The blackout curtains don’t really work at the Voyager Inn and I keep finding myself drawn to looking outside during all hours of the night. Yep, broad daylight at 10pm, 1am and again at 5am. I think there was a brief period of twilight but it’s hard to tell. Snippets of the film, Insomnia, keep coming back to me and I quip to Gordon we need to start stacking furniture against the windows to stop the cracks of light. Still, I do sleep and by 8:30am, I’m ready for breakfast, which is conveniently provided by our hotel – eggs, cereal, bagels, coffee and tea – plenty to fuel up for the day.

Gordon is busy checking emails and, well, sleeping and I’m full of curiosity and ready to go, so I ditch him and head out (split infinitive alert) to boldly go souvenir shopping. This is important business and I need a full recon of what goods are on offer, so decide to start at Trapper Jacks, a huge shop filled with all manner of future junk and some good stuff too. One tea towel, ‘chocolate moose’ pyjama shirt and a pair of socks later, I’m out the door and headed for Cabin Fever. Hmmm, pretty much more of the same, a pattern repeated down the main street. There are some unique offerings, bone, ivory and fur traders and jewellery stores selling jade and the gold threaded quartz pieces that are famous in this area and an army surplus store with the puffiest down jackets and most extensive selection of rain gear (is this a clue?) I’ve ever seen but after an hour or so, I’m done even though my mandatory fridge magnet is not yet purchased.

With perfect timing, Gordon appears on the next street corner and we join the line for a hotdog from MA’s stand outside the federal building. There other proprietors about but MA is the best, apparently voted one of the ten best in the USA, he also has a reputation for being cranky, a hotdog Nazi the rumours say. Hooked, we patiently wait our turn, enjoying the catchy music blaring out and talking with others in the line. One guy, a local who monitors the line at the stand from his office window, tells us that it’s ‘toppings Tuesday’ and if you ask MA for a little sumthin’ sumthin’ you’ll get a special treat. I order reindeer (that’s right – I ate Rudolph) and Gordon orders the Italian, we leave the toppings to MA. All jokes aside, these are seriously good dogs.

Next, we head back to the hotel for a quick clothes change before crossing the street to the shipping container in the car park that houses Pablo’s cycle hire (another guidebook recommendation). Pablo is a friendly guy who quickly sets us up with bikes and points us in the direction of the Tony Knowles Coastal trail. Of course, we completely miss the first turn and wind up in a dead end but it doesn’t take long to rectify this error and before long we’re on our way. Bikes are everywhere as are roller bladers, skateboarders and Sunday strollers that threaten to step out in front of the bike at any moment. The trail goes 11 miles, along the coast at first, up a headland at the end of the airport runway where you can almost touch the planes as they take off and then through undulating forest. There are meant to be moose, lots of moose. I don’t see moose. Crushed. Especially as my butt is sore and my legs are aching – turns out the zip off pants I chose like to tighten right around my thighs as I pump my way up any hill – just ow. Still, I suck it up (Gordon may have a different version of this story) and complete, well almost – I don’t do the final hill – the 30km cycle.

Time for a reward. The Captain Cook hotel’s crow’s nest cocktail bar beckons (yep, ol’ Captain Cook got up this way too) It’s on the 20th floor and has stunning views back over the mountains that ring Anchorage. Almost immediately we start chatting with another couple, Gary and Ruth from Detroit. He has ridden his motorcycle over 7000 miles to get here and she has flown to meet him. Turns out, he is quite into bikes and even appeared in the trailer for the movie, the World’s Fastest Indian. He met the real Bert more than once. Great conversation, great cocktails – the Moscow Mule being our favourite.

Day two is wrapped up with a Thai meal in a small establishment right near our hotel. Then time to hobble back to bed.