Ride to Tolovana Roadhouse: A Misadventure in Reality Warping

I stood up on my pedals and yelled. 

“Oh, my aching arse!” 

Fortunately, I knew right up the trail was the next section of windblown snowdrifts, where I would have to get off my bike and walk. I could give my numbing hands, aching back, and sore arse a break. But my energy was fading. I was slowing. I needed to get back to Manley Hot Springs Resort by 10pm. I had a cabin rented, but I didn’t have the door key code. What if I couldn’t get into the cabin? I dreaded the thought of a four-hour drive back to Fairbanks after my longer-than-expected day on the bike. 

I rode my bike when I could, but that was sapping my waning energy. I kept stopping to rest. The closer I got to Manley, the more stops I took. I quit looking at the time. It was going to be close. I didn’t need to know how close. I didn’t have any winter camping gear with me. Either I had to get that door key code, or I had to drive to Fairbanks. I kept pedaling. 

How had I gotten myself in this situation? Unfortunately, I knew how. 

New trail to me!

Good Idea – Poor Planning

I decided to ride to the Tolovana Roadhouse after I dropped out of the T-Dog 120. I hadn’t trained enough. I originally hadn’t planned to enter, but Corrine entered and talked me into doing it. 

“A bunch of our friends are doing it,” she said. “It’ll be fun to see some new trails,” she said. 

She knows my weaknesses. I signed up. Then this winter happened with all the cold and snow. And life happened (including Corrine’s skiing accident). I didn’t get in the proper training. Not by a long shot. 

But a trip out of town and seeing new trails seemed fun. I decided to drive up to Manley, giving a ride to friends who were doing the T-Dog. I could do an out-and-back on the trail, riding with friends for part of the way. The Tolovana Roadhouse seemed a good destination, but it is 31 miles into the T-Dog course. Even I realized that 62 miles was a long way to go based on my training. We kept hearing that the course was mostly flat, but that’s still a lot of miles. I figured I would ride until I started to get tired, then head back to Manley in time for dinner, a delicious soak in the hot springs, and a little relaxing before bed. 

And then I went and won the short course of the Tanana River Challenge. 

Me at the TRC celebrating with Elaine Ramos, second place woman finisher

That race was almost 27 miles, and I felt good at the end. I felt more confident. I started to unconsciously warp reality: 27 miles is almost 31 miles, and a flat course is easy, and if I felt good after 27 miles then I could have gone farther, and…and…and…. 

I’ve done that before. I don’t have a plan. I have a gestalt of a plan. Bad idea. 

At some point I started telling people I would ride to the Tolovana Roadhouse and back. Worse, I started believing it myself.

Enjoying a frosty start on the T-Dog course

A Chaotic Start

I drove to Manley on Friday with Nikki and Travis, who were biking the T-Dog 120 (which was actually about 135 miles). I also brought skis for Hannah, who was entered in the ski division. She had reserved a cabin at Manley Hot Springs Resort that could sleep four and had flown up that morning. (Travis got the cabin spot that opened when Corrine dropped out after breaking her hip.) We arrived with time to enjoy a soak, go to the pre-race meeting, and get some dinner. We had a grand time laughing and joking but got to bed early. 

Me, Hannah, Nikki, and Travis enjoying a soak in the hot springs. 

We woke with plenty of time to get prepared and be at the 8:15am race start, just down the road. Too much time, apparently. When 7:45am came, we weren’t ready. Yeah, I was the main culprit. It’s that gestalt thing. We had so much time, I didn’t need to be anal, so I kind of guesstimated things. Bad idea. 

We got to the race start in time, barely. But then I realized I had left my bike helmet back at the cabin. What a ditz! I told the others to leave without me, then drove back and got my helmet. I got back to the start at 8:15am, but Nikki and Travis were still in the parking lot. Travis was still futzing with his bike. Nikki was waiting for him. The non-mushing T-Dog racers were trickling out one at a time. Hannah left and so did Ben, another friend from Fairbanks. Then Nikki took off. Then the race officials came over to talk to Travis and me, the last two non-mushing people. 

Explanation break: Here’s how the T-Dog starts: The 200-mile mushers can start leaving at 8am. Then the non-mushing folks leave at 8:15, then the rest of the 200-mile mushers leave until 10am. The 120-mile mushers don’t leave until starting at noon.  The first leg of the mushing races doesn’t count against their race time, so the mushers are relaxed with leaving. 

