2DAY300K for 2010 Route Card     Services Guide     Glenn Highway Guide     Richardson Highway Guide

Fireweed 2DAY300K Riders:
Welcome to the 2010 Fireweed 300KM Two-day Tour.  Pat Irwin (pat@49below.com) and I (thule@alaska.net or charles.utermohle@alaska.gov) are trying to make this an enjoyable event for the entrants.  I thought that I would give you this final update to help with your planning.
The wave start for the 300 will be at 9 AM on Friday, July 9.  This time was selected to allow riders to drive up from Anchorage or the valley if they want to be in the movie.  YOU CAN START EARLIER OR LATER but remember that you have about 111 miles to cover the first day to Tonsina Lodge.  Please be sure to sign the clipboard as you leave Sheep Mountain, upon arrival and departure from Tonsina Lodge, and in Valdez.  This is a self-supported tour so there is no assistance or sag support than your own preparation and the generosity of fellow riders.  The Fireweed 300 K Tour is not a race.  The only times that will be recorded will be the good times.
As we will be starting a day earlier than the other Fireweed events (except for the self-supported 400 competitors), THERE WILL BE NO AID STATIONS OPEN ON FRIDAY!  There will be some snacks available at the start but you should BRING YOUR OWN PROVISIONS to stock your panniers for Friday.  For additional refreshments, you will have to take advantage of the commercial stores along the route.  There is an espresso shop in 26 miles and then more choices 75 miles away in Glennallen.  A variety of route lists are attached to help with distances and services available along the tour route.
The destination for the first day will be Tonsina Lodge at Milepost 79 on the Richardson Highway, about 36 miles south of Glennallen.  There will be free camping spots with a new latrine courtesy of the Fireweed.  Showers will be available with the purchase of dinner.  A buffet breakfast on Saturday morning at the lodge is included as part of your registration fees.  Check with our host, Serge Beck at 907-822-3000 or Cell 907-803-0121, about current availability of rooms and motor home hookups if you have not already made arrangements.  
There will be aid supplies at Tonsina Lodge in order to resupply riders before the aid stations open on Saturday.  Upon leaving Tonsina Lodge, the next aid station will be 50 miles away at Worthington Glacier (MP 29) which will open at 11:30 AM.  Please arrange your departure accordingly.  There is no formal start time for continuing the tour on Saturday.  
The tour will end in Valdez at the traditional location at the edge of town.  Don’t forget that the mileposts end at the old Valdez town site, which is 3.4 miles before the finish.  Another great meal is planned starting at 4 PM as you relax and cheer the finishers in the Fireweed 200 racers and your fellow tourists.  The residents of Valdez will also be celebrating with a barbeque and you are invited to join them.
Important news!  Our friends at the Valdez Visitors Bureau have helped arrange return transportation from Valdez to Sheep Mountain on Sunday with Valdez U Drive.  As self-supported tourists, I wanted to know that UNLESS MORE PEOPLE SIGN UP, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!  BE SURE TO CALL TODAY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.    
Valdez U Drive
Transportation from Valdez to Sheep Mountain Lodge
$75.00 per person (this price includes you bike)
5 person minimum/26 person max
800-478-4402
valdezudrive@cvinternet.net
Here are some of the camping options at Valdez:
Bear Paw RV Park. Full hook-ups, dump station, showers, cable TV, tenting area and gift shop. Modem friendly. Centrally located in downtown Valdez. Open May 15 to September 15. Across the street from the small boat harbor.  A separate, adult only, RV park is available with cable TV, as well as a secluded  area for tent camping. 2787 South Harbor Drive, Valdez, AK 99686; 907-835-2530. www.bearpawrvpark.com
Eagle's Rest RV Park, on the Richardson Highway as you enter Valdez. 907-835-2373, toll free 1-800-553-7275. Full hook-ups (50/30/20 amps), pull throughs, tent camping, hot showers, laundromat, dump station. Walk-in freezer, fish cleaning table, Tesoro gas, diesel and propane. Tickets and information for local attractions. www.eaglesrestrv.com
Valdez Glacier Campground/ MWR US Army AK
3 Mile Airport Rd. • Phone: 873-4058 • Fax: 873-5663 • Web: www.fortgreely.mwr.com/glacierview.aspx • 94 standard camp sites, 14 pull-through sites. All sites have picnic tables & fire grills. A covered pavilion area is available to all patrons. 6 outhouses & garbage dumpsters are provided. Two day areas provide plenty of room for large groups. NEW: Shower facility and selected sites now have full RV hook-ups!  
Visit the 2DAY300K website at http://www.fireweed400.com/300K.html for the latest rules and news.

