Day: June 13, 2016

We arrived back in Anchorage yesterday, ride is over. 😦  We rode in both rain and sunny skies, from Denali, aka “The high one” to Anchorage.  Our night capped off by farewell dinner with all the riders and our guides.

All were asked to share “oh darn (paraphrase), I’m in Alaska” moment…mine was Happy Valley moment when we were all frozen and stopped to eat lunch, huddled behind some old dilapidated small shack trying to block wind and a driving snow.  Your mind wanders to that place that says, hypothermia possible.  Back home or a ski slope, you can find a warming hut, heated building, etc. and all is well.  Yet in Alaska, and on this day, we were in stretch of 240 miles of nothing…no fuel stops, no little restaurant with electricity produced from a generator, etc.  The temperatures hovering in 32 to 33 degrees, therefore the windchill on a motorcycle at 60 mph is -8 degrees with clouds and fog blocking out the sun, hands, feet numb.  In this moment you only have the option to soldier on and wonder how it will all turn out.

I remembered Nicole Ferraro’s quote from the recent Cancerversary dinner we attended, which was “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”  My “oh darn I’m in Alaska Moment” had worry and concern for the outcome.

Fortunately, we were all able to warm up enough to ride the next 40 miles, including the high elevation of Antigen pass to a welcoming warmer southern wind when we needed it most.  We celebrated a toast to success, everyone’s hope from the very beginning when our engines roared to life.

 

 

My Alaska Adventure to raise funds for Bite Me Cancer is winding down and has been a tremendous, rewarding, and “Alaska Wild” success.  Thank you to all Bite Me Cancer Team Members who have made it so.  Together we have added over $6,300.00 thus far to help children and teens battle in their fight with cancer!  The campaign is not over until we achieve $10,000.00, and I am confident we will!!  Sometimes the best made plans go asunder, hence our efforts to post daily reports of ride thwarted by no cell or WiFi.  The areas we rode and work camps where we stayed so remote, I was inaccessible over 80% of the ride.

May God Bless each and every dollar raised to gain a cure for all.

Southbound to Anchorage and civilization!

Our group just arrived in Cantwell, beautiful cabins beside a fast running river.

At the North Pole, Alaska…. Wow, Santa is real!!!