Category: Seattle to Alaska 2013

The weather has warmed up significantly. On the road into Prince George I was wearing my warmest gloves to keep from freezing but it was a balmy seventy degrees exiting town. The first twenty miles went by quickly but a headwind picked up and slowed our progress towards the town of Vanderhoof.

Towns are more prevalent out here than I initially thought and so we’re going to be hopping from town to town for the next few days.
Sunday brought more subdued headwinds and progress was better as we continued west, stopping in the town of Burns Lake. The Chinese restaurant in town is closed Sundays but the pub has a surprisingly good menu.

Another day on the road brings strong headwinds once more. A downed power line stops all traffic on the highway for over an hour and we decide to call it a night in the town of Houston. The Chinese restaurant here is closed on Mondays and we head to the pub in town instead. The menu is not as good as yesterday’s.

Heading out from Houston the scenery is getting nicer. The rolling plains and pine trees are yielding to snow-capped mountains. We have a large climb and more magnificent views as the mountains grow closer. The town of Smithers has the last bike shop for a long while so I pick up some more tubes. Smithers has a pretty nice downtown area and we stop for a late lunch and decide to stick around for the night. Three beers later and we head out in search of a motel. Not a block later we get stopped by two girls handing out cookies. It turns out one of them, Lillian, had done a tour in the past. She offered us a place to stay for the night and we took her up on the offer. Twelve miles out of town and a big hill later we arrive at the farm at which she’s staying.

A good night’s sleep and an excellent breakfast later we backtrack the twelve miles to Smithers and continue west. Stopping in a tiny town for lunch, the only cafe in town is no longer a cafe. It’s an office of some sort but they just haven’t bothered to take down the sign or even erase the menu on the chalkboard. This is a bit of a recurring theme up here – places will often have a large “open” sign out front only to be shuttered permanently. And the restaurants and motels that are in fact open more often than not have a “for sale” sign prominently displayed. It’s all rather strange.

The scenery continues to be amazing and before long we reach the town of New Hazelton. We head off tomorrow into bear country and onto the Stewart-Cassiar highway, which will eventually link us up with the Alaska highway. There are very few towns for the next several hundred miles so I’ll be checking in when I can.

Mileage:
Day 12: 64
Day 13: 80
Day 14: 52
Day 15: 54
Day 16: 54
Total: 907

Leaving Hope was a double entendre. Heavy rain came down and just a few minutes in we were drenched as we  headed north into Fraser Canyon and  the hills began. What would have ordinarily been a scenic view was obscured by the rain and mist. A couple hours of suffering later and the rain gave way to sunshine. For the rest of the day a strong tailwind pushed us towards the town of Lytton for the night. The restaurant in town served us half-frozen spring rolls.

The small towns we stay in overnight are now spaced 60-75 miles apart, usually with one even smaller town somewhere in between. Food choices range between pubs, cafes, and the occasional Chinese food which at first breaks up the monotony before becoming part of it.

Leaving Lytton we were treated by beautiful weather and views. Another stiff tailwind kept us moving quickly through the mountains, following a river. Before too long I got my first flat – a piece of metal managed to pierce my rear tire going down a hill. I made quick work of the fix and we continued on to eat lunch in a bar on the side of the road.  Another couple hours in the saddle and we arrived at Cache Creek, a tiny town at the junction of route 1 which we had been following and route 97 which would take us north. The couple next door in the motel talked loudly past 3am.

The next morning was frigid and once on the road we were greeted by a headwind. Progress was slow as the headwind turned into a never-ending hill climb which gave way to more wind and even snow as we approached the mountain pass. A quick lunch in the town of Clinton and the headwinds and snow continued as we pushed towards 100 Mile House for the night. The motels seem to be getting seedier somehow.

The bagels I picked up a few days ago are positively mediocre so every morning I force myself to eat some in order to get them over with. After another such meal we head out towards Williams Lake. There’s some more snow and I do my best to zone out of the freezing weather and just focus on making progress.

The days are starting to blur together. The road from Williams Lake to Quesnell has a nice tailwind so we make good time, but leaving Quesnell there is heavy rain that makes the morning full of suffering but it manages to clear up in the afternoon and another tailwind brings us to Prince George. This is the last large town before Whitehorse, a thousand miles away so we’re spending a rest day here to visit a bike shop, do some laundry, and relax.

Mileage:
Day 5: 70
Day 6: 52
Day 7: 71
Day 8: 58
Day 9: 75
Day 10: 76
Day 11: 0
Total: 603 miles

As always seems to be the case with these sorts of things, we got a late start on the first day. Grabbing the ferry to Bainbridge, Donald and I wound our way up the Olympic peninsula before having a meal in port Townsend and ending the short day in Fort Casey state park on Whidbey island. The almost-full moon looked like headlights on my tent walls.

Wednesday morning was sunny and warm so we relaxed for a couple hours in the park before departing along the hilly route up Whidbey. A combination of bike problems, frequent and extended breaks, and a late start led us to only make it forty miles to Bay View state park. We did make it to camp in time top perform some much needed bicycle maintenance so we were ready for a long day on Thursday.

Thursday came and despite a late start, we made quick work of the 25 miles to Bellingham, our last large city for a while. Stopping in REI for supplies, Donald had his bike looked at because he was still having some shifting issues. It was a good thing too, because he had some major problems, most importantly a broken derailer hanger. Additionally, his bike uses a rather rare kind of hanger and they didn’t have a replacement in stock. We found another bike shop in town, Earl’s Bike Shop who saved the day by having the spare part in stock and graciously making time to fix up Donald’s bike. By that time it was already almost evening so we had to call it a night  in Bellingham.

Friday brought tailwinds. The thirty miles from Bellingham to the border was gone in under two hours, the border crossing was smooth, and the roads were flat. After a quick stop in Chilliwack we hopped on the Trans-Canada highway for the last thirty miles to the town of Hope. The three restaurants near our hotel were either closed permanently or for the day so we headed over to a subway for dinner.

We’ve had a number of setbacks but have started making better time. With two people it’s hard to get started at a decent hour in the morning, the breaks are twice as frequent and frequently longer, and the pace is reduced to the lowest common denominator. But it’s still the beginning. Heading out of Hope now, into the rain. See you in four hundred miles, from Prince George.

Mileage:
Day 1: 50
Day 2: 42
Day 3: 30
Day 4: 79
Total: 201

Next week I’ll be departing on my second extended bike tour from Seattle to Talkeetna, Alaska. I’ll be riding with my longtime friend Donald and we’re planning on covering the 2500 mile distance in about six weeks.
Cell coverage in northern Canada is hard to come by so I will be posting updates on roughly a weekly basis, when I have wifi access.

The bike trip is the first part of a larger adventure for me. Upon reaching Alaska I’ll be joining an expedition to climb Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. I’ve already shipped my mountaineering equipment to Alaska and all I have to do now is reach Talkeetna by June 4th when my mountaineering expedition is set to begin.

See you from the road!