Basic map
3-D view
Elevation profile
By Liam Wescott
This is a pretty mellow road/trail ride (some of the bike paths on this
ride are either gravel or grungy pavement with lots of road gravel)
that is not quite 16 miles long, if you take the longer (i.e., not
cutting through the University) route. It should take you around
an hour and a half, perhaps as long as two hours if you're going
slow. A determined rider or group of riders could easily complete
this ride in well under an hour, if conditions are right.
There are several different points along this ride from which to
choose. You could start at the University, in the Patty Center
parking lot perhaps. Or, as is mapped, start at the turnout by Sheep
Creek Road, just west of the Experimental Farm on the University
campus. Or, you could start at the turnout just west of Ann's
Greenhouses on Sheep Creek road or at the Ivory Jack's parking
lot. You have a range of options in that regard.
Note: although this is technically a "road" ride, be warned that if you
do take your road bike on this ride, be prepared to fix a flat or two
(or three!) because the road surface is gravelly and/or covered with
that chip seal crap the DOT has been putting all over our roads
everywhere. In addition, some of the bike paths are gravel and/or
bumpy, gravelly, or otherwise able to eat road bike tires. It's
best to take your mountain bike, commuter bike, beater bike, hybrid, or
whatever rather than just your road bike. You'll not likely get
any flats that way and you'll have a lot more fun.
Starting at the turnout west of the Experimental Farm, you ride west
out Sheep Creek. You can either ride on the road (recommended for
a road bike!) or take the gravel bike path that parallels it (not
recommended for a road bike) all the way out to just past the first
railroad crossing, just before you get to Ann's Greenhouses. The
bike path disappears at this point and you have to take the road from
here all the way out to Ballaine. Keep on going past Ann's
Greenhouses, down into Goldstream Valley (where you make the first
crossing of Goldstream Creek a mile or so past the greenhouses) and
just past the bridge and the second railroad crossing, you come to Old
Murphy Dome Road. You should be about five miles or so into the
ride at this point.
Sheep Creek now becomes Goldstream Road. Keep on it, riding on up
the first grungy little hill before Ivory Jack's. Then there is a
gnarly little hill past Ivory Jack's that is about a quarter mile or
so. Climb it and after a little bit, you come to Ballaine
Road. Turn right here. Follow Ballaine Road all the way
across the valley, wending and winding your way through the bogs and
the swamps on either side of the road. You can ride on the bike
path, but it is a) very, very, bumpy and b) parts of it can be
underwater,
depending upon what time of year (e.g. late spring) you're riding or if
there's been a lot of rainfall in the past few days or so.
After a couple miles or so, you cross over Goldstream Creek again and
begin your climb up Ballaine Hill. Going up Ballaine Hill this
direction is a bit easier, even though there's more elevation gain
going this way, because there're a break in the slope about halfway up
that gives you temporary respite. Keep on slogging up and
eventually you top out on Ballaine Hill, right by a school bus stopping
zone. Congratulations! You've made it to the top of the
ride. If you want, stop here, take a breather, take in the
expansive view of the Tanana Valley and the Alaska Range off in the
distance across the floodplain of the Tanana River, then head on down
the other side of Balllaine Hill.
It is possible to exceed the speed limit here (50mph) on a road bike,
so be careful going down! Watch for traffic behind you as you
coast down Ballaine Road by all the "birdy" subdivision roads (whoever
named the roads in that subdivision must have been interested in
birds!) and in due time, you cross the intersection with Yankovitch
Road and then come to the intersection with Farmer's Loop. Get on
the bike path here and follow it all the way to the University.
At the University, you could take the bike path on up the hill and cut
through the University (as is mapped) or stay on it and get over to the
intersection of Alumni Drive. At any rate, you have to turn right
and ride on through or past the University down Yukon Drive and on past
the Experimental Farm. Just past the farm is the turnout where
your car is, if you drove here to do this ride. Congratulations,
you've just finished the Sheep Creek/Ballaine Road Loop!