Today we had the pleasure of hearing from another intrepid biker. Amanda Harvey shared the story of her 300+ mile bike trip in Alaska along a portion of the famous Iditarod dog sled trail last February. Amanda grew up in Arden Hills, graduated from the University of MN, and moved for a time to Tennessee with her husband to escape MN winters. They eventually returned to MN but made a pact that they would learn to enjoy winter by participating in winter activities. She obviously took this idea to an extreme! In order to qualify for the grueling Iditarod Trail Adventure, one must complete in a qualifying race. Carrying herself and all her equipment on a fat tire bike, Amanda faced temperatures as low as 35 below zero and trails knee deep in snow. The latter situation caused knee pain which had her to the point of almost giving up near the end, as almost half of the original 100 starters had already done. But new friends she made along the way helped bolster her confidence and she not only finished but is planning to do it again next year!