The Great Alaska 2DAY300K for 2010. This TOUR is not a race and it follows the 200 mile Fireweed route but does so at a slower pace and takes two days. Here is what we have so far:
1. Leave Sheep Mountain Lodge at 9 AM Friday and bike 120 miles to Tonsina River Lodge.
2. Carry your overnight supplies on your bike. Sleep on the ground Friday night.
3. Pay extra for a shower or dinner at Tonsina Lodge.
4. Pipeline workers usually book all the rooms, so you have to camp out.
5. Saturday breakfast at Tonsina River Lodge is included in your entry fee.
6. Bike 80 miles on Saturday from Tonsina to Valdez. Enjoy Finish Line activities and free food.
7. You may enter SOLO or RELAY with 2, 3, or 4 people on your team.
8. No AERO bars.

Tonsina Lodge 120 miles toward Valdez from Sheep Mountain: NEW IN 2009 for the 2DAY300K

Owner Serge Beck at 907-822-3000 or Cell 907-803-0121 will treat us right!
FREE WI-FI and FREE coffee.
Hotel: $129 Queen/Private bath or $99 for double twin with semi-private bathroom.  RESERVE EARLY.
Restaurant: $25 dinner of the menu and receive a FREE shower. $15 breakfast off the menu. American, European and Russian selections.
RV sites: $25 for water/electricity/sewer; $19 for electricity/water; $14 for dry site. $5 dump.

Please read this before you register.
1. One entry for each person.
2. If you are using the $140 family limit, list all family on each entry under Comments.
3. Individuals can name themselves with a "team" name. All teams are listed in the race movie.
4. No SUPPORT or PACE vehicle may be used. Goldwing motorcycles will be patrolling the course to help you.
5. If your team or family has already paid for you, fill out the registration, name your team or family,
and press the button to pay BUT DO NOT ENTER CREDIT INFORMATION and then exit program.
6. Tandem bike members name your tandem team and list your partner on each entry form.
7. If you enter the RACE division you cannot have aero bars. SOLO division racers may have aero bars.
8. Refunds: The Organizing Committee decided not to make any refunds after June 30th, except for special circumstances (e.g., deployed to Iraq).

Complete 2010 Rules and Information in Word 2003, Word 2007, or PDF format.
2010 Race Waiver HERE if you need to read it and/or mail it to us.

MANDATORY Number Pickup and UMCA Release of Liability Signing
at Kincaid Park Chalet, 9401 West Raspberry Road, Anchorage (by the airport)
on Thursday, July 8, Noon to 2 PM and 6 PM to 8 PM
Questions regarding Number Pickup, call George Stransky, gdadak@aol.com, 907-562-2965.
Contact us before July 2 if you cannot make this mandatory registration.

Valdez U Drive will bring you back from Valdez to the start.
You plus your bike transported from Valdez to Sheep Mountain for $75. 907-835-4402 for reservations.
5 person minimum / 26 person maximum. E-mail valdezudrive@cvinternet.net; Web www.valdezudrive.com

Transportation from Valdez back to Anchorage or to the Sheep Mountain start is NOT provided for free.
However, it is easy to hitch a ride from Valdez back along the course or by taking a ferry ride to Whittier and then hitching a ride into Anchorage. There will be over 1,000 people from the race in Valdez Saturday night and Sunday morning. Everyone is friendly and can take your bike, too.

Electronic Registration HERE
1. Read the liability waiver over on this web page.
2. F ill out a registration table of information.
3. As you press a button to continue to secure Verisign Servers
your registration information is emailed to us.
4. Enter credit card information on the secure servers and save your confirmation.

Click HERE to print the UMCA-Race waiver

BELOW: Information & Pat Irwin's preview trip along this course in 2008. or download this information HERE.

Great Alaska 2DAY300K Information

The Great Alaska 2Day300K is “unsupported” by the Fireweed.
You carry all your overnight camping supplies. You are responsible for getting home from the finish in Valdez. You travel the only paved road within 300 miles and there is wilderness immediately off the road. Be prepared to handle simple bike or first aid problems. You bike, sleep on the ground, and bike again the next day. However, support vehicles are allowed, so friends or relay team mates may help carry your gear to Tonsina and/or Valdez and then home again. We discourage people from following their friends on the road itself, as this lessens safety for everyone.

Food and Drink along the way.
Aid Station food and drink may be picked up at Sheep Mountain Lodge Race Start on Friday morning between 8 AM and Noon. The “Official Start” will be at 9 AM (for video and photographs), but you may leave anytime between 8 AM and Noon. There are convenience stores about every 20 miles, but they may or may not be open.  Be prepared for no food or drinks until Glennallen, where there is the grocery store (on the right) or the HUB gas station (on the left), 76 miles into your ride. Tonsina River Lodge campsite, 120 miles from the start, is your destination for Friday night. Tonsina River Lodge has a camp ground, toilets, a restaurant, beer, and $4 showers. These items are not included in the Fireweed entry fee. Saturday morning, Tonsina River Lodge will have a breakfast for you that is included in your Fireweed entry fee. Additional aid station food and drink will be available at Tonsina between 8 AM and 9 AM on Saturday morning and at Tiekel Lodge and Worthington Glacier aid stations and at the finish line in Valdez. You must leave early enough to be past Tiekel Lodge by 9 PM Saturday.

