Alaska Randonneurs

You all know that we had to push the Anch/Palmer/Anch 200K/300K back by a week. Now they're on the same date as the Denali Highway 200K. Damn, that's a tough decision.

We had our BWR volunteers' meeting last week. Great turnout. Committed and involved people who're excited to make the BWR happen. 

If you're not signed up the this year's BWR, there are still spots available. But, if the BWR 1200K is a bit much to bite off this season, consider coming up for our Solstice 600K. It's sort of a mini-BWR. It covers the finest 200K section of the BWR – an unbelievalbly beautiful section of the remote Richardson Highway that passes through the Alaska Range. Check it out…the Richardson is actually the original trail used by the prospectors back in the 1800s to get to the Interior!

There are lots of flights available. If you've always wanted to ride Alaska, do it this year over summer solstice!

This July cyclists from around the world will gather in Valdez to ride 1200Km (750 miles) from the shore of Prince William Sound, through Fairbanks, to Anchorage, in less than 90 hours.

Modeled after the legendary Paris-Brest-Paris 1200Km Randonnée, and sanctioned by Randonneurs Mondiaux, The Big Wild Ride is part of the global randonneuring tradition, and is renowned for its adventure, challenge, and beauty.

Come be an integral part of the experience. The Big Wild Ride needs checkpoint volunteers and drivers, SAG wagon driver, and bike and bag loaders. Volunteering for The Big Wild Ride allows you to be involved first-hand in the exciting and challenging world of long-distance, endurance bicycling.

Where: Speedway Cycles - 1231 W Northern Lights Blvd  Anchorage, AK

When: May 15th, 6:00PM

The Big Wild Ride is the premier event hosted by the Alaska Randonneurs, and is sanctioned by Randonneurs USA, Audax Club Parisien, and Randonneurs Mondiaux.

For additional information, contact the Alaska Randonneurs:

info@alaskarandonneurs.org

907-317-6030

Bike-to-Work Month just started today, and Alaska randonneurs already have ridden 9,600Km!

Randonneuring season is in full swing. Need to put the adventure and challenge back in your ride? Training for the Fireweed 400 or a big charity ride this summer? Or, simply just want a reason to spend a day on the bike? Come ride with us!

We’ve got a full ride schedule of scenic, inspiring, and challenging rides ahead of us. The Talkeetna 100K and 200K offered great riding and a full day of stunning views of Denali. The Palmer Spring Classic packed downtown Palmer with 94 riders starting off on a bluebird, but blustery day.

Next up is the Anchorage/Palmer/Anchorage 200K/300K. It’s a wonderful and rambling course offering a surprising amount adventure through neighborhoods and towns we’re all mostly familiar with; no getting lost on this one. 200K and 300K riders share the majority of the courses – more fun, camaraderie, and safety in numbers!

Here are preliminary maps of the two courses:

Anchorage/Palmer/Anchorage 200K

Anchorage/Palmer/Anchorage 300K

Our 2013 Season

Again, over the Memorial Day weekend, this year we’re offering a randonneuring option to AEA’s Denali Gravel Grinder. Shortly after that, we host our legendary Ronde van Anchorage 100K. For Solstice, it’s back up to Gakona to ride the Richardson – arguably the finest 200Km stretch of road in the entire state of Alaska!

July brings the return of The Big Wild Ride Grand Randonnée. Again, riders from around the world will gather on the shores of Prince William Sound in Valdez to ride 1,200Km through Fairbanks to Anchorage in 90 hours or less.

Our schedule lightens up in late summer and early fall with a brilliant course around Anchorage and Eagle River, designed by legendary, local cycling hard-man Bob Voris. Then we’re down to Homer to enjoy the fall colors and take-your-breath-away views of Kachemak Bay on the End-of-the-Road 100K/200K.

Our full ride schedule is HERE.

Volunteer For The Big Wild Ride

Want to experience randonneuring at the international level? Want to contribute to an event that’s bigger than us all? Volunteer for the Big Wild Ride. Whether you want to be involved for a day or a week, it’s an event where you’ll make a meaningful impact and gain a tremendous amount of satisfaction by being an integral part.

Renew Your RUSA Membership

Finally, now’s a great time to renew your membership or join RUSA. In addition to being able to qualify for various prestigious awards, RUSA members receive a subscription to American Randonneur, plus a copy of the RUSA members’ handbook. The handbook alone is worth the cost!

Come join us this Saturday for the Palmer Spring Classic – we'll put you on some mind-blowing backroads that are scenic, inspiring, and challenging! If you've never ridden The Valley roads, you're in for a real treat. The Palmer area has developed quite a reputation for high-quality, destination road riding.

The Palmer Spring Classic has something for everyone – just got your bike out of the garage? Come ride the 50K. Been spinning most of the winter? Then you're good for the 100K. You skied and rode your fatbike all winter? The full 200K is the one for you! Regardless of which ride you choose, one of the most exciting features of the Palmer Spring Classic is that riders on all three courses start and ride the first 40K together! It's a great way to discover and share the friendly spirit and challenge of randonneuring!

All ride details are HERE!

Come ride with us!

