Cruising the coast

Winter riding in the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge
can be fun or it can be miserable. On Sunday,
the conditions were ideal: temperatures in the teens,
the sun shining, the boggy and muddy ground
frozen solid, and the wind-swept snow
dry and powdery.

Here and there, a deep drift forced me
to walk a few feet, but most surfaces
were easily rideable, including the maze
of ice plates blown into the extreme
high-tide zone of Turnagain Arm.


Occasionally, old layers fractured as my front tire released
the elastic energy stored in the snow.
The loud, swishing sounds started beneath my bike
and shot to the left and right like tiny fighter jets.
On a steep slope, that could be the the sound of impending death.
On the flat coastal plain, it’s just an adrenaline rush.

If you’re local, get out there while
the good conditions last. Don’t worry about trails.
Just aim your wheel and start pedaling.