Sundays on Snow are FCC group rides held as on as many Sundays as we can find leaders. (They are sometimes held on Saturdays, too.) Find out more about SOS rides HERE.
SOS Report - 04-13-2025 Ace Lake area report
Report by Eric and Dave J
Last SOS of the season, and it was a fun one!
We switched things up a bit. We had planned to ride the Outer Loop of the Ester Dome Singletrack Trails, but Dave J. checked them out ahead of time and reported that they were kind of soft and a bit rutted. Rather than bail on the ride, we decided to regroup at the Anne's Greenhouse pullout off Sheep Creek Road and try some trails down low, where the temps were cooler.
Good choice! (Well, except that Dylan, who's never been on the ED Singletrack Trails, didn't get to ride them. Oh well, he's young. There's time.)
We decided to check out the Ace Lake area trails first. They were in awesome condition! Hard and fast. We zipped along down the Dredge Trail all the way to the power line. From there we decided to head to the Intertie and take the Cloudberry trail back. There were a couple of softish spots, but mostly it was fine. Glenn found the softest spot and decided to get on the ground to check it out. He provided good comic relief for the group, but his role as group jester would not last the trip.
The Cloudberry trail was in great shape and we zipped down it all the way back to the power line. What a hoot!
Then it was up the power line to the Boat Trail. We discussed taking that trail but decided to head farther up the power line to the back entrance of the Hoppet Loop, part of the Goldstream Sports trails. Dave J. had been on that before the most recent snows and said it had been "pristine" back then. But how would it be now? We headed down it to find out.
It was pretty good. Not as awesome as the other trails had been, but totally ride-able. We got to the Hoppet Trail and followed the tracks of a skier. The trail base was still mostly firm but it was a bit challenging with the layer of new (now old) snow being cut only by the skier. Some of us let out some air for more traction.
The Hoppet has some challenging hills. One descends to an iced-over pond, crosses it, then climbs a short, steep hill on the other side. Eric (barely) made it up the other side. Dylan was next, and Eric cheered him on. But Dylan didn't quite make it, and -- being just a teenager so he hasn't got enough scrapes and bruises of experience to have learned how to properly dismount a failed climb -- he tumbled over backward. Fortunately, no injuries, except to his pride. His Xtratufs also didn't provide much traction on the snowy hillside, so he flailed a bit trying to hike-a-bike up until some of us decided to help him up (rather than just being entertained by his antics).
The next short, steep hill on the Hoppet saw Dylan doing some more flailing. That resulted in more entertainment for the rest of the group. And lots of "helpful" jawing from the older group members. As Henry said, "We're full of a lot of stuff and some of that is advice." Dylan weaved through all that advice and figured out his own way to the top of the hill. Score one for stubborn youthful exuberance!
It was clear now, though, that Dylan was stealing the jester title from Glenn, though Glenn didn't give up without a fight, letting his goose-call brakes doing the talking for him. It wasn't enough. We next stopped on a narrow trail to discuss directional options and Dylan decided to step off to the side. Down he went! Stepping into deep snow on the side of the trail is another of those have-to-do-it-a-few-times-to-figure-it-out lessons that you eventually learn as you grow older and ride more. This time Henry offered a hand up as well as advice.
Taking up the rear, no one was looking when Dave J. fell off the trail from a standing position and into the abyss, then struggled to swim his way out of the melting morass of soft snow and back onto the packed section before returning himself and his bike to an upright position and, properly chastened, catching up with the other riders at Viking Court. He once again proved that even longtime winter riders who date back to the SnowCat rim days in the 1990s are prone to taking that one disastrous misstep that results in general hilarity. He shouldn't have admitted it happened. Now everyone gets to laugh at him.
Finally, we popped out from the Hoppet Trail onto Viking Court, just a short way down from Goldstream Sports. By this time, the road was a bit wet and muddy, so we got a little dirty before reaching the cars. But not too bad.
We decided that would be the last SOS of the season, since the forecasted week of plus 40F high temps would surely soften the trails too much for a ride next Sunday. Dave J. did suggest a 6am start, but no one took him seriously. Dave W. is considering organizing a regular road ride, so that's a possibility. But for those who love trail riding, MTB season is a few weeks off. Still, if you're willing to get up early and ride low, there's still some season left. (Just be prepared for ruts from those who aren't willing to get up early.)
