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
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