Jan 3, 2014 -- Enjoy Where You Are

South 86 degrees 31.338 West 081 degrees 40.189  13 nautical miles Elevation 6,066 ft (220 miles to go)

The snow is hard, the slope isn't too steep, and I got started on time. It looked like it would be a good day. Then my repair job failed and I had to take a few hours to redo it. I should be getting a new wheel soon. With a short day, I got a respectable number of miles. Since I didn't work too hard today, I'm going to make up the lost hours tomorrow.

I'm so ready to be done with this expedition. Time only goes forward, so I am taking the time to enjoy the trip. We only get to live each day once, so enjoy where you are.

Overall, though, things are good. I was planning on being at 86.5 by the end of Saturday, but I'm there now, so I'm already ahead of schedule. I haven't been working as hard as I did those first couple of weeks. I think it is time to pick up the pace. I'll work hard tomorrow and then take my rest day on Sunday. If conditions continue like they are, it should work.

Remember to go out and be active.

January 2, 2014 -- This Used To Be A Funhouse

South 86º18.765' West  081º37.745' 19 nautical miles, 232 to go, Elevation 5,772 ft.

24 hrs of low wind and no clouds has allowed the sun to hit the snow from a full 360 degrees, which makes for great snow to bike on. The climbing continued today. John would not like this. It's like that road coming back from Elberta that seems to go on forever with a constant climb. However, in this case, this does go on forever, or at least for hundreds of miles.

As I go up in elevation, the air gets colder and thinner. They say that in Antarctica, the physiological effects of the altitude are like being 2,000 feet higher. So far, however, the altitude has not been a problem for me.

I think I'm gaining ground on the other expeditions. Juan's ski tracks ahead of me are now only half a day old. It seems I've been gaining 3 or 4 miles a day on him. However, on Sunday I will take a rest day which will give him the chance to get another day ahead.

I have started a routine of taking a break every mile, which turns out to be about how long it takes me to listen to all the different versions of P!nk's Funhouse. These breaks allow me to get a drink and return the circulation to my hands and feet. I pull a lot on the handlebars, which means that I probably need to lower the stem. But I'm not going to risk loosening and tightening those bolts in this cold.

Thanks to everyone for your support and for following me on the blog.

Remember to go out and be active!

January 1, 2014 -- Pick Your Poison

South 86º00.000" West 081º35.300" 18.5 nautical miles Elevation 5,356 ft

6 down, 4 to go! (Degrees, that is)
A wind came in and blew out the clouds, making a nice sunny day. However, the wind also filled the deep ruts from the trucks with nice soft snow. Outside the truck tracks, the snow was just on the edge of being too soft for biking. So should I ride inside the ruts, or outside?
The sleds felt heavy and it seemed most of the day was climbing. I spent a lot of time slowly cranking up the hills. I really wanted to get to 86 degrees, but it didn't look like it would happen. Then the sun did it's magic to the snow, making it harder, and the slope leveled off. I had to push really hard to get to 86 degrees. I got it just in time to set up camp. I have to make sure to quit on time. Otherwise, I don't get enough sleep and it makes for a hard day the next day.

December 31 -- It Was A Hill

South 85º42.000" West 81º24.400" 18.2 nautical miles Elevation 4,969 ft
It wasn't a cloud bank.
When I woke up this morning I had this strange feeling that I was camping in a forest alongside a little trail. Of course there is no forest here.
Lots of clouds today and low visibility. The day started with a little downhill and then a big climb to 4,800 ft. The rest of the day was up and down, ending near my home elevation of 5,000 ft.
There have been several arctic trucks and ALE vans that have been returning from the south pole. They left big ruts in the snow. I followed in the tracks but it made for some wild and crazy riding. It was like riding very narrow, technical single track while being blind. However, when i could manage it I was able to make good time.

December 30 -- Ups and Downs

South 85º 24.242' West 081º 07.397' Elevation 4,422 ft.  20 nautical miles

Bike and my two sleds with the Thiels Mountains

The day started out sunny with low wind. I was able to crank out a quick 10 miles. The Thiels mountains are visible to the west. It is nice to be able to see something besides just a sea of white. The after noon tuned cloudy and the visibility dropped. I was able to get a very nice 20 miles in for the day. It was a day of going slightly up and down with the altitude flirting with 4,500 ft.  I can't tell if what is ahead is a cloud bank or a steep climb. If it is a climb, that is fine, as the pole is still 5,000 feet higher than I am now. Hoping to get at least 16 miles tomorrow.

December 29 -- Weight Loss

South 85º04.979" West 080º46.905" Elevation 4,434  0 miles

I spent the day sleeping and repacking all my gear. The bike has been stripped down as light as possible and I left all my extra food and gear to be taken by ALE back to base camp. I don't know how much my new load weighs, but I think I left behind more weight than what I have moving forward. My goal is to get 1/4 of a degree each day. This would give me 20 days of travel and 3 rest days, getting my to the south pole by around the 20th of January.

December 28 -- Ultra Weight Weenie

South 85º 04.979" West 080º46.905" Elevation 4,434 16.5 miles

In some ways, you could look at this expedition as a three part journey. The first part was the climb up from the coast of Hercules inlet. It was the steepest part and hopefully the softest snow, and very difficult. The second would be from near Patriot Hills to Thiels mountain, which is what I have just completed. It was still very hard, but they have driven machines from Patriot Hills to here so there has been a packed trail to follow. This should have been the best biking conditions of the journey. The third and final section starts now. From here on, there is no more packed route and there is a lot of climbing. Hopefully, the snow is harder now than it was during the first section. But other than that it will be a lot like the first section. The weight of the sleds killed me on those first days. Trying to pull all that weight up those slopes was just too much. If the next section goes as bad as the first I will never make it. So here is the plan: I'm going ultra weight weenie. I'm going to get rid of my brakes, my big chain ring, water bottle cages, racks and panniers. I will tape over the bolt holes for the cages and the racks so I don't get snow and extra weight in the bike and I'm getting rid of the bolts. There is a lot of gear I brought that I just don't need. I brought a bunch of charging wires and electronic stuff that I'm not taking the rest of the way. I think there is more weight in the gear I will drop than what I'm picking up in my resupply so I should be the lightest I've been up to this point. By going as light as possible I think I can still get the 16 miles per day and complete the expedition.