The Rise Up Ride: Day 85-96, New York Kumbhaka Ends in Juneau
Date: 27 July 2021
Start Location: Riverdale, Bronx
End Location: Somewhere in the Gulf of Alaska on the M/V Kennicott
Three weeks ago, as I was leaving to ride from John and Judy Neary's home along the shore in the Tongass National Forest to the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ferry terminal outside Juneau, the call came in that my ticket was canceled and my fare would be refunded. My ride, the M/V Kennicott, was heading to drydock rather than up the coast to Whittier, near Anchorage. The Neary's, my WarmShowers hosts, offered to store my bike and gear while I flew out of this "water-locked" town to wait for the next ferry crossing the Gulf of Alaska. Last night I flew back to Juneau from New York (with a stop to see family in California) after spending 18 days at home in the Bronx, preparing to resume this incredible adventure. Today, the repaired ship finally sailed with me and my bike onboard, heading to Whittier and then to Kodiak Island.
The Rise Up Ride is back on the move again.
When I left Juneau on 5 July using a handful of frequent flyer miles for a rapid extraction back to @paminnyc at home, I had no clue when the next ship would sail north and this enforced shore-leave would end. Judy Neary watched the harbor for sightings of the repaired ferry and I gleaned as much information as possible from the AMHS website, local news stories, and a Facebook page for supporters of the beleaguered coastal transport system. The Kennicott returned from repairs two weeks ago for a run down the Inside Passage and back before returning for another week of repairs and a round-trip to Bellingham. When today's sailing to Whittier appeared on the website I booked passage for myself and one bicycle to Kodiak Island, as well as the flights back to Alaska.
While showering at home for the first time since April, I took stock. The rigors of a long bike ride take a physical toll that is not as easily paid with the devalued currency of old age. It costs more to do those things that had been easier when everything was still under warranty. Suddenly catapulted back into the familiar surroundings of home, I could see the changes brought about by ten weeks of hard work crossing North America with a loaded bicycle.
A long bike trip transforms one spiritually, but more so physically. Things had shifted around for sure, as fat turned to muscle or was exhaled as carbon dioxide. While not quite gaunt, I was catching sight of my ribs for the first time in a decade. And despite eating everything and non-stop since I left Minnesota in April, it's a pleasurable yet constant chore trying to eat enough real food to fuel eight-hour 50-kilo bike rides, day after day, while living outdoors in the cold. I had fallen behind fueling the organic motor by about 50,000 calories and had dropped eight kilos.
My delightful challenge, while at home, would be to try and gain some weight, loading in fat stores for the upcoming ride across Alaska, while still working out on the indoor trainer to avoid losing any of the hard-won fitness gains from pedaling over the Bighorns, Rockies, Tetons, and Cascades. I ate and ate, interspersed with inspired spin sessions streaming classes on the @sweat.connected platform and leveling up on Zwift. I lunched with friends in Manhattan, shopped for a few little pieces of gear, researched my route and conveyance options onwards from Juneau, celebrated @paminnyc's birthday with her and friends, and ate, and ate myself back three kilos of energy stores to be used heading down the Alaska Highway into the Yukon.
In the practice of yoga one of the most important elements of pranayama (control of breath) is "kumbhaka", the moment at the top of an inhalation before it becomes an exhalation. As yoga is the integration of the breath with movement, this instant (or longer) when it is stopped is the point when a body most naturally may flow off in a new direction.
This New York kumbhaka lasted a bit longer than I had wished but this morning I finally exhaled while wheeling my bike and gear onboard the Kennicott, heading off down a different path. Rather than transiting through Whittier and riding from Valdez to Denali, now I'll stay on the ferry out to Kodiak Island for a day to explore it on two wheels before boarding another ferry for the overnight trip to Homer. Then after a dash through the Kenai I'll take trains to Denali and my ride deep into the National Park. Tomorrow we dock on Kodak Island.
