Triangle Tour 2010. Totally Rad Dude.

This guy up in Alaska is writing a story about the tour. He asked us for a little bit of info about our experience. I figured this will do for an explanation of the trip. Here are a few photos as well.

this is the saint of road trips. he lead us safely through canada.

Well Mr. Tim dude, yes, I am all of the above. An Alaskan outsider, with little biking experience. Both of these factors increased my genuine love of this grand adventure. Learning this little body of mine could accomplish such a feat! Pushing and pulling up passes so big I would think to myself, "who is controlling this body? How am I doing this?" I will admit there was one day of trouble for me. The first day was so exciting nothing could slow me down, the second day was about the same. However, the third day snuck in and here came the aches. The knees, the achilles, the doubts. I remember falling asleep after that 80 mile day and thinking, "well i gave it an honest effort. That's it. I'll go back tomorrow." However, the next beautiful sunny morning lured me back on that bike. The magic of the tour grabbed ahold of me and it was "all down hill" after that. There is a point when your body decides to surrender. There is an even more confusing point when your body actually wants the torment. The morning after our rest day (rest day - ferry to Valdez) I specifically remember an impatient feeling of, "I just want to get on my bike and keep going." As Ben and I discussed many times on the tour, those bodies of ours turned into little machines. Food is seen as fuel, and you can never seem to get enough of it. By days nine, ten, eleven, and so on being on the bike is the most comfortable spot. You're body starts to crave the effort and output. It feels so good to put energy in, usually in the form of a snickers bar, and feel it pump through your body all the way to the top of the hill.

When I got home from this trip, I was surprised how many people asked questions about the group dynamic. Most people couldn't believe nine adults could be together hour by hour for 16 days and not want to slug each other in the face. Well, I am here to tell you, this group was brought together by some sort of ultra positive energy mecca force or something. If I needed help with something I usually wouldn't even need to ask. Someone would notice and help before I could speak up. I felt supported in every direction. Every person played a role in pulling the group together. We all shared common values about the environment, we all laughed at each others dumb-as-ever jokes, we all wanted to be there. We wanted each other to succeed, we all wanted to have a positive experience. On the last day when we said goodbye with a big cheesy group hug, I'm pretty sure it was apparent we had helped each other accomplish our goal. I love those people. In sixteen days I never heard one person complain of distance, cold, or mechanical problems. Come to think of it, I don't remember anyone having any "problems". Sometimes something would happen that wasn't expected. We would just figure a way around it, go with the flow, or rather let the positive energy of the group lead us in the right direction. sounds weird I know, but it is true.

As for my favorite part of the trip, I'm not sure I have a good solid answer. Because I had never been to Alaska before, every single time I would come to the top of a hill, or round a corner, the next stretch was a surprise to me. I really loved the stretches of 80 to 100 miles on both sides of the triangle with no services. It was the real Alaskan wild. I loved biking along those long mountain ranges and wondering who had explored them before. The river valley out of Valdez, over Thompson pass, and into the wild, that is something I will never forget.

Anyway, I know this isn't really what you asked for. I started writing about Alaska and I just didn't really want to stop! Feel free to use whatever, or throw it all away. Hope you're having a great day up there. Oh and if you could email the article when your done that would be sweet. Thanks dude.

Holly Hackett