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Saylor Black

@saylor2alaska

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@texas4000
Biking from Austin, TX to Anchorage, AK to raise money and awareness for cancer!
Main: @saltysaylor7

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DAY 70: Wasilla, AK —> Anchorage, AK (32 miles)

FINISH LINE!!!!! After 70 days, and over 4000 miles, this crazy adventure has finally come to an end. It’s truly surreal to have finally crossed the finish line after dreaming about it for over a year. This journey was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m so grateful for every second of it. I’ve grown so much from this ride as a leader, as a friend, and as a person. Although I’m sad it’s over, I’m excited to return to Austin to apply all the lessons I’ve learned to my everyday life.

We started out the day at mirror lake taking team photos and eating lunch. We then started our ride. It was a chill ride, and we stopped at a Texas exes hosted rest stop at mile 26! When we finished at the rest stop, we rode just a few more miles to the finish line.

Crossing the finish line was amazing. Seeing all my family there was just incredible and I’m so grateful I was able to have such a huge support system there. We did our last ever chant, took photos, ate dinner, and I gave a speech! It was a great way to end the summer!

This summer was truly the adventure of a life time. Although there were so many moments where I wanted nothing more than to just give up and go home, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a privilege to serve as the 2026 Rockies Assistant Ride Director this year, and it was a joy to see this team grow thrive over the course of the ride. The memories and friendships I made this summer will stick with me for the rest of my life.

To my Rocks—thank you for trusting me to lead you this summer. I truly love all of you so much and I can’t wait to reunite with you all in Austin!

To everyone that donated to my campaign, thank you so much. T4K can’t happen without your donations.

To everyone who followed along my journey through this account: thank you for all the encouragement throughout this summer. The letters, comments, and texts truly helped me keep going all summer. I hope my posts provided entertainment and insight into what this summer was like.

And finally, Thank you Texas 4000. I am forever changed because of this adventure.

To Alaska and Back,
Saylor Black :D taken in Anchorage, Alaska by @saylor2alaska

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Day 68: Glennallen, AK —> Palmer, AK (140 miles — SAG)

Was on SAG today—just didn’t have the energy to ride 90 miles (only were riding 90 because last 50 miles are too dangerous to bike).

We started off the morning strong by discovering our trailer had its FIRST flat of the WHOLE summer on day 68. Because this was such a rarity for us, we did need Brady to come and replace the tire. We kept going through the route. And setting up rest stops along the way. At the second rest stop we saw a huge fighter jet (see video) and at the third we made ramen bowls for everyone! Overall it was a very stunning stretch, as we saw glaciers, mountains, and rivers.

When we rolled into Palmer however, it was FREEZING cold and RAINING. we were supposed to camp tonight at a race track, but with the weather, NO ONE wanted to camp there. Because we were so badly not wanting to camp, we desperately tried to find somewhere indoors we could stay the night. Luckily we found an Airbnb willing to host us, so we drove there instead to have a warm, comfortable roof over our heads. All beds were claimed by the time I got there, so I set up my sleeping bag in the closet. It is actually super cozy!

Overall today was a good, but LONG day. taken in Palmer, Alaska by @saylor2alaska

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DAY 67: Chistochina, AK —> Glennallen, AK (48 miles)

The day I’ve been waiting for all summer has finally arrived: DAY 67 😛😛😛. Today we made ride groups based on 67. We had a 6 group, and 7 group, a 67 group, and 6 and 7 group, and a neither 6 nor 7 group. Naturally, I was placed into the 67 group 😛😛😛😛. I got to ride with Pili and Drew again from Sierras, but this time I also got to ride with TY!!!! Ty is one of my closer friends on t4k so it was really fun to get to ride with him for the first time this summer!

Even though today’s ride was only 48 miles, this was by far one of the windiest days of the whole summer. BRUTAL headwinds the entire day made this ride pretty exhausting. Partway through the ride, Pili found an Alaska license plate and was quite literally jumping up and down with joy (see the photo to see her pure joy at this discovery). We found a fun playground at our second rest stop today, and of course we saw some more absolutely STUNNING views along the route.

Eventually, after braving the horrible wind, we made it to our host for the night, Glennallen high school. We had some delicious donated dinner of subway, pizza, and fried rice, and then I went to a gas station to get some cool postcards! I finished the night by working a little on a little speech for finish line ceremony before settling down for bed.

Today was a pretty great day and I can’t believe that we are just THREE days away from finish line!

