Yesterday I ventured away from the main highway and took two detours. One upon recommendation of Peter and Diana, who I had met and spent some nice time over dinner with the day before. The other one to find some camping accomodation in a nice nature setting away from the highway.
The first detour was just South of Williams Lake, where the main highway goes over a big hill and the old road meanders around closer to the valley bottom.
One of the things that slows me down here are the many cattleguards, which I am crossing very slowly and carefully:
Friend Peter lives out here and shows me the very idyllic place of his landlady, a house with an interesting history.
After riding a couple of hours on the main highway again I reach 100 Mile House and stop by at the Visitor Center. There I discuss several options for a nice place within reach for a stay overnight. One recommendation is to detour towards Green Lake. A look at the map makes this seem reasonable, with moderate extra km to go. It is getting late in the evening, so the sun is casting long shadows again.
Unfortunately the backroads here are very hilly, and I take a wrong turn once, having to backtrack a few km and vertical m. It takes me 2.5 hours to cover 35km, definitely longer than I expected. Hence I end up in a race against time due to the sun setting earlier. Speaking of sunset: At one point the sun sits bloodred just behind me in the rearview mirror:
Another half hour or so of tiring up-&-down riding brings me to Green Lake and the Little Horse Lodge. The scenery is very pretty, with the moon rising and some thunderheads glowing red in the distance.
My only complaint with this backroad detour is that the German restaurant at the lodge already closed at 8pm, 1 hour before I get there … and they had German dinner specials that night :-((
August 3rd, 2009
July was a long and very hot month of bike riding through Alaska and Canada. Here are some additional facts and figures:
July 1st: Prudhoe Bay, AK (70 degree North)
August 1st: Williams Lake, BC (52 degree North)
Distance travelled: 4027km
Time on bike: 220h
Total elevation gain: 42300m
Days riding: 29
Rest Days: 3
Average daily distance: 139km
Average daily ride time: 7.5h
Average daily elevation gain: 1460m
Average speed: 18.3km/h
Top speed: 80.54km/h
Sunny and hot days: 30
Cloudy and rainy days: 2
Longest day: 196km in 10.5h from Whitehorse to Teslin
Shortest day: 70km in 4.5h from Hudson’s Hope to Chetwynd (semi rest day)
Flat tires: 6 (4 near Watson Lake within 24h period)
Total weight of bike: 60kg
Memorable wildlife moments:
– Eagle taking off 10 m overhead (near Summit Lake, BC)
– Grizzly Bear crossing road 100m ahead (near Kluane Lake, YT)
– Bison on the road (South of Watson Lake, YT)
– Black Bear Sow with two cubs (North end of Muncho Lake park, BC)
Other memorable items:
– Lots of very friendly and helpful people along the way
– Great riding in late evenings up North due to long daylight hours
– Good samaritans like Scott Mullin (spare tire) and many others
– Mosquitoes were annoying, but mostly manageable
– Headwind / no wind / tailwind = 20% / 40% / 40% (estimated)
– Hills were harder than I anticipated (made worse due to bike weight)
– Best food: Fast Eddies in Tok, AK – Prime Rib special with all-you-can-eat salad bar 🙂
– Biggest disappointment: Getting to town 5 mins after restaurants close
– Biggest mistake: Not replacing old back tire soon enough
– Could have ended badly: going downhill at 65km/h with truck right behind, when 1″ nail got into back tire…
Memorable weather phenomena:
– full double rainbow on bus ride up Dalton Hwy, AK
– midnight sun in AK the first three nights North of Arctic Circle
– asymmetric sun halo in Brooks Range, AK
– thunderstorms in Brooks Range and at Pine Pass, BC
– record breaking heat in Fairbanks, AK and in Southern BC
– heavy smoke from forest fires near Fairbanks, AK and later South of Williams Lake, BC
August 3rd, 2009