Cycling For A Cause - Alaska to Panama by Bike

[Muttsta]

Day 6 - Back Home, Yet Not - 149.76 km
Last evening in Tok someone told me there was no way I was going to make it to the border tomorrow, so I just had to prove them wrong. As I type this I am sitting in my tent on the Alaska-Yukon border, well, I'm about 15 feet away from the actual dividing line... on the Canadian side of course! That also means I'm actually in another time zone.

I haven't passed through customs yet, and it's not because I smuggled myself across on the bottom of a truck. The US customs is about a half mile past the border on the US side, whereas the Canadian customs is about 20 miles away from here!

All in all the road from Tok to here was quite dull, and well, there wasn't much on it. I counted three gas stations and a handful of houses from time to time. The road condition was pretty bad in some parts. When I told the locals that they laughed at me and said the worst is yet to come in Yukon. I just can't wait to find out... (note my enthusiasm)

The weather once again did not fail to disappoint. Today I got both hailed on and rained on. I must say that the hail wasn't the most pleasant feeling, especially when it hits your face when your going 30 kph, actually, it kind of stings. But me being the sadistic cyclist that I am, I did not stop and kept riding right through it. After all, minutes are miles!

CHECK MY WEBSITE FOR PICTURES

 

[OutHouse]

wow good luck with this. a co worker rode from sicily to paris and i thought that was hard core.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Muttsta
Day 6 - Back Home, Yet Not - 149.76 km
Last evening in Tok someone told me there was no way I was going to make it to the border tomorrow, so I just had to prove them wrong. As I type this I am sitting in my tent on the Alaska-Yukon border, well, I'm about 15 feet away from the actual dividing line... on the Canadian side of course! That also means I'm actually in another time zone.

I haven't passed through customs yet, and it's not because I smuggled myself across on the bottom of a truck. The US customs is about a half mile past the border on the US side, whereas the Canadian customs is about 20 miles away from here!

All in all the road from Tok to here was quite dull, and well, there wasn't much on it. I counted three gas stations and a handful of houses from time to time. The road condition was pretty bad in some parts. When I told the locals that they laughed at me and said the worst is yet to come in Yukon. I just can't wait to find out... (note my enthusiasm)

The weather once again did not fail to disappoint. Today I got both hailed on and rained on. I must say that the hail wasn't the most pleasant feeling, especially when it hits your face when your going 30 kph, actually, it kind of stings. But me being the sadistic cyclist that I am, I did not stop and kept riding right through it. After all, minutes are miles!

CHECK MY WEBSITE FOR PICTURES

And all I did today was ride my bike 10 miles to work in sunny 60 degree weather.

BTW-Are you doing this solo or are you riding with others?

 

[DrPizza]

:thumbsup: Good luck!

 

[potato28]

:beer: for when you make it home!

 

[ch33zw1z]

yeesh! good luck to you!

 

[irishScott]

Sh!t I'd love to do that. Too bad I'm on the opposite side of the country.

Suppose I could meet you guys in Mexico

 

[Bacstar]

Wow just wow... i drove up from Los Angeles to Anchorage and there were just stretches of nothing for miles and no celphone coverage. I hope he has people he checks in with on a regular basis. I was a little paranoid about breaking down and being found frozen solid.

Good Luck to you!!! There are some incredible sights along the way

 

[conehead433]

Hope you make it. Many other cyclists have made some amazing journeys. You can read internet journals kept by many of them onCrazy Guy On A Bike. Additionally if you are interested in making cross country journeys in the USA Adventure Cycling has maps for various different routes and parts of the country. They are embossed and include listings for bike shops, campgrounds, motels, etc. And if you're going to make a long distance journey equip your bike with a Kevlar type tire made by Continental or others, and possibly line the tires with Mr. Tuffy strips that fit inside the outer part of the tire; having to constantly fix flats on a trip is a major nuisance.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: Muttsta
Day 6 - Back Home, Yet Not - 149.76 km
Last evening in Tok someone told me there was no way I was going to make it to the border tomorrow, so I just had to prove them wrong. As I type this I am sitting in my tent on the Alaska-Yukon border, well, I'm about 15 feet away from the actual dividing line... on the Canadian side of course! That also means I'm actually in another time zone.

I haven't passed through customs yet, and it's not because I smuggled myself across on the bottom of a truck. The US customs is about a half mile past the border on the US side, whereas the Canadian customs is about 20 miles away from here!

All in all the road from Tok to here was quite dull, and well, there wasn't much on it. I counted three gas stations and a handful of houses from time to time. The road condition was pretty bad in some parts. When I told the locals that they laughed at me and said the worst is yet to come in Yukon. I just can't wait to find out... (note my enthusiasm)

The weather once again did not fail to disappoint. Today I got both hailed on and rained on. I must say that the hail wasn't the most pleasant feeling, especially when it hits your face when your going 30 kph, actually, it kind of stings. But me being the sadistic cyclist that I am, I did not stop and kept riding right through it. After all, minutes are miles!