Pics by Eric and Matt
SOS Report - 03-30-2025 Peede Trails
Report by Eric
What a hoot of a ride! So much fun to be on new trails!
OK, the trails weren't new to everyone on the ride. For those of us who hadn't been on the trails, we had a blast getting shown around the Peede Trails in the North Pole area. And the folks from around that area had a blast showing off their trails!
We met at the intersection of Brock and Peede roads, where there is some space to park but no formal parking lot. We had 12 on the ride, including a few who had not been on an FCC ride before!
Ben led us on this tour of trails, which he mushes and grooms. He knows them well. And that was good because it's a maze of trails back there! Cam also joined in the ride. Cam was instrumental in getting some of the land over which these trails run set aside as recreational area. (The borough had been moving to sell some of it.) Not all the land Cam advocated for was set aside for recreation, but some of it was.
Nita grew up very close to where we started and rode dirt bikes on the trails when she was young, but she hadn't been on the trails in more than 20 years. She had a blast!
We headed east to the pipeline and then farther east on trails through the woods. We wound through sloughs and "drylands" trails. The quotes are because some of these trails aren't dry at all in summer. But some are. We need to do another ride out there in summer and see what we can do!
While out there we learned that "Rod's Alaskan Guide Services" does snowmachine and mushing tours on the trails. They also do ice fishing tours. And while they don't do fatbiking tours yet, we think they should! One nice thing about tour operators is that they tend to make sure the trails are taken care of. Some of the trails we rode on were super smooth!
After several miles, some of us headed back to the cars while others went for one more loop. Cam led the former group back to the cars while Ben continued with the other group.
Ben, Cam, and others from the area said we had done only just a few trails on this ride, so we'll have to plan another ride (probably next winter) to explore some more!
Pics by Eric, Glenn, and Nita
SOS Report - 03-16-2025 Tanana River
Report by Matt
Five of us showed up for this ride down the river, led by Dean. We talked about heading out to checkpoint #1 from yesterday’s Tanana River Challenge races, and Rich and Dave were initially unsure about the seven-mile trip each way to get there and back, but quickly changed their mind after seeing how hard packed and fast the main trail down the river was.
We didn’t quite make it to the turn off to checkpoint #1 and the Rosie Creek Rec area because we had been heading out for 45 minutes and were looking at having to bike back with a headwind slowing us down, but we made it most of the way there.
It was a nice out and back to loosen up legs again, especially after yesterday’s TRC races.
(Matt and Dean both raced in the Tanana River Challenge - Matt in the 25-miler and Dean in the 45-miler.)
Pics by Matt
SOS Report- 03-08-2025 Pie Ride
Report by Travis
The Pie Ride was a slice and more!
Dave and Rich rode half. They had set up a shuttle themselves prior to the ride. The 2” of new snow was over packed trails, so pretty good riding. Pretty fast, climbs had enough traction, weather was pretty warm but mostly cloudy in the morning and clearing up a little later. There was one section between Birch Hill and the pipeline that had some squirrelly ATV tracks to avoid. We made it 13.5 miles to Larae’s in about 2.5 hrs, including a couple water/snack breaks.
I had a blueberry pie bar and half a container of chocolate chip cookies with my latte. Everyone seemed to enjoy their treats. Bummer that this might be the last pie ride. The bakery is for sale and might close.
On the way back it was just Matt and me. We went south across the little Chena River and followed a trail down to a short slough that the Yukon Quest uses to get off the Chena River. We rode in reverse of the Yukon Quest and got on the Chena River, which we followed to Nordale Rd. Lots of twists and turns.
We did ride past a hole in the ice but it was on a point bar on the inside of a meander and we could see the river bottom 8” down. The trail on the river was well packed by snowmachine. The new snow started to get a little sticky as the weather warmed up.
The ride back from Nordale to Birch hill went fine, though I had to stop before the big hill and snack again and give the legs a break. The return trip was about 19 miles with our detour down the Chena River.
