Peace on the Peninsula

Day 36, 14 August (Distance Biked 77 miles): Biked to Elbow, Saskatchewan.

Day 37, 15 August (Distance Biked 45 miles): Biked to Outlook, Saskatchewan.

Day 38, 16 August (Distance Biked 22 Miles): Biked to Milden, Saskatchewan.

Day 39, 17 August (Distance Biked 25 Miles): Biked to Rosetown, Saskatchewan.

Day 40, 18 August. No bike day.

Day 41, 19 August (Distance Biked 37 Miles): Biggar, Saskatchewan.

Day 42, 20 August (Distance Biked 59 Miles): North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

Day 43-45, 21-23 August. No Biking Days.

Day 46, 24 August (Distance Biked 53 Miles): Biked to Maidstone, Saskatchewan.

Day 47, 25 August (Distance Biked 16 Miles): Biked to Lashburn, Saskatchewan.

Day 48, 26 August (Distance Biked 20 Miles): Biked to Lloydminister, Saskatchewan.

Day 49, 27 August (Distance Biked 38 Miles): Biked to Vermilion, Alberta.

Days 50-52, 28-30 August. No Biking Days.

Day 53, 31 August (Distance Biked 55 Miles): Biked to Vegreville. Alberta. Home of the world’s largest Psyanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg).

Day 54, 1 September (Distance Biked 58 Miles): Biked to Edmonton, Alberta.

Days 55-56, 2-3 September. Biked locally in Edmonton. Bought studded tires at Mike’s Bikes and Beans. Bought cold weather slip-overs for my cycling shoes at another cycle shop. Bought a sleeping bag and extra wool socks at an outdoor store.

Day 57, 4 September (Distance Biked 40 Miles): Biked to Imrie Park Campground, ALberta. I was invited to sit around a campfire for the night by a group of RV campers.

Day 58, 5 September (Distance Biked 69 Miles): Biked to approximately 7 miles East of Whitecourt, Alberta where I camped in the hills.

Day 59, 6 September (Distance Biked 67 Miles): Biked to a campground approximately 8 miles past Fox Creek.

Day 60, 7 September (Distance Biked 132.5 Miles): Camped vicinity of a cemetery NorthWest of Grande Prarie, Alberta.

Day 61, 8 September (Distance Biked 63.8 Miles): Biked to Dawson Creek, BC where I camped at an RV campground.

Day 62, 9 September (Distance Biked 11.3 Miles): Biked a short distance and made a weather call due to rain and forecasted wind gusts up to 30 MPH. Sought refuge at Farmington Fairways Golf Course and RV Park (www.farmingtonfairways.com). One of the owners, Melanie, graciously invited me to an evening dinner/buffet that was planned. There I also met Curtis and his wife DeeAnne (sorry if misspelled) who invited me to play night golf with them. I had a great time and it was one of the highlights of my trip. I’d recommend a night golf experience, especially in the manner that it was organized and supported. Thank you all for your hospitality and kindness.

 

Day 63, 10 September. No bike day.

Day 64, 11 September (Distance Biked 36.8 Miles): Biked to Fort Saint John, BC. Along the way I stopped at a gas station/store. Sandra Dee, the clerk at the store, and I started talking about what I was doing and she recommended that I try to stay with her brother, Brian, in Ft. Saint John. I resupplied at WALMART and attempted to get in touch with Brian for a place to stay that evening, but was unsuccessful, so I camped in a local park. *Brian re-enters the picture a few days later.

Day 65, 12 September (Distance Biked 9.43 Miles): I was missing a screw on one of my cleats and was fortunate to get help from the staff at Ernie’s Sports Experts in the local mall. Biked to and camped vicinity of Lake Charlie.

Day 66, 13 September (Distance Biked 82.4 Miles): Biked to and camped in Pink Mountain, BC. Had to take a short ride in the back of a pilot truck due to road construction.

Day 67, 14 September (Distance Biked 146 Miles): Biked to and camped in Fort Nelson, BC. That day while pulled over at a rest area, a yellow truck pulled over and asked if I was Eric, it turned out to be Sandra Dee’s brother, Brian; Brian was hauling things to Fort Nelson.  We chatted for a while and I kept an eye out for his vehicle on his return trip. Later that day, I saw Brian again and pulled over to chat. Brian had bought a great lunch and drink for me. Thanks for your hospitality Brian. I had my first Grizzly bear encounter while cycling in the middle of the night. I saw the bear just getting ready to cross the road maybe 20 meters in front of me and to my right. Naturally, I was startled and yelled (probably shrieked) and the bear went to a squat on it’s hind as I passed by within a car lane’s width of the bear. That got my adrenaline up and I started imagining bears ahead of me for the rest of the night. Making things worse that night was the fact that my brakes were failing and it took forever to stop.

Day 68-69, 15-16 September. No bike days. I went to CMP sports in Fort Nelson with an extra set of brake pads and one of the staff was kind enough to replace one of the pads and adjusted my brakes free of charge.

Day 70, 17 September (Distance Biked 50.5 Miles): Stopped at rest area/pull-out area and camped. Daytime black bear and grizzly bear sightings along the road.