The Great Alaska 2DAY300K is difficult.
This is NOT a simple tour where you can quit in the middle and be picked up by a sag wagon. You will be doing back-to-back century rides over impressively hilly terrain. On Friday, the 400 racers will quickly disappear from view and you will be alone to enjoy the biking and the views. On Saturday you will be joined on the road in the afternoon by 500 racers and their support vehicles from the Great Alaska Double Century races. However, most of the time you will be on paved road in the middle of wilderness Alaska alone.

Great Alaska 2DAY300K entry options
Great Alaska 2DAY300K can be done solo, or with relays of 2, 3, or 4 persons. It is a challenging and fun way to get to Valdez without hurting yourself trying to do it in one day. This ride is NOT TIMED and there will be no awards for age divisions or fastest times.

Questions
Great Alaska 2DAY300K race coordinator Pat Irwin, pat@49below.com.
Great Alaska 2DAY300K race coordinator Charles Utermohle, Thule@Alaska.net .
General Fireweed information, George Stransky, gdadak@aol.com.
Tonsina River Lodge, Lori & Jamie, 907-822-3000, http://www.bearfootguides.com/businessListings/pages/tonsinarl.htm

Pat Irwin tells of his adventure on this event in 2008.
After 5 years of riding the FW200 in a single day, I decided to try something different this year. Not feeling like I had a 1-day 200 miler in me, but loving the ride to Valdez and the ferry ride to Whittier, I decided to break the ride into 2 days. Not a big light bulb moment, just a nice relaxing way to cover the 200 miles, and maybe have a beer in the middle.

After consulting the Milepost and getting the OK from the race organizers, I made a plan to leave with the 400 racers on Friday, ride 120 miles with my camp gear to Tonsina River Lodge, have a burger and beer and a relaxing campout, then cover the last 80 miles to Valdez, taking advantage of the aid stations at Teikel and Worthington Glacier. Pretty simple.

The first day I rode to Glennallen where I stopped at the big new grocery store and stocked up on drink and chicken strips, since the aid stations in that first 75 miles are not set up until Sat. morning. No problem - I was in no hurry and there are several places along the way to get provisions if needed.

I then took the detour through Copper Center on the historical Old Richardson Hwy, a 6 mile diversion that I'd always wanted to take but didn't because I was always in Race mode! This time I was in no hurry and got to enjoy the history of the area. There are several old cabins and wire poles from the old Valdez-Eagle Telegraph line as well as other goldrush era sites. It's a detour worth taking if you've never seen it.

I made it to Tonsina about 8pm and took my time with a good burger, Alaskan beer on tap, and a $4 shower. Tent camping was free right beside the old original hotel building which is haunted, so what's not to like?

I awoke Sat morning to another sunny day. After a big omelet, too much strong coffee and an hour-long chat with a broken-down motorcyclist from North Carolina who was in his 3rd day of waiting for a part. I finally pushed off at 9am heading to the Teikel Lodge aid station to grab a few supplies. I still wasn't feeling rushed. At Teikel I chatted with the folks there who were in the process of shutting down for the remainder of the summer. Business was just too slow this year but they had stayed open just for the Fireweed Race. I also spoke to some German tourists in a cool 4x4 RV before setting out for the pass. All went well and I stopped at the Worthington Glacier aid station just before the pass, and had a nice visit with 2 volunteers who coached at Valdez high school. Their sports programs benefit from the race and they were very grateful and happy to help out.

Next stop-Valdez!

The ride over the pass and down through Keystone Canyon was the usual glorious ride for me. It's that last 10 miles into Valdez that always feels like 30, but still I was in no hurry and it didn't bother me this year. I was the first to finish at 3pm and I felt better than I ever had getting into Valdez, and I was able to fully enjoy the cookout at the finish.

For those considering the 200, whether in 1 day or 2, the cookout at the finish put on by the city of Valdez is worth all the pain and suffering. And this year I was able to enjoy the Copper River Reds on the grill before they were gobbled up by the fast racers in the 200! Keep this in mind when you make that right turn in GlennAllen toward Valdez. It'll get you over the pass!

Hopefully a 2-day 200 will become an event so the less competitive riders (families, retired racers, or anyone) can experience the scenery and history of this magnificent ride called the FIREWEED.

Pat Irwin

Note: I took 1 small tent, summer sleep bag, 1 pannier with food, extra clothes, rain gear, and the usual bike repair stuff.