CHECK MY WEBSITE FOR PICTURES

Yeah dude...the raods in the Yukon are pretty bad...there's always contstruction going on because the frostheaves wreak havoc on the asphalt.

Although, once you get past Whitehorse the roads improve immensley. You'll be alright...it's worse on cars than on bikes due to the speed...

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: RaiderJ
Wow, if I had known you would be in Anchorage I'd have bought you a beer, maybe a sports drink?

Good luck!

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[sestrugen]

let me know when you get to Guatemala!

 

[Martin]

Wow good luck. I wish I could do something like that, except my endurance, skill and training don't allow me

 

[DivideBYZero]

This is so cool! Keep it up dude!

 

[Mardeth]

I had my doubts but you seem to be doing great! Its still a long way thought . Could you tell us about your conditioning?

 

[Muttsta]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Muttsta
Day 6 - Back Home, Yet Not - 149.76 km
Last evening in Tok someone told me there was no way I was going to make it to the border tomorrow, so I just had to prove them wrong. As I type this I am sitting in my tent on the Alaska-Yukon border, well, I'm about 15 feet away from the actual dividing line... on the Canadian side of course! That also means I'm actually in another time zone.

I haven't passed through customs yet, and it's not because I smuggled myself across on the bottom of a truck. The US customs is about a half mile past the border on the US side, whereas the Canadian customs is about 20 miles away from here!

All in all the road from Tok to here was quite dull, and well, there wasn't much on it. I counted three gas stations and a handful of houses from time to time. The road condition was pretty bad in some parts. When I told the locals that they laughed at me and said the worst is yet to come in Yukon. I just can't wait to find out... (note my enthusiasm)

The weather once again did not fail to disappoint. Today I got both hailed on and rained on. I must say that the hail wasn't the most pleasant feeling, especially when it hits your face when your going 30 kph, actually, it kind of stings. But me being the sadistic cyclist that I am, I did not stop and kept riding right through it. After all, minutes are miles!

CHECK MY WEBSITE FOR PICTURES

And all I did today was ride my bike 10 miles to work in sunny 60 degree weather.

BTW-Are you doing this solo or are you riding with others?

Solo is the way to go my friend

 

[Muttsta]

Day 7 ? Dodging Landmines in No Mans? Land ? 146.56 km
As I type this I am sitting in my tent at a rest stop, I have no idea where I am. May I also point out that my tent is sitting about fifteen feet away from a sign that explicitly states no camping or overnight parking. Am I a rebel without a cause? Perhaps. But then again, there has been absolutely nothing for the last 120 kilometers.

After I left the town of Beaver Creek this afternoon I have traveled through what seems to be a desolate land. I believe I counted three gas stations, all of which where either abandoned or closer. I also counted three campgrounds, which were likewise closed.

May I also point out that the road from Beaver Creek was interesting to say the least. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it was a lot like Swiss cheese, where the holes in the cheese are the potholes in the road. Today I basically felt as if I were riding in a minefield, for I well knew that should I accidentally hit one of those potholes I would probably injure myself as well as my bicycle rim, and then I?d basically be screwed.

On a positive note, I officially crossed through Canadian customs and got a nice warm Canadian welcome. I am officially heading to sleep after a long and tiring day of cycling. Hopefully I don?t get an early wakeup call from a Mountie due to my blatant disregard of posted signs.

 

[ponyo]

Wow! Good luck and stay healthy and safe. It's incredible what you're trying to do. God bless!

 

[Evadman]

Where do I donate?

 

[Muttsta]

Day 8 ? Oh The Horror! ? 98.00 km
I severely underestimated today?s road. It was not extremely hilly nor did it involve rain. However, it did involve wind. Oh what a wind it was! It was quite possibly the most severe headwind known to man, beast, or cyclist. May I also inform you that it was not a on and off kind of thing, but it was non-stop, all day long. You know it?s getting pretty bad when you have troubles going downhill in your lowest gear. It turns out that the large lake located next to this stretch of road seems to provide that effect.

The winds had taken such a toll on me that when I arrived at the restaurant in Burwash Landing I swear I could have eaten a horse. Unfortunately since they were all out of those I had to settle for hot chocolate, salad, veal culets, poutine, and finally cherry pie with vanilla ice cream.

On another note I met a couple cycling down to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Unfortunately since they are not going as fast as I need to go in order to reach Panama in time, I won?t be able to join along with them.

Finally, it is interesting to note that just because something says ?Closed? in the Yukon, doesn?t mean that it exactly is. Today as I rolled on by a closed campground I decided to knock on the door of the office and see if anyone was around. Sure enough someone was home, and they were more than willing to let me camp for free (which is where I am right now as I type this). They even offered me firewood had I wanted some!

 

[Muttsta]

Originally posted by: Evadman
Where do I donate?

On the website check out the top navigation thing, right below it surrounded in yellow it says 'Donate'
You can donate online using credit card, by phone, or by mail
Thanks in advance

 

[Muttsta]

Day 9 ? The Sun Lives Again! ? 163.27 km
Today was simply a great day for cycling. In the morning I started off near that dreadful lake I so thoroughly mentioned yesterday, so for about half an hour I still got some nasty head winds. Right after that I hit a 12 km stretch of rough gravel road. Let me tell you, not fun to bike on, and even less fun when trucks kick up a lot of dust in your face.

