Fat tires and dropped dogs

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Another day at the office! It's interesting to watch the teams progress along the trail, and we each have favorite teams that we're rooting for. The clock never stops on the race; it's a round-the-clock race after the start. The standings change often, as teams take required and optional rest stops. Each teams must take one 24-hour rest and two 8-hour stops along the way; the 2-minute start differential is made up at the 24-hour mandatory stop, meaning that the last team to start must take at least 24 hour rest, the second-last team to start takes a minimum 24-hour plus 2 minute rest, and so on. Thus after the 24-hour rest, the teams could be essentially even.

Perhaps obviously, the mandatory rest stops must be taken at checkpoints, where the time can be verified, but it's interesting to note that when a team is resting but NOT for a mandatory stop, they may quickly blow through a checkpoint to document their presence and their dog count, then pull up to camp along the trail a few miles farther on. As I understand it, the reasons for this are two-fold: it's quieter camping along the trail than at a noisy checkpoint, and some mushers find it strategically preferable for others to wonder where they are!

In the office, we take reports from the trail, documenting check-in and check-out times and dog counts. It's surprising how many times there are "dog discrepancies" that we follow up on. Someone seems to leave a checkpoint with more dogs than they arrived with, or leaves with fewer than they arrived with and no dropped dog is reported. These seem to be minor details, but are necessary to resolve. Frequently dog counts are off because a dog is resting in the sled and gets missed.

The mushers and race officials are serious about the health and well-being of the dog athletes. As each sled arrives, a vet is on hand to quickly check each dog and discuss any concerns with the mushers. If a dog seems injured, tired, or just not "into" finishing the race, he or she can be left at any checkpoint to be picked up by the Iditarod Air Force and flown back to Anchorage, complete with his health records as entered by the trail veterinarians. Female dogs in heat are also dropped immediately! This is one of several females dropped at the Lakefront Hotel for being in heat. Every day or two dogs would get dropped in front of the hotel and a team of volunteers and veterinarians would check them out along with their health history during the race.

Today after my work session, I scheduled a fat tire bike ride. It was a fun experience, and completely different from any other ride I've done. First, it seems weird to me to ride a bike in heavy boots and all dressed up in snow gear like the Michelin Tire Man. It's also awkward to mount the bike, and for some reason it seems very easy to over-steer the handlebars, so I always swerved quite a bit starting from a stop. But it felt kind of like it would feel like riding on a cloud . . . just a kind of softer ride, kind of "fluffy." The company I went with was a small one owned by two women, Ellie and Frankie, who were transplants to Anchorage, one with a marketing background, and the other with outdoor education/science background, a perfect combination. In winter, the bikes feature what they call "pogies" - weather-proof big baggie things that cover your gloved hands on the brake and shifters, as double protection. You can even put hand warmers inside for extra toastie-ness!

They have two winter options, and I had requested the mountain ride rather than the park/coastal ride, but the day before my ride there was a big snow so they decided to switch my ride to the coastal path. As it turned out, I was the only customer that day, so they took me up to where we would have ridden so I could see the view of the Chugach Mountains from up high, but then we went back down to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail for the ride. I'm glad we did, because I didn't have an easy time riding in the snow. It was kind of like riding through wet sand while bundled up for a winter hike. Since I was the only one on the tour, Ellie paced the trip to match my pace and we stopped periodically for a breather and to take in the scenery along the way, especially across Knik Arm. The mountain in the picture is the one they call The Sleeping Lady. We were riding toward the end of the trip and came around a bend in the path and past a break in the trees. The light on the mountain was spectacular and we stopped for a photo. Ellie rode with me and Frankie drove the van to come pick us up at the end of the ride. They're a great team and did everything to make the day fun, including snacks and water.

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