Riding into the new year

As we cross over the shortest days of the year and head into a the new year, the organizers have been busy making some changes for our club that we think will make it easier for you to join and to keep up-to-date on the goings-on of the Alaska Dirt Divas.

We'll have snow again, right? (2015)

The big change is that we will be phasing out the Yahoo site which has gotten increasingly difficult to work with (people not being able to sign up or log in; ride times displaying wrong time zones) and have established a site on Meetup. Meetup has been around for almost 20 years, offers a visual calendar feature, allows us to email other members, and allows new members to join the organization with minimal administration duties on the part of our organizers - meaning more time to ride!

You can find the site here. (Membership fees will begin after the new year.)

We hope you'll join us for another year of trail riding fun. And if you have any skills you would like to share with the group, we are always looking for people who can:

•   Lead a ride
•   Teach a clinic
•   Participate in community service projects (such as trail work)
•   Plan special events
•   Bring snacks and tea (post-ride treats)
•   Plan ride schedules
•   Post stories, images, videos on this blog

 Happy Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas, and a Happy joy-filled, biking New Year!

-rose

Last Ride of the Season!

Despite the rain, 18 Divas showed up for the last official ride of the season. Woo-Hoo!

 The happy crew - in two groups -  took off from the Kincaid Stadium onto the slick, single track trails.

The 2nd group paused on Boling Alley for a quick photo.

Whoop, whoop whoop!

The colors are changing, and the leaves are falling - it's been a great season!

Photos by Michele and Katherine

Kincaid from Raspberry

As usual, a bit of rain did not dampen the Diva spirit. The ride on the Kincaid trails began at the Raspberry parking lot, and the group managed to avoid collisions with several moose they encountered.

Katherine and Krista lead the group on this week's ride.

Bikers on the right, big moose on the left...

A bull moose stands his ground as the bikers passed by.

Kirsten and Rose wait for the others at an intersection.

Carmen was a happy biker!

Photos by Katherine and Krista

Eklutna 2017

 The 2017 Eklutna trip started with great weather to pack up in, and off we went, towing BOB trailers or using panniers to haul all of our stuff.

We helped each other carry our bikes over some fallen trees.

We also had to life the heavy BOBs over, but teamwork made it easy.

3 trees in this spot made for some challenging lifting.

We were able to slide our bikes with BOBs still attached under this one.

We were able to ride through most of the large puddles on the trail.

Denise hugs the shoreline of a muddy muddle. Most of us had wet feet by the time we reached the cabin.

Karen maneuvered around a tree that forced us to ride through deep water in this particular puddle - we made waves!

Rose did some puddle-side repair along the way.

Diana gets ready to flow through this enormous "lake" puddle.

Rose thought puddle-peddling was fun!!

Wendy attempts a Tarzan move on a hike through the woods.

Rose disguises herself with some leafy foliage!

Part of the group climbed on top of a large rock for a photo.

Michele, Wendy and Diana prepare our first night's dinner - pasta with pesto, chicken and veggies - YUM!!

 Wendy, Michele, Denise, Nancy and Mindy took a hike up near the Eklutna waterfalls.

And of course, we did glacial-mud facials!!

Denise, Krista, Carmen and Mindy peddled out Saturday for the festivities.

Well, the weather held out until Sunday, and it rained on us on the way out, making for a fun, wet, muddy trip.

Our BOBs were super muddy when we reached the parking lot!!

Far North Bicentennial

I left my house for tonight's ride armed with layers and a raincoat, imagining being cold and soaked at the end. As I turned east, a large swatch of blue sky appeared right above the Abbott Loop Community Park, where we were starting. What a beautiful sight and what a beautiful ride we had - with some sun beams!

Anastasia rides down a section of trail from the North Bivouac parking lot.

No one wanted to jump this tree, so we hefted our bikes over it.

Maggi spies the photographer hiding in the woods.

Groupie!!

Then things got a little wild and crazy...

Carmen shows off her mud-splattered front after the ride.

Hillside STA Trails From Service H.S.

The rain finally stopped for our Wednesday ride, and 2 groups of Divas headed out to bike the Hillside trails from Service high school.

Michele debates whether to jump the branch or remove it.

Gess, who was our leader, does some badass isometric biking along the trail.

 Dora attempts the crazy roots on Llama.

Patti whizzes through a section of the Hive.

Gess and Patti use a phone app to figure out our route.

Gess cleans the rocks on the way down Queen Bee!!

Jenna - who had never ridden the STA trails before - cruises over the rocks - nice job!

Chugiak Ski Trails and Beach Lake

Christine led a small, but determined group through the Chugiak ski trails near Beach Lake.

Yay! We're biking in the rain - again!

WOW - The puddles were enormous! Lots of fun getting muddy!

The path out to the ocean view was a bit wet, but that didn't stop the group!

Far North Bicentennial Campbell Tract

Another rainy Wednesday did not deter a group of seven Divas who biked the Far North Bicentennial Campbell Tract from from the Abbott Loop Community Park.

Rain, what rain???!!!

Kincaid from Stadium Parking Lot

Another rainy Wednesday did not scare a small, but tough group of Divas for a ride at Kincaid from the Stadium parking Lot.

Michele led us on an adventurous route, and managed to totally avoid a very large group of Arctic Bike Club racers!

Michele and Katherine bike up a steep ski trail on the way back to the Change of Pace trail.

Kirsten pedals past some massive Devil's Club with a massive smile.

Krista is always happy when she's biking with the Divas!

Whose legs are whose??  Three muddy Divas strike a ballet pose to show off the dirt - what a fun, wet, muddy ride it was!