Burwash Landing - Beaver Creek
23.05.2009
I set off at 11:42 am until 8:12 pm. Rode 60.31 km in 6:24h pure riding time.
It's now 22:30, and I'm in the tent. The day was really modest. It was all uphill, and to make matters worse, a good bit of it was on loose, fine gravel. It was like riding on liquid rubber.
Somehow I always lose air in the rear tire. The problem is that my floor pump is defective, a part of the cheap plastic upright is broken and there was a valve underneath it, now I can no longer pump with it! Great when you're somewhere in the bush...
I only have the shock pump, but it takes forever to pump up a tire...
Saw the first black bear, right next to the road.
I'm exhausted today ...
My top speed today was 43.30km/h (downhill of course!)
Highest gradient was 9%
My heart rate was max 152 bpm...
Min temp was 16 degrees and max was 29 degrees
My average speed was 9.21 km/h
Highest altitude was 1026 m
Break time was 1:56:46h
Total ride time with breaks was about 8:00 hours
Calorie consumption 3358kcal
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
There was a big fire here once...
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
The Duke River.
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A windy day !
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And gravel again...
The trike sinks deep into the gravel, it's like riding in thick mud...
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Many of the lodges are unfortunately closed for good, like Kluane Village.
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Too bad, it used to be a beautiful lodge...
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Views of lakes and mountains once again.
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
My camp by the Donjek River.
24.05.2009
During the night, the wind was so strong that I feared the tent poles would break. There wasn't much chance of sleep.
Sleep has been a problem so far. Due to the inevitable proximity to the road, it is extremely loud at night because of the large trucks. I wake up a good 8–12 times a night. Some of you will now say, so what, just put absorbent cotton in your ears, that's right, but there is a problem and that is black or brown, called a bear. I've already had one grizzly in camp, and I better not miss the next one...
The encounters with bears are slowly increasing as I am now entering wooded areas.
Today there was one next to me about 10m down the slope. He looked quite interested, so I better not have stopped to get the camera out of the case. Well, the camera is a real problem on the trike, I needed a handlebar bag in which the camera is always within easy reach, but that's not possible on the trike because the handlebars are under the seat....
Had to change the tube from the rear wheel this morning. I had already suspected that it had a hole. Changing it was quick, but pumping it up was not. My pump is defective, so I had to use my shock pump. But it's only designed for small amounts of air, so it took a long time to inflate...
In the early afternoon we set off again and then came the first climb, which was followed by a few more during the course of the day. To make matters worse, there were also some gravel sections.
The sun was once again burning relentlessly from the sky. My face was burning more and more. I've tried everything, but nothing helps against this strong radiation!
The landscape has changed, there is now extensive forest. The mountains are no longer as high and snow-covered as they were a day ago. But that doesn't mean that there are no more climbs, quite the opposite.
After 5:56 and 4:19 hours of pure riding time, I set up camp at Pickhandel Lake at around 8pm after 41.4 km and went to wash myself first, unfortunately the lake is full of algae and leeches, one of which promptly tried to suck on my foot...
The last few nights I didn't sleep well, either the trucks woke me up or the strong wind tugged at my tent so much that I kept waking up, so I hope it's a bit quieter here at the lake, but it's as noisy as all the water birds make here....
This ride is much harder than I thought, I hope it will get a bit easier with time, otherwise it will be nothing to enjoy, because so far it has been mostly "REALLY HARD" !
My Sigma ROX only recorded half of the route today, no idea why, so only data from the GPS today!
My top speed today was 40.9km/h (downhill, of course!)
The highest gradient was ?
My heart rate was max ? Bpm...
Min temp was 14 degrees and max 25 degrees
My average speed was 9.6 km/h
The highest altitude was ? M
Break time was 1:44 h
Total ride time with breaks was approx. 6:04 hours
Calorie consumption at 3267 kcal, the ROX stopped recording, this thing is real junk...
Pure riding time 4:19
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
My first flat tire on this trip. It was fixed quickly, but pumping it up was very time-consuming...
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
The Donjek River
Another long stretch with fine gravel...