(Also see the last slide for a really funny text exchange I had today about shaving my mustache) taken in Glennallen, Alaska by @saylor2alaska

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Day 66: Tok, AK —> Chistochina, AK (93 miles)

What an awesome (but tiring) day. Rode 93 miles today and they were GORGEOUS—but the headwinds were so bad at the end and I was genuinely dying by the end. We got to ride with Sierras again today, this time I got to ride with Michelle, Gavin, and Annie! It was a lot of fun to catch up with them. Katelyn was also in my group and got 3 FLATS, so our group fell a little behind, but it was ok because the vibes were still up, and we even ended up passing some groups before the end!

Eventually we rolled into historic host: the Red Eagle Lodge. The team has stayed here the last 10 years, but typically they camp. But thanks to ETHAN B’s parents AGAIN, we get BEDS and CABINS tonight! THANK YOU Karen and Darren!!! I have truly NEVER been this thankful for a bed. It came at the perfect time. The cabin I’m in is SO cozy, and with only a 50 mile ride tomorrow, we get to SLEEP IN!!!!

Finally, we ended the night with a t4thanksgiving to celebrate our re-entry into the US, and our reunification with Sierras. SAG cooked up SO much food (shoutout Aishwarya!) and we all enjoyed a nice thanksgiving meal together! A really great way to close out a great day! taken in Chistochina, Alaska by @saylor2alaska

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Day 65: Beaver Creek, YT —> Tok, AK (140 miles—55 miles biked)

WE MADE IT TO ALASKA!!!! What a ride this was. The border was at mile 50 so we had a beautiful ride to reach the sign. At the second rest stop, there was a little restaurant where a few of us got some food (and some people slept—see pic!) after that, we booked it to the border. Riding up to that welcome sign was so surreal. A whole summer of riding and we finally made it to freaking ALASKA. We spent HOURS taking pictures at the sign (as expected), before finally biking across the border. This border was MUCH easier to cross than the Canadian border! We then rode just a couple miles into Alaska before SAGging the last 85 miles to Tok.

When we arrived in Tok, we hit up a restaurant called Fast Eddy’s, which is apparently a tradition for riders to eat dinner at in Tok. After I ate the most gluttonous meal of my life at Fast Eddy’s, we headed to our campground, set up our tent, and went to a cool bar next door to the site! I had a drink, played some pool, admired the gorgeous sunset, and went to bed.

Overall a very surreal and incredible day. Only 5 more days to the finish line! taken in Tok, Alaska by @saylor2alaska

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Day 64: Destruction Bay, YT —> Beaver Creek, YT (94 miles — SAG)

On SAG again—was feeling very tired from the last couple days and I wanted to get some rest. I drove the truck and trailer today which ended up being quite the task because today was by FAR the most pothole-y and gravel-y roads of the whole summer. Construction everywhere and MASSIVE potholes every few feet.

Outside of that though, SAG was quite fun today. Ariana and I made Mac n cheese for the riders which was fun! I also had the ROCK again today (2nd time in 3 days) because I accepted the Sierras rat yesterday :(

When we got to our campsite, I cooked dinner with some other SAG members and just enjoyed the rest of the night. Overall a good day! taken in Discovery Yukon Lodgings, Beaver Creek, Yukon YT by @saylor2alaska

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DAY 63: Haines Junction, YT —> Destruction Bay, YT (53 miles)

Absolutely jaw-dropping ride and first ride with Sierras! A very very fun ride!

I started the day by getting to be immersed in some SIERRAS traditions! Even tho it got me outcasted by my fellow Rockies, I accepted the Rat title from the Sierras. This means I got to wear their stinky raccoon hat, and was FORCED into their team chant. My Rockies mates hated me for it (but it was actually quite fun to experience some of the Sierras traditions!).

The ride itself was amazing. We mixed ride groups with Sierras for the first time, so I got to ride with Pili, Drew, Annie, and Meredith for the first time since training semester! We just had a good time riding through the insane views. Crazy mountains, rivers, lakes, and lots of wildflowers lined this whole route and it was spectacular.

We had our second rest stop right at the lake where some people (not me) jumped in, and some people (me) fell asleep on the beach! Eventually we made it to our campsite for the night—but not before seeing a Grizzly and two cubs! The site had an electric fence around the tents which was a first. we cooked dinner, and then some of us went to the lake to relax before bed and enjoy the Midnight Sun. All my fellow Rockies had already gone to their tents, so it ended up being just me and a bunch of Sierras riders. It was very relaxing to just chill on the shore. Overall a good day! taken in Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory by @saylor2alaska

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Day 62: Whitehorse, YT —> Haines Junction, YT (98 miles)

What an awesome day! Beautiful ride, great scenery, fun ride group, and of course—SIERRAS REUNION!!!!