The race officials asked Travis and me if they should let the next 200 musher go or wait for us. Travis was still futzing with his bike. (At least I’m not the only ditz. Thank you, Travis!) Travis told the officials to let the musher go. After that musher took off, we left with Travis leading.

Me (left) and Travis leaving the start

Wonderful Ride to the Roadhouse

The first mile of the trail, a connector to the main trail, was soft. Rideable but really challenging. And we had been warned to take care, because the snow off the trail was super deep. Shortly after leaving the start area, the trail crosses the road. Race organizer Tekla Munson was there, taking videos. Just after crossing the road, my front tire slipped out, and I fell hip-deep into the snow. Luckily, my bike kept me from sinking deeper. We had a good laugh about that. I floundered back onto the trail, got on my bike, and chased after Travis. 

Video screen grab of me falling at the start. By Tekla Munson

When I got to the firmer main trail, Travis was there, peeling off a layer. The temp at race start was about -15F, but we were working hard in the soft snow. I peeled a layer, too, but I also needed to adjust my seat. I told Travis to take off. That was smart. Travis was much better trained and is younger than I am. And now he wanted to catch Nikki, as they had planned to ride together. I let him bike away. 

I settled into a pace and enjoyed the ride. The trail was firm and the riding was easy. The country was all new to me. Occasionally, I heard a yell behind, and I would pull over for one of the 200-mile mushing teams. It was fun to see them go by. 

Soon after, I caught the only two skiers, first Hannah and then Riley, and stopped to chat briefly with each as I passed by.

Hannah skiing into the rising sun

Riley, early in the race

After about 12 miles, the trail started entering open areas with some day-old drifting. The riding was challenging and fun. I stepped off my bike a lot and fell into the snow a couple of times. I laughed a lot. Some places I had to walk my bike. 

Selfie in the snow!

The 200-mile teams continued to catch and pass me. The dogs and mushers all seemed to be having a good time. Everyone was friendly. And by that time the sun was well up in the sky and warming the day. It was great to be out. 

A couple of 200-mile teams passing me early on

Eventually, the trail left the open areas with its drifting, but the trail was still soft. And while it wasn’t steep, it did climb a little. Pedaling was hard work. I started to tire. But the Tolovana Roadhouse was less than 10 miles away. My original idea of probably turning around before the roadhouse was long gone. I was committed.

The trail had often been straight, so I looked forward to a narrow, winding section of trail a couple of miles before the roadhouse. It was fun on a bike. At the end came signs warning that the roadhouse was only about 2 miles away! “Free Parking,” said one. “Valet $5,” said another. “Just kidding,” said the last. 

Tolovana Roadhouse

I pulled up to the roadhouse, elated that I had made it. It’s a fun, historic building that sits at the confluence of the Tanana and Tolovana rivers. (A little too close to the rivers, unfortunately. You can donate here to help save it.) Some friendly volunteers greeted me. I headed inside for a good rest and to get some food and water. I was looking forward to some chili, and a delicious baked potato made by Mary, owner of the roadhouse. 

Made it to the roadhouse!

Inside I saw Ben. He had arrived just a few minutes before me and said Nikki and Travis had left just 5-10 minutes earlier. It would have been fun to see them, but I was glad to visit with Ben.

While at the roadhouse I met Mary and several of the 200-mile mushers. Some had been there a few hours already and weren’t in a hurry to leave since they couldn’t check into Minto until 8pm. We all chatted about the trail and adventures we’ve had while mushing or biking. Mary told us about her plans to increase the amount of time the roadhouse is open. (It’s available for rent here.) 

I ate while we talked. I didn’t look at my clock. I wasn’t racing. I was on gestalt time. But eventually I got ready to go, filling my water and grabbing a few snacks.  (Later I calculated I had stayed a little more than an hour. Should have left earlier!) I wished Ben and the others well and left. A thermometer at the roadhouse said it was 20F above. It’s so nice when the sun starts warming things up! I had to peel layers. 

Ben getting ready to leave the roadhouse

Paying the Price on the Ride Back

Not long after leaving the roadhouse, I ran into the skiers again, Riley and then Hannah. They were in good spirits. I talked to each just briefly as they still had a lot of trail ahead of them. After snapping a couple of pics of Hannah, I glanced at my phone’s time. It was just after 3pm. I put it back into my vest, started biking, started thinking, then stopped and pulled my phone out again. My clock is on military time. Had it said 3pm or 13pm? Definitely 3pm. I started to do the math. (Finally!)

