Well, the train ride was definitely a highlight, but we did it so early that we were really ready to eat by the time it was over. We rushed back to the ship to change into cycling pants for me and to jam food in before the bicycle trip. I was cautious, however not to eat too much. I wouldn't want to see it again atop the mountain. A banana and a slice of bread pretty much did it.
"The Bike Ride"
The ride really isn't as impressive as you might think. I mean, it's cool to be up that high (Home elevation is a whopping 300ft). But the ride really isn't that tough. You meet there at the docks and pile into a van with a trailer of bikes on the back. The van carries you up this long, long, long, six mile hill to "the top" and there the guides brief you on the rules of riding on the road. It is an active highway, and there were about six cars or trucks along the way for which we pulled off to the side and let pass.
It's pretty cold up on this summit as well. Everyone is wearing raincoats and plastic pants in anticipation of the rain, but we were blessed with none. The guides are very serious about what they do and demand your attention. After the top picture to the right, the guide stopped his explanation and said, "Sir, do I have your complete attention?" I was a little embarrassed.
I elected not to wear the plastic pants and instead stuck with my cycling shorts tucked neatly underneath my blue jeans. It was a little cold at first, but once we got back down to sea level, I was very happy to have only my jeans on.
Our first stop was a chance for a beautiful picture of the view. It's behind me.
We stopped two or three times. I don't know these people, but needed
them to show the magnitude of these falls. It's so cool to be riding
along and get splashed by waterfalls on the side of a mountain.
The guy in front of me is our guide. He wasn't really going as fast as I would have liked. Truthfully, if he went any faster, I wouldn't have been able to sneak this pictures in motion.
The bike ride was fun. It wasn't that hard as it was pretty much downhill the whole time. Besides the one section that they call "Cheesecake Hill,"* you grow most tired of hanging onto the brake to keep it slow.
*They call it this because working up the incline gives you the right to eat a little more cheesecake on the cruise. Shows how much they know. The cheesecake on our cruise sucked.
Back down on the ground, and without a bicycle under my butt, I was able to walk around Skagway for a bit. Skagway is nice, and since the people know that they need cruise ships and customers to stay in business, they're pretty nice, too.
We didn't stay too long in Skagway because all I wanted to do was get to the ship, get out of my sweaty jeans and shirt, take a shower, and get something to eat.
Once that was done, it was time to leave Skagway. We took the pictures to the right and below as the sun set on what was yet another beautiful day in Alaska.
The lower one was just a good opportunity to take a shot of the peaks, ahem, "peaking" through the mountains.
You can't see very well from the thumbnail, but above is a good shot of a mountain stream.
Back on the boat, you may be tempted to eat as much as you can fit in at any one of the four or five places serving snacks. Remember, though: Dinner is in a few hours. By the third day, getting around the boat is like walking around your house- with 4,000 other people. Seriously, you get the shortcuts down, you start to see people you were on excursions with and ask if they're sore from riding a bike. You're pretty well trapped, and it's best to get to know these people.
What makes me the glacier guessing expert? See the next page for Day 4, Glacier Bay and you may understand where I got the perspective.
So far, we've been through a lot, and it's been fun. Helicopters, Trains, (the boat, of course), busses and Bikes, just about anything out there we've been on it. All of that has no comparison whatsoever to the beauty and power of nature on display in Glacier Bay.