Flats: 3. The last one was at Dease Lake
Thank you for all the comments on my posts. I hope you are enjoying your virtual bike tour of the north, but of course you are missing out on the truly good stuff like biting bugs, cold, hot, hills, and chipseal. More on that one later. Actually, the bad stuff is outweighed a hundred fold by the fantastic scenery, fascinating people and the sheer joy of pedaling this road.
Welcome home Lynn and Steve! I can't wait to see your pictures. Have a great time in Europe, Theresa! You'll have to tell me all about it. Thanks for taking care of my house, Splinter. No, biking the PCT would be waaaay too extreme, even for me. (They don't let bikes on it, anyway.) Pavement, smooth pavement is a wonderful thing. More on that later.
Currently, I'm sitting in the bathroom at Dease River Crossing Campground. Why? 'Cause it's frigging cold out there! Two days ago it was really hot but a front has moved in bringing clouds and showers. It's not supposed to get too bad, nothing like last year. I finally got used to 90 degree heat and now it's not even 40! At least it's too cold for mosquitoes.
Remember the cool rustic cabin by Tatogga Lake? Well, I decided to stay for another day because it's such a pretty place and the food was really good. I ate, did some route planning, and hung out with Mike and Ron, two guys touring the north by motorcycle. It was great talking to the guys and getting road information. After fellow cyclists, motorcyclists are the best source of info on roads. Ron, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see you before you left. I hope the ride down to Kelowna in the tow truck wasn't too bad, your bike is now fixed and you and Mike have met up again and are enjoying the rest of your ride.
I saw a Google Earth car ad camera drive by north of Iskut. I wonder if I'll be on Google Earth now? Cool!
I met Daniel, a cyclist heading south at a rest stop and had a great talk about roads, gear, and riding in general. He's only the third bicyclist I've met so far on the Cassiar after the French couple at Tatogga.
The road after Tatogga starts getting interesting. Does the sign mean mosquitoes ahead? Nope, gravel.
There was a nice gravel and dirt downhill to the Stikine river.
The bridge across the Stikine is metal grate so the trick is to not look down while riding because seeing whitewater under my wheels is a bit disconcerting.
The ride after the Stikine was great. No powerlines or buildings and hardly any traffic. And yet, this sign?
After Dease Lake (where I ran into people I had met on the Port Hardy ferry), there is a longer stretch of gravel, around 20 miles or so. They were grading it and in preparation, they watered it down until it turned to mud.
It was really tough and messy riding. An RV came by, didn't slow down, and showered me with mud. Sam the bike and I were just covered. Who would've thought that a bike tour on one of the two major roads leading to Alaska would turn into a bit of a cyclocross event.
I stopped at the next rest area to eat and clean up a bit. I had a nice stay despite the name of the place.
I had been planning a long haul up to Jade City but Sam started acting funny because of all the mud on his gears and brakes so I decided to cut the day short and give him a bath. There was even a scrubbie brush.
I am now at Jade City, drinking tea and chatting with the owners who remembered me from last year.
I had a nice ride this morning especially when I got to the top of a hill and saw this at the side of the road.
One of the people from the campground last night left me ice cold drinks at the top of the hill! How cool is that!
I'm now waiting for some rain to pass and then will ride 22 more miles to Boya Lake Campground. Tomorrow I will make it to the Yukon and the Alaska highway and will turn NW towards Whitehorse.
-- Post From My iPhone
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