Riding around Fairbanks

Yesterday i decided it was time to commit to a bicycle. I made my way down to Beaver Sports, the high end outfitter in Fairbanks, and bought a real nice Kona. Bikes there were on close-out in preparation for this years models so i figured now is the time to buy. I'm glad i brought my studded tires with me because at Beaver they wanted $130 a tire, YIKES! It's a pretty nice ride, a lot better than the Gary Fischer i've ridden the past 2 years during winter in Minnesota. Today i got on the bike and did a small tour of some of the bike routes around town. A lot of getting around Fairbanks by bike is done by taking side walks right next to the road. They are designated bike routes to keep bikes off the main streets. For a population of only 30,000 i'm pretty sure they're all either driving around town or at the grocery store. The sidewalks are right next to the road so it feels like your right on the road, sometimes it's hard to tell if your on the road or on the path with snow on the ground. There are some paths that get away from the traffic for instance along the Chena river that runs east to west cutting Fairbanks in half. It's not a long path but at least you can get away from the noise of the cars and trucks. I also made my way up to the Fairbanks college campus and then up Farmers Loop Rd. I know that there was a path under me during most of my ride on Farmers loop but after a while i couldn't tell if it was a path or just hard packed snow from snow machines. The weather today was overcast but a steamy 18 degrees almost too warm for winter riding in my opinion. Along the way i did stop to snap some pics. It's hard to capture Fairbanks in a few pictures because it's so large. I also rode on the Noyes Slough that's just down the road from the Hostel. It comes off the Chena river so it's kind of a fun alternative to bike paths. So i have a couple pics of that and view from the path looking south on Farmers Loop, one looking down from the UAF campus and one looking up at the UAF campus from Farmers Loop. Tomorrow i'll be on the bike again. Might head over to the ice sculpture garden, should be some great pics there. Here is a link to the web site of the Hostel i'm staying at. I'm actually thinking about staying here for a while. Billie offers a reasonable monthly rate and i really like the people here, i fit right in. www.alaskahostel.com There are some pics in the gallery of this place so you can check out where i'm staying.