Hannah nearly at the roadhouse

OK, a little confession here. Sometimes I suck at planning. If I’m totally on my own, I think things through well, but if I’m just tagging along with someone else, I get lackadaisical. For the first part of this outing, I had been planning to tag along with Travis and Nikki. That didn’t happen, but I guess my mind was in that mode. Now I was on my own and I had a reality check. There would be no long, relaxing evening at the Manley Hot Springs. I would need to keep up a steady pace just to get back before the hot springs restaurant closed at 10pm. And I needed that cabin key code. (I had a different cabin rented for the second night so a different code.) Jesse at the resort had said she would email it to me. I had the resort wi-fi password from the first night’s stay, but what if she forgot? Still, I wasn’t worried. I didn’t do the math exactly, but I figured I could make it. 

On the return trip, I passed the 120-mile mushing teams, which had started leaving at noon. Trail passes were easy because I could usually see them well ahead of time. That was fun. And the soft trail didn’t seem so bad. Now I was going slightly downhill and had a little tailwind. I smiled as I rode. 

Seeing all the teams go by was fun!

My smile faded a bit when I got to the open sections. The wind had picked up and was now a crosswind. It wasn’t cold, but it blew new snow into the trail. Some sections I could bike easily, some with difficulty; and some I had to walk. 

Eventually, I passed the last of the mushers, and finally the trail sweeps came by on snowmachines. They checked to make sure I was all right. We said our goodbyes and headed our separate directions. Their trail was quickly getting buried in snow. Ugh. More walking and challenging trail.

Some riding, a lot of walking

I was getting tired. My hands were going numb. My arse was sore. The stupidity of my little adventure was sinking in. I was not trained for this. Had the trail been solid for most of the way, like it had been for the Tanana River Challenge, the ride would have been within my ability. Hard, but doable. But soft trail saps energy. And drifted trail requires walking. I was really looking forward to getting back to that first 12 or so miles of trail, which had been hard in the morning. I really hoped it had stayed that way. 

And it had! I got to that section and pedaled, trying to keep a steady pace, and watching for all trail turnoffs. But I started getting more tired. I had to stop occasionally and take short rest breaks. I had been snacking all along, so I would use these breaks to eat and drink some water. Eating was getting harder, though. I alternated between feeling hungry and having no appetite at all. 

As the sun set, the rest breaks became more frequent. I used tiny hills as an excuse to get off and push my bike. And worried that I wouldn’t make it back to the resort in time to get dinner or the key code. I tried my phone just in case there was some cell service, but of course there wasn’t. I didn’t look at the time. What did it matter? I kept riding. And resting. And riding. And resting. The last few miles felt like it took forever.

Good trail, but daylight is fading

A Warm Bed? Or a Long Drive Back to Fairbanks?

I got to that last mile of connector trail, which had been so soft at the start. It was still soft. I finally checked my phone’s clock: 9:58pm. No restaurant dinner. And still no cell service. (Yeah, I know, but I had to try.) I rode about 50 feet of that trail, but I just didn’t have the energy. I had to walk, so I walked as fast as I could (which wasn’t that fast). Fortunately, the trail crosses the road before reaching the starting area, so I just biked the road back to the start. I started my truck, loaded my bike, and got in. Now it was about 10:20pm. I tried my phone again. No luck. 

Night comes

Fortunately, the drive to the resort was short. I pulled up to the restaurant, relieved to see lights on inside. I wouldn’t get dinner, but maybe someone was inside cleaning up. And there was! Jesse gave me the key code (she had also emailed it to me earlier) and I thanked her. 

I got to my cabin, unloaded what I needed, and checked my phone. Corrine had texted a bit earlier, saying she was a little worried that she hadn’t heard from me. I let her know that I was fine and that we could talk in the morning. I had a freeze-dried meal in my duffle (see, I come prepared for some things!), but I wasn’t hungry. I showered and collapsed in bed, so grateful that I didn’t have to drive back to Fairbanks that night.

That experience really gave me an appreciation for the three bikers – Nikki, Travis, and Ben – and one skier – Riley – who were able to finish the whole 135 miles. Well done all! And congrats to all who tried! 

But I’ve really got to remember to plan things out for adventures like this. Even if I’m going along with someone else who is doing a lot of the planning. No more gestalting! I’m sure I’ll get it figured out eventually. After all, I’m only 66. Plenty of time for learning! 

One more shot of the dogs!