Last week, I mentioned the new Alaska Birkie bike race. I wrote that even though I thought it sounded like a fun race, I wouldn’t be able to do it this year. I also thought they should change the name of the race. Well, I just saw an announcement that this year’s race is cancelled because [...]
Linda did the Ride for Life this past weekend. Its a two-day ride from Anchorage to Seward with a campout at Summit Lake in the middle. 80 miles the first day, 40 the second. Its a ride, not a race, and the organizers treat the riders right, with huge spreads at the aid stations and [...]
Last fall I wrote that, as much as I enjoy cyclocross, I would like to see more interesting ‘cross race courses. The go-around-in-circles format is just not my thing. So I was excited to learn about a new bike race here in Anchorage, the Great Alaska Birkebeiner Mountain Bike race. The race starts in Chugiak [...]
As I was biking home from work today, my lungs were burning, my eyes were squinting, and my nostrils were flaring. Was I hammering? Nope, I was inhaling the smoke that has descended over Anchorage in the past few days. Here's a cool map that shows the smoke.
So maybe you’ve been checking out the Fireweed 400 bike race coming up this weekend. Or you saw the article in yesterday’s Anchorage Daily News. In either place, you might have seen my name listed as an entrant in the 400 mile race. The newspaper even put me on the short list of notable racers, [...]
…for “This Year’s Adventure I Envy Most”: Nabesna to McCarthy bikepackraft
About a year ago at this time, Pete basically saved a girl's life after her now-infamous bear attack in Anchorage. This year, Pete was on the other end of a nasty mountain bike accident.
Today I went for my first run since tearing my Achilles tendon in March. Actually, it was my first run since November. It was the most pathetic run ever - twenty minutes on a track at a 15 minute mile pace - but it was a big step in my rehabilitation. The biggest revelation for me during my injury layoff has been how much I love running.
My wife and I both wish we could commute to work by bike everyday. But because of our daycare arrangement and that pesky “You must work 8 hours a day” rule, it simply isn’t possible. So instead we’ve worked out a complicated compromise. I bike to work early in the morning. She drives in later after [...]
Last weekend I floated the Chulitna River with a large group of guys. It was a bachelor party, which means “what happens on the river, stays on the river.” Sorry, no stories here. The only reason I’m posting this is because I use this website as my outdoor journal. When I can’t remember [...]
One way that I have consoled myself during my healing process has been to think about packrafting. Of all my favorite activities, its the only one I figured I could do while injured. Well, maybe not the “packing” part, but definitely the “rafting” part. I’ve been scouting road-accessible floats that don’t require [...]
An update on my torn Achilles tendon. The last time I wrote, I was very frustrated with my progress, or lack thereof. The first thing the doctor told me when he diagnosed the injury was that no healing could take place until the swelling went away. Additionally, every single person I talked with who [...]
I should have known that one ski trip to Skookum Glacier wasn’t going to satiate my lust for crust this spring. Like any true addict, “just one” fix quickly leads to an overwhelming urge for another. My body may be injured, but my mind still craves copious amounts of sun and snow. [...]
Attention: Everyone who selected April 22 in their office pool for “the day that Cory finally ignores Doctor’s (and wife’s) orders and goes skiing,” please pick up your winnings at the front desk. Monday of this week was the first day of excellent crust ski weather we’ve had so far this spring. Blinding sunshine, frozen [...]
I thought I was handling my Achilles injury pretty well. Even though March and April are my favorite months to ski in Alaska, I haven’t been too depressed. Maybe the fact that volcanic ash has slightly tarnished the snow conditions has helped me from being disappointed. But I’ve been focusing on doing what I [...]
This is a collection of musing on the race that surprisingly didn’t fit into my tome of a race report. Thank You! First off, it’s time to finally thank the people that made this race possible for me: My wife Linda - I know, I’ve thanked her a lot already, but I can’t say enough about all she [...]
It seemed like there was a lot more awareness of the Iditarod Trail Invitational this year. I’ve followed the race for the past few years and I don’t remember seeing nearly as many newspaper articles as there were this year. I wanted to make sure I had a copy of this stuff [...]
This is part three of a three part story. Part one is here. Part two is here. Thursday - Day 5 (continued) Rohn to Bison Camp - 45 miles (255 miles total) Because we had all spent a decent amount of time bivied during our trip over the pass, most of us in the lead [...]
This is part two of a three part story. Part one is here. I went a little overboard in my account of the Rainy Pass section of the race, putting together timelines and maps, because I think some people had false impressions about what actually happened. The information that was reported during [...]