The "Morning Mountain" report July 12 9:05 AM

                Valdez          Wilmington
Sunrise    4:30 AM          6:09 AM
Sunset    11:07 PM          8:25 AM
                   63℉                70℉

I'm sending the "MM report" from Jeff's computer. I got a new one and am transferring all my files, photos, etc. from my old one. Unfortunately I can't get the cord and adapter I need to transfer files fast, so I'm doing it by internet - make that slow internet. At this point it seems to be stuck on 11 hours, 5 minutes!

It also means the movie of Patrick the fish filleter will have to wait for 11 hours and 5 minutes.

Another beautiful morning!

I haven't seen Reggie in days. Someone stops in a couple of times a day, so I know he's being fed. I guess they aren't supposed to let him out (?)

Last evening - definitely was "Red at night; sailors delight"

This sweet family was at FuKung (yes, that's our Chinese restaurant's name) last evening. They were a delight. So much so that I forgot to take photos of my terrific sushi. salmon of course.

One of the big summer events takes place today and tomorrow - The Fireweed 400 bicycle race. Some of the support teams moved into town yesterday. This is it's 11th year. There is construction on the Glenn Highway so the officials have made some adjustments to the race:

"We're going to allow riders to put their bicycles in a vehicle and go through this construction without any adjustment of time. We're still in the process of wrestling with an idea for a rider that doesn't have a support vehicle."

The area in question is about 16 miles of construction, although the racers should only have to go through about 5 miles of the area. We have some local construction, but it is supposed to be completed by race day. One of the riders, Ultra Rider Hall of Famer Lou Meier, is expected to ride in the race. It will be the 70 year-old's 5 appearance. One of the relay teams is hoping to break the 16 hour and 15 minutes race record.

From their official site -

In 2003, the Race Across America 4-man Team Alaska organized the Fireweed bicycle race across Alaska to replace a race from Anchorage to Fairbanks. We wanted an Alaskan experience with mountains, wilderness, wild animals, glaciers, and roaring rivers. We found a road with wide shoulders and low traffic volume. The race attracted 124 racers the first year and has grown now to about 750 entrants. The Fireweed offers distances of 50, 100, 200, and 400 miles in Time Trial, Solo, and Relay format.

Everyone is welcome, from the Fat Tire non-competitive to the RAAM Qualifying 400 soloists. The 200 was not offered the first year, but has grown to our largest category with about 100 time trialists, 100 road racers, and 300 racers in relays of 2, 3, or 4 people. In 2008, we had an 8-year-old girl finish the 200 on a relay and Lew Meyer at 74 finish the 400 solo event. The Fireweed is the largest RAAM Qualifier in the world. Finishers qualify for John Morino points and Century points with the ultra-marathon bicycle association. The Race Committee has been the same since the race started. Everyone is a volunteer and all profits are given to athletic youth groups. Watch out, the volunteer 
helping you on the course may be an Olympian.

The official website - http://www.fireweed400.com      
Information and rules - http://www.fireweed400.com/forms/FW2013rules_all.pdf

The following is some miscellaneous race information - it's long, but I think it's interesting -

Alaska - General Information

Most people fly into Anchorage from outside Alaska. Registration on Thursday before the races and the Awards Ceremony the Monday after the races are in Anchorage. All races start at Sheep Mountain Lodge, 115 NE of Anchorage, a 2.5 hour drive on good roads from Anchorage. Rental cars tend to be expensive in Alaska in the summer. The 50, 100, and 400 miles races end at the Sheep Mountain Lodge. The 200 miler ends in Valdez on the coast.

REI in Anchorage will accept shipped bikes, assemble them for you if you wish, and tune them. All bike shops in Anchorage have expert bike mechanics.

Weather is usually 40 at night and 60 during the day. Rain showers are common on the Fireweed course.

Occasionally, we have racers contact sking athletes in Anchorage to be their drivers for the 400.

Tours of Alaska are plentiful in the summer and easy to arrange.

Arctic Bicycle Club, Our sponsoring bike club! The Road Racing Division is http://www.abc-cycling.com/

Airport Weather Sheep Mountain, http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/PASP.html
Weather at the race start 24 x 7 x 365 from the dirt airstrip 2 miles away.

South-central Alaska web site, http://www.alaska.com/akcom/southcentral/
Location of The Fireweed400 and Anchorage.

The Milepost, http://www.themilepost.com/
AAA for Alaskan roads with mile by mile commentary on the entire race route.

