ATP! Somebody get me more ATP!

I really enjoyed my stay on Moloka'i. The ride to the east end of the island was great. I also rode out to the west end. There were some hills, which weren't to bad, but it was crazy hot so I had to stop several times. I camped at an isolated spot next to a gorgeous beach.


It rained most of the night and off and on during the ride back to the ferry. I got soaked but at least I didn't over heat like the previous day.

It was Christmas day so the main town, Launakakai, was really quiet.



I took the ferry back to Lahaina on Maui. It was a rough, crazy ride! I stood in a corner on the top deck and got soaked with sea water as the ship plowed through the choppy waves. I got a roller coaster ride to go with my ferry ride.



Sam picked up a really annoying tick during the ride to west Moloka'i. At every pedal stroke, regardless of which gear he was in, he would tick loudly, and I could even feel the jarring in my feet. I had to ride with music all day to block out the incessant noise. Luckily there is a bike shop in Lahaina so I was able to get him fixed. The problem was the bottom bracket, the piece that goes through the bottom of the frame and that the pedals attach to. The mechanic took it apart and greased it up, which solved the problem. It's so nice to have a smooth ride again.

Today was tough ride. I rode around the rest of West Maui from Lahaina to Wailuku. The road was spectacular but really, really hilly. There were two hills that I walked because they were so steep and long. The views were fantastic with lush green, jungle valleys and a coastline studded with rocky cliffs and crashing waves.


Part of the road narrowed to a single lane for a good 10 miles. The pavement was in pretty bad shape, adding to the already challenging ride.



Luckily, the trade winds weren't blowing much, though there were a few sections with a brisk headwind.

I've definitely got my climbing legs back which is a good thing since tomorrow I'm riding the road to Hana, which is similar terrain to West Maui but a longer ride. It'll take four days to ride to Hana and around the rest of the east part of the island. After that, I'll finish off this trip with a climb up Haleakala and, hopefully, an overnight backpacking trip into the crater.


-- Post From My iPhone

Riding the trade winds

I took the late afternoon ferry to Moloka'i, a choppy 90 minute ride. The moon and stars were out as we bobbed along. I was a bit nervous about getting in to Moloka'i after dark, but past experience has proven that I always figure something out. I waited for the few cars at the dock to leave, turned on the rear blinker and put on my headlamp.

There is next to no traffic on this island so it's ideal for night riding. The stars were out and my headlamp gave enough light to clearly see the shoulder. I rode a few miles and then stopped at the Moloka'i Hotel to have dinner. I talked to the manager who gave me a deal on a room. So, I got to sleep in a gigantic bed after having a glorious shower.

I decided to stay another night at the hotel and ride unloaded out to east Moloka'i, a 60 mile there and back ride. I took off around 8, after a nice breakfast, and rode the flat, quiet King Kamehameha highway. It was flat for a good 20 miles, so I cranked out the miles in no time. There were some great ocean views along the way and it wasn't too hot.


I passed one of Father Damien's churches.


The Father came to the islantoon the late 19th century to take care of lepers who had been exiled to a leper colony on the island. He ended up contracting leperacy and dying from it.

There were some interesting fence posts by the road with a definite Hawaiian flare.


After 20 miles of easy cruising, the highway turned into a single lane road and began a climb over a headland. It was steep and hot but had great views. After the hill, the road ran down to a pretty and isolated beach at the end of the road.


I had lunch, went for a swim, and cranked back up the hill. It wasn't too bad until the last half mile or so where the hill had some pitches that were up to 20%. I pedaled almost all of them but ended up walking the last one.

Once I caught my breath, I cruised back down to the ocean and picked up the gusty afternoon trade wind at my back.

I got back just in time for a perfect sunset in paradise.




-- Post From My iPhone

Lazy days

I'm currently sitting in a neat little restaurant in Lahaina, drinking a mai tai. Notice the sunny beach and ocean in the background.



I'm not that big a fan of rum, but this is pretty good!

It's crazy hot and the sun is as bright as it is at home in late July. The buildings in Hawai'i often have no windows and are permanently open to the outside cuz, well, it's ridiculously warm all the time.