Pics by Travis and Matt
SOS Report- 03-01-2025 Tanana Lakes Rec Area
Report by Eric
Nice, relaxed ride for the five who showed up for this ride, including one who is new to the rides. Unfortunately, we failed to help David reach a goal.
The Tanana Lakes Recreation Area offers many trails, all of them almost totally flat. Still, we found a bit of elevation right off the bat when we did a short, steep climb up to the Dike Trail. We rode down it to check out the Tanana River, which had only one small open part.
Then we headed back to Cushman Lake, riding a big, sorta figure 8, taking in land and frozen water trails. Along the way, we talked about what the area is like in the spring and summer and the crew briefly played the part of beach bums.
We headed out to the Bonnefield Trail, where David said it was on his bucket list to ride across the Tanana River in winter. We poked around a bit and saw several snowmachine tracks heading out onto the river, but no solid trails that were clearly heading across the river.
We looped back to Retriever Pond, the sound of the rifle range an almost constant background noise. We headed back along the service road that runs south of Cushman Lake, stopping to comment on the disc golf course that appeared to be getting winter use. Then we headed down a side road to where the extra ice fishing huts are stored and made one last attempt at trying to find a solid snowmachine trail across the river. Sadly, all we found was a narrow footpath that would have been very challenging to ride.
Overall, a very successful ride, even though David wasn't able to check something off his bucket list.
Pics by Eric, Karri and Craig
SOS Report: 02-23-2025 Noyes Slough
Report by Matt
Had 10 riders show up for this one, with a handful of new faces in the mix.
Nice casual pace from the back of Pioneer Park over to the railroad tracks on University Avenue where we hopped onto the slough. A couple of people traded off leading the group (hard to get lost on this ride!), with a couple of quick stops to re-group and chat. The trail was nicely packed and it’s only getting better from here out until breakup hits.
At the north end we followed snowmachine tracks upriver to the bridge and crossed over onto the bike path behind the Morris Thompson Visitor Center. Introduced a few people in the group to the loop back across the river and back around to avoid the intersections on First Ave, then a quick cruise back to the start.
Four of us decided that it was worth doing the “bonus loop” over to HooDoo and back, so we headed over there for a beer and conversation. Great way to spend an early Sunday afternoon.
And from Nita
If you haven’t ridden the slough this winter (or at all) and are looking for the right time to do it, that time is now. The trail is perfect. It's firm and packed, the sun is out, the temps are up, and the ride is as quick as you want to take it. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a beer at the end.
Pics by Matt, Nita, and Ginny
SOS Report: 02-16-2025 Two Rivers
Report by Travis
The SOS ride at Two Rivers went well. Myself, Joel, and Peter showed up for the official ride.
As we were getting ready to leave, Steph, Philip, and their two-year-old-son Elias arrived with a bike trailer. We discussed the route and the amount of climbing and they said they would ride behind us but not be part of the official ride since they weren’t sure about keeping up. We discussed some shorter alternative rides they could do in the area before we all set out.
We crossed the flats near the parking area and soon started our long climb. Trails were well packed and the sun was out through the aspens. We stopped a couple times on the climb to regroup, catch our breath, and chitchat, but it was mostly up up up for well over a mile.
At the top the three official riders regrouped again, rode a short downhill to the wood cutting road, and completed another short climb. As we left the wood cutting road on the trail towards Jenny M creek we assumed the rest of the ride would just be the three of us.
We went down the big hill into Jenny M Creek. The trail was good and not too rutted by the previous day’s sled dog race. We took some action photos at the bottom and suddenly a fourth bike appeared towing a trailer. Then a fifth. Our unofficial riders had caught us.
The rest of the loop went smoothly, temperatures warmed enough that hands were sweating in our pogies, and the trails were packed and fast. We opted to do the shorter route south of CHSR for a total of 13 miles
SOS Report: 02-09-2025 Superb Owl Sunday Ride
Report by Matt
Only three of us showed up for this one, but we made the best of it. A little discussion about which way to go around Goldstream Valley and we opted to head out from Ivory Jack’s towards the Ballaine Rd. ponds as the first part of the ride because that’s the way Dean usually rides.
