Bus ride from the hotel to the race start.
At the race start, Knik Lake.
Aaron at the race start, Knik Lake.
The Skwentna Roadhouse. Lots of racers stop in here for a nap and some great food.
Snow-covered bike in the morning at Shell Lake.
Rajko Podgornik. You have to be incredibly strong to ski this race. In my opinion Rajko was one of the toughest guys on the course.
Passing the hay used to bed the Iditarod dogs.
A trail marker. Always a great relief to see - and great distress to not.
One of the Happy River steps. Basically a 30-foot ice slide. Someone relieved himself on the trail before going over... getting up the nerve I guess.
The long uphill push from the Happy River.
The push continues. Every muscle is straining. Finished? You only have to push up 100 more like this. Ugh.
The sun came out for a little while. Here it hits some birch bark.
Taking a quick break at FinnBear Lake (Long Lake).
Go a little off the trail and say goodbye to your front wheel. At times you'd step off and sink down to your waist in snow... with a 110lb bike on top of you. Not an easy spot to get out of.
Vanessa is on the trail, I was off just a little.
Rainy Pass Lodge
Rajko and me.
En route to the Rainy Pass. The terrain changes significantly. Not much to see but willows and snow. No place to tack a trail marker except on a man-made tripod
Trail marker on the Iditarod.
Headed to Rainy Pass. Iditarod trail marker in the background.
Iditarod trail marker on the way to Rainy Pass.
Finally we hit Rainy Pass after pushing through waist deep snow, getting blasted with wind and navigating under a few avalanche prone mountain sides.
Heading down the backside of the pass is just as brutal. At times the snow and wind felt like it could peel the skin off your nose.
The craggy terrain of Rainy Pass.
Occasionally all the pain is erased by some amazing sight.
Crossing a frozen stream.
Open water. Falling in would be disaster.
No choice but to cross this stream. Don't want to get your bike wet either, so you have to lift that cumbersome 110lbs over without falling in yourself.
Standing in the stream will ice your boots up quick. Frozen fairly solid, walking will break it up a little... but you'll need to warm them up somehow and get that ice off before you get into your sleeping bag.
Both safely across the open water.
Arriving at Rohn.
The wall tent at Rohn.
The cabin at Rohn... reserved for the Iditarod dog-sled race.
Leaving Rohn.
Entering the Farewell Burn. Not much protection from the elements here... might as well be on a frozen lake.
Tree trunks are all that remain in the burn.
My tire came off the wheel entirely riding through the burn. This could have meant serious trouble. Big thanks to Mike Curiak for noticing this!
Ready to pull the bikes up the glacier. Underneath that snow is a giant ice cube.
This hunter passed us on the way to Bison Camp. His last words to me were "See ya later... maybe." He then laughed and rode off.
Bedding down for the night. Spruce boughs keep us off the ground and a little warming fire to dry out our gear.
Riding over the Tussock grass can really beat up your bike. Everything comes loose.
Atop a high hill after Bison Camp. McGrath lies out at the horizon.
Just past Bison Camp, the mountains we crossed back in the distance. Hard to believe we biked through those.
Beaten by bumps of Tussock grass my rack breaks loose... time for a little repair work.
Almost to Bear Creek shelter.
Bear Creek Public Shelter.
Some bear clearly was curious about the contents of this cabin. Notice the claw marks?
Inside Bear Creek shelter cabin.
Sunset at Bear Creek.
Riding across a frozen lake.
Getting directions to Nick and Olene's in Nikolai
Nick and Olene Petruska in Nikolai.
A frosty self-portrait. Brrr.
Claudio Piazza, Cesare Ornati, Aaron Fanetti on the way to McGrath.
An Iditarod musher passes us on the way to McGrath.
At the finish in McGrath!
A good German meal from the kitchen of Peter and Tracy Schneiderheize to end the adventure.
On the flight back to Anchorage.
Crossing Rainy Pass. Photo credit: Mike Curiak.
Open water. Photo credit: Mike Curiak.
Carrying bike across open water. Photo credit: Mike Curiak.
Photo credit: Mike Curiak.
