January 25, 2008, Fairbanks, Alaska, -15 to -30F, 66 miles, 5,000 feet climbing: Camping trip in the White Mountains

Temperature is -15 as I head out on the snow and ice covered road to the trail head in the White Mtns, where my friends Tom and Malcolm will park and ride the 12-mile sled dog and snow machine trail into a USBLM cabin I’ve rented for Friday night. North winds wail, air temperature is sinking and the January bloodless sun is scraping across the top of the Alaska Range, 100 miles to the south, providing only psychological warmth. The road part of this 9 hour freeze fest is one of snow packed or ice covered surfaces, but after 5-plus hours of crossing snow choked Tanana Uplands hills, Boreal forest, the ice-locked Chatanika River and climbing the Eliot Highway to Wickersham Dome I pull into the trailhead. Two mushers with their sleds and 20 or so dogs are returning from a romp on the trail.

The spell of darkness is upon me, along with an oppressive -20 F or less as I deflate my WTB Weirwolf LT 2.55s. These fat badboys are the super in dicey conditions. Unless you want to go for a fatbike, Weirwolf 2.55s are the best 26 or 29er tire: it’s directionally stable, floats well, and has strong, supple sidewalls. I’m going to need all the float I can get on these trails. The next 12 miles takes 3 plus hours, but to my thrill: I’m ridin’ it!

The red moon is slowly rising and the temperature is slowly dropping. Hoar frost glistens in my headlight as I alternate in awe between the absolute desolate, white indifference and the deafening silence of this black spruce-covered permafrost country. Tires crackle out a report that tells me that this snow is COLD.

I make the cutoff to the cabin, pushing the steep, barely broken trial to Eliazar’s cabin. I haven’t seen any sign of people for nearly 4 hours, only two sets of bike tracks laid down on the Wickersham Trail on sled tracks.
Tom and Malcolm have a fine fire crackling, invite me in for a hot drink and we while away the night telling trail lies and watch the scarlet moon carve a path.

Riding the 12 miles out in the morning light is an entirely different world from the dark eerie isolation of 12 hours earlier. Rolling is tough at -25 to -30 F, but because of these frigid conditions we see not a soul.
Once at the trailhead I have enough sense to ride home in the truck. My brain isn’t completely frozen.

Note: Rocky Reifenstuhl is preparing to race the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational. The event, which starts on February 25, will be Rocky’s 21st year competing in the Iditarod Trail bike race. He has won the prestigious event eight times.

Chris Duncan shows us how to jump in association with BikeSkills, a Marin county based group of riders who have set out to help cyclist ride better, ride safer, and faster.

BikeSkills offers programs for riders of all types and skills. They offer clinics focused on the cross country/trail riding side as well as ones focused more on the “Downhill, aggressive” skill set such as in this video featuring Chris about jumping.

Stay tuned for the next BikeSkills video about pumping featuring WTB rider Mark Weir on his infamous pump track.

WTB sponsored rider Sam Hill is undoubtedly the king of drifting on dirt. But when it comes to sliding on pavement, this guy has the two-time downhill world champion beat. Apparently the movie Tokyo Drift made an impression on bike riders as well drivers.

Note: WTB does not condone skidding on singletrack. But we applaud efforts like these on pavement.

On September 01, 2007 America’s most prominent female mountain bike racer suffered a horrific crash and soon realized she was paralyzed from the waist down. The WTB-sponsored rider and 2006 downhill national champion was airlifted to Denver’s Health Hospital where she underwent a seven-hour back surgery. Although Tara’s doctors reported that she might never walk again, she has been attacking her physical therapy with the same enthusiasm and positive attitude that made her such a popular—and successful—bike racer.

It has been four short months since her life-changing crash and Tara is already proving the doctors wrong by moving her legs. After spending months as an inpatient at Denver’s Craig Facility, Llanes is finally back at home, but she still has a long way to go. The medical costs attributed to this sort of tragedy are almost as crippling as the injury itself. Our support means a lot to Llanes. If you would like to contribute emotional or financial support please visit Tara Llanes Road to Recovery.