I’m pretty sure Dean is prepared to be a Nascar driver with all of the left turns he was making out on the ponds, but we eventually found our way back to the correct trail that heads out toward Ballaine Road. We then headed over to the old Tanana Valley Railroad Trail (otherwise known as the Goldstream winter trail) and headed toward Sheep Creek Road.
Ginny decided she was done for the day and knew how to get back to Ivory’s, so Dean and I said goodbye and headed across the road and up Anne’s field towards Goldstream Sports. A short jaunt up the road and we made it to Schloesser Drive, which is part of the Ace Lakes to Dunbar trail. We headed out to the railroad tracks and then crossed them and followed the trail over to the peat ponds and made our way back to the start.
We didn’t see the Superb Owl 🦉🏈, but we spotted a dog team, a majestic Goldstream flower, and a field of frozen corn dogs. 😆 All in all, it was a great day to be outside enjoying the return of sunshine and the springtime riding that comes with it.
Pics by Matt and Ginne (with some captions by Matt)
SOS Report: 02-02-2025 El Dorado Creek - Waterford Trails Loop
Five riders were on this SOS.
The plan was to climb Eldorado Creek Trail to the Pipeline, then come back down on the Waterford Trail, getting back to the start either by trails or roads. And that's how it worked out!
Eldorado had a firm base but some squirrelly snow on the surface. While climbing Eldorado, several of us took some air out just to grip the trail better and that seemed to help a lot.
We had good weather, 5-10 degrees above zero. It was definitely a day to dress light. Took us a bit to get to the pipeline but that's ok. Met a few other people out enjoying the trails.
Everyone had fun coming down Waterford. We all kinda spaced ourselves out and rode down at our preferred speed. Couldn't find the trail off Molly to take us back to our cars so we ended up taking Molly to Clifden to Goldstream Rd and road the shoulder back to our cars.
SOS Report: 01-12-2025 Goldstream Valley East
Report by Matt
When the temps are warm we climb?
Advertised as an intermediate ride possibly having some climbing, we made the decision to explore the trails on the south side of the valley before heading toward the north side. Right off the bat we turned onto the connector trail that heads up to Eldorado Road and then continued on heading up Moose Trail to where the trails connect to the Skyline Ridge Park trail system.
We made the climb up to the trailhead and then bombed down the Goldstream connector trail headed toward the old Tanana Valley Railroad Trail. Dylan managed to crash twice in a pretty spectacular fashion, but he was fine with his only complaint being that some snow ended up down the front of his jacket.
They say if you listen closely when you go down the Goldstream Connector trail you can hear the ghost of the old railroad engine’s steam whistle going “WHOooooo WHOooooo…” or maybe that was just Glenn’s squeaky brakes, who really knows for sure. 🤷♂️🤣
After the descent we were thwarted by some overflow, so we backtracked to the Eldorado connector trail and headed back through the valley looking to head up the powerline near Buck’s Drive.
With the short climb out of the way we bombed down the mushing trails headed toward Willow Run and then through the valley trails toward the road. A short hop from there and we were back to our cars.
All in all, a great last-minute ride in what was essentially springtime weather and firmly packed fast trails.
Four showed up for this ride (advertised only on Saturday). Thanks to Glenn for offering to lead at the last minute.
Photos by Matt, Dean, and Glenn
SOS Report - 01-05-2025 Gilmore-Cleary Summit Trail
Report by Eric
Had five total, then six, on this great ride. Five of us gathered at the end of pavement on Gilmore Trail. By the time we got going we were a bit chilled from standing around talking in temps slightly below 0F. Fortunately, the ride starts with a climb on Gilmore Trail and we warmed a bit.
After a couple of miles we turned off on the Gilmore-Cleary Summit Trail, which is in great shape. Pete and Dave W. hadn't ever been on this trail, so they were happy to explore. Glenn and Dave J. hadn't been on the trail in winter, so they were happy we didn't have to deal with the many puddles that are usually along this trail in summer.
