Knik Glacier

I had a couple of 'must do things' on my list for this Alaska Fat Bike tour and riding out to the Knik Glacier was right up there at the top. Yesterday, Dan Bailey, his wife Amy, and myself braved the barren ice and a bit of early morning snow fall, to ride out, explore and photograph the glaciers.

The trail out is a collection of beach, frozen river, glacier moraine and overgrown bush, making it perfect for the go anywhere role of my Salsa Mukluk. I would say it took us a bit more than an hour of riding and falling to snake our way from the parking lot to the frozen lake that is the frozen Knik Glacier playground.

From what I understand, each year is different, depending on weather and how much ice breaks away from the glacier face. After riding around it was clear that some of these ice bergs have been here for quite a while. We spent our time riding, slipping, falling, laughing smiling and photographing this winter playground. Once again, one of the few things that I would have done differently on this trip is to have brought either 45Nrth Dillinger or Escalator tires as well as having drilled some machine screws into my 45Nrth boots.

The ice was definitely treacherous especially with virtually no snow cover to ride on. We all took major spills, with me having a spectacular backwards fall off my bike that I am still not quite sure how I managed . Dan, to his credit, managed the most number of ground falls that quite often involved getting air. Amy who took a hard early fall riding out to the glacier won the award for the worst or prettiest looking bruise. Even with all the pain involved, it was a spectacular ride and a highlight of my trip.

Below are a few pictures, with more over on Flickr.

In Front of the Lens

I have spent the better part of my life photographing people places and things, with more than 20 years as a professional. However, during all that time I rarely, if ever, get to be the subject. The first time, on my Bike Around America tour, I had the honor of working with my good friend Andrea, of Andrea Johnson Photography. She and I met up in Oregon and did a fun shoot about touring wineries by bike. No offense Dan, but she was prettier.

Now, almost two years later, I got to be a subject for Adventure Photographer Dan Bailey. Dan is a master teacher of photography and needed a subject for a Photoflex flash course he is teaching. We decided to grab the fat tire bikes, my Mukluk and his Fatback, two small backpacks of gear, and head out into the Chugach mountains at sunset for some shooting.

Dan had us ride for about 45 minutes or so, scouting locations and light, before deciding on the appropriate place to shoot. We found this lovely stretch of tree lined single track with the glow of sunset beaming down on us. It was a beautiful spot to be, independent of the actual shoot. With his super light and compact Photoflex gear, it only took Dan a couple of minutes to set up the soft box and light. My role during that time was to shoot some stills with the fabulous little Fuji X10, a camera that is on my must purchase list for UL travel photography. The B&W pictures below are from my little Sony NEX system.

I have to say, after being a model twice, I have great respect for models that do this full time. Dan was patient with me as I rode back and forth along this 50 foot stretch of trail. At the end of each run I would un-clip, flip my bike around and do it all over again. Dan worked steadily, adjusting lights, switching lenses and contorting himself Into some crazy positions on and in the snow. We joked and laughed and just had a fabulous time.

Myself, well I am a natural light photographer, rarely, if ever using flash, so for me this was a great education. Dan on the other hand really knows how to light up the action. Below are some of the pictures I took from a behind the scenes perspective. The bottom color images are from Dan and the actual shoot.

To see the images that Dan captured head on over to danbaileyphoto.com. More of my pictures from last night are up on my Flickr page.

For more on Dan check out his website, www.danbaileyphoto.com and by all means pick up his latest Ebook, Behind the Action (http://danbaileyphoto.com/blog/get-my-brand-new-ebook-behind-the-action/)

riding the Chugach State Park Trails

Beautiful single track, blue skies, stunning views and new friends.

The Journey

The journey is always worth the effort.

Updated Gear Review, Winter Bivy Quest, Vapor Barrier Layers

Bikepacking the fields of EnglandI put up a video review yesterday of the Porcelain Rocket frame bags.  Scott hand builds these up in Canada and they are top notch products. I am a huge fan of going ultra-light on a bike, and in so doing, you really need a set of these bags to help simplify your travels.  If you don't have the time or inclination to go custom, then Salsa now has a line of bags that they are creating in partnership with Revelate. These bags are currently designed for the Salsa Mukluk, although early 2012 they will have bags available for both the Fargo and the Spearfish.  Another option if Scott is too backed up is to check with Revelate and see what Eric's stock is like.  All three are great options.

Winter Bivy Selection

Because I have decided to spend a considerable amount of time this winter in sub-freezing temperatures, I continue to search for a viable winter bivy bag.  I am definitely looking for a sub 500g bag that is sized for cold weather bags and pads.  If you have any advice or suggestions please drop me a note or post here.  Right now I am leaning towards one of these bags:

• Integral Designs Micro Bivy
• MLD Soul Bivy
• Alpkit Hunka
• PHD Winter Bivy

Your advice and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Vapor Barrier Layers - VBL

Lastly, as part of my sub-zero kit, I will be layering slightly different than what you would normally do in temperatures above freezing.  The concept is relatively new, and is built around the use of Vapor Barrier Layers (VBL).  The concept in short is that instead of using a breathable layer next to your skin, you want to instead use a non-breathable layer that allows the body to keep a warm and damp micro-climate on your skin.  Apparently by doing this you get two major benefits. 

The first is that since you are not wicking away moisture, you allow your body to more accurately regulate the amount of sweat produced.  Apparently if you are constantly sweating and wicking the body just keeps sweating.  However, if you can keep a warmer layer next to the skin, your body does a much better job of regulating this climate.  This is why during the winter we pump water into our heating systems and during the summer we suck it out.  RBH Designs has a great FAQ section which talks specifically about the use of their products but also contains some generic information regarding the use of a VBL.  I will post more links to research papers that I have been reading which will do a much better job of explaining this than I can.  

The other major benefit is that in a sub-freezing environment the dew point sits between your base layers and your insulation layers.  So if you are wearing breathable, wicking fabrics next to your insulation layer, you will have moisture coming off of your body, turning into condensation within your insulation layer.  This has the effect of diminishing the effectiveness of the insulation layer, and with your sleeping bag, it will freeze once you are out of the bag.   There have been reports of expeditioners who's sleeping bags have gained pounds of frozen moisture during the course of longer trips.

I will be experimenting with several different types of VBL's including the use of Reed's Chillcheater Aquatherm fabrics.  This idea came to me as I was packing up my kayak kit and I realized that the Chillcheater product is actually a VBL.  It is waterproof/windproof with a thin fleece liner.  Reed makes some lighter weight products which may very well work perfectly.  There is also a company called RBH which has made a name for itself with their patented VBL shirts, gloves, and pants.  Lastly there are several companies that make VBL liners for your sleeping bag, but this is overkill if you are already wearing a VBL.

Stay tuned for more details and my findings as I begin training for my cold weather activities.