I actually didn’t get any pictures of the reunion, but after the ride we rolled into our host where Sierras was waiting for us! It was super bitter sweet reuniting because it was awesome to see all my Sierras friends again, but it was sad to no longer be just our Rockies family. It was really fun catching up with some of my Sierras people though, we chatted all night and it was just such a fun change of pace. I’m very excited to be finishing the summer alongside both routes!

We did get woken up in the middle of the night though by a faulty fire alarm :/ taken in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory by @saylor2alaska

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Day 61: Whitehorse, YT (Rest Day)

This may have been our last rest day, but it was DEF one of my favorites! I started the morning by sleeping in till a whopping 11:30 AM! Almost immediately after waking up, a few of us went to Bostons Pizza to watch the World Cup semifinal match! It was SUCH a fun vibe, especially since Soccer is so much bigger in Canada than it is in the US.

After the match ended, a few people mentioned wanting to do a little bar crawl and visit a few local bars. At first I was not keen on the idea since it was 2 pm, but I thought why not? I only have 9 days left with these people! So I went.

It ended up being such a fun time—we hit 4 bars and it was just such a fun time visiting and laughing with my teammates! I also saw a Black Street today which is fun because waaaay back on day 3 I saw Saylor Street!

After the bar crawl some of us got McDonalds for dinner since we were all craving it, and then we returned to our campsite! We made a fire, all gathered around, and made some s’mores!

Finally, since it was our FINAL night together as Rockies, we did some fun traditions to celebrate. It was such a fun, wholesome, and heartwarming night, and I feel even more bonded to the team than I did before! Very excited to finish these last 9 days with these awesome people! taken in Whitehorse, Yukon by @saylor2alaska

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DAY 60: Rancheria, YT —> Whitehorse, YT (~180 miles—SAG)

Didn’t take a whole lot of pictures today, but still a fun day! Rolled out of Rancheria and the Continental Divide RV park to a DELICIOUS breakfast and an amazing ride dedication circle with Rick, Holly, and Nicole. We then headed out on the ride. Because we impromptu stayed in Rancheria instead of Teslin—it added about 70-80 miles on top of our already 108 mile day. Because of this, the team decided to partial SAG as everyone was SUPER tired. The team rode as much as they could and then we SAG’ed out and drove the last 100 miles into Whitehorse.

Typically, day 60 means reuniting with the other routes in Whitehorse—but this year is a little different! Sierras is not staying at the same place, therefore our reunion will actually be occurring on day 62 after our Whitehorse rest day! It’s def a bummer but I def won’t complain about 2 extra nights with this wonderful Rockies team!

Looking forward to reuniting with sierras very soon!!! taken in Whitehorse, Yukon by @saylor2alaska

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DAY 59: Watson Lake, YT —> Teslin, YT (130 miles, 43 biked)

What an incredible day. Although the day was subpar for me, the night was far and away the BEST night of the whole summer, and all of it was so serendipitous.

We started the day with a pancake breakfast at Nugget City, a longstanding tradition with this host. This was a very fun and tasty way to start off the day! I didn’t get enough sleep last night though, and was feeling so tired today. I bonked HARD almost immediately. I made it 43 miles but had to SAG out because there because I had absolutely nothing in me.

Later, at about mile 70 we stopped at a random gas station/restaurant/rv park in the town Rancheria called The Continental Divide. It turns out the owner, Rick, is a historic 22 year host since the first year of the ride, but somehow neither route was staying with him this year. He was absolutely heartbroken about this as he’s hosted every year and it is the highlight of his year. We all felt so horrible, and since we would have no interaction with our planned host tonight since we were camping and arriving late, we floated the idea of just staying there for the night. After about an hour of deliberation and planning between RD’s and travel chairs, we made it work. We contacted our host in Teslin, they were totally understanding, and we stayed the night at Rick’s! This was absolutely the right decision. Tonight was the most incredible night of the whole summer and a night I will remember for the rest of my life.

Rick, Holly, and Nicole were such incredibly fun hosts. They had so many jokes and stories to tell. I got to throw a baseball with Rick for the first time in almost 5 years, which was so special, and Rick even brought out FIREWORKS for us. He told me our game of catch was the best catch he’s ever played in his life, which almost made me cry 😢. This place truly felt like home. Rick also said that we were the best team he’s hosted in all 22 years! Truly a special night and I’m so glad we were able to make it work without burning and host relations!

We will be sure to let EVERY future team know about Rick and the Continental Divide RV Park! It is a CAN’T MISS host in Rancheria! taken in Rancheria, Yukon Territory by @saylor2alaska

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