I rode into town early this morning to go on a whale watching cruise for 2 hours. We saw at least a dozen humpbacks, some so close that we could hear them blow. One of them was slapping it's flukes on the water. We saw several competition groups, which are two or more males battling it out to impress a female. They were diving, blowing bubbles, and head butting each other. I got some great photos with my new, nice camera. Here is what I got with my phone. Too bad there is no zoom on the iPhone.



I've spent the rest of the day wandering the shops, waiting for the evening ferry to Moloka'i. I bought some souvenirs including a pretty turtle sarong to wear over my bike shorts like a skirt to reduce my otherwise freaky bike tourist appearance.

When I rode through the Navajo Rez back in '99, I met a Navajo elder,who was a shaman, on the way to Canyon de Chelly. He spent quite a bit of time talking to me, telling me his life story. He told me that I deserved his respect because I had worked hard to see his home. I wasn't a tourist, I was a traveller. He told me that since I travel carrying my home and posessions strapped to my bike, the turtle must be my spirit totem. He told me to always wear a turtle when I travel to acknowledge my totem animal, which I have done on every trip both biking and backpacking since then. I currently wear a sea turtle necklace that I bought on the Big Island last Christmas break that I also wore all last summer on the ride to Inuvik. I also have a soapstone turtle that I bought in Minnesota during my cross country bike ride in '96 (before I travelled the Rez) in a leather pouch that is tied to Sam's handlebar with other little travel mementoes.





Sam posed with the biggest Banyan tree in the world. This thing is huge with long aerial roots that have dropped down and established new trunks. Sam is posing in front of one of the newer trunks. The original trunk is back by the couple sitting on the bench.





The ferry is about to load! Off to Moloka'i.
-- Post From My iPhone

Location:Front St,Lahaina,United States

West Maui

It poured rain all last night but had pretty much cleared up by this morning. I got going around nine and made my way over to highway 30, which heads over to West Maui.

It was an easy ten or so miles across the valley to Ma'alaea with a fierce trade wind at my back which I was grateful for but made for a hot ride. There were great views of the ocean and Haleakala I spent several hours exploring the Maui aquarium at Ma'alaea. It was quite nice with sea turtles and a deep tank with sharks and rays. They even had cute little puffer fish, the source of TTX, the sodium channel blocker, that supposedly is what was used to make zombies.

I signed up to go whale watching tomorrow from Lahaina for a couple of hours. I saw lots of humpbacks from a lookout today, spouting and breaching- pretty cool! You can't see the whales in this picture, but you can see Haleakala, a nice shield volcano across the bay.


Riding this section of West Maui reminds me of the scablands in Eastern Washington. It's really hot, the sun is blazing, there are basalt outcrops all over, and there is only scrubby vegetation.

I'm currently camped in a campground a few miles south of Lahaina. The ocean is about 20 feet away and it's cooled down to about 70 degrees. Life is good!




-- Post From My iPhone

Aloha!

Greetings from balmy Maui! The flight yesterday was long but uneventful. Boxing the bike was easy and my airline was really friendly and helpful in total contrast to the debacle in August in Edmonton.

They are charging way more to fly the bike now- $175! It used to be around $50-$90. They also charge for every checked bag and even the food on the airplane. Oh well, flying Sam is spendy but it's still way cheaper than a rental car.

As I was boxing Sam, I heard someone calling my name. It was Cam Matthews, one of my former physical science students and peer tutors. Both he and Beau Day now work as baggage handlers at the airport.

Sam, the bike, and my other checked bag were AWOL last night when I arrived so I took a cab to the Banana Bungalow, the hostel where I had reservations.



There was a party going on when I arrived, so I got to meet lots of people right off the bat including a bunch of people from Ashland.
The dorm rooms here are pretty bare bones but adequate. The advantage of staying in a hostel is that it's really cheap and there is usually a really interesting group of people around. They have a kitchen and laundry, too.

The airline called and is going to deliver Sam and my gear this morning. I'm currently hanging out waiting for my wayward bike to show up. Once I get everything sorted, I'll head into town to pick up some food and a filter for my camera lens. I'll also have to find some methanol for my stove. On the mainland it's easy to find in the form of gas line antifreeze. Finding the stuff here is a bit more challenging.

