Kamloops

Today, it was only a short spin to Kamloops before the finale to Kelowna, from where I will be flying home.

As I briefly wrote last night, yesterday's ride included a long descent that was also facilitated by very smooth pavement. This video shows the entire downhill part from the truck brake check area (which is from where is usually gets interesting), so it's kinda long:



And here are a few short clip from today's ride to Kamloops:



What a difference in landscape and vegetation, and, not surprisingly, in temperature.

Barriere

Today's ride was very scenic and included an exhilarating descent of around 3000 vertical feet; I will post a video tomorrow. Dinner time now :)

Lac La Hache

The morning was a little chilly, and then it got warm, and then even warmer. What a difference to one week ago when I happened to barely avoid the massive snowfall that had left the unseasonal amount of 30 cm of snow in the Dease Lake area in northern BC. Timing is important, but so is good luck.

I arrived here well before dark, and (speaking of luck) my arrival happened to occur five minutes before the store at the gas station closed.

Something "interesting" I saw on the way:

Along a winding part of the route between Quesnel and Williams Lake, I noticed a guy who looked like a teenager running against the direction of traffic. First I thought he was jogging, but his outfit, a sweatshirt and jeans, didn't seem to confirm that idea. Then, I noticed there were a bunch of things scattered on the pavement, and the kid was picking them up, and I also saw a pickup truck towing a trailer with a boat stopped on the shoulder with the hazard lights flashing. In addition to the boy I had noticed first, another kid and an older guy, presumably the father, were frantically picking up the things that had apparently fallen off the truck. The things (I'd say there were a dozen or so of them) turned out to be hunting rifles. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera running then.

Quesnel

Here is the video from Monday showing a few clips of the ride from New Hazelton to Burns Lake; one of the hills is - aptly but also unfairly, at least for cyclists - named Hungry Hill:



And on the following day continuing from Burns Lake to Prince George:



The blurred appearance of the first couple of clips is due to the dust, which, in turn, I believe is due to the many trucks transporting saw dust and wood chips.

It seems that at least some of the stuff is being used to produce wood pellets for use as fuel. Passing the numerous pulp mills, paper mills, pellet plants, etc. gives the impression of riding through an industrial area, which is effectively true. This also reminds me of the various aspects of the sugar industry that accompanied my on the ride from Tapachula to El Salvador a while back, including the sugarcane pieces I saw there scattered along the road; here it looks a little as if people had the habit of chopping wood along the highway.

Today's ride from Prince George to Quesnel was little shorter, and offered some impressive vistas of nature as well as machines.

A picture showing the north-east part of Prince George:

And a plant along Highway 97 just south of Hixon:

Beautiful scenery that, along with the light, reminds me of some parts of Scandinavia.

Prince George

I made it to Prince George well before dark after spending the night in Burns Lake.

The last days included some above-average mileage on this trip, and (especially the day from Hazelton to Burns Lake) climbing and descending, and climbing and descending, and ... But I think the hardest part was getting to Prince George with vivid images in my head of decidedly-non-beyond-meat food items along with various chilled fermented beverages, just to have to ride through kilometers of strip mall lined streets with restaurants whose exhaust vents made my olfactory system send unambiguous messages to my stomach. But after checking in at the hotel I was able to get some food and all is well.

I will post videos later on Wednesday, but for now, here is a question: after about 50 or so kilometers this morning, I noticed that my glasses, my camera, and other parts attached to the front of my bike were covered with white dust ... what might that be? I asked a few locals on the way, and they seemed to never have seen that before, I think I may know the answer ... more later.

New Hazelton

It was a great experience staying at the camp in Meziadin Junction.

A little bit similar to the place I stayed at in Delta Junction a week and a half ago, the camp at Meziadin Junction mainly houses contractors working on projects in the area. This was the third time I stayed overnight at a place of this kind; before Delta Junction, a while back, I spent a night in Coldfoot, AK. Based on my limited experience, these things seem to be no-nonsense accommodations where everything (including the WiFi, for example) is working as promised. Plus, this morning I noticed it has a helipad.

Picturesque scene near the Highway 16 junction at the southern terminus of Highway 37:

Most remarkably, it was dry and warm today, allowing me to shed my jacket, and then later arm and leg warmers!







And here is the video of last Wednesday's ride from Teslin to the Highway 37 junction:



And the following day continuing to Dease Lake:



And from Dease Lake to Tatogga, showing a somewhat longer portion from the sdescent to Skitine River:

Meziadin Junction

I am using the blazing-fast data connection from the camp I am staying at (Meziadin Junction, it's quite a unique experience and I will take photos tomorrow) to briefly catch up.

The last couple of days included a little bit of everything: rain, snow, sunshine, hills...and today more bears than I would have expected to see during my whole life.

