The Dog Who Wouldn't Run: A Jack Russell's Bike Adventures in Alaska

Jill and her husband Carl always had big dogs. German Shepherds, mostly — the kind that could keep pace with a bike without breaking a sweat. So when they adopted Pete, a long-haired Jack Russell Terrier from a rescue group in Wasilla, Alaska, they didn't think much would change about their rides.

Pete thought differently.

He was about a year old when he joined the family, and it took maybe two bike rides to figure out what he wanted. Running alongside? Not interested. Staying home? Absolutely not. What Pete wanted — what he made abundantly clear by barking at the wheels and launching himself at anyone who dared stop pedalling — was to be on the bike.

For a while, they made it work the improvised way. He'd balance on a lap, front paws on the handlebars, hind paws braced against someone's legs. It looked ridiculous. It was also a wipeout waiting to happen.  

Carl started looking for a real solution. He found the BuddyRider® — a bike seat designed specifically for dogs — and mounted it up. Pete didn't need an introduction. He climbed straight in, settled down, and looked ahead. Done.

That was three years ago. These days, Pete's morning routine is simple: wait for the garage door, sprint to the bike, put his paws up. The rides vary — usually four or five miles through wooded trails or along the river beaches near Wasilla, sometimes stretching to twelve when the day allows. They stop at the water, play fetch, then keep moving.

The rides worth writing home about, though, happen in late winter. When March and April roll around and the rivers freeze solid, Jill and her husband Carl swap to studded fat-bike tires and head out onto the ice. Windy Creek. Jack River. The Nenana River, running along the western boundary of Denali National Park for close to ten miles.

Pete rides every inch of it. Ears back, eyes on whatever's ahead, completely in his element.

It's not the life Jill and Carl planned when they brought home a small rescue dog from Wasilla. But Pete had a different plan, and somewhere along the way, it became theirs too.

Little paws, big heart. Thanks sweet Pete!  Now, Let's Go!