Goat Eats: It begins.

It's already going to be hard to leave. The first leg of riding was from anchorage to Talkeetna. The riding is relatively flat here and the roads are better than anywhere else I've been. But I'm also only in Talkeetna. A little town full of sea planes and tourists and a staging area for Denali.

Just south of Wasilla. The Chugach range behind us. I felt like I was on a private 'backroads' tour with these two cats (and best riding companions), in their jerseys, telling me about the mountains, history and geography of this beautiful place.

Willow Creek. The salmon are running here and we waded into the river to watch them swimming about our feet. Amateur fisher men and women were lining the banks and eating well. They are incredible creatures The fish and fisherwomen.

Chum salmon in Sheep Creek. There were some sockeye in here also. Huge, red and beautiful. They are spawning and many of them were already dying.

Day 2 of riding was an easy 40. A few flat tires and a three hour stop at the Denali brewing company for some Killer Belgian strong ale, bluegrass and card games.

To the right of the picture you can see the vague outline of a 14k and 17k mountain. This is the Alaska range and the convergence of the Talkeetna, Susitna and Chulitna rivers. The current is wild and dangerous.

Amidst the clouds you might be able to make out Denali, the highest peak in North America and the third highest in the world at over 20k feet. It's impressive. And hard to photograph from here today.

So far I have been surrounded by friends and this morning one of the best took me on a 3 hour zip line tour! I think I will hang here for another day or two and then I am on to the next - I need to decide between Fairbanks or the Denali Highway, a 130 some mile remote gravel road. I'm leaning towards the Denali Highway.

Solitude and hard pedaling either way. But for today- napping, Melissa and finishing my book.