Submitted by Dina Fine
During winters in Fairbanks Alaska, nearly every mountain bike ride is epic. On one such day in February, I decided to ride on the frozen-solid Tanana River.
About 5 miles from where I embarked on the iced river, I heard a faint sound behind me – a musher and her 14 dogs were approaching. Immediately, I got off the trail; bikes and dogs tangle easily! She slowed down, and mushed on by as we called out our, “Hi there s” to one another. Her dogs were all about the mushing business…..quiet, panting and eyes on the trail ahead.
I took in the river panorama as I pedaled. The sun was shining through the silhouetted spruce trees on the western bank. I was enjoying the silvery scene and the feeling of my quads burning, but I saw the dog team again, approaching me this time, returning, and the dogs were going really slow or stopped…and barking. I didn’t see the woman, though.
I rode closer and the dogs were barking up a storm, the sled was moving sporadically. Something wasn’t right. Then I saw a snowy hump behind the sled! OMG! The young woman! I rode fast to the sled! She waved her hand and said, “Hi. I need a bit of help.”
“Tell me how to help you, I asked. Unfamiliar with mushing, I had NO idea of what to do, and I could make a bad situation worse by accidentally letting her dogs go with her dragging behind further! She instructed me to stand hard on the foot brake of the sled which stopped her sled. She was facing down and was being dragged by the team. Her leg got caught in the rear part of frame of the sled. She was OK, nothing broken, and still smiling! We successfully got her leg out and she stood up. The musher grateful thanked me and we visited a while. Then each adventurer went on about her day.
The rest of the ride on the Tanana, although uneventful, was very spectacular with the silvery setting winter sun. Just a slight warm banana wind breeze came off the river. Can life get better ? I thought. Nah…
