Experience an account of 40 days
on a bicycle from Vancouver across
the Arctic Circle to Anchorage
Took off on BA.747 at gate 13!! Piloted by Capt. Stone to Seattle and Vancouver: arrived 4pm local time – 8 hours 55 minutes flying time.
Assembled the bicycle and rang Audrey, a relative of a cycling journalist friend of mine. I was invited to her home here in Vancouver and made it by 6.30pm. After tea Audrey and her daughter drove me to Spanish Banks to see the sunset. Dropped into bed 10.30. Very tired!
Slept soundly until 6.30am and rose at 8. Spent the day collecting maps and information from the British Columbia tourist office. Called at the Bicycle Association. of B.C. and learned of Paul Claxton. He is a British cyclist riding alone to Prudhoe Bay – the start of the Alaska Oil Pipeline. He left Vancouver about three or four weeks ago.
Lunched in Robson Square and spent the afternoon in Stanley Park. The weather was brilliant, a warm and sunny 68 degrees, rode around B.C. University grounds and home to supper. Finished the day with a Kayak trip (my first ever!) on the Vancouver waters. Managed quite well except getting in and out of the thing!
Rose to another sunny day with a feeling of apprehension and realisation of the enormity of the task ahead.
After a hearty breakfast and goodbye to my hosts, I was on my way at 9.50am. It was 11 o’clock before I was clear of Vancouver and riding on R99 to Horseshoe Bay. The ride from there to Squamish was among high mountains and beside rivers. After a meal I headed for Whistler, a deserted Condonimium Ski Resort. Unable to find a grocery store or anywhere to eat, I struck out for Pemberton and supper in a ‘Chinese’. Couldn’t find a campground so went on to Mt. Currie, which was an Indian Community. Didn’t feel safe, but still had to take the summer road to Lillooet: rode until dark through the reservation and laid my sleeping bag on the ground by the roadside. Must have covered about 170km today, which was quite good, considering it was hilly. Used the whole range of gears on a 44 chainring. It rained for a couple of hours in the afternoon.
Started riding at 6am. Climbed continually for three hours on a gravel road and descended intermittently for a further 3 hours. I was down to the 28 chainring and bottom gear for hours at a time. It was 90km to Lillooet, known as the “Gateway to the Gold Country,” arrived at two o\’clock SHATTERED! The gravel road was like those in Peru: fell off once while climbing among gigantic mountains, rivers, precipitous ravines, gorges and SNOW! I was really glad to get here and not too happy about doing this for another eight weeks! Hoped to get further today but could not push myself any more. Ate in town (free blueberry ice cream!) Got a motel for $18 and called it a day! Perhaps I’ll feel better about it in the morning.
Got an early start at 6am after deciding to continue. Reached Pavilion by 8am, just a general store. Was advised not to take the mountain road, so took the paved road to Cache Creek and then on to Clinton by 2pm. (I missed the turn off over the mountain I intended to take anyway!). Once on Highway 97 it was good going and all those feelings of the hopelessness of the task I had yesterday, began to fade. I wonder for how long? Met my first biker today, Neil Drieger from Prince George. Got to the small town called 100 Mile House by 8pm, found a motel and I’m back on schedule after the 307 miles from Vancouver.
Left at 7.30 after ringing my wife Helen, and rode all day until 7pm. Stopped at Williams Lake for lunch. I got three good soakings to-day!! Sheltered under a house at one time and got invited in for coffee. Covered 130 miles: so it was a motel and hot bath here at Quesnel.
Todays diet was Granola-hot cakes and coffee – Mars bar – two banana sandwiches – one slice of peanut butter and two coffees, plus two portions of cold salami pizza left over from last nights ‘Blow out’ at the 100 Mile House pizza place. They’d put it in a ‘doggie bag’ for me.
Slept well until 6.20 and was down-town by 7am for breakfast. Left town by 8 o’clock to ride Highway 97 to Prince George. Climbed out of Quensel for 8 miles then undulating for another 118km. It was bright but cold, so donned extra top clothing and gloves, rode through one or two showers and arrived at 2.30: after meeting Jeff Sharp from Cambridge at a rest area lunch stop.
I needed a bike shop and bank but they were closed, so called at the ‘Chamber of Commerce’ Information Bureau, what a stroke of luck! I was introduced to Margaret and Richard Thompson, they were local residents, (he was a bike rider). I stayed the night with them and found they had heard of Paul Claxton! “Wouldn’t Helen love to see this” – a childrens Day Care Centre right here in their own home.
Today the mosquitos appeared and I tried to get Cutters Cream repellent which I’ve been told is the most effective. No luck! nobody stocks it, so I had to settle for ‘Muskol’.
Goodbye to the Thompsons and a visit to Koops bike shop. Set out clad in a wet suit top and Plus twos’ but soon had to add trousers and gloves. One or two stiff climbs followed by undulating hills made the going pretty slow in all those clothes. Stopped for lunch at Bednesti Resort which was paid for by a Sales Rep. I met. John Deere was the company he was with.
The latter part of the day improved, sun appeared and I managed to cover more miles than I had hoped; with stops at Vanderhoof, Engen, and finally Fort Fraser. Stayed overnight at Pipers Glen campground, “beautiful spot” it’s run by Scottish folk. The last couple of hours riding was magnificent into a setting sun, bright daylight and the campsite is idyllic.