Four-legged bane of Trans-American bicycle tourers? Dogs. Four-legged bane of Iditarod snow bikers? Moose.
The Human-powered Iditarod got underway in 10-degree temperatures on Sunday, and racers snow-biking the route have reported problems with moose along the trail, especially one particularly aggressive female moose.
Meanwhile, Jill Homer, whose Up in Alaska blog is one of the most popular bicycling blogs on the Internet, is posting good enough times to be on pace for a record-setting 350-mile ride into McGrath.
Moose reports
Forty-some racers took off from Anchorage on Sunday to race along the Iditarod dog-sled route to McGrath or to Nome, 1,100 miles away. Of the racers, 12 are snow-biking to McGrath and 10 are riding snow bikes all the way to Nome. Others are skiing or hiking.
News updates at the Iditarod Trail Invitational website report moose problems almost from the start. Early arrivals at the first checkpoint reported being slowed by huge holes left behind by moose walking along the trail.
Later, Bill and Kathi Merchant reported they were turned back by an angry cow moose on the trail. According to the updates:
“Bill told me it was the closest he had been to a moose and that after trying to convince her to leave the trail she became very aggressive and Bill reverted to positioning his bike between him and the moose ready to 'give up the bike to the moose.'
“I have known Bill for a number of years now and have a good idea of how many thousands of miles he has spent on the trails. It had to have been very close for him to prepare to give up his bike, and to turn around unheard of.”
No cartoon character
If you're picturing Bullwinkle when you hear about moose, these animals are no laughing matter. They lash out with their front legs when they get upset, and more people are injured by moose in Alaska than bear; two have been killed in the Anchorage area.
Winter is a particularly bad time as they may be hungry, tired of walking through deep snow and being harassed by people, dogs or traffic.
Good pace
Iditarod updates last night reported that Jill Homer may beat the women's record to McGrath, held by Kathi Hirzinger-Merchant of 5 days, 7:48. At her blog, Jill was concerned last week that her Surly Pugsley was lost in transit between her home in Juneau and Anchorage.
According to the leaderboard, she arrived at the Fingerlake checkpoint (mile 130) at 3 p.m. and took off an hour later.
Jay Petervary was the first to show up at the Puntilla checkpoint (mile 165) Monday evening, followed by eight others in the next three hours. They were expected to wait until Tuesday morning to take off for Rainy Pass, then down the Dalzell Gorge toward Rohn.
Checking in
Human-powered Iditarod organizers are logging updates two or three times a day and racers arrivals at checkpoints are posted on the leaderboard.
The adventure racing website Sleepmosters.com is also tracking the Iditarod, and Mtbcast.com is offering podcasts.
The Associated Press recently posted a story about snow-biking that explains some of the dangers, thrills and equipment used in these races.
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