Biking Eklutna Lake

After WEEKS of nasty, rainy weather, we finally had a decent weekend. On Friday after work Leigh and I went bicycle shopping. Until now we've both been riding bikes we bought on Craiglist, each for about $75. Leigh's is a cheap Mongoose, the Walmart kind, and mine is an ancient Schwinn that was probably pretty valuable back in the mid-1900s but is clunky and ill-fitting for me. First we went to Chain Reaction Cycles, a local Jamis dealer, so I could order my Bosanova. After checking out the standover height on the Bosanova, the cross-bar might be a little bit tall for my 28.5" inseam, but it should be a good overall fit regardless. The staff were friendly and helpful and ordered my bike without hassle. My bike should be in by Friday or early next week!!! Then we went across the street to Paramount Cycles to find a nice hybrid for Leigh. There were a few options and luckily one of them was on sale within Leigh's price point. She went home with a Giant Roam 2, a nice all-around bike with far superior components than any bike she's owned before. It seems like a good fit, but I might raise the stem of her handle bars a little bit and see if that makes for a more comfortable ride.

We celebrated our purchases of new toys by checking out nearby Sushi Garden. The restaurant was suggested to Leigh by a co-worker and it did not disappoint. We decided to sit at the bar to watch the chefs work their magic. When we sat down a friendly chef handed us water and a free miniature deep-friend concoction that served as a nice, heavy appetizer. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but I saw a mushroom under the tempura batter and it was delicious in the sauce it came with. We ordered two specialty rolls at about $14 each. Pricey, yes, but the rolls were massive and had high quality ingredients. Along with the free taster we were both comfortably full while saving room for a scoop of ice cream (I got the fat free, no sugar added version of something that could have been a delicious chocolate ice cream, but alas...) on the way home.

Saturday was pretty nice outside, but Leigh and I felt compelled to spend it running errands and such. We went to the Spenard Farmers Market to grab some produce. Cannelle the Puppy went with us, but she was pretty bratty and tried to eat everything in sight, even a strip of rubber she found on the parking lot. I had to dig in out of her throat before she swallowed it. After a Costco run, we took Cannelle to Kincaid Park for some serious fetching. Her behavoir improved by 80% for the next 24 hours after 30 minutes of sprinting around the stadium after a tennis ball. When we got home I took Leigh on a bike ride to show her the route from our house to her office, just in case she decides to become a bike commuter.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful, so we put the bikes in the car and drove north to the Chugiak area to bike near Eklutna lake. This camping/hiking/biking/general outdoor fun area is part of the Chugach State Park, so we had to pay to park but the facilities are well-kept. We decided to bike Eklutna Lake Trail, which more or less parallels the glacier-made lake from end to end for about 12 miles.

We stopped a few times to work out the kinks in Leigh's new bike and stopped once for about 20 minutes to take in the scenery.

The route was a little more rugged than I was used to after months of riding the paved trails around Anchorage. It was mostly packed dirt and gravel with tons of potholes and muddy areas. In all it was a great opportunity for Leigh to practice riding her bike in various types of terrain.

We took it slow since neither of us had ever ridden this route before. Around mile 8 Leigh said she was tuckered out and was ready to head back. We had planned to ride the whole 12 miles out and back, but it was a much more difficult trail than we'd expected, so I didn't mind turning back either. The trip back was much faster, of course, and by the time we got to the car we were both pretty tired.

I didn't really start feeling tired until we were about 10 minutes down the road. Then the hunger set in, big time. That morning we'd had a light, healthy breakfast of egg whites and turkey bacon, so my body was ready for some fuel. When passing through Eagle River we both caved and decided to check out Garcia's Cantina, another restaurant suggested by a co-worker at Leigh's office. These people really know their food, because it was amazingly good. We ordered from the lunch menu, but it was still a large portion. The salsa was particularly good. Unfortunately, this meal caused me to gain about 2 pounds overnight, so I'll be eating lightly this week until I see my weight get back to normal.

After the day of biking and eating we were completely drained. By the time we got home Leigh had decided to take a nap, at 5pm! We relaxed for about an hour and then decided to get up and prepare for our week. I made a huge pot of jam (which I need to can this evening) and some eggplant pate to snack on this week. So yeah, we were busy! I'm really proud of us for doing so much and making so much of this beautiful week, but I am sore and tired today! I still managed to bike to work this morning, but my legs protested the whole time. My commute from home to the courthouse is just over 4 miles. Yesterday I think I learned that I hit my stride around 10 miles. The good news is that when I do longer rides I'll hit a nice stride within the first hour. The bad news is that every time I commute to and from work my will is going to argue with my muscles, but I guess that's how it always is with exercise, right?

Alas, my denist appointment awaits.... le sigh....