summer and winter, it stays light late enough to allow lengthy sojourns. And headlights make the winter night rides a joy. As often as possible, I’m out the door and in the woods.”
This and many more are in “Wheels on Ice: Stories of Cycling in Alaska.” www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496232472/
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*NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT REGISTRATION* The League is one of the best advocacy groups for cycling. Learn more, including how you can help, at the summit.
Shared from League of American Bicyclists
Registration for the 2023 National Bike Summit is now open » bikeleague.org/summit
League Members: register early and pay $75 to attend virtually or $425 to join in person. After you’ve registered, come back and drop a ✋ to let others know you’ll be attending #BikeSummit23!
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*WINTER MAINTENANCE FORUM COMING SOON* Lots of good info to be had at this forum. It will be held virtually and in-person and there will be door prizes!
Shared from Fairbanks Area Surface Transportation Planning
Next Tuesday (Nov 15), we are hosting our 5th Annual Winter Maintenance Forum at the Noel Wien Library from 5:00-7:00 PM. Join us as we hear from MACS Transit, Alaska DOT&PF, The FNSB, Cities of North Pole and Fairbanks, and Bankstown Bike & Ski about maintenance and ways to stay safe this coming winter. All attendees (virtual and in-person) will receive a ✨ FREE ✨ 3″ reflective armband and two tickets for door prizes!
This event is being held virtually as well at www.fastplanning.us/keepup/zoom, & we will be live streaming on Facebook!
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*SKAGWAY TO NOME: AN EPIC RIDE* Do you remember Jeff Oatley’s epic 1,800-mile ride in winter 2017? He started in Skagway and — riding almost all trails — rode to Whitehorse to Fairbanks to Nome! Took him a little over 30 days.
He’s been interviewed about that ride but has never written about it — until now. His 20-page essay “Skagway to Nome” in the book “Wheels on Ice: Stories of Cycling in Alaska” recounts the journey. Jeff does a great job with the write-up. Here’s a little teaser:
“I crawled out of the water in a state of something between panic and rage. I shouted profanities. That didn’t seem to help, so I shouted more profanities. Louder. More profane. I made up new ones. After that fifteen seconds passed, and I got to the business of surviving.”
Wheels on Ice www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496232472/
Here’s a couple of those interviews:
craigmedred.news/2017/03/11/the-tough-guy-2/
www.gi.alaska.edu/alaska-science-forum/winter-cyclist-blazes-1800-mile-trail
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*THREE WINTER MULTI-SPORT RACES DATES SET* Mark your calendars for three great winter multi-sport races in the Interior!
Chena River to Ridge RACE DATE ANNOUNCEMENT! Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 4th, 2023! That’s right, we’re moving the race up a couple of weeks in 2023 and we know you’re going to love it! We will be making a separate announcement in the near future for when we plan to open race registration. Stay tuned!
Tanana River Challenge Start training! The 2023 Tanana River Challenge will take place Saturday March 18!
And the White Mountains 100 will be on March 26. Lots to train for! wm100.endurancenorth.org/
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*ROUGH-TERRAIN UNICYCLING* There’s an interesting story in “Wheels on Ice: Stories of Cycling in Alaska” about George Peck, a Seward “rough-terrain unicyclist.” That story is a bit older. Here’s an updated video done in 2015 by INDIE Alaska. Peck’s kids are really into it. It’s pretty wild. If you’re looking for something a little different to do on wheels (or, wheel, actually), check it out!
Wheels on Ice www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496232472/
Pioneering Rough Terrain Unicycling alaskapublic.org/2015/06/11/pioneering-rough-terrain-unicycling-indie-alaska/
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*APPS FOR TRAIL BIKING* Here’s a good article on finding trails to bike on. It’s good for mountain biking and fatbiking. All these apps are useful in the Fairbanks area. None of the apps have all the trails, so sometimes it’s good to check more than one.
www.makeuseof.com/best-apps-navigate-mountain-biking-trails-avoid-getting-lost/
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*WHEELS ON ICE HIGHLIGHTS LOCALS* Been enjoying the new book “Wheels on Ice: Stories of Cycling in Alaska.” Lots of familiar Fairbanksans and other Alaska names. “Hellbikes on Ice” is a crazy bike “ride” across part of the Alaska Range by Roman Dial, Jon Underwood, and Carl Tobin. There’s a few essays on versions of the Idita-race, including by former Fairbanksan Gail Koepf and one by her late husband the late, great Rocky Reifenstuhl. We’ve got a tribute to Rocky on our Legends page: www.fairbankscycleclub.org/lore/legends-of-fcc/
www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496232472/
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*FCC RESOURCES*We’ve got lots of useful stuff on our website, including a bunch of information on our Resources page and under our Resources dropdown menu: –Bikeways Fairbanks cycling map –Info on Alaska cycling laws –Tanana Valley State Forest Roads –National and International Cycling Advocacy Groups –Winter Riding Tips –Maps Archive
See those and more under Resources at: www.fairbankscycleclub.org/
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*FCC FACEBOOK WEEKLY WRAP-UP* *(An anti-social media compendium for our non-Facebook members)*