Wednesday started in Teslin with a crossing of a steel bridge with a super slippery wet grating. It was a challenging exercise and I was glad I made it without crashing.

Then there was a lot of climbing in wet and cold conditions, which was fun, albeit in an unorthodox way.

About at the halfway point, I stopped at the Continental Divide Lodge and from there it was dry and mostly downhill. Just as it was getting dark, I arrived at the place where I was staying near the cutoff to Highway 37.

Then on Thursday, I said bye bye to the Yukon and hello to British Columbia.

Lots of ups and downs and spectacular scenery. For a change, the day started with sunshine and ended with rain.

A short ride yesterday from Dease Lake to Tatogga, and then today to Meziadin Junction. I lost track of the bear count at 7 or 8. During the entire day, I must have passed far more than a dozen. Once I spotted a bear, it turned out to be a reasonable strategy to proceed cautiously while trying to imitate the sound of a delivery truck backing up into a loading zone. See the last two segments of the video, especially around 00:41 and the portion from about 00:53.



During a climb close to Meziadin Junction, it started raining, and unlike on numerous similar occasions over the last days, it felt pleasantly refreshing; it's much warmer here than much of the route before!

I will upload other videos from the last days at a later time.

Dease Lake, British Columbia

The last couple of days included a little bit of everything: rain, snow, sunshine, hills, spectacular views,...

Cell service seems to be down here, and there are the usual Internet issues, so for now only a brief hello from BC and a photo. More later!

Teslin

Very pretty scenery, quite a lot of headwind, a pleasant and informative conversation with a local from the Marsh Lake area (according to him, it's "the Yukon," and not "Yukon," and, of course, it has to do with politics), and a very friendly guy from Teslin, who gave me an anti-bear escort with a pickup truck just west of Teslin. It's a bummer that I didn't have the camera rolling to capture the moment. A little later, I ran into him (the guy, not the bear) at a convenience store and had the opportunity to thank him.

He had passed me a few miles north/west of Teslin and then stopped and started honking after he had spotted a black bear just off the shoulder. Then, he waited for me to give me a heads-up. This was so nice. It was fun to watch a large black fur ball jump up and down and then jump in the ditch off the highway while the horn (standard Mopar stock item, I assume, based on the sound) was sounding. And I was thinking it could be even more fun to see the bear's reaction to an air horn.



And here are a few segments from Monday:

Whitehorse

I arrived in the city early in the evening after the first day of riding with some headwind.

No bear encounters en route but a fox just off the highway. For some reason, as I was riding and getting hungry, I developed a craving for Chinese noodles. When I arrived at the hotel, I was told that the Internet wasn't working and that they were trying to fix it. I briefly thought about trying to find another place to stay, but the view of the Chinese restaurant right next to the hotel outweighed any technical concerns. More thonight from Teslin.

Haines Junction, YT

Rain, snow, the turquoise waters of Kluane Lake ... and a bear. (Around 1:15, Watch the area just off the shoulder on the left side in the fourth segment of the video showing some of the descent into Haines Junction.)

Yukon has a population of around 40,000. (And about three quarters of Yukon residents live in Whitehorse, which is the capital.) The population density of 0.2 people per square mile makes Wyoming's 6 per sq mi look a little bit like Singapore in comparison. So not a lot of traffic lights on the way.



And here is some footage from Friday:



And here is some from Saturday:

South of Beaver Creek, YT

A border crossing, views of majestic mountain ranges, and ... sunshine! And I am spending the night in a cabin south of Beaver Creek, YT, so Internet is again limited. Videos will be posted tomorrow or Monday!

Tok

Last night the internet here was non-functional, and this morning it's still very, very slow; hence, this delayed post and no video.

I had a late start in Delta Junction as the rain was supposed to taper off in the afternoon, which it did. There was more water from above than yesterday, but blue skies during the final stretch. And the scenery would have made me ignore even an epic downpour.

On an amusing note, I called the place where I am staying to let them know I may arrive very late. I also thought I may like to have a cold one after I arrive and asked if there is a liquor store that will still be open. The answer was: "The place you're staying at is mostly a liquor store." That said, I am glad my bed was not squeezed between cases of beer and wine.

Delta Junction

The forecast called for light to heavy rain, and all I got was light rain and sometimes even no rain at all. (But I am not complaining :) The day included amazing scenery featuring impressively swollen rivers, a moose sighting, and much more.

Downtown Fairbanks

A little test ride in Fairbanks before, weather permitting, heading to Delta Junction on Thursday, and then to Tok, and further to the metric part of the world, eh?

Interlude - Allegretto & fortississimo

After a long hiatus with regard to cyclophile travel updates, there will soon be new posts. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, please enjoy this interlude featuring a dual-trumpet truck air horn on two wheels in LA traffic.