Day 27 BISON! BISON! BISON! Coal River to Watson Lake 157.7km. Trip Total 2138.7

WOW! What a big day. Lots happened today but it’s getting late, and I have a hotel room to get back too, so I am going to try to keep this one short.

We left Coal River with the intention of Stopping at Contact Creek for the day(91km), but after a couple of unfortunate and sad events Michelle and decided to push on to Watson Lake. Today Christopher received news of a family emergency and he decided to end his trip. Suzanne and Jaimee supported Christopher, and together they got a ride to Carcross so they could catch an earlier ferry from Skagway. We miss them already, and we hope that seeing the large herd of Bison today brought smiles to their faces.

The large herd of Bison was incredible! We pedaled our bikes through over 50 very, very large Bison. We waited to have a vehicle escort, but we were not quite sure if it would have been much of a help if one of the Giants on the side of the road felt threatened. This was by far the highlight of our day today and we have posted a video for you. Please excuse the shaky video, I was riding my bike next to a moving car, trying not to piss of a Buffalo, at times the camera goes off the main subjects!

Day 26 Liard River Hot springs to Coal River 58km

Today was a short day largely due to the logistics of route planning. We would have had to put in a really long day to get to the next location with services(approx 2ookm). So we took it easy today, and we had a wonderful experience today. While on the road to Coal River we encountered our first Wild Buffalo(Bison) on the side of the road. It was alone, which was surprising at the time, and when we slowly approached it on our bikes it started to run along the side of the road with us. I have video tape footage of it, as does Christopher, but I have chosen to post a picture. I have another great video of bison for the next post. It was a very scary and adrenaline rushing type experience watching a huge 800 pound wild animal go from zero to fifty in about 3 seconds!

Where the Coal River meets the Liard

Hard to top that experience today, but Michelle and I had a great time swimming in the Coal River under a warm and relaxing summer sun. As my Mother said, today was a day for smelling the roses. Christopher, Suzanne, and Jaimee jumped back into their books.

Day 25 Rest Day Liard River Hotsprings

It is not hard to figure out what we did today. Everyone visited the. Christopher, Suzanne, and Jaimee spent lots of time reading, and Michelle spent the majority of her day going over plans for the next 4 or 5 days. The Hot springs are a must stop along the Alcan, and the international crowd in the beautifully natural pools was a sure sign of their popularity. We met folks from Fairbanks, New York, Germany, Inuvik, and Canada. believe it or not we did not get a chance to talk to everyone! it was a crowded place, only 3 campsites were available at the provincial campground. I have attached some photos of the springs. 

The very warm and soothing pools of the Liard Valley

Day 24 Toad River Lodge to Liard Hot Springs 120km Trip Total 1916.9

This morning we woke up with the comforting feeling that we would be enjoying breakfast at the Toad River restaurant. It opened at 6:30 am and Suzanne and Christopher were there right on the dot. The coffee was brewing and as a result, we were all smiling. Toad River really was an oasis. It offered free showers, affordable camping with great facilities(running water, electricity, and wireless internet all accessible right in front of our tents) so we were a little bit sad to leave. However, once on the road, the majesty of the environment quickly pushed Toad River to the cellar of memories in my mind. Not long after leaving the lodge we briefly spotted a Moose in the woods, and before our conversation about it ended we came across another Moose right in front of us on the road. It stayed there for three or four minutes before a RV scared it off the road. It was a great start to the day. 

The Moose of the morning

 

The day continued and was truly a  fantastic day. We followed the Toad River for most the morning as it twisted and turned through a valley guarded by sedimentary giants. It reminded Michelle and I of the Icefield Parkway in Alberta. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the cool air and fantastic scenery. Then the work started. 

After a cruisy morning the road began to climb, and climb, and climb!!! The steepest grade was 9% and the day was starting to warm up so we were working hard. Our efforts were rewarded with fantastic views of the Terminal Range to the east and a variety of wildlife. We would pass Stone Sheep, and Mountain Caribou as we crested the climb. 

A lone Mountain Caribou

Both helped me to forget about the earlier climbs. 

The winding Toad River

 

We then had some great long descents that allowed us to cruise at about 40km per hour! Fun, Fun ,Fun!!! At this point we were a little tired so we stopped in at GG Services for a surprisingly great lunch. Tha facilities only staffer, Lois, worked hard to prepare us Meatloaf sandwiches, and Chili! We all agreed it was one of the best meals of the trip. After almost 2 hours at lunch we continued on towards Munch Lake. 

Munch Lake is described as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and it is easy to see why. 

