EKLUTNA 2015!

Well, we packed up our Bobs and panniers and rode out to the cabin on a beautiful and somewhat breezy Friday. What a fun weekend! We pedaled, cooked, talked, watched an enormous black bear across the river, drank wine and laughed, read, napped, hiked, ate some more, drank some more, danced, huddled around a campfire and laughed some more.

                  Cecelia, Kristine and Diana ride out along the lake Friday.

Cecelia, Kristine, Diana, Joan and Nancy were all too happy to ride in the brilliant sunshine Friday on the way to the Serenity Cabin.

 Joan takes photos below Serenity Falls on a hike Saturday afternoon. It cooled off a bit, but the weather stayed beautiful the whole weekend - yay!

Kristine joined the hikers Saturday and was in awe of the magnificent scenery.

                            
Cecelia hikes through the woods and by the river where we spotted the bear the night before.

 Maggi, Beverly and Bonnie rode out for the day and joined the festivities Saturday. We were all happy to spend time with Corinne, who recently moved to Talkeetna.

All good things must end even if you don't want them to, and Maggi, Bonnie and Bev left us Saturday afternoon for the ride back to the parking lot and back to Anchorage.

                                       
We managed to tear ourselves away from dancing the night away and built a fire Saturday night. 

       Cecelia, Patti and Kristine pack their Bobs for the ride out Sunday.

     Inside the inner-sanctum of Diva-ness!  Photo by Cecelia

 Exactly HOW MANY crackers did we need?? Never shop when you're hungry...!  Photo by Cecelia

 Bikes and Bobs outside the cabin.  Photo by Cecelia

 Lunch time!  Photo by Cecelia

 A brief stop at the beautiful spot on the bridge on the way out Sunday.  Photo by Cecelia

Loaded and ready to roll!  Photo by Cecelia

 Yes, we had a dance party Saturday night! Whup Whup Wooooo!!!!  Photo by Cecelia

Riding out was a bit chilly, but the sun never stopped shining!  Photo by Cecelia

Divas just want to have fun! Half the group posed for a photo op on August 26 at Kincaid Park.

Rose proves she's a bad-ass rider on some roots on the Hillside trails August 19.

Dora flies down the hillside after a good ride with lots of climbing.

                       Karen was obviously having a good time! Woo-Hoo!

 Stacey was having fun too, and who wouldn't on such a sunny evening!

BEAR ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A handful of bear-aware Divas hit the Campbell Tract trails July 31. The salmon have been running, and the bears are hungry, so we avoided a run-in by not riding the trails near the river, carrying bear spray and WOO-HOO-ING very loudly as we pedaled the trails. Fun ride and no bear encounter!!

 A handful of daring Divas checked out the newly improved "Speedway" yesterday. The first two were taken in early June - pre-boardwalks. What a difference! It's still a challenging, bone-shaking, root-filled trail, but the icky, muddy parts are much easier to ride. It is now affectionately known to us Divas as "Root Canal."

              Michelle, Katie and Lindy slog through the muddy creek in early June, pre-boardwalk.

         Lindy and Karen get dirty - as Divas often do - in the dirt on "Speedway," AKA "Area 51.

Woo-Hoo! Michelle glides over one of the new boardwalks!

 

   Julie was all smiles as she rode the boardwalk through Speedway - way less mud to contend with!

Eklutna Weekend - member sign-up.

It's that time of year...

You may now reserve a bunk for this year's Eklutna Lake Cabin Weekend!
August 28-30 (spending the nights of the 28th and 29th)

For those who have not done the trip, here's how it works:
We have rented the Serenity Cabin which is about a 12-mile bike ride from the Eklutna Lake trailhead. There's room for 12 people to spend each night. Two bunks are shared bunks; all the rest are singles.

On Friday, we carpool to the trailhead and gather there at the appointed time, arranging our overnight gear, food, etc. We then bike to the cabin and spend two nights (some people do just one night).

During our stay, there are opportunities to hike, bike, watch nature, gaze at stars, enjoy quiet time, stack rocks, eat, drink, endlessly chat with friends until all hours. You name it.

Sunday, we leave the cabin by noon to bike back to the trailhead and the land of cell phone coverage and ice cream.

Space is limited. Use the Paypal buttons below to sign up and pay for one night or two. If you must cancel, email the group to find a replacement and get payment from her; we will not maintain a cancellation/wait list. This trip is for members only.
Book your bunk now!

Nights booked

Friday, Aug 28 $30.00 USD Saturday, Aug 29 $30.00 USD

Ride change for Wednesday, July 8

Due to the electric pole replacement project in Powerline Pass, this week's Diva ride location will be changed. Instead of starting at Glen Alps and riding up to the lakes, we'll start at Upper Huffman. Here's the info:

Meet at 6:30 pm at Hillside parking lot to shuttle bikes and cars to the Upper Huffman parking lot where we will ride a gravel 1/2 mile path up to the Gasline, down the wide dirty gasoline trail to White Spruce, up White Spruce, to South Rim where it begins with some roots, mud, wood planks, and high grass.  The trail gets better with awesome views down to Prospect Heights and then down the STA trails to Hillside.  In other words, a little bit of everything on this ride.

