Where Am I Now?

Unfortunately, nowhere that I haven't been to before. The approach into the airport in Barrow is from the north so we get a nice look at the sea ice. Some areas are starting to thin (the darker areas) and even a bit of open water. Locals told me that they thought that the ice is thinner than usual and expect there to be open water by the middle of June. Most of the snow is gone from the land except wind blown drifts had built up. It's amazing the dIfference a few weeks make.

I went out for a walk this evening around the NARL campus but it was windy and started to snow. Not enough to actually accumulate on the ground but enough to get you pretty wet. There was an arctic fox still in its white fur stalking a bunch of birds but I didn't have a camera with me. I think that Spring is finally here.

This afternoon, I tried out the tracking feature of the SPOT again and it looks like it it works as advertised. I'll try sending a couple of messages from here tomorrow to see if it's better than the v1 devices we tried a few years ago.

It was pouring rain and still kind of cold (48°F) while riding but I arrived home warm and dry. This Gerbing stuff is pretty nice.

Saturday morning - When I arrived at the science building, I found a line crew getting ready to head out for some pole maintenance. I thought that the vehicle looked interesting as it was only a little bit longer than a pickup but the tires were enormous. This also shows how much of the snow has melted.  

Summer Riding

I think that I can actually say that Summer has really arrived. After last weeks ride to Anchorage, I wasn't too sure.  But the last couple of days have been well into the high 60s (°F) with mostly clear skies. Wonderful riding weather. Since last week, the leaves have come out on the trees along with the pollen. The number of motorcycles parked near the building has been increasing though many don't ride in when it's a wet morning. I was thinking of mailing down my mesh riding gear to pick up in Oregon this summer but I was reminded that it really gets warm in B.C. once you are out of the Rocky Mountains. So maybe I have to rethink my packing list.

I really like the tracking feature that EverydayRiding has been using on his current trip, Everyday for 7 Weeks. Being able to watch Chris' progress through Canada convinced to pick up a SPOT GPS Messenger for my upcoming trip. Unfortunately, I can no longer put the cool widget with the map as Google has deprecated version 2 of their Google Map API Key that was used by the widget and the directions for version 3 haven't shown up on the SPOT web page. After more digging, I found the version 2 key section even though it claims to have been deprecated on a different part of the Google website. I had tried the older version of the SPOT Tracker up in Barrow a few years ago and they didn't perform very well probably because of the high latitude. But the new version has been getting some pretty good reviews. I put the widget on the right side of the page and when I'm actually on the trip, I may move it to the top. I will take it with me to Barrow at the end of the week to try it out up there.

I tried the SPOT device out a couple of days ago just outside my building and the posted location shown on Google Maps was within 5 feet of where I was sitting. I ordered the additional "tracking" option as I like the breadcrumb trail and automatic, periodic updates. It would have been handy on my Anchorage trip as cell phone coverage is a little spotty in Alaska and my family could just look up my location on the shared webpage instead of sending text messages asking where I was.

The trip last week through the sleet also convinced me of the value of heated gear. Chris had showed me his liner and described it as "putting on a sweatshirt that you just pulled out of the dryer." It's one thing for commuting but when you are out all day long at near freezing temperatures, the cold eventually works it way in. While I was in Anchorage, I picked up a Gerbings heated liner and temperature controller. I still need to get the wiring installed on the bike to power the jacket liner.

Friday morning - Update, I installed the wiring last night for the liner and since it was 46°F and raining this morning, it seemed like a good opportunity to try things out. Even on the first click of the controller, you could feel the warmth within seconds. I could get used to this. The voltmeter would flick up and down with the controller cycling on/off every few seconds. I need to remember to turn it off before reaching my destination due to the power draw. Due to the temperature and the rain, I was the only bike in the motorcycle parking. It looks lonely out there...

A Short Ride

It was another beautiful day with just a few clouds. This is from my favorite view point overlooking the Tanana Valley. I wasn't on any trip but just sort of running around enjoying the afternoon. Yesterday afternoon, I stopped at a friends home to work a bit on our presentation of the Ethiopia trip. Their driveway was steep and rocky and while trying to back the bike up, it decided to take a short nap. No pictures but that hasn't happened for quite a while.

On Friday after my trip back from Anchorage, my son wanted to try out a new Japanese restaurant in town. The food was pretty good though the service was very slow. Of course, I don't remember the name.

Monday Afternoon - I had posted this from my iPhone using BlogPress and the way it formats pictures is poor unless you just accept the defaults as far as thumbnail size and text wrap. If you try and do anything else, a lot of extra html is added to the post that needs to be cleaned up afterwards using a computer. The mobile browsers just don't seem to handle all of the javascript on the Blogger site.

This morning was another beautiful day and I needed to talk to a vendor about printers in Barrow. That sounded like a good enough reason for a ride. It does tend to get warm if you need to wait for a light to change. The auxiliary power outlet on my bike doesn't seem to be working. Maybe I blew a fuse last week as the heated handgrips don't seem to be working either. I'm glad these things are showing up now.

Trip From Anchorage

It has been a beautiful day for the ride back to Fairbanks. It was still around freezing north of around Talkeetna but once I was north of the entrance to Denali National Park, the snow disappeared from the sides of the road and it warmed up considerably.
Mt. Mckinley was out with no clouds.



This is about 15 miles south of Cantwell looking west.


Looking south.


Looking north. This is a beautiful part of the road but it was windy.


While getting ready to leave the UAA campus, a young visitor happened to pass by. Better here than on the road.

Location:George Parks Hwy,Healy,United States