A hazy Muncho Lake(Wildfires to the west are the cause)

 It stretched on for 16km and every step of the way was breathtaking. To quote Suzanne, “it is the definition of peaceful”. Jaimee stopped for a dip in the lake, and we all took lots of pictures. We left the lake and continued on towards the hot springs. We had a lengthy downhill that was interrupted with alluvial fans that caused us to curse each time we had to climb, but in the end we would make it to the Liard River Valley and the. We arrived tired and agitated, but food and rest dulled the edges and sleep came very easy.

Day 22. Ft. Nelson to Tetsa River Regional Park 100km Total 1703km

Today we out of bed a little later than normal because we decided to eat out before leaving the big city of Ft. Nelson. The breakfast at the RV Park was surprisingly great! We enjoyed the food and then prepared our bikes with their heaviest loads yet; 7 days of food! We were a little bit apprehensive about the days ride because of all the people we had met over the course of the last two days who told us about the plethora of wildlife, and the monstrous hills we would encounter on this next stage of our journey. We were told of a very large hill called “Steamboat” that we would encounter today, and of Bears, Moose, Sheep, and Bison. Well, after 65km we stopped for lunch and we had still not encountered any “great” climbs, but we had seen 5 bears and one extremely large mature Moose with a huge rack! I personally started to hope that this legendary hill would be but a bump in the road, and that the wonderful wildlife sightings would continue. I was wrong on the hill front, and lost all interest in wildlife.

Five minutes after lunch the climb would start and would go on for what seemed an eternity. In reality it was only 6 or 7km, but every time we thought it was over we would surmount a crest only to find that it continued on.  This great hill would take us from the rolling hills west of Ft. St. John to the Mountains of the Muskwa-Ketchican Region. The epic wilderness we encountered today foreshadowed the coming days. The reward for our work was a 7 or 8km downhill, the great views, and a ride in a pilot car to our campsite which had its entrance located right i the middle of a road construction area. The Tetsa River regional Park turned out to be a wonderful sight where we enjoyed Pasta and Pesto with Almonds and Parmesan for dinner after taking advantage of the surprisingly warm waters of the Tetsa River to wash. A challenging but rewarding day!

Day 18 A Series of Unfortunate Events.Wonowan to Sikanni River

This morning we awoke re-energized and ready to go. We had lucked out with our previous nights accommodation. Life was good in Wonowan!

Living Large in Wonowan

The start of our days ride was wonderful; the air was cool and the feeling of wilderness isolation was beginning to take hold. The power lines bringing electricity to Wonowan went no further, and as a result the only sign of civilization was the road, and the odd oilfield services sign. The Spruce and Pine forests seemed pristine and endless on both sides of the road, and the wilderness feeling continued to grow when Michelle and I spotted an immature Moose slowly leaving the shelter of the forest towards the warm early morning sun. We stopped to try to get a picture, but on cue, the Moose clumsily scampered back into the woods breaking branches as he went.

Wilderness on the Alaska Highway...the start of the day!

Soon after this moment a series of unfortunate events would begin to unfold.

Michelle and I were riding together about 1km behind Christopher, Suzanne, and Jaimee. Michelle had to stop her bike due to a flat rear tire, and like any good riding partner, I stopped to assist her with the repair. I propped my bike up with the kickstand on the side of the road and we began to change Michelle’s tube. After 6 minutes on the tire a large Grey flatbed truck went roaring by on the road, and the wind it created caused my bike to fall over. When I went to pick up the bike I noticed that my rear derailleur was horribly bent and that two spokes on my rear tire were completely broken.

I was a little frustrated….remember that wilderness isolation feeling I mentioned earlier…I knew this was going to be a problem, but I was not quite sure what type of problem. I like to be prepared, and I had 3 spare spokes for my bike, I also felt like I could bend my dérailleur to the point that I could ride with it. So my plan was to fix the spokes first, but as luck would have it the spoke nibbles of my spare spokes were too small and as a result I could not replace the spokes. The result was that my rear tire was completely out of “true”(running straight). I did manage to bend the dérailleur so that I could change gears, but as you could imagine, it was far from in good shape. So after a few expletives we had got my bike running(limping is more like it), and had Michelle’s flat fixed.

We had not seen the rest of the group in almost 2 hours now. We continued riding north and I decided I would just limp my bike two Fort Nelson and take care of it there. My pulse heightened as we rode up a long hill. I spotted the familiar colors of our groups red, white and blue tops and the distinguishable words “Ambulance” on the back of the scary familiar white square vehicle. To top it off there was a long line of cars stopped at the ambulance. Immediately I forgot about my bike and hoped that things were not about to get a lot worse for our group.

