The ride between Fairbanks and Whitehorse seemed like a breeze compared to the Dalton Highway. For most of the way we really just appreciated being on paved roads! Again, it was very remote with us only passing through a few very small towns (North Pole, Delta Junction, Tok, Beaver’s Creek, Haines Junction). Every town had something special but we really liked Haines Junction the best. It had a busy little hub with a super yum bakery and visitor’s centre. The locals were very friendly and we got a shower at the swimming pool. We had a mix of weather, with two particularly cold and windy days, one day of rain, one day of sunshine and the rest overcast. Although the quality of the roads, rest areas and government campgrounds in the Yukon are not the same as in Alaska (which are excellent), the scenery certainly makes up for it. We have had the pleasure of passing by some stunning mountain ranges (Elias) and super large lakes and rivers (Kluane, Takhini), which by bike you really get the time to soak it all in. In terms of accommodation we stayed two nights with people through Warm Showers and Couch Surfing (thanks to Lara in Delta Junction and Mike in Haines Junction). The rest of the time has been primitive camping next to rivers, abandoned lodges and free government campgrounds and one free night at a private campground (which was so awesome!). We’ve had three showers in the past nine days so looking forward to some clean clothes and a shower tonight!
We have met a lot of cyclists on this leg, which has been surprising (even some going north). Good to know there’s other over-enthusiastic people out there hoping the summer will hold out for us. In the first couple of days out of Fairbanks we cycled with Scott (who was the guy that we thought was a bear on the Elliot Highway). The two days heading into Haines Junction we spent some time with Solomon. He was a free spirit ,cycling his own way and in his own time. We got some competition playing three-way crib and also some good food swapping going on. The most dramatic thing that happened during our time with Solomon was that he crashed into us from behind. Once we were sure he and his bike were ok, it was a tad funny. He thought we were further ahead and so he decided to look down and check on his tire (that we had fixed a few miles back down the road) and then next minute there was a loud bang and shudder and looking behind he was on the ground. We hope to see both Scott and Solomon somewhere in the States again.
Once again we have met so many great people along this segment. A highlight for us was last night (which was rather chilly and cold) meeting Bob and Dot from Vancouver Island. We pitched our tent close to their RV on a turn-out next to a river and they kindly invited us in and offered us supper and somewhere warm! The next morning we had breakfast with them and warm drinks before facing the cold. It’s these gestures that you don’t expect but when they happen it’s a little bit of magic.
We have quite a few videos that we want to share with everyone but are having trouble uploading them. So hopefully we will work that out very soon. It’s tough trying to summarise everything that’s happened but hope that this gives everyone reading this a small insight into our experiences. We love reading your comments and maybe soon we can reply to some of them. They really do put a smile on our face!
Crib Score:
Roland ahead by two: 15 to 13
What did we find on the side of the road?
- Several pairs of underwear – no we didn’t pick them up
- A table – we all know Roland is strong but no we didn’t pick that up either!
- A Minnesota Viking jumper that cleaned up well and went to the brother of Lara who hails from Minnesota (strangely handy). We stayed with Lara in Delta Junction. Lara and her family were so lovely and welcoming!
- A Volcom cap in need of a wash
- Reading glasses (passed onto a fellow cyclist – one of a cool Canadian pair of female cyclists from Edmonton)
- A pair of pliers (that went to Sam who we met with Peatrice today just before Whitehorse – so nice of them to stop and chat!)