Aliy was overhauling her racing sled in preparation for the Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race this weekend, and called me down to the shop to show me the items you see here. When she told me the story, I thought you might like to hear it too:
On the left you can see a brand new “brake spike” which screws into the very end of the brake pedal and is what digs into hard packed snow and ice. Well, if you recall the GinGin two weeks ago, you know that some of the trail was on the paved Denali highway and that much of it was completely blow bare.
By now you’ve probably figured out what the item on the right is. Yup, it’s a completely worn down brake spike from Aliy’s sled as a result of trying to control it on the bare highway in those high winds. Can you imagine what that must have been like?
It reminds a little bit of a time long ago when I’d been in a fight and somebody commented on how bad I looked. My response, of course, was “You should see the other guy!”
So, with apologies to the Alaska Highway Department for what the Denali Highway must look like, I’m delighted to have brought you this “Tale of the Trail”… Something I doubt you’ll find anywhere else but here!
Best Wishes to the SP Kennel teams at the CB 300 Sled Dog Race this Weekend!
So Mac, what did her runner plastic look like?
Swanny