I also want to ride up Iao valley today which is supposed to be really pretty. I'm staying one more night and the will head out to ride around West Maui. I'll take the ferry to Molokai and Lanai'i and then come back to ride the road to Hana and up Haleakala. I brought a lightweight backpack so I want to do an overnight hike on Haleakala maybe next week.

My bike finally arrived intact. I put it together and headed down into town. I found a camera store which was right next to a bike shop. I had the shop give Sam the once over since had developed a few rattles from the flight. I found Heet at Walmart and bought food for a few days. It's warm so I'm on the peanut butter diet since nothing else will keep in the panniers like it did in BC and theYukon.

I went down to the beach and watched some kite boarders.


It started raining on the way home but it really didn't matter since it's so warm. The last of the Dempster dirt finally got washed off my gear!

I didn't have time to go up the valley but will still be able to do it later since I'll be coming through here again.
-- Post From My iPhone

Location:Akulikuli Way,Wailuku,United States

The Hardest Part of My Trip

Well, the hardest part of my trip seems to be travelling back home. I had an easy flight out of Inuvik. The airline, First Air, didn't have a problem with flying my bike at all. They even had good food on the flight! I got to Edmonton, stored my bike in bagage storage, and headed over to my hotel for the night.

This morning, I caught the shuttle back to the airport and then things started to go to hell. The guy at the Alaska Airlines desk said that they wouldn't fly my bike unless it was in a bike box. Alaska, of course, doesn't have bike boxes. Neither does anyone else in the entire airport. All the other airlines let passengers fly their bikes in big plastic bags but not Alaska. They insisted that they wouldn't load an unboxed bike on the plane.

The Alaska ticket agents were incredibly surly and unhelpful. One of them was this bimbo chick who just stood there looking bored. The other guy just shrugged his shoulders. They basically said that this was my problem and I should have checked with the airline earlier as to their policy with bikes. I didn't have any trouble at all last year flying home with Alaska airlines from Juneau so I didn't think there would be a problem now.

On the other hand, all the Canadian airlines were amazing when I asked for their help making phone calls and brainstorming ideas to help me out even though I wasn't flying their airline. The even watched my bike and bags for me so I wouldn't have to drag them around the airport. Even the RCMP guys tried to help.

Finally, someone dragged out a cut apart box in two pieces and, with the help of another passenger who is also a bicyclist, we cobbled together a partial box, put it inside a big plastic bag, and taped the hell out of it. The whole thing was an awkward mess and way more difficult to handle than if the bike was in just a bag with both wheels on. But, rules are rules and pragmatism or logic has no part to play.

Next came customs. I had to drag my stuff through with little to no help from anyone from the airline. They literally stood there and watched me struggle with my bags and bike. The bike in the 'box' didn't fit through the big X ray machine so, I'm not kidding, I had to take it all apart to get it hand checked. Then, I had to put it together again using a few more miles of tape.

Next came security where they unpacked all my carry on luggage. The only thing missing was a strip search! At this point, I was late for the flight and was about to miss it. Amazingly, they held it for me and both Sam and I are now heading towards Seattle.

I have noticed that Canadians are much more laid back and easy going than Americans. They maintain their sense of humor and humanity and are always ready to lend a hand. The contrast in attitude between the American and Canadian airlines was truly striking. The Canadians were cheerful and helpful while the Americans were indifferent and unfriendly. I think we Americans have a lot to learn from our northern neighbors! J'adore Canada!
-- Post From My iPhone

Inuvik At Last

I finally made it to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories! I had a nice day heading north from Eagle Plains with cool, windy weather.

I crossed the Arctic Circle!



I met six other cyclists in two groups. It was nice to not be the only crazed cyclist on the Dempster.

The scenery after the Arctic Circle was magnificent with fantastic fall colors.






I wish I had more iPhone photos but I didn't have anywhere to recharge my battery and the solar charger just doesn't work well this far north.