Day 71, 18 September (Distance Biked 71 Miles): Biked to Toad River, BC and camped at the Toad River Lodge. While checking-in, I had the good fortune to meet Brian and Deb Measel, their son Zach and his finance Emily. Zach and Emily were moving to Anchorage and Brian and Deb were helping drive their cars. Brian invited me to sit down with them at dinner and I am glad I accepted their offer. They were obviously good people so I offered them the keys to my apartment so they wouldn’t have to waste their money on hotels while Zach and Emily searched for housing.

Day 72, 19 September (Distance Biked 52 Miles): Biked to a little past Muncho Lake. That day, while I was taking a break at a pull-out, I met and talked with Dave Petrobon. Dave, the owner of Muskwa Valve Services LTD ( muskwa_valve@theedge.ca) was riding his motorcycle back from the Liard River Hot Springs to his home in Fort Nelson. Dave was kind and gave me a few pounds of smoked Salmon and some delicious date pastries. Before Dave got on his motorcycle, the first touring cyclist I encountered going my way (during my whole trip!) pulled in. Max was cycling from Kansas City, MO to Prudhoe Bay (Max decided later to only bike to Fairbanks). Max and I decided to cycle together; I was happy to have the company of another person during this point of my trip. We stopped and camped near a pull-out past Munch Lake. I set up my electric bear fence for the first time during my trip; the fence briefly worked, but then ceased to function and I never tried setting it up again during my trip. We feasted on smoked Salmon and pasta that night!

Day 73, 20 September (Distance Biked 54.9 Miles):  Biked to vicinity of Coal River and Max introduced me to camping under bridges. That day, max and I stopped at The Liard River Hot Springs for a few hours. The hot springs were absolutely gorgeous and I would’ve stayed there for a few days, but Max was on a tight timeline and was still trying to get to Prudhoe Bay, so we enjoyed the hot springs for a brief few hours.

Day 74, 21 September (Distance Biked 88 Miles): Biked to a rest area a few miles short of Watson Lake.

Day 75, 22 September (Distance Biked 60 Miles): Biked to a rest area West of Watson Lake, Yukon Territory (YT).

Day 76, 23 September (Distance Biked 46 Miles): Biked and camped vicinity of Swift River, YT.

Day 77, 24 September (Distance Biked 98 Miles): Biked to and camped under a bridge at Johnsons Crossing, YT.

Day 78, 25 September (Distance Biked 84 Miles): Biked to and camped in Whitehorse, YT.

Day 79, 26 September (Distance Biked 28.2 Miles): While Max and I were cooking meals in front of the Whitehorse Visitor’s Center, I met a couple Zephyr and Lylith from Haines, AK. Zephyr is a sea kayaker and he knew one of my Outward Bound for Vets sea kayaking instructors. I plan on getting to Haines in the future to meet Zephyr and hopefully get pointed in the right direction for my sea kayaking plans! That day Max and I biked to and camped under a bridge at the Takhini River in the Ibex Valley.

Day 80, 27 September (Distance Biked 65 Miles): Biked to and camped at a Provincial campground short of Haines Junction, YT.

Day 81, 28 September (Distance Biked 74 Miles): Max and I had planned on grabbing breakfast in Haines Junction early that morning, but to our surprise there wasn’t a restraunt open. We ran in to a nice women and asked if anything was open. The kind woman went out of her way and had us follow her to her Bed and Breakfast and treated us to breakfast. Later in the day, we hailed a passing vehicle while cycling along the Kluane Lake to act as a barrier to a Grizzly that would not go away. Biked to and camped vicinity of Destruction Bay, YT.

Day 82, 29 September (Distance Biked 49.5 Miles): Biked to and camped under a bridge.

Day 83, 30 September (Distance Biked 90.9 Miles): Max and I would hang our gear off the other end of the bridges we camped under. That morning as we were hauling up our food bags, my bag unclipped and fell the 40-50 feet onto an isolated island on the river. I was ready to write off my bag, but Max insisted that he would retrieve the bag. Max stripped down and walked barefoot over frozen rocky ground and through icy waters to retrieve the bag. He felt sick and obviously cold after the ordeal so we spent some extra time getting him warm and feeling well by the fire. Crossed the ALCAN border that evening before midnight and found a bridge nearby to camp under.

Day 84, 1 October (Distance Biked 40 Miles): Biked to Northway Junction and camped at the Naabia campground.

Day 85, 2 October (Distance Biked 49.8 Miles): Biked to TOK and I paid for a hotel for Max and I to stay in.

Day 86, 3 October (Distance Biked 46.4 Miles): Max and I said our goodbyes and max cycled towards Fairbanks and I continued alone towards Anchorage. Camped at a pull-out that night.

Day 87, 4 October (Distance Biked 45.7 Miles): Biked to vicinity of Chistochina. I stopped at a gas station/store to eat dinner and became engaged in conversation with Gerry, a local Village Public Safety Officer. Gerry kindly offered me a place to sleep that night and we chatted more during the evening and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Day 88, 5 October (Distance Biked 83.8 Miles): Biked to the Mendeltna Creek Lodge and paid for a dry cabin to stay in for the night.

Day 89, 6 October (Distance Biked 50.7 Miles): Biked to vicinity of the Matanuska Glacier where I met two Air Force Airmen who offered me a place to sleep in their cabin for the night.

Day 90, 7 October (Distance Biked 103.2 Miles) Finally, I completed my trip when I arrived at my apartment a little before 9 P.M. that evening!