Hello, Skagway!
(Part 1, Seattle | Part 2: Juneau)

We had a full day in Skagway. Dan and I spent some time wandering the sweet downtown area…

…but our ultimate goal was our other excursion: a 15-mile bike ride down one of Skagway’s mountains with Sockeye Cycles.

That sounds quite pleasant, doesn’t it? A nice, gentle downhill ride?

What I hadn’t expected (thank heavens) is that we’d be riding downhill at around 20 mph. It was a windy (though dry!), white-knuckle experience… and I loved every minute of it. (Okay, there were a few minutes toward the beginning where I was petrified. But after that! Loved every minute!)

There were a couple of reasons I lobbied to do this ride when Dan and I were choosing our side trips. It felt like a fun culmination of the work I’ve been doing at the gym and on more adventurous rides over the past year or so. It would be a unique way to see a piece of Alaska (and it certainly was; I couldn’t snap photos of the most jaw-dropping landscapes because we were screaming down a mountain). And of course, I thought it would be something Dan would particularly enjoy.

By the way, there were a dozen riders and we were queued up based on comfort level with the bikes. Dan and I ended up in front. I’ve come a long way!

P.S. Back on the ship, I discovered a new favorite way to hemorrhage money: couples’ hot stone massages in an ocean view suite.