PowerCycle

06/30 There are certain guarantees in life. One is that if you drop a motel in front of me after a long, hard day on the road I’m going to stay in it. So that was the case today. After dealing with a relentless headwind that had me cursing at it all day I landed here in Grande Cache at the Big Horn Motor Inn. The owner probably dislikes me because I talked him down to $60 a night. At one point he laughed to himself so I asked what was funny and he said he hasn’t charged someone that low of a rate in years. Well I’m glad I could be the first. AMEX isn’t so popular up here either. I guess their merchant fees are higher so people are reluctant to take it. VISA charges me a 1% currency conversion fee per transaction so I hate using it (AMEX doesn’t).

Yeah, so today had me thinking about buying a $500 truck and driving the rest of the way. I never would but it was fun thinking about it. These last two days have been the toughest so far (even harder than the Katy Trail). Just hill after hill and that damn cold wind just never stops. I had to find a ditch at the side of the road just so I could be out of it while I was eating lunch. Finally I get to the city and there’s a massive hill that needed climbing before I could get to it. Brutal. Even more brutal was the sharp pain that I keep feeling in my neck while I’m hunched over for any length of time. I finally got mad and punched my neck a couple times and it actually helped.

The winds are supposed to shift to a more favorable direction on Thursday so I’m going to stay here tomorrow and celebrate Canada Day in style–in a motel room with beer and Bridge Mixture. Speaking of lonely, today was the first time where I didn’t talk to a single person all day up until I got to the motel. I should probably start getting used to that.

Had a great dinner at the restaurant next door. One 12″ ham/pineapple pizza fell to my protein-starved body in record time. Got to watch Lloyd Robertson on CTV for the first time in many, many years. He’s now the longest-serving network news anchor in television history according to Wiki.

Read in the paper here that a motorcyclist from Jupiter, Florida died on the road I was on today (happened yesterday–now I know what the helicopter was doing). Was sorry to hear it. I always end up talking to those guys if we spot each other at stores or at the campgrounds. They are the 2nd toughest group of people out on the road so they always have good stories and info. Hwy 40 is not in good shape in a lot of places. I could easily see a bike swerving to avoid a rough patch and losing control. The speed limit is also high (100 kph/62 mph) which doesn’t help.

Update: Just read this on NPR. Hiking the Appalachian Trail was one of my original plans. Sounds like many others thought a reboot would be a good idea too. Great read.

GPX Track

06/29 Today it was all about the hills and the wind. The hills were a bit unexpected and I suspect I’m in for a lot more of the same. Climbed 3149 feet which is more than when I’ve crossed mountain passes. The worst part by far was the wind. The sun was out but all day I had to ride into a cold, strong headwind. To add to it there were basically no shoulders and lots of heavy truck traffic. Not a fun day.

The scenery was great but after a while it all kind of looked the same. Lot’s of tree-covered hills the whole way but you never really get high enough to get a good view of anything past the next few big hills. Not a single house or building the entire way so it’s very remote.

I’d planned to ride about 15 miles further on but when I saw this place I threw in the towel. It’s not a premier camping spot by any means. $20 gets you zip (OK, there’s a pit toilet with big, fat flies in it). There’s a water pump but they warn against drinking from it without boiling the water. Might as well filter water out of the river that’s 20 feet away. They don’t charge for firewood but I’ve had a campfire 2 times on my trip, both times were with other people. No tent pads either so even finding a flat spot was tough. Not sure what the problem is with multi-use fees. Sure charge people that come out here to camp $20. People passing through who just need a place to pitch a tent shouldn’t have to pay more than $5 for a place with no services and who aren’t using the immediate area for recreational purposes. Set a small area aside from the rest of the higher-priced spots if need be.

Saw 2 other guys riding down from Alaska. They were heading to Montana. Didn’t catch their names though.

The monster book I bought in Jasper, The Milepost, is turning out to be a good investment. The information has been spot on which really helps plan the day out. They mention long, uphill/downhill grades starting after the city of Grande Cache which is where I’ll be staying tomorrow. They did mention in the summary that the road has moderate grades and curves but the book is geared toward cars/RV users so it didn’t go into detail. An elevation profile would be a huge plus if they could add that (and make the pages perforated so its easier to rip out sections you don’t need).