It rained all night at Rock Creek Campground so I decided to spend the day there to wait out the weather. There was a nice shelter with a wood stove so I stayed warm and dry. Four Gwich'in First Nations guys came by and hung out for a while. They gave me some roasted caribou head meat that was quite good. It tasted a lot like turkey thigh meat, not chicken.

The next day was warm and sunny. I got a taste of the famous Dempster mud for about two miles after the campground. It was the consistency of wet cement. It stuck to everything: the fenders, brakes, and me. Riding was impossible. Even pushing the bike was next to impossible since the wheels were locked up with mud. Luckily, things got better after a few miles and I was able to ride again though I had to push up a few hills because the bike didn't have enough traction to get up the hills. As things dried out, the road turned back into the usual 'Dempster pavement'. The rest of the day was fantastic with great views of the tundra in all it's fall glory.

I crossed into the Northwest Territories and had a few nice downhills before I ran into road construction. I had to stay out of the way of dump trucks, backhoes, graders, and the big road rollers that make the ground shake. Of course, everything was torn up which meant more mud.

The next day was an easy day with flat road and fairly smooth dirt.


I crossed both the Peel River and MacKenzie river by ferry. I camped by a nice lake and was ready for my last day on the road.

It rained the last night. What does that mean for the Dempster? MUD!


This time, there was no escaping it. There were some sections that were a bit better but then I'd hit it again and everything would clog. It even got into my chainrings so even the chain wouldn't move.


I'd stop to clean things which meant I had to put my feet down so the cleats on my shoes that clip into my pedals would clog and I'd have to clean those, too. This went on for about 25 miles on what was to be a 55 mile day. It got to the point where I had to clean things several times a mile accompanied by loud cussing in two languages.

What could make Dempster MUD hell worse? 40 degree rain and a strong headwind. I got two offers for a ride both of which I turned down, determined to make it on my own. After four hours of this torture, I took the third offer of a ride. This was too much misery even for me. I figure that 25 miles of MUD hell equals at least 55 miles on a dry day so, in my mind, I rode the whole Dempster and anyone who says different is welcome to come up here to ride a mud encrusted bike in the cold rain.
Here is the end of the dirt road.





This is the main street in Inuvik.


There is a neat Catholic church shaped like an igloo.


The whole town is built on continuous permafrost so all the buildings are elevated to keep from melting into the ground. All town water, sewer, and gas lines run above ground in a utilidor system.


Some buildings have cooling systems to bleed off heat from the ground.



Today I rode out to the airport for a flight to Edmonton where I will spend the night. Tomorrow morning I fly home to Portland and the real world.
-- Post From My iPhone

Eagle Plains

Mileage: 2900
Critters: lynx, wolf tracks, eagles, hawks, ptarmigan, rabbits, lots of Germans

I'm in Eagle Plains, about half way up the Dempster Highway.



The pavement ended about five miles after the junction with the Klondike Highway.


The riding has been tough with some sections of really bad road full of big rocks and potholes.


Other sections are smooth dirt or gravel and are easy going.


The Tombstone mountains were spectacular with beautiful fall colors on the tundra.


This truck just pulled into the parking lot.


I have no idea what a dismantled, shrink-wrapped fighter plane is doing here.

I have four more days of riding to Inuvik. The forecast looks pretty good though I will have some strong headwinds in the Richardson Mountains. I will cross the Arctic Circle tomorrow. I hope to see some caribou from the Porcupine herd and maybe some wolves.
-- Post From My iPhone

Mud Happens

I just got into Dawson City back in the Yukon. The Top of the World Highway was spectacular but brutally tough riding. Things weren't too bad for a while after Chicken but there was a steady, light mist that saturated the road, turning it into mud.


The road has lots of sand in it so riding it is a bit like riding on wet sand at the beach. And, of course, there are potholes... lots and lots of potholes. And there's lots and lots of washboard to go with the mud and potholes. There is hardly any traffic so I rode wherever I could find the smoothest surface, which sometimes was in the oncoming lane or, in this case, right down the middle.


And, of course, what's a horrible road surface without ridiculous numbers of steep hills to go with it.


I had to walk the bike up a few of the hills, something I rarely ever do, but the mud was so deep, I didn't have a choice.

Both Sam and I ended up pretty dang filthy. My shoes used to be black.