 If you plan to drive the shuttle to Upper Huffman, be sure you have your annual state parks parking sticker or $5 to pay for parking.

Thanks to Jo-Ann and Bev for doing the reconnaissance on this ride. Looks like fun!

Building our Skills

The skies cleared and a handful of Divas showed up Monday evening at Jodhpur Trailhead ready to learn some new riding skills. We were happy to find that the trails were dry and there weren't many other people on the trail.

Our focus was on agility, staying active in the bike - instead of staying seated - and riding the banked curves of the Kitchen Sink trail. My goal whether climbing or descending is to ride the banked curves fairly high on the bank - instead of riding in the bottom where debris collects.

Some of the key tips to descending banked curves are: look ahead to the exit of the curve; brake before entering the curve so you are at the desired speed upon entry; stay centered over the bike from front to back; and keep your uphill or outer foot down. Some of these go counter to how we often ride on descents with our butts back behind the saddle and pedals level.

By centering our weight, we keep both wheels firmly on the ground. Keeping the outer foot down, we are pushing into that foot to allow us to counterbalance the bike. Our upper body is out of the saddle and active over the bike. I like to think of keeping my bike perpendicular to the berm while my body moves over the bike.

We began by practicing in a the grassy field (watch out for dog poop!), then moved to the trail. After a few trips back-and-forth on the first stretch of Kitchen Sink, one rider noted with a grin that it "flowed." That is exactly how the trails should ride, flowing from one curve to the next!

When climbing, banked corners can aid in the climb. Use the same technique of looking ahead and aim for a higher part of the corner. By riding higher on the bank, you get a short break from exertion as you drop off the high part. Then you can prepare for the next corner. Try it next time you climb Mighty Bike at Kincaid or the Hillside singletracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLxovpsbFqg

You can research videos online. The link posted above is first in a multi-part series that describes and demonstrates a few different berms, all demonstrated in the rain! Have fun and ride those berms!

posted by Rose

Matanuska Lakes

Nine Divas dying to ride single-track headed out to Palmer this past Sunday and rode the super-fun, Matanuska Lakes trails - also known as Keplar-Bradley.  It was unusually warm and totally sunny as we zipped around the very-dry trails.

JoAnn showed her excitement with many woo-hoo-hoos as she made her way through the thick, green forest.  There were a few mosquitos, but we weren't totally swarmed.

Julie ducked under a branch to avoid an unhappy wipe-out.

Lisa ducked under the same branch and was obviously very happy!

Cecelia - and everyone else - braved talcum powder dirt that ended up all over our legs. It was a tough ride - lots of good climbs - and we shared snacks and cool drinks at the end.  Who wants to go again???!!!!

First Dirt Ride

A large, enthusiastic group of Divas showed up for our first dirt ride of the season. WOO-HOO! We rode Campbell Tract dirt and gravel trails and had a fun, fun time!

Michelle provided the Woo-Hoos, Ya-hoos and and Yippees, clinching her spot as Most Excited Diva of the Day!

Ashley proved that young legs, perhaps, are better, and some of us were jealous of them.

Rose to the rescue - AGAIN!!!  She dove right in to help some other riders who were more than thankful for her mechanical prowess. We sure appreciate her!

Gloria and Dora whizzed through the woods on an amazing-weather evening, with happy smiles on their faces.

It doesn't look like anyone is having a bad time!  Thanks to Linda (and Maggi) for leading this half of the group and to Rae for sweeping.

Denali weekend

With huge apologies to JoAnn and Corrine who got wet when they went 2 weekends ago - we had a spectacular sunny weekend riding in Denali National Park!  The sky was blue blue blue and we were not!

Diane, Patti, Dora and Nancy - along with a few friends and spouses - stayed dry and happy as we made our way into the park.  Wildlife was abundant!!

We had frequent wildlife encounters with grizzlies (some with cubs),  moose and herds of caribou!

Look at that BLUE sky!!! Dora and Patti were all too happy to pose at Sable Pass after the long climb up and up and up.

Photos by Dora and Nancy - Dora took the awesome photo of the mama with 3 cubs!!

May 13 Greenbelt Ride

A very enthusiastic group of Divas showed up to ride from the Chuck Albrecht Fields  - a pavement ride on greenbelt trails. The temperature was warmish and the sun wasn't in our eyes as we zigged and zagged our way over the rivers (and highways) and through the woods.....

Our leader - Christine (with a "C") - pointed out many interesting sights along the way and guided us fearlessly away from wildlife lurking in the shadows.

Karen Lee glides effortlessly through a beautiful woodsy section.

Linda emerges unscathed from a dark tunnel.

Maggie is happy about riding the hill she's climbing!

Patti photobombs from the back left corner at the mid-way point.

Nancy hits a bump while photographing from her saddle.

Better late than never!!  Cecelia DID show up!!  YAY!