Once upon a time, Brad and Mary Burton pedaled off into the Canadian sunset destined for Alaska. This is the tale of the young married couple quiting their jobs and riding bikes, from Maine to Alaska. Thanks for reading and please stay tuned.
Well, its been about four months since our last post, and the end of our bike adventure. Lately, we have been doing a lot of reminiscing about our summer. What an adventure it was :) I think we talk or think about it every day, which may seem pathetic or like we are living in the past, but really, we just like thinking about it because it makes us happy.
Here in Soldotna, Alaska, we have been giving this 'normal life' thing a try. We both have jobs working with kids in elementary schools, working monday through friday. Its a pretty big change from what we have been used to, so its an adventure all in itself. But also makes us appreciate our summer memories so much more.
But no worries, it will not be the last of our bike travel adventures... in fact, i think it just fueled a fire for a lifelong obsession and passion. I mean, once you see the light, why live in darkness?
But overall, we are really LOVING Alaska. We love our tiny one room cabin (dream home!) and we still find time for micro adventures. Mary's parents literally live across the street (72 paces away). Which has been great because Momma Hall loves to make the most amazing homemade bread and then give it away. Here's a few pictures of what we have been up to the past few months:
playing with the skis near our cabin
we still love sleeping outside, even if its -27 F
Lots of friends up here in AK- still sharing the road....
Mary playing in the mountains
my what big teeth you have!
hiking up Turnagain pass to snowboard. Pretty AND free!
Learning the art of the redneck- snowmachining!
this is probably what we would look like if we biked much up here...
The end of trip slide show is complete. This was shown at our presentation we did at Wasatch Touring, the wonderful shop downtown Salt Lake that helped us out so much. We don't have the greatest slide show making skills but its a learn by doing thing for us just as bike touring was for us 4 months ago. It was so hard to take a summers worth of amazing photos and experiences, then whittle them down into the length of one song. Almost as hard as it is to answer the most commonly asked question that we have been getting since returning, "what was your favorite part?" I hope this slide show can show that there was just to much awesome to have one favorite.
In other news Mary's sister Cassie who attended our presentation was inspired to write down a few words expressing how she felt. We totally loved it and just couldn't not share it.
A good bye Poem for you guys!
Oh the places you've gone!
Labrador, Maine, Montana and Such,
Places these feet of mine might never touch!
Riding your bike,
You hauled all your gear!
Met new friends and spent part of your year...
You know what you learned,
And you learned what you know.
I bet you didn't expect just how much you would grow.
Four and a half months. 6,447 miles. Nine provinces, 6 states, 6 flat tires. 14 bear sightings. One Epic Bike Ride.
Well, we made it. Thursday, September 15 we finally rolled into Salt Lake City to end our summer ride. We were met by friends and family riding collectively with us almost the whole 90 mile day. What an awesome way to finish!
Thanks to everyone who helped us along the way with shelter, food, friendship or even just a friendly wave- this has been an incredible journey and all of you were the reason. We have been inspired by the kindness and generosity we experienced all summer.
But the end of one adventure is always just the beginning of another- after spending some time with friends and family here in Utah, we will be driving our fully loaded car (i know, a welcome change ;) up to Alaska to see what the north has in store for us.
If you are in the Salt Lake area, come on over to Wasatch Touring for a short presentation we are doing about our ride! Its Wed, Sept. 28th at 7pm. 100 south 700 east. salt lake city.
From Glacier national park, we headed south through Missoula and over to West Yellowstone, through the park and into Grand Teton National Park. SO many great experiences- we came around a corner and almost ran into a bison, we crossed the great divide 6 times, with the highest elevation being over 8000 ft, and were photographed by several tourists, and passed our 6000 mile mark. It made us feel pretty proud of what we are accomplishing :) We were met in Jackson by lots of old friends, a rafting trip down the Snake river, and a BBQ before heading toward Salt Lake for the final 300 miles. Bring on the home stretch!
adventures through Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Brad and Mary in 20 years...
All our buddies in Jackson- what a welcoming committee!
I just needed to take a minute and brag about how rad my adventure partner is. We have been asked numerous times, if I had to talk Mary into doing a trip like this. And I love being able to answer that she was equally if not more excited to irresponsibly drop everything and spend 4+ months on a bicycle. This girl has been so tough taking on the challenges that came around every bend in the road. When my knee was uncooperative at the beginning of the trip, she pulled the trailer for about a thousand miles alone refusing to give it back until she was confident it wouldn't hurt me. When she could tell I was not riding my best she would find creative ways to get me pedaling. She is willing and excited for whatever experience we come across. Sometimes while riding she just gets so excited that I can see her bouncing as she pedals towards that days adventure. The trip has not always been sunshine and downhill, and Mary handles the unawesome with ease. With almost a year and a half under our wedding rings, I have been able to learn more about her these last four months than ever. Riding side by side we do a lot of chatting and thinking which turns into more chatting and deeper thinking. Spending time in strangers homes we have noted and shared what we have liked and learned from each couple. We have been able to share so many amazing memories together, and spend every moment side by side that I believe has helped us build a hecka super strong foundation for our lives together. Everyday I ride behind this girl and just think about how lucky I am to have such a rockstar wife, who is willing and wanting to spend this time together getting crazy. Many have asked us if we are riding for a cause or a charity, we like to answer that we are riding to raise a marriage. Thank you Mary for being that girl. I still love you more everyday.
Well, we made it out of Canada, and are headed south toward Salt Lake City, Utah. Its a pretty exciting way home- we have been biking in the mountains since we left Alberta, which has been great! Legs burning up a mountain are much more tolerable than weeks of headwinds, for us anyway. Our first stop in the states? Glacier National Park, taking the famous Going to the Sun road. It is a long mountain pass that cuts right through the heart of the park, through some pretty stunning mountains. We were so excited, and rightly so- it was AWESOME! The views, the downhill, everything. And luckily, we hit it on a good day- the next day, it snowed :)
we finally got through the plains!!! WAHOO!!! what doesnt kill you makes you stronger, right?
Oh rockies- bring on your goodness.
Gorgeous morning to a gorgeous ride- glacier national park
Going to the Sun
Almost at the top!
We went on a hike at the top of the pass with a friend we met at our campsite- Kirk the tugboat captain. What a gorgeous trail- but who knew after biking over 5000 miles hiking could make us sore!?
The top of our first mountain pass- Logan pass on the Going to the Sun road through Glacier National Park. 12 miles of uphill is better than headwinds any day!
