Day 51
   
   6/17/01
   Mile 4628
   Fairbanks, AK
   
   So far the trip has gone slightly better than expected (so that must
   mean I had really been planning for the worst!).  I had built up a
   comfortable margin against bad weather, I was only days away from the
   mountain, the forecast looked good, and I could afford to cash in a
   precious rain day.  I felt reasonably good, all things considered.  I had
   bought a bottle of Ibuprofen at the start of the trip, assuming I would need
   an anti-inflammatory to deal with tendonitis or whatever from pushing
   this hard for so long, but I haven't needed any of them the whole
   trip.  That has been one of my biggest surprises.
   
   I spent today on maintenance and touring, doing laundry, getting items
   for the climb (since this was the last big city I'd be in), and
   educating myself about the area.  There's a pretty good museum at the
   college, which I spent much of the time in.  Covering everything from Auroras
   to Zinc ores, it was a monument to all things Alaskan.
   
   Peering intently at a display of the outdoor gear constructed by the
   Eskimos, I was amazed at the quality of workmanship and relatively
   high level of technology achieved by these native masters of engineering.
   They gave the world the kayak and the parka, still in use today.  One
   kayak had almost exactly the same shape as the one that I currently
   use at home.  A parka on display appeared so good that I would have no
   problem taking it on trips to severe conditions, and I suspect that its
   ratings would rival at least mid-range gear purchased today.
   
   The air is hot and dry - not what you think of when you hear the word
   "Alaska".  Customers were lined up 20 deep at the ice cream stand.
   This is a busy city, more so than I expected.  Much of the original growth
   came from the gold-rush days, then from the cold-war rush, then from
   the oil pipeline.  Possibly next may be a natural gas pipeline.
   
   I spent some more time on bike maintenance.  The front tire, which now
   had 5,600 miles on it, had started to delaminate a few days ago, so I
   used my spare Armadillo to replace it.  I am utterly amazed at the
   lifetime - and that tire had spent the first 2,000 miles of its life
   as a rear tire, which receives more wear.
   
   As it so happened, another interesting thing occurred today, involving
   a person I met...but I'm under oath not to discuss it.  Mum's the
   word.

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