Talkeetna was a blast! The town absolutely rocks – the streets were filled w/ happenin' folks, bikes everywhere, not a cloud in the sky, stunning views of Denali, lots of airplane noise, and the afternoon sun beating down on us. We've found a home for our opening-season rides. This is the second year we've started the season off in Talkeetna, and it makes complete sense: clear road shoulders, low traffic, fantastic restaurants and cafes, fresh beer, good music, and great places to stay. We'll be back next April. In the meantime though, look for us this coming July 22-25 while we're there during The Big Wild Ride.

The Talkeetna 100K/200K was a great ride. The Talkeetna Roadhouse started us off right by opening early with a special riders' power breakfast. Lots of new riders, and several familiar faces joined us at the crisp, but bright 8AM ride start on Main Street. It turns out it was a really good call to postpone the ride by a week. The weather cooperated nicely with temps getting downright balmy in the afternoon. Ride results have been posted HERE.

Next up, we're headed to Palmer. The Palmer Spring Classic offers something for everyone; it's a spectacular ride through the backroads of The Valley. The Palmer Spring Classic is huge collaboration between Backcountry Bike & Ski, The Valley Mountain Bikers & Hikers, and the Alaska Randonneurs.

If you've just pulled the bike out of the garage, consider riding the 50K. If you've been skiing a bit last winter, maybe the 100K will be good for you. But, if you've already been on the bike a little this winter and spring, sign up for the 200K. All course overlap, so you're certain to find someone familiar to ride with.

Come ride some new roads, make some new friends, and challenge yourself at the Palmer Spring Classic. See you at Vagabond Blues for the start!

The roads are open, and in fine condition! The 2013 season opener 100K/200K rides are happening this weekend. See you bright and early for a special power-breakfast at The Talkeetna Roadhouse!

Here are all the details:

http://alaskarandonneurs.org/our-rides/talkeetna-100k200k/

Let's ride!

Sorry, folks. The shoulders are still too icy. Therefore, we're moving the ride to Saturday, April 20th.

See you then!

Come learn everything there is to know about randonneuring in Alaska. Rando info night at REI will lay it all out for you to make sure you get a solid jump on your most enjoying, adventurous, and challenging riding season ever.

We’ll discuss ride formats, randonneuring history, riding styles & strategies, training, nutrition, bicycles, clothing, gear & equipment, details about our courses, volunteering, pre-rides, 1200Km rides, and The Big Wild Ride.

Where: REI Anchorage – 1200 West Northern Lights Blvd

When: 6PM, Thursday March 28th

Winter Bike Fest 2013 is here with winter cycling events all month long!

Winter City Urban Randonnée

Come ride the Winter City Urban Randonnée February 17, 2013 — a rolling fund-raiser for the Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage put on by the Alaska Randonneurs. It’s an opportunity for all cyclists to support BCA while experiencing the adventurous style of randonneuring cycling.

Last year nearly 100 riders traversed Anchorage on the Winter City 50K. This year again choose between two courses – a 30Km or 50Km winter-day’s ride through the heart of Anchorage on track and trail.

Progress from checkpoint to checkpoint, navigating between food and stops along the way. See how easy it is to winter bicycle commute in Anchorage. It’s an event, but not a race– so don’t dally!

Where: Peanut Farm – 5227 Old Seward Hwy.
When: Sunday, February 17.
Why: Fund-raiser for the BCA
How far: 30K or 50K courses
Registration: 8:00-8:45
Ride begins: 9:00
Cost: $20 to support the BCA.

FILMED BY BIKE

2/18/13 – The Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage bring Portland's Filmed By Bike to Anchorage for one show only. Experience humor, adventure, romance, intrigue, and quirkiness, all filmed by bike! It's an exciting collection of shorts from Filmed By Bike's 2010 and 2012 collection of films. Also, local gravity shorts by AK-based film producer jgsconcepts

Doors open at 6:00. Show begins at 6:30. $10 suggested donation, or get in free if you are an existing BCA member or if you become or renew your membership.

The Big Wild Ride 1200K was our most ambitious and successful project to date. And it could hardly have turned out better, both for the huge staff of wonderful volunteers, and for all our riders. We absolutely loved the whole experience of bringing riders from all around the world up here to enjoy what we love so much about Alaska – an enormous wild challenge.

Because we knew it was going to be a memorable event, we gathered a team of four photographers and videographers to record the event. They're all local Alaskans, and all posess an abundance of creative talent.

The result is an expansive and rich photographic collection showing the individual human challenge and the grit to perservere across a 1,200Km swath of interior Alaska, from Valdez to Fairbanks, to Anchorage. The scope of drama and emotion captured by the BWR photo team, within the 90-hour time limit the Big Wild Ride riders had to complete the course, is uplifing, moving and inspiring.

We made so many great friends during The Big Wild Ride. We're grateful to the BWR photo team for faithfully saving so much of the experience for us to savor.

Good thing we canceled the Kenai Backroads brevet. One of our local Kenai riders sent us this shot of the K Beach Road section of the course. This would've been a show-stopper.

Washout on K Beach Road

Sorry folks, even though the skies have temporarily brighted this Friday, the National Weather Service still has a flood warning through Sunday evening for the Kenai River and low-lying areas. Therefore, the ride is cancelled.