Every time a car overtook me, I was caught in a cloud of dust.
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Always beautiful views of the mountains.
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Woodland as far as the eye can see
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My face continues to burn, no matter what I do about it.
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
My Amberg solar system charges the batteries while driving.
Mein Camp am Pickhandle Lake.
A lake all to myself...
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
The view from my tent...
25.05.2009 Rest day
The night at the lake was relatively quiet, two or three cars passed by. Around 3-4 o'clock in the morning the wolves howled on the other side of the lake, that was really cool...
As I've now been riding for 8 days straight, I'm treating myself to a much-needed rest day today.
Today is the first cloudy day in days, and I hope the weather doesn't change. Because rain on this route would be the last thing I need...
I'm really exhausted, my legs are heavy, and I'm exhausted. I hope that this rest day will give me strength again! In the afternoon, one of the road construction workers came and warned me that there is a bear with cubs nearby...
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
20 watts of solar power, not much at home, but everything I need here!
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
The rain can come... and it came....
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
The next morning, the sun was back!
26.05.2009
Yesterday evening, another motorhome arrived at the lake and spent the night there. A couple from the States are going to Palmer to work at an RV motorhome park. As we are chatting, the woman suddenly calls out that there is a bear up there.
And indeed it was a female black bear with 2 cubs. That was probably the bear that one of the workers had warned me about. So now she is past the lake very well, but unfortunately I don't have a picture again...
I started at 10:00 a.m., the road was gravel again due to work. After about 7 km, I made a stop at James & Dorothy Cook at Mile 1164 on the Alaska Highway.
They have been married for over 54 years and have now lived here in the small lodge for over 40 years. They are both ill, she had lung cancer which was successfully operated on, and he has an artificial hip & shoulder joint. Not only that, but they are both over 80 years old and would now like to sell the lodge. So if one of you would like to take over the lodge, just call or write. You can get the address and telephone number from me on request.
I stayed with them for a few hours and had a great time, if I had known that there was a lodge only 7 km from the lake I would of course have gone straight to James & Dorothy and spent the night there. Dorothy prepared a great meal for us, when I wanted to pay they didn't take any money from me, real travelers don't pay ...
Thank you very much for your hospitality !!!
I drove on in the afternoon. After 49.52 km and 5.25 hours of driving, I set up camp at a campground by a lake and took a refreshing, albeit cold, dip in the lake.
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
It is sometimes frightening to see such a monster in the rearview mirror!
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Stop at the lodge of James & Dorothy
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Thanks guys for your great northern hospitality !
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Koidern, also unfortunately only a ghost settlement...
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The White River, a great river to paddle!
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
Quite windy, but no problem on a recumbent !
And so it goes on...
Of course, as always upwards...
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The last climbs before the Enger Lakes
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
My camp at Anger Lake, safe from the rain !
First of all, what's cooking, NOODLES of course.....
27.05.2009
I got up again in the night because there was a beautiful rainbow down by the lake. I took some nice pictures.
Halfway through the night, two swans performed a dance on the lake. They were noisy and waddled around the lake with their feet slapping on the water.
It's a shame I didn't have my big telephoto with me, because they would have made great photos...
On the way to Beaver Creek it started to rain and then hail, I got really wet, went to a restaurant and ordered a proper burger with fries, it tasted good....
After that I updated my website, which took quite a long time, and then I took a very long shower.
I rode 22.61 km today in 1:38:20h
My top speed today was 32.55km/h (downhill, of course!)
Highest gradient was 21%
My heart rate was max 155 bpm...
Min temp was 10 degrees and max was 36 degrees (in the sun)
My average speed was 13,72km/h
Highest altitude was 803 meters
Break time was 00:20:54h
Total ride time with breaks was about 2:00 hours
© Copyright by Ch. Breier
Rainbow at night on Enger Lake
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Is there anything more beautiful?
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Thunderstorm approaching....
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And it got me after all, hail .....
Arrived in Beaver Creek just before the border to Alaska
So, unfortunately no data today, because I've been working on this little update for 3 hours now!
The internet speeds are really not great here...
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