Anchorage’s plethora of bike trails provide many possibilities for cycling enthusiasts. Over many decades, individuals and organizations have worked hard to preserve and expand bike trails and routes. This Outdoor Explorer features two events that highlight those efforts. The first half of the show features Bike to Work Day, an event organized by Bike Anchorage. The event consists of around 80 treat stations and 4,000 riders along the bike trails and bike commuter routes in Anchorage in the morning and afternoon commuter hours of May 17, 2024. Stations had food and drinks, swag and information on biking. Host Paul Twardock biked between Westchester Lagoon and the U-Med district interviewing participants, treat station hosts and Bike Anchorage Executive Director Alexa Dobson.
The second half the show highlights the new temporary dedicated bike lane in downtown Anchorage. The lane, a bike only, two way path separated from traffic, runs along 6th Ave. through the heart of downtown. It continues on A Street to connect to the Chester Creek greenbelt. The path creates an easy loop from downtown to the Chester Creek bike path to the Coastal Trail back to downtown. The path is an experiment by the Municipality of Anchorage and the State Department of Transportation to test the feasibility of dedicated bike lanes in Anchorage. Host Paul Twardock attended the dedication of the new lane on May 30, 2024 and interviewed attendees and the people that made it happen.
HOST: Paul Twardock
GUESTS:
Bike to Work Day commuters
Alexa Dobson, Executive Director, Bike Anchorage.
Downtown dedicated bike lane organizers and dedication attendees
LINKS:
Anchorage Bike Lane Study
Bike Anchorage
Off the Chain
Susitna Bicycle Institute
BROADCAST: Thursday, August 1st, 2024. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, August 1st, 2024. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKT
Paul Twardock is a Professor of Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University, where he has worked since 1988. He is the author of Kayaking and Camping in Prince William Sound and help found the Alaska Sea Kayaking Symposium/Paddle Sport Fun Day. At APU he teaches a variety of undergraduate classes included Sea Kayaking, Recreation Program Design, Nordic Skiing, The Business of Recreation, and Wildland Ecosystems and Human Impacts. Paul received his BS in Outdoor Recreation from Western Illinois University, went to work instructing for NOLS in Alaska, then received his MBA from APU. Paul’s research includes monitoring of campsites in Prince William Sound and Chugach State Park for human impact, trail use in Chugach State Park, and the Alaska Recreational Boating Safety Incident Database. His passions include sea kayaking, river boating of all sorts, hiking, mountain running, climbing, skiing of any kind, and birding. One of his last adventures involved a mule ride.
Paul is one of several hosts for Outdoor Explorer
