B and I recently decided to make the most of a beautiful Alaska day by doing one of our favorite bike rides, known as the "Bird to Gird" bike trail. This trail starts at the Bird Creek campground area, which is about 15 minutes south of Anchorage, and goes all the way to the town of Girdwood, located about 45 miles out of town. We like to park a little further down the highway at the Beluga Point parking lot and go from there, which is roughly 12 miles round trip and is a moderate, albeit somewhat hilly, ride. The parking area is a great spot for photo ops, with a nice walkway that takes you out near the water. And where else will you see Beluga whales rising from the sidewalks?!
It was a perfect day and we enjoyed perfect views of Turnagain arm, peeking out from the trees as we made our way toward Girdwood.
The drive from Anchorage to Girdwood is one of Alaska's scenic byways, and I consider it one of the most beautiful drives in the country, summer or winter. A word of caution, however. The highway is unfortunately also one of the most dangerous in the country, so if you do make the drive, please adhere to the posted 55mph speed limit, keep your headlights on, and never, ever pass in a no-passing zone.
Since we were on the bike trail we didn't have to worry about traffic hazards. There were other worries though, like the tons of bear scat we saw on the trail. Despite living in Alaska all my life, I have an almost phobic fear of bears, and an unprecedented number of bear attacks this summer hasn't helped. I countered that fear by singing very loudly the whole bike ride, which I'm pretty sure scared off any bears (and a few people) in the area. We did stop at this pretty little glacier waterfall along the way though.
As you get closer to Girdwood, you can see one of Alaska's majestic glaciers nestled into a mountainside, as well as sentinels of dead spruce trees, which are leftovers from the 1964 earthquake. Tidewater invaded the area during the quake, poisoning the spruce to death and leaving behind their ghostly, stoic remains.
There are plenty of rest stops along the way, and the path is both pedestrian-friendly and wheelchair accessible. If you're visiting from elsewhere, you can rent bikes for the day or longer from one of several places around town, or you can walk the trail if you prefer a slower pace. The bike trail goes all the way to the gas station/grocery stop that marks the beginning of Girdwood, but we usually turn around at the railroad tracks.
One cheesy love selfie later, we were on our way back to the car. Please don't be too jealous of my cool pink bike helmet, I know it rocks!
There are days I wonder what it would be like to live in a place where sunny days didn't mean that much, when you'd rather sit inside and enjoy the air conditioning than go out and face another sweltering day. It might be nice to not worry about those looming winter months, and know that if you don't get outside in the nice weather today, there's always tomorrow.
But I also think no one appreciates good weather quite as much as Alaskans do. Summers are short, winters are long, and those frantic sunny days and long, light-filled summer nights are treated like a beautiful gift. Whether we're fishing, hiking, camping or biking, we make the most of what we're given. We don't complain about another sunny day, we don't worry about A/C (most of us don't even have A/C!) and we try our best to get outside.
So get on your bikes and ride, Alaska. Winter is coming. Winter is always coming.
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