At the Y intersection, we chose the left branch, opting for a slightly longer but more gradual climb. Still, it was a tough hump to climb. We regrouped where the trails meet up and looked at the mounds of dirt and gravel from Fort Knox Mine. They just seem to be getting bigger. Occasionally, we could see heavy equipment working away on the mine.
We headed up toward the mine, which includes another longish climb, and got to the base of mine gravel. Someone, probably the mine, has cleared out some trees up there, giving us an extensive view of the area. However, a stiff wind was blowing up there. We regrouped and quickly decided it was time to head back rather than ride a little farther, which would mean riding into a cold headwind.
On the descent we crossed paths with a bike-jorer who said he grooms the trails and told us a rider was coming but was a ways back. We thanked him for his grooming efforts and climbed to Rocky Top, which offers a great view of the area and had a little breeze, but not nearly as bad as the one up by the mine.
At Rocky Top, Emily caught up to us. She was the rider who was back a ways and she was trying to catch us. She had come to join in the ride, but had got a late start. Emily immediately entertained us with several pratfalls. It was her first day with clipless pedals! She didn't seem to mind, though. She kept trying, and kept falling, and kept laughing. She's got a great sense of humor!
We tried to ride the little pitch to the top of Rocky Top, but only Dave W. was able to make it. Kudos Dave!
We decided to bomb down the steep trail off Rocky Top. Glenn warned Emily to be careful not to fall and demonstrated by crashing right off the bat. What a generous guy!
There were a few more minor crashes here and there, but mostly we made it back to Gilmore Trail in one piece, where the bike-jorer caught back up to us on his return. We let him go ahead, not wanting to get tangled up with his dog. When we got the bottom of the hill and had a long stretch of uphill ahead of us, We couldn't see him. He was gone. That's what you can do if you have a D-bike!
We finally made it back the cars and trucks, chatted a bit, and then warm up in our vehicles on the drive home. Another successful Sundays on Snow!
Photos by Eric
SOS Report - 12-08-2024 Ace Lake Area Trails
Report by Ride Leader Matt Layral
Ten of us showed up for this ride exploring some of the trails on the west side of Goldstream toward Ester. We took Ann’s field down to the railroad tracks and hopped onto the Ace Lakes trail system until it split off onto the old FE Company Dredge Trail, which we followed out to the power line.
After a little discussion, we chose to go down the power line to the Intertie, instead of the original plan of continuing on the Dredge Trail until it meets up with the Intertie. This meant that we had a short downhill section followed by a climb up to the Intertie, but it also broke the ride into two smaller climbs instead of one long one. After letting the group recover and get their breath back, we noted that it was only the youngest one in the group who complained about the climbing. (Who brought that kid anyway?) 🤦♂️🤷♂️
A little more climbing on the Intertie brought us just past Cloudberry Rd, where we hopped back onto the Dredge Trail, which was firm enough for biking and was all kinds of narrow and winding single track fun back to the power line. At this point Dylan declared that he’d had enough climbing and would just meet me back at the car. (Again, who brought that kid? Oh yeah, I did…) But the joke was on him as he didn’t know how to get back, so he had to follow us on another climb up to the Boat Trail. 🤣
At this point Dylan officially declared that this was no longer type 2 fun and had moved solidly into type 3. 😂 Once we got to the turnoff from the power line onto Boat Trail I talked Dylan into leading the group back so he could set the pace. He reluctantly agreed and set a amazingly quick pace back, narrowly missing clipping his helmet on the two low hanging trees on the fun quick section of the trail, where he asked if I wanted to trade height with him. (Not sure how that would function, but whatever, he was having fun at this point). He led the way back to the train tracks at Sheep Creek Rd. where Dave and a couple other people split off from the main group to get some extra miles in on the lower Goldstream trails towards Ballaine Rd.
I tried to talk Dylan into heading out toward Hay Way and the Ace Lakes trail to check out the skating rink that the residents of Faulk County Rd put in, but he wasn’t having it, so we called it a day and headed back up Ann’s field and back to the truck.
I still maintain that anything under 800 ft of elevation gain is essentially flat and with only 499 ft, this definitely falls into that category. 🧐
Photos by Matt (and one by Karri)
SOS Report - 12-01-2024 OMDR East
We had six riders on this exploration of the east side of the Old Murphy Dome Road Trail.
