Seek Your Cycle Adventure
The average rainfall in Juneau, Alaska for the month of July is 4.60 inches of rain. This year, the amount nearly doubled, with 8.26 inches of rain. To hear the locals tell it on August 2, the clear skies and high of 75 degrees was unseasonal, but very, very welcome.
I was lucky to be in Juneau on August 2 this year, and lucky to be enjoying a beautiful day bicycling around Mendenhall Glacier. The cycle excursion was part of an Inside Passage cruise vacation and conducted by Cycle Alaska.
The motto at Cycle Alaska is simple enough, “Nothing has the potential for adventure…like riding a bike!”
I couldn’t agree more. For a native Floridian, seeing mountains, REAL mountains, is a treat; not riding in August rain during the month of August is a treat; and having temperatures max at 75 degrees in August is a sure sign you are on vacation somewhere north, and that is a treat indeed.
Safety instruction with scenic Auke Lake backdrop
Cycle Alaska did a wonderful job in sizing up the “Bike and Brew” tour participants for gear and bikes, and then leading us along nine miles of scenic Alaskan back roads for views of the Mendenhall Glacier.
My first thought when receiving my bicycle was, “YEA! I get to ride a bike in Alaska!”
The second thought, although brief, was, “Do I need to bring a jacket?”
I opted to not bring the jacket and enjoyed the cool, fresh Alaskan air as we pedaled towards Mendenhall Lake for a west side view of the glacier along the beach.
Panoramic view from west side of Mendenhall Lake
The pedal provided a much needed sense of adventure. To be in Alaska and to see the landscape by bicycle was a dream come true. For me, it was a feeling of being alive – to feel the coolness of the breeze, to breathe in the crispness of fresh air and spruce pine trees, to hear a wilderness silence and to see an area so open and pristine is a true treat for the senses. You may have noticed I neglected the taste component, but that came after the ride and was the “brew” part of the excursion. A sampling of Alaskan Brewery Company beers – more treat!!
Surprisingly, the Alaskan White Wheat Ale was a favorite
I share this cycle adventure not to rub my vacation in anyone’s face, but to demonstrate that cycling adventures happen every day and every where. For those following the Florida Bicycle Association on Facebook, you witnessed last week several posts of a tour closer to home, the First Florida Train to Trail Tour. I encourage everyone reading this blog to check all the blogs pertaining to this tour on Commute Orlando, especially the last two posts, River-to-Sea Tour Epilogues and River-to-See: It’s Your Turn. If only major media outlets covered more of these types of stories and experiences, the true joy of bicycling would overcome the manufactured fear that seems to haunt the mainstream.
How many of us commute by bicycle every day without incident? Or take in a recreational ride with more moments of pleasure than pain? Or plan for months a week’s vacation by bike? I have several cycling buddies who yearly average over 3,000 miles on their bicycles and are darn proud of it. So let’s talk about it!
FBA currently runs a poll every week on Facebook to record crash-free rides, get your numbers on record! FBA also encourages guest bloggers to tell their story right here on our web site – BRING IT!
Like us on Facebook. Send your guest blog to becky@floridabicycle.net. Share the love of cycling and get your cycling buddies to become members of the Florida Bicycle Association to show support and to be a part of the much larger, happier picture that we know to exist.
Let’s ride together!
FBA interim Executive Director outside of Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – August 2, 2014
Be a guest blogger! Send your story and photos to becky@floridabicycle.net