Biking
Xtranormal explains it all at http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12674956/cycling-explained

Anchorage
There are 8 bike shops, a zoo, 5 golf courses, and 300 bike racers in Anchorage.
The Arctic Bicycle Club is a main sponsor of the Fireweed.
The Race Course Itself

The Fireweed 400 will start on the Glenn Highway at Sheep Mountain Lodge, roughly 100 miles northeast of Anchorage, and run to Valdez and back a total distance of approximately 392 miles. The National Scenic Byway states "The Glenn Highway is a place where geology, culture, and scenery come together to create the majestic and rugged landscape that can only be seen in Alaska." The Glenn Highway was completed in 1944 linking the Alaska-Canada Highway to Anchorage. Before its completion there was no road access to Anchorage from the Lower 48.

In the first 15 miles of the route, racers will find a couple of steep climbs. The first 6 miles has a 1000 foot elevation rise. At approximately 15 miles from the start, riders will reach Eureka Summit (3,322), the highest point of the Glenn Highway. In the next sixty miles to Glennallen, the route descends gradually to an elevation of approximately 1000 feet.

Traveling east to Glennallen, bikers will have views of Mount Sanford (elev. 16,237 feet), Mount Drum (elev. 12,010 feet), Mount Wrangell (elev. 14,163 feet), and Mount Blackburn(elev. 16,390 feet). These Wrangell Mountains, along with St. Elias Mountains contain the most spectacular array of glaciers and ice fields outside the polar regions. The Wrangell Mountains are part of the Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve, the nation's largest national park. Together with the adjacent Kluane National Park of Canada, the park has been designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations. In addition to the Wrangells, the riders will be surrounded for most of the race on the Glenn and Richardson highways by the Talkeetna Range and the Chugach Mountains.

Wildflowers growing along the roadside in July include fireweed, sweet pea, lupine, cinquefoil, Jacob's ladder, and milk-vetch.

Attractions along the Glenn Highway

Gunsight Mountain - The notch of the Gunsight is plain if one looks closely.

Eureka Lodge - This is first lodge built on the Glenn Highway, opening in 1937.

The unincorporated community of Mendeltna - It was originally a stop used by Natives traveling from Lake Tyone to Tazlina Lake. Gold brought prospectors into the area of Mendeltna in the 1800s.

View of Tazlina Glacier to the south.- During the last ice age, this glacier and others spilled out of the Chugach Range and covered the whole Copper River Valley.

Glennallen - Glennallen is the hub of the Copper River Valley. The name Glennallen is derived from the combined last names of Capt. Edwin F. Glenn and Lt. Henry T. Allen, both leaders in the early exploration of the Copper River Valley region.

Mile 75.5 of the race route, just beyond Glennallen, riders will turn right onto the Richardson Highway. The trip from Glennallen down and into Valdez is one of the most beautiful highways in Alaska. With its alpine tundra filled with miniature flowers and fireweed it has long been called the Switzerland of Alaska. Before the riders descend to sea level at Valdez, they will need to climb a series of rolling hills that take them to the top of Thompson Pass, an elevation of 3000 feet. The climb, however, will seem gradual compared to the "Prime Climb" out of Valdez to the top of Thompson Pass on the way back to Sheep Mountain Lodge.

The Richardson Highway connects Fairbanks, the capital of the interior of Alaska, with the seaport of Valdez. At the turn of century, thousands of gold seekers, starting at Valdez, traversed the trails over the glaciers and mountains by wagon and sled into the interior of Alaska. In 1920, the wagon route to Fairbanks was upgraded for vehicular use, and in 1957 this route was paved.

Attractions along the Richardson Highway

Copper Center - Founded in 1896, Copper Center, founded as a governmental agricultural experiment station, was the first white settlement in this area. Gold Miners poured into the area at the turn of the century. A post office was established here in 1901, the same year as the telegraph station.

Trans-Alaska Pipeline - The pipeline parallels the highway in numerous spots.

Edgerton Highway Junction - The Edgerton provides access to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Mid-point of the Richardson - The route climbs to tundra meadows dotted with numerous lakes and river crossings.

The Worthington Glacier - This is the closest one can get by road to a glacier in the state.

Thompson Pass - Record snow falls are recorded here - over 200 FEET. It can snow any day of the year.

Keystone Canyon - The route winds along the Lowe River in the canyon. The canyon walls contain countless waterfalls and interesting rock formations, including the 360' Bride Vail Falls and Horsetail Falls.

Valdez - Valdez is located on an estuary of the Valdez Arm in Prince William Sound. Valdez developed due to its excellent ice-free port as the major debarkation point in Alaska for those seeking a route to the Klondike and to the interior of Alaska. Tsunamis generated by Valdez 1964 earthquake destroyed the original city of Valdez, and the community was rebuilt afterwards in a more sheltered area. The Alaska Oil Pipeline ends here, as does the 200 mile Fireweed race.

Valdez

Valdez Convention and Visitors Bureau is helpful to those in our race:http://www.valdezalaska.org/