Glenn, Dave, Corrine, John, and Eric met up at the end-of-plowing on OMDR, east side. Right away we noticed things were a bit breezy up high, making the moderate temps (just a tad below 0F) a bit cooler. But shortly after we took off, we started to get some of that nice cardio workout warming.
We saw a string of three mushers coming toward us, but they turned off on one of the many trails in the area. We forged ahead. Eric wanted to take the group on a power line trail that parallels OMDR Trail on the south side, but it looked soft, so we continued past.
This year the trail actually bypasses a section of OMDR, but the bypass is awesome and in good shape. That section of OMDR looked like it hadn't been cleared after the October snowstorm.
Corrine wanted to head up to the upper Nike site toward Moose Mountain, but the open area at the base of the climb was exposed and the wind was blowing hard! It was cold and the trail had a bit of drifting. The trail looked in better shape a little farther along, but that wind! And we knew it would get worse higher up, so we bailed and continued on OMDR Trail. A wise decision.
That trail was mostly protected from the wind and it descended for a long way. The wind was practically non-existent down low. On the way down, Stephanie, who had started late, caught up to us. We did get a bit chilly due to the long descent, but then we warmed up on a long climb back up to McCall Street.
Then we turned around and headed back. Once again, we got a bit chilly on the long descent, but the long climb warmed us back up. We crossed paths with a skier, Martin, and his dog on the descent. We saw him again near the top of the return climb. Eric urged Dave and Glenn along, warning them not to get caught by a skier! Fortunately, he turned off toward Moose Mountain.
We had a bit more climbing through the lower Nike site and then mostly downhill and flat back to the cars, where we chatted a bit and quizzed Stephanie about her all-electric Chevy Bolt. (It does very well, but the heater does drain the battery a bit in cold.)
All and all, a nice ride for a Sunday.
Pics by Dave and Eric
SOS Report – 11-24-2024 Creamer's Field-ADMA
Report by Matt
Ten of us showed up for this ride, some of us on time, some running a little late.
We rode out on the farm road to the north end of the fields where we hopped onto the ADMA trails and headed over towards the Ride or Glide loop (otherwise known as the 19.8 mile ADMA trail) on parts of the 12.5, 14.4, and 16.4 mile loops.
The section by the golf course is much improved from last week, and most of the ice on the trail has been covered up thanks to recent snowfall and grooming by Stan Justice (thanks for all your hard work Stan!).
We hooked back up with the 16.4 trail to head back toward Creamer's Field, and while it had been groomed, it was still a little soft but rideable. We popped back out on the fields right near where we started the trip, and headed back to the parking lot.
There was a little miscommunication about adding a little extra distance to the ride, so after the parking lot a couple of us headed back out to do a “bonus lap” out around Wonder Lake and back. We ended up running into a couple friends who intended to make the ride but were late in arriving, so they had just followed our tracks on the mushing trails and ended their ride just minutes before we ended our second ride.
Lots of fun, with a couple new faces and some new trails for a couple people.
Pics by Matt, Nita, and Glenn
SOS Report – 11-17-2024 Chena Lake Recreation Area
Report by Glenn (with some additions by Nita)
About six of us met at the boat launch at Chena Lake Rec Area. Temps were about 0F degrees.
We started out on what we were hoping was going to be the trail on the lake, but as we rode down onto the lake, we realized that the borough had not groomed the trails yet.
We turned around and went around the two ice huts that were there and saw an eagle sitting on top of a telephone pole. Got some great pictures and then headed out on the bike trails that are all land-based.
I got turned around a couple times, but found the trails. They are not cut in yet but some of them have been packed by snowmachines. We did about 5 miles plus on that route and found some ptarmigan. Then, as we circled back to the cars, we decided to see what else we could explore based on snowmachine tracks on the lake. We didn't find any other really well-packed trails, but we explored another 3 miles or so that was super soft and caused us to have to air down even more.
Despite the challenges, it was a good ride.
Find out more about our SOS rides and other winter rides on our Winter Rides page.
