Cycling in Anchorage
I was really REALLY hoping I’d have a chance to cycle while we were in Alaska. I thought about researching it before hand, but decided to wait and see if anyone was interested while we were there.
On our first day, walking around downtown Anchorage, I saw a bike shop (Downtown Bicycle Rental) and pulled my snister’s husband, Will, aside with me to check it out. We got the spiel about their tours and rental prices and took a brochure. I was excited and told my dad and Will (and a few others) I’d really like to rent a bike and check out some of the trails in Anchorage.
Then we got to the rental house and it had TWO bikes! The owner said we could use them and my dad bought a pump to put air in the tires. No dice – the bikes were NOT in riding shape. (Which is probably a good thing – riding up the mountain we stayed on would be impossible, and riding down would be too dangerous.)
On our last day (Tuesday), my snister asked if I was going to do the bike tour. I felt bad breaking away from the group for several hours, but everyone was totally cool with it, so Dad and Will and I drove to downtown Anchorage, back to that shop.
The shop was hoppin’ when we got there! But they took care of us quickly. It was funny when one of the workers gave his overview of the route and alternative routes. You could tell he’d given it MANY times before and had it memorized. And I don’t mean he was saying it like he was bored – he was just talking fast and enthusiastically!
Their prices are reasonable – $16 for three hours (plus a price per the hour if you go over), and $32 for the day – and it includes a helmet, pannier, repair kit and map. They had a big selection of bikes. You can pay extra for bikes with more features (shocks, etc.) which we did (we got two bikes at $25 and one for $20). We weren’t sure if we were going to go off road on to trails, so we all got mountain bikes. Which was weird for me – I am SO used to my road bike, riding a mountain bike feels so squishy.
We didn’t sign up for a tour, and got to go wherever we wanted with the bikes for three hours. The shop is very close to the north trail head of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, so we rode to that. It’s a paved trail, about eleven miles long, that goes from the northeast to southwest corner of Anchorage, around the airport.
The ride varied from open routes along the water (stay off the mud!) to shaded areas in the woods. We saw the mountains (apparently you can see Mt. Denali but I didn’t), various birds, a guy giving a group a presentation while an eagle rested on a perch next to him, and lots of interesting airplanes. The ride was somewhat flat with a HUGE hill at the end when you get to Kincaid Park.
I has a grin on my face the whole time because I was enjoying it so much!
Click to see larger
From Kincaid Park (after having a nice conversation with some other Iowans – I asked where they were from because one of them had a Quad Cities shirt on) we took a few of the bike paths next to roads. I noticed that about a lot of places we went in Alaska – there was almost always a path along the road. There was even one that went from Anchorage all the way to where the rental house was in Eagle River. I am not sure if the intent is for it to be used for exercise, or if it’s for transportation for people on ATVs and dirt bikes, but it really gave me the impression that Anchorage (look at all those trails!!!) is a place you can travel far on, safely(!!!), on bike or foot.
We however, did not go too far – just over twenty miles in just over two hours (stops not included). We went through town a bit then got back on the coastal trail and went back to the rental place.
It was such a treat for me to enjoy Anchorage on a bicycle, with two of my favorite riding companions! I can’t wait to ride with them again at RAGBRAI in four weeks!
Themocracy
Love it!! Great pictures and what a fun way to see the sights!
What a great adventure – I love how you are always up for something fun!
The beauty!!!! What an experience girl 🙂 That is so cool you can get around on foot or by bike. I love places like that.
That sounds like a lot of fun! Your posts are making me want to go to Alaska!
The Tony Knowles trail is gorgeous! I am so glad you had a great trip!
Wow, what a gorgeous trail! I’m so glad you got to do this with your riding buddies. Do you think you’d ever get into mountain biking, or do you strongly prefer the feel of a road bike? When we were just in Tahoe, I saw people using their road bikes on sandy, rocky trails and was like ????.
At this point, I don’t see myself getting in to mountain biking any time soon, because it’s so technical and I’m sure I would hurt myself over and over again 🙂 I prefer going fast on my road bike, on smooth roads. Ha!
I wonder if those people had hybrids with skinny tires? Or … were they just asking for a flat? LOL
It seems like you guys really took advantage of the time you had there! What a great ride & views.
What a great way to explore! I always feel like I’m a lame cyclist when I don’t do things like that. I was just reading about the “Denali Highway” which is open to cyclists – and to cars, but apparently not many cars venture onto the road.
You’re not lame!
What were you reading about it? Just that bikes use it too? I bet that’s a hilly ride! 😉