After that it was smooth sailing. The roads were not excessively hilly and the winds did not hinder me. I made it to Haines Junction at about 3:30 PM. I had the biggest craving for Chinese food, and as luck would have it there was a Chinese place in town. Unfortunately the food wasn?t that great. My meal that was supposed to be spicy was quite bland. None the less, a success either way, although I still have a craving for Chinese!

In Haines Junction I also stumbled upon a general store. When I entered that place I swear it was as if a shining beacon of light beckoned me in. Unlike the severely under stocked gas station stores that I was used to, this was an actual store with a very good selection and good prices. The gas station shops along the way like to inflate their prices a lot. Needless to say I got a little overexcited and stocked up on way too much food, I actually had trouble packing it all into my bag later. I mean, I even bought a whole loaf of bread!

Past Haines Junction a nice fellow also stopped while driving to give me a few tips on routes amongst other things. He directed me to the aboriginal town of Champagne, and along a short cut of sorts. Let me tell you, if you simply removed the cars in that town it would look like you stepped back into the 1600s.

Today I finally also saw my first true wild beasts of the north. I saw a porcupine as well as a moose today. Unfortunately both quickly ran away when I tried to pet them. Do you think I?m crazy? I didn?t really try to pet them, but they both did run away.

Since I managed to catch up on the mileage today I only have about 80 km or so to Whitehorse tomorrow where I will be staying with someone I met from CouchSurfing. Should be a nice and relaxing day, I think I?ve earned it!


Day 10 ? The Road to Whitehorse ? 76.30 km
What? Only 76 km you ask? Officially, yes. Unofficially I cycled about 140 km today. The 76 km that I am counting is part of my route, all the rest is simply detours. I biked all around the town of Whitehorse, took a major detour to the Takhini Hot Springs, and even took a short bike ride to a party.

The road into Whitehorse itself was fairly straight forward and uneventful. I decided to drop my bags off at Charles? place, who I met through CouchSurfing. Once I unloaded my bags and rode my bike with nothing strapped onto it, I felt as if the ball and chain had been removed from my foot. I could pedal faster and easier, what a relief! I also visited today what is possibly one of the best inventions of the Western world, Chinese buffet. I tell you, that place alone made my day!

After bicycling around the city of Whitehorse, I then had the bright idea of bicycling 28 km to a place called Takhini Hot Springs. It wasn?t the most phenomenal hot springs I?ve seen in my life, simply a large hot tub, although it was refreshing none the less.

The road back from Takhini Hot Springs to Whitehorse was not as simple. I was hit with fairly rough winds, but I made it to Whitehorse none the less. I thought I would have some free time in Whitehorse, but nope. Charles invited me to a party, and I?m not one to turn that down! So we of course hopped on our bikes and off we went! It turns out there is a large community of Quebecers here in Whitehorse, and everyone at this party happened to fall into that group. A great and fun crowd of people, although I did have to brush up on my French a little bit!

 

[Mardeth]

No days off yet? How long can you keep this up? 100km is quite a distance never mind cycling it 10 days in a row...

 

[Muttsta]

Day 11 ? Sweet Home Alabama ? 110.66 km
To me Whitehorse might as well have been New York City. It had everything and anything that one could want. This morning I felt right at home when I saw the welcoming neon lights that read ?Tim Hortons?. Never has soup and sandwich with hot chocolate tasted so good.

Today in Whitehorse I talked to a motorcyclist who had come up the Cassiar highway, which is what I?ll be on in about four days time. He kindly informed me that he had seen eight bears in one day while on that highway. Needless to say, I immediately went to Canadian Tire to purchase a can of bear spray. It was quite the rip off at $44.99 per can, but a wise investment none the less. I mean, I could take one, maybe two bears on, but definitely not eight!

On my way out of Whitehorse I saw a sign to the famous Miles Canyon. I decided I could not pass up an opportunity to see it when so close. The next sign informed me it was 4.5 km to the right, easy enough I thought. Oh my dear readers, how wrong I was! That 4.5 km involved the most grueling and painful hill climbs I have ever endured in my life. I tell you, just looking at these hills was enough to make a grown man cry. Pain and suffering aside, the canyon itself was quite nice and well worth visiting.

Currently between Jake?s Corner and Johnsons Crossing at some closed campground. Although the barrier was down, I could still squeeze by using my bicycle. There?s envelopes which state you must put $12 in an envelope, stick it in a box, and put the stub on your rear view mirror of your car. Since the place is technically closed, and since I don?t have a car, I think I?ll just accidentally forget about all that. My memory is deteriorating, I am getting old after all!

 

[Muttsta]

Originally posted by: Mardeth
No days off yet? How long can you keep this up? 100km is quite a distance never mind cycling it 10 days in a row...

I plan on taking very very little days off, perhaps one a month
My first day off will be in Whistler, BC, where I plan on going skiing