Jun
26
2009
by Mr Cubes
Fairbanks to Harding Lake (51.5 miles)
Total Miles: 580.1
After a rest day in Fairbanks, in which I got nothing accomplished but spent too much money, the knee felt better and it was time to get back on the saddle. I had been told that the next couple of hundred miles would be flat and I'd already started to find Fairbanks rather depressing. Being back on tarmac, with a rested knee and no hills made the bike feel a hundred times lighter...suddenly I was zooming along at a blistering pace!
My first port of call was North Pole, a small community 10 miles east of Fairbanks that was created when a planned giant toy factory never materialised. Now it is the redirect point for all mail addressed to Santa and I'm told he deals with each one 
personally. All the roads have Christmas sounding names, with the main street being Santa Claus Lane, which has a McDonald's as the first thing you see - probably where the elves all hang out after a hard day at the office. I cycled around for awhile, but couldn't see Santa's house which is meant to be here - there are reindeer and you can get your picture taken with the real Santa and pass on any special Christmas messages. I decided to give up and carry on, which is of course when I then spotted the house on the other side of town. Now I was on the highway though and no way to double back, so...sorry kids...this year isn't looking too great for you all...
Soon after this was the Eielson Air Force Base with an impressive display of US fighter planes and other aircraft, but plenty of signs forbidding the use of video, cameras or even just stopping made me decide to just keep on pedalling past it. The rest of the day was beautifully flat and 50 miles passed without me really noticing it. After I got to the campsite and set up the tent, I returned to a restaurant I had passed just before. The teenage waitress was obsessed with my accent until she was told by her dad, the owner, that she couldn't marry me as I was too old! Charming! It was nice to not have to cook for myself after a day's cycling and I even treated myself to some chocolate cake dessert. It had been a completely different day from anything in the previous week - I think I will enjoy this after all...