As soon as I spotted Christopher, Suzanne, and Jaimee I knew that everyone was OK so I went back to worrying about my bike. As it turned out, our crew was waiting in the shade of the ambulance which was parked as a precautionary measure at the start of a construction zone on the highway.

The goodness of human beings really began to shine through the minute our group, and the surrounding road crew, heard of the poor state of my bike. To begin, the flagging lady used her Blackberry to get us the Fort Nelson bike shop telephone number; a random worker stopped to offer us a ride back to Fort St. John; Christopher aided in trying to repair my bike, and retrieved the Fort St. John Bike shop telephone number(as it turned out Fort Nelson’s bike shop had no mechanic, and none of us have the skills to true a wheel on our own).

At this point we had said no to the ride back, and were confronted with a transport issue because I decided that going back was the best option. Suzanne offered her BCAA service-plus membership card because my Basic membership did not include the 160km towing that hers did. So the plan was for me to get a ride back to Fort St. John to get my bike fixed at Ferris Fast Cycles, and I would then ride back to catch up, or take a bus, depending on the timing of the repair. The patience and understanding of our group and of the people on site was fantastic especially considering that steam was seen coming from my ears!

The goodness continues….. Alex Eisenkrein pulled up from BCAA  about 35 minutes later in a new VW Passat with trailer attached, and we strapped my bike and trailer on his trailer. My last words, with a smile,  as we drove away were “have a good ride see you back in Chilliwack”. The last thing I heard was Michelle saying ” very funny Mister”. Alex gave me a ride directly to the bike shop in town where I met the owner Pat Ferris, his son Stephen, Kendra Young, and Cassie Baker. Pat was busy on another bike, but quickly got to mine, and had my problems solved before I knew it. His years of cycling experience were evident as he educated me about cycling parts as he fixed my bike. I am not sure he ever actually had to look at what he was doing, his hands seemed to be on auto pilot as he worked, and his eyes moved from me to the other customers he was talking with. In the end my bike was up and running in great shape, I had learned a lot more about touring specific rims, and tires, and a considerable amount more about the road ahead. The Ferris Fast Cycles offered great service and hospitality at a time when it was desperately needed: www.ferrisfastcycles.com. Thank you very much again.

The goodness of Pat and his team was only topped by Alex Eisenkrein from BCAA. He waited in Fort St John for me and my e, and then gave me a ride back to Wonowan. Approx. 35km from where the bike broke down. Thank you again Alex.

Alex the Great!

I waited at the Blueberry Esso in Wonowan for 10 minutes before getting a ride north with Micheal and his partner from FI Oilfield Services. Together they gave me a ride past the accident site all the way to the Sikanni River RV Park where Michelle and the rest of the group had stopped for the night. They were a bit surprised to see me so soon.

The Sikanni River guard.

They told me of the rest of their day riding after the lengthy delay due to the technical problems.They had rode 30km in the rain to reach the RV Park, and as a result rented a very affordable $30.00 cabin for the night. It was not the Sheraton, but after a very rough day, like every person mentioned in this blog, it offered us warmth, shelter, and security.

Day 16. 89km. Dawson Creek to Charlie Lake Total: 1277.50

One of many murals in Dawson Creek

We had a great rest day yesterday in Dawson Creek. We had breakfast out, visited the Safeway for Groceries, and took advantage of the Tourist opportunities associatted with the Alaska Highway. The Government Tourist office provided us with an updated list of services and camping locations along the highway, and we watched an hour long PBS video on the History of the Highway at the Alaska Highway House. Michelle and I created a video using their video service. It was a wonderful rest day, and was particularly exciting because it felt like the trip was just starting. We felt like the Alaska Highway would offer us new and exciting experiences, and as you will read in future posts it certainly provided us with some unexpected surprises on day 17.

Our last night in Dawson Creek we met a very interesting man from Chico California named Tim Snapp. He has been cycle touring for many years, and offered us some great stories of his travels in Alaska, British Columbia, and the United States. The evening was incredible! There was a full moon, we had a very interesting visitor, and to top it off he recited a Robert Service poem called “The men who don’t fit in” word for word. It was a unique experience.  Tim has a blog as well, and can be found here:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=7240&v=8A

The Taylor hill heading north

Our cycling day was quite suprising. First, there was lots off traffic on the road to Fort St. John; second, we encountered the steepest hill of the trip, it had a 10% grade; third, we met a solo rider from California who was cycling from Fairbanks to Florida.  His name was Lowell White, and he too has a website:

http://holyspiritrider.com/

and fourth we visited the town of Taylor BC. This community hosts the world championship of Gold Panning, and the hospitality we received at the town Visitor centre from Juanita was second to none. Thank you again Juanita. not only did she provide us with coffee, and a wonderful rest area with shade and clean bathrooms, but also a few stories about the Peace River prior to the WAC Bennett Dam. It was interesting to hear, and it made the “STOP SITE C DAM SIGNS” understandable.

