Pedaling through ups and downs of gorgeous Denali Park Road

Several months ago I let my husband know that we absolutely had to bike pack the road through Denali National Park.

Neither of us owned appropriate bicycles. We'd never packed for overnight trips on bikes before. His longest ride to date was 30 miles, carrying only a water bottle. This trip would require more than 50 miles on one day with camping gear. Neither of us had ever biked up a mountain pass, never mind multiple passes in a day.

Still, I was absolutely set on this itinerary. I'd had a taste of biking through the park on a borrowed bike, and I wanted to share it with my husband. In a few short hours the road had taken me through landscapes so spectacular and vast that I'd forgotten about everything else. I booked the campsites and put the weekend on our calendars.

Getting ready

My husband and I approach assembling gear differently.

I went out one afternoon and bought a fat tire bike. This is something I'd been researching and preparing my credit card for over the past year, but the actual purchase was on a whim. I happened to see a shiny blue-and-orange Salsa Mukluk fat-tire bike sitting outside the shop on sale. It fit me perfectly and was designed to carry weight. It cost $1,600. Within minutes, it was mine.

My husband found a used Specialized mountain bike on Craigslist and paid $250 cash. It needed a little work but was serviceable.

In the following weeks, we accrued more gear. Again, my strategy was to pop back into the Bicycle Shop around payday every couple of weeks. I bought baskets for my front spokes, a frame bag, a dry bag designed to fit my handlebars, and a bag for under my seat, spending about $300 in total. I thought it was pretty cool most of the gear was designed by Revelate, an Anchorage-based company.

Meanwhile, my husband bought a couple of $6 ski straps from the Hoarding Marmot, which sells used gear, to strap gear on his handlebars, and fitted his Craigslist bike with the rack he uses for commuting. The straps interfered with his ability to shift and brake properly, but that didn't seem to faze him.

For training, we had similar approaches — a lot of time riding local dirt and gravel trails. As the big weekend approached we packed the way we would for a backpacking trip, but included a repair kit for the bikes, spare tubes, a pump, and a light tarp to throw over the bikes at night. We headed out on a trial ride on the Chester Creek Trail.

That bike ride felt a lot harder than normal even though it was flat and less than 10 miles. I tried not to think too hard about it.

In the park

Our first day in Denali was easy, only 20 miles. Bikes fully loaded, we set out on Friday morning into clearing skies with just enough clouds to offer that dramatic Alaska light across the enormous landscape. Our first hill climb ascended from Savage River. Red and yellow tundra beamed under sun. Purple shadows moved under the clouds. The air was cool and easy to breathe. My bear bells jingled. The view was as spectacular as I remembered it, and my husband loved it too.

We arrived at Teklanika in early afternoon and enjoyed lunch at our campsite under a warm fall sun. The feeling of having everything on our bikes (minus a missing tent pole, we came to find) was a novelty. I felt light — lighter than having a car, or even a backpack to haul around. The luxury of the campground, with toilets, running water, and bear-proof storage areas, was an added bonus.

We knew the next day from Teklanika to Wonder Lake would be big, more than 50 miles. A park ranger I'd met before, Dexter Armstrong, stopped by our campsite and teased us that we should skip his presentation and go to bed at 7 p.m. because we needed as much sleep as possible for what we had in store. We laughed gamely. But we actually had no idea.

Riding to Wonder Lake

We awoke to frost on our gear and frozen campground water pipes, so we filtered water from a nearby stream. Slowly we got our gear together and rolled out of the campground at 10 a.m.

We fully enjoyed the first climb to Sable Pass, watching a glacier come into view and glimpsing the gleaming white shoulder of Denali. At the top of Polychrome Pass, we could see the dizzying height of the road cut into the side of the mountain and the valley floor more than 1,000 feet below. It was gorgeous but we nervously joked about feeling "done." Normally, we would have felt more than accomplished with what we'd already climbed, but we were barely halfway there. We kept pedaling.

At Toklat River, I found a piece of newspaper I'd ripped out and taken with us, showing an elevation profile of the road. We still had another 1,000-foot climb over six miles to Highway Pass. Then there were a couple more climbs before finally descending more than 20 miles to Wonder Lake.

I felt dazed, thought about crying uncle and hopping on a bus out — but instead, I dusted off every mental trick I use in racing. I told myself that I'd been waiting for this day for months, and it was finally here. I looked around and reminded myself I was in the middle of a world-class park during an unusually warm and stunningly sunny Saturday; my only job was to move forward on a bicycle. So I got into the lowest gear, imagining that what I was doing was as easy as walking.

At the top of Stony Pass I finally blurted out expletives — but not because I was in pain. Ahead of me, Denali rose into view, absolutely dominating the sky. My husband was a tiny speck on the horizon in comparison. We were both tiny in that moment and giddy as we rode forward.

We finally made it to Wonder Lake at sunset, and cold air descended on us as we rode a winding downhill toward the campsites. This short stretch of road had a different feel than the rest of the ride; it was short and somehow felt cozy as we approached our home for the night. Denali was ahead of us the entire time, with yellow aspens framing the road and leaves falling to the ground. It was as spectacular as we were exhausted.

The quiet of a nonmotorized campground, with vast views of the mountain amid alpenglow, was soothing. After ditching our bikes at our campsite, I cooked dinner under the shelter reserved for food preparation and stowage while my husband set up the tent. After dinner we quietly boiled water, watching Denali as the light vanished. We slept soundly, and the next morning we packed up and left before the sun rose.

It was one of those huge trips where the memory of pain fades — even now, less than a week later. What I'm left with is the spectacular opportunity of exploring this world-class park on a bike, with once-in-a-lifetime views. I know I need to prepare my body better for future trips. But now that I know what is possible, I'm sure this won't be my last overnight bike trip.

I highly recommend riding in Denali, even just for the day. Wiser people than I have assembled advice, including potential itineraries and which spots have the most elevation gain. Start dreaming about your trip for next year (the road closes the winter soon).

[Planning your Denali bike trip.]

Alli Harvey lives, works and plays in Anchorage.

Denali Road Lottery this weekend

The much anticipated Denali Road Lottery and Military Appreciation Day begins Friday, running though Tuesday. Four hundred permit winners a day are allowed to drive Denali Park Road all 92 miles to Wonder Lake.

It's the only opportunity all year for visitors to drive the entire road.

Katherine Belcher of the National Park Service said 12,500 permit applications were received, a jump over the previous few years on this centennial year of the park service.

The National Weather Service is calling for rain or snow showers through Tuesday with lows dipping into the 30s or mid-20s.

Saturday is Military Appreciation Day, reserved for active-duty service members and their families stationed in Alaska.

At 7 p.m. Friday, a program at the Denali Visitor Center will feature historic video clips highlighting the connection between the National Park Service and the military.