I thought I was really getting tired, that was why the hills were so much harder to pedal up. It turns out it was mud built up in my fender.


Once I cleaned out all that muck, the hills got way easier.

Yup, it was a tough ride but the scenery was great and I really enjoyed it. They don't call it the Top of the World Highway for nothing.





Yesterday, I only rode 40 or so miles but with the mud, potholes, and hills, that was plenty. I had heard from other cyclists that the owner of the now closed Boundary road house rented out cabins. Well, when I got there the place was deserted except for three other travellers. There was Stefan, a German travelling by car, Geneie, a Swiss hitch hiker travelling with Stefan, and Travis, a motorcyclist from LA.


The border, a few miles up the road, is closed at night so we were all stuck there. We ended up building a nice campfire and sleeping on the floor of one of the cabins that had been left unlocked. It was fun hanging out with the Boundary Boys. One of the best parts of travelling is meeting interesting people in unexpected places.

Today was supposed to be easier. To quote a British cyclist I met a few weeks ago, 'Ha, bloody, ha!!' The day started with a four mile climb to the border. For almost all of the rest of the day, the road went up and down over ridges and hills. The road was supposed to be paved but most of it had reverted to dirt. The hills were ridiculous with several long climbs approaching 12% grade. I'd come down a hill, not very fast, mind you, because I had to weave between the potholes, and I'd see the next hill which led to my very loud cussing at everything from road engineers, the idiot (me), who decided that riding this road was a great plan, to the geologic processes that put those damn hills there in the first place. After the third or fourth of those insane knee grinders that I climbed at around 2mph, my legs were shot but I still had something like thirty miles to go. I stopped to eat several times, slathering butter on bread and crackers to get more calories.


I still felt like my legs were running on fumes and it was only the thought of a nice dinner, a long hot shower, and a night in real bed with a bathroom mere steps away that got me through those last miles.

I passed another cyclist, Chris from Germany, on a recumbent. It was great to commiserate about the hardships of the road with someone who really understood.


I finally rolled down to the Yukon River ferry and ran into some motorcyclists with whom I had shared a campsite back in Burwash Landing about a week ago. Because there are relatively few roads up here, I tend to run into people I've met earlier or who know people I've met. I saw three people I knew just on one street.

Dinner was a huge serving of Chinese food and after hanging out with Stefan and Geneie at a bar for a bit, I headed back to my room at the Bunkhouse hotel and slept like the dead.

-- Post From My iPhone

Cluck, Cluck

I'm currently in the town of Chicken, Alaska on the Taylor "Highway". Highway is deserving of quotes since it is now dirt/ gravel/ mud/ potholes. None of the above qualifies as a civilized highway. The hills go up and down all day but the views are fantastic. Yesterday, I still had real pavement.


Here is the token chicken in Chicken.


The town is made up of three parts. I'm in Downtown Chicken right now.


There are 47 more miles until the border and real pavement. Until then, I have some really tough riding to haul through. It rained again this morning but it has cleared up some now so, hopefully, the road will have dried out some, too.

I ended up staying in Chicken for the day and exploring. I even tried my hand at panning for gold and found a few flakes.


Another guy had more luck.


I'm not about to quit my day job, though, in the quest to strike it rich. I did meet a few gold miners and had some interesting chats with them. The owner of the Chicken Gold Outpost mined for gold for years where the buildings now are and made a modest fortune. He now has an RV park and cafe on the old mine site that he runs during the summers and travels during the winters.

As I was heading to bed, a small plane landed on the airstrip and taxied across the road to park in the RV park I'm staying at. Kinda surprising to see a plane come in and park just like a car.


Chicken jokes abound in this place. The annual music festival is called Chickenstock. I had to buy a T-shirt that says 'I got laid in Chicken'.

They have to use generators to produce electricity and only one place in town has indoor plumbing and proudly advertises the fact.


It's two more days to Dawson from here and then I decide on the last leg of my ride. Currently, the weather looks promising so I'm hoping to go north past the Arctic Circle to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. I've heard that the tundra is starting to turn color and is absolutely gorgeous. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds for another couple of weeks.
-- Post From My iPhone