Peace River at Taylor BC

We continued on towards Charlie lake and would eventually make it after stopping to collect groceries for the next four days, and to buy a few new spoons, and a towel. The Charlie Lake Provincial Campsite was wonderful. The forest was made up of  dense, and very uniform Poplar trees, and a few Pine and Spruce trees. We learned that there was a black bear in the area so after a great Mexican meal of bean and rice burritos with salsa and cheese Michelle and I slung the food from the only thick branch we could find amongst the sea of Poplars.

Hanging our food from a tree.

 Sleep came very easy on our first day on the Alaska Highway.

Day 12 82km Bear Lake to Tudyah Lake Total: 923km

Another surprising day today! We awoke early at Bear Lake to a significant amount of dew, but despite the very cool temperatures and overall damp feeling our bodies were well rested and we were looking forward to the day on the bike. The chilly air had us all in our Gore-tex as we headed back onto Highway 97. We hoped for wildlife this morning but were not fortunate to have any significant sightings. However what we lacked in wildlife sightings we certainly made up for with terrain and speed. The majority of the day was flat, and downhill, and we were literally speeding along the empty roads along side McLeod Lake. We were all a little bit in awe when we arrived at the North end of the lake in the town of McLeod Lake well before noon. Like yesterday we were confronted with deciding to push onto our next days destination, or play it conservatively, and stick to our our original plan of spending the night at Tudyah Lake which was only 9km down the road. After a hearty lunch that included many visits to McLeod Lakes’ only store, and a number of conversations with locals about the road and camping opportunities after Tudyah, we decided to stick to our original plan. We rolled into Tudyah Lake very early and were looking at a relaxing afternoon in a meadow set back about 100 meters from the lake. Christopher and Suzanne were looking forward to more time with their books, Michelle was excited for a little rest time, Jaimee was keen to play some Kings Cribbage, and I was excited to explore around the lake. Our plans were forgotten momentarily when we found a note(see picture) that told us of the presence of a Black Bear and two cubs in the Campground. This made Michelle really happy. We would not let this steer us away from our original plan and we moved onto set up camp in a wonderful setting, and to spend the rest of the afternoon to engage in the activities that make spare time so much fun. I have attached a picture of the beautiful Tudyah Lake, our campsite, and the note left warning of the Bears in the “hood”.

Day 8, 120km Williams Lake to Quesnel Total 610km

This morning we had the opportunity to sleep in a little bit because we needed to visit the post office in Williams Lake at 9am. This gave us the opportunity to enjoy the incredible hospitality of Suzannes Aunt Usurla and Rod one more time. Our rest day was yesterday and we spent our time eating hamburgers, drinking beer, and  ice cream floats, and relaxing due to the  genrosity of Ursula and Rod. After one more great breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes, bacon, coffee, and fresh fruit we headed off. Scott needed to pick up a stove part that was shipped directly to the post office. After we had picked up the part we headed off towards Quesnel. The day started with a gradual climb up Mackenzie Avenue which took us past a number of West Fraser Mills. These mills were of interest because of the incredible amount of timber that was waiting to be proccesed. We learned that the timber was all pine and had been harvested and stored as to not let the Pine Beetle render it useless. It was quite the sight! Once back on the highway we were treated to rolling hills and a number of significant downhills….YeeHaw! Jaimee joined us for her first day on the bike today, and pedalled strong and hard all day. Not an easy day to have your first day be a 117km day. Good Work Jaimee!!! We met a solo rider from Bejing China who was on his way down from Alaska. We stopped for lunch at Alexandria Post, a National Historic Site along Highway 97, where we were almost overrun with grasshoppers. The site is interesting, check out the photo for details. We are not sure if the buildings on the site were original, but they sure looked it. We just arrived at Roberts Roost RV Park in Quesnel and Suzanne was estatic to learn that the park is currently hosting a dog agility camp! She went right to watch the events.  We were very happy to arrive as it was a long day. Michelle was super strong on her bike all day long, and lead the charge this afternoon

Early Mornings Day 4 Green Lake Provincial Park