GPX Track

06/28 No more Rocky Mountains. At least for a while anyway. Rode out of Jasper National Park and into the hill country. The area east of Jasper reminded me a lot of Yosemite. Huge, treeless mountains and lots of rivers/lakes. Very nice area. Had a strong tailwind for most of the way so I flew along at a pretty good clip along the Trans-Canada Highway. There was a good bit of traffic from people heading back home but the shoulders were in good shape so no worries. Tomorrow I jump on Hwy 40 heading north so it should quiet down a bit.

About 5 miles out of Jasper a guy riding the other way leap-frogged across the highway to say hi. Amazingly enough he just rode down from Anchorage on the same highways I’m going to be taking. 20 minutes later I think I finally wore him down from all my questions. Got some good intel on climbs, road conditions, camping, wildlife and the availability of food. Basically I should carry extra food, always fill up on water when I can and don’t bathe in honey before getting in the tent to sleep.

Right before Hwy 40 there was a KOA Kampground so rather than battle what would have been a strong headwind I pulled in here for the night.

GPX Track

06/27 Busy today but some great steak (AAA New York) and cold beer made it all worthwhile (Alley Kat Amber–brewed in Alberta and very tasty). I have to find a way to pack more meat products for when I’m on the road. Maybe some beef jerky. Pasta just isn’t cutting it anymore. The only problem is cooking it in bear country. They probably like meat too.

The day couldn’t have started off any better. When the thing that wakes me up in the morning is the sun warming my tent vs. the sound of rain beating down on it you can’t do better than that.

So it’s been about 8 days since I saw/read the news last. Everybody died! Holy crap! MJ! Will my red, zippered jacket be worth more now? (too soon?). And Farah and Ed! I was in a coffee shop this afternoon uploading the latest web site stuff when I started going through my CNN and Drudge alerts. I wanted to yell out, “MJ died!” but it was like 2 days ago now so it would have been weird. This was at the Coco’s Cafe. Everyone there was really cool. Great place to hang out if you are in Jasper. I really hate not knowing what’s going on in the world. Then again maybe not knowing is one of the reasons why I haven’t had a non-beer headache or heartburn in 4 months, both of which I would get regularly.

Took the bike in to Freewheel Cycle for a pre-Alaska Highway tune-up. The chain was filthy but I knew that. They cleaned it all up, adjusted the brakes and gave it the seal of approval. The wheels didn’t even need trueing. Only charged me $20 for everything which was a shock. Also very cool guys working there. They recommended the coffee place and the place I ate dinner. Dinner was at the Fiddler Restaurant. Good food but these days I think all the portions I get are too small. They also suggested I head over to the tourist info building and get a list of approved accommodations for the town. So off I went. Robert there pointed me to Gloria’s house so I called and for $50 I could have a bed for the night (and a shower!!!). Her place was only 5 minutes so I unloaded all my gear and headed back into town for some shopping.

One of the things I bought was the ugliest daypacks ever. The picture is below. I didn’t do anything to adjust the color. It really looks like someone got sick on it. It should keep people from stealing it though. It was only $18 at the Dollar Store and it is very lightweight. I was tempted to buy a $70 one at North Face but I exercised some self control. Its just a lot easier to carry that around when I make a side trip instead of having to unload a pannier and worry about someone walking off with it.

Also bought some camp fuel since I was almost out. I’m so happy they had white gas (aka camp fuel or Coleman fuel). I freaking hate kerosene. It leaves a nasty black soot on everything and it’s a pain to light. Regretfully I also bought a book called The Milepost. It’s a mile by mile guide of all the highways in the Yukon, Alaska, northern BC and Alberta. Basically everywhere I’m going to be. The problem is that its 5 pounds. I’m going to try and cut out some sections I know I won’t need to get it lighter. The book is very detailed and being able to see when I can buy food next will be somewhat helpful.

I spotted the 4 guys I mentioned yesterday in town. Their web site is www.4garsetuncanada.blogspot.com. Awesome guys. Hope they have safe trip back to Quebec.

I can’t see my web site now but I think my Trip Map section shows how I’m leaving Jasper. Basically I’ll be heading out on Hwy 16 NE until I get to Hwy 40 (which is paved–something I wasn’t sure about until tonight). Then I jump on Hwy 43 to Dawson Creek which is Mile 0 for the Alaska Highway. Once I leave Jasper I expect that my internet access will drop off a lot so don’t worry my family and friends–I’ll try to get updates out one way or another as often as I can.

GPX Track