Tok - Delta Junction

 02.06.2009
Went to the lodge this morning to do some more work on my website update.
Then I went into town to get some soup and do some shopping. At the visitor center I met Ulrich Haß from Gelsenkirchen. He is traveling with a pickup camper for 3 weeks through the Yukon and Alaska. He made us coffee and we talked about Alaska. I gave him some tips on the best places to go to make the most of his vacation. Let's see if it helps him...
It's such a small world, there are two guys from the Ruhrpott in Tok/Alaska living not far from each other...
The drive from Tok to Fairbanks was beautiful. It goes past a mountain landscape that is densely overgrown. Many small creeks and endless forest. About 25 km after Tok I was able to take some pictures of caribou. Actually, I only wanted to drive 50 km, but it went so well that I ended up driving a bit more.

Just before Dot Lake, I saw a car on the side of the road and thought they had a flat tire and wanted to help, but it was an Indian couple taking a break and collecting birchbark. We talked for a while. The two of them were in the army 30 years ago and stationed in southern Germany. The woman offered me some fruit, yogurt and cold water. Man, that was good, thank you very much...
After 94.15 km and 7:28:12 pure riding time, I camped next to the road in a forest aisle.
Slowly the pests of the north, the mosquitoes, what a plague...
 

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  Ulrich Haß from Gelsenkirchen.

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 The Visitorcenter in Tok/Alaska 

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A post indicating Historic Mile 1328 of the original Alaska Hwy.

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These notches in the road serve to indicate to drivers that they are leaving the road, because they make a hell of a noise when they drive over them. Nice for car drivers but bad for trike riders, because you always get into this notch with a bike...

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© Copyright by Ch. Breier

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Endless Road....

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Beautiful views of the mountains from time to time.

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There are always small rivers, which is a good thing because every opportunity to filter water is just right for my water consumption!

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The water tastes best in such fast-flowing rivers!

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A steady up and down, albeit not as steep as a week ago, but you can still feel it in your legs....

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Some rivers are still covered in ice...

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  Hard to believe in this heat!

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At the exit of the village of DOT LAKE. The place wasn't exactly inviting, so I drove on...  

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Another camp next to the road...

03.06.2009
The night was quiet. I set off at 10:55am, the landscape was a bit boring at first because there was only dense forest to the left and right of the road without any views, but that soon changed, mountains reappeared and wide rivers.
Somehow, I had imagined things differently with the trike. There are only a few really beautiful moments. The landscape is simply too vast to enjoy at this snail's pace. There hasn't been much to see in the last few days either, sometimes it's as if I'm in a green tunnel, which is nice, but boring in the long run...
No animals seen today, apart from birds. The weather is still great, up to 31 degrees in the sun. There were only a few climbs to contend with today, otherwise the road was dead straight for many, many kilometers. Somehow my legs were exhausted today, but that changed a bit towards the afternoon....

I can drink as much as I want, but I'm always thirsty, I already take special salt pills, but even that doesn't get rid of the thirst...
I'm also losing more and more weight, I can't get the calories I consume every day with the food I carry with me!
A real problem...
I feel exhausted, I can't even sleep properly, the noise from the trucks driving past at night is worse than at home...
Oh yes, today there was a phone booth somewhere in the middle of nowhere about 100 km away from any place, so I took out my phone card and called home, when I was talking to my mother, suddenly a black bear walked on the other side, he looked at me big and was probably not sure if he should come over, so I shouted hello bear and clapped my hands, then he disappeared into the bush, but came out a few more times with his head. Of course, my mother didn't think it was so funny....

But what I don't find funny at all is the news from my mother that our dog will probably have to be put to sleep because he has ulcers in his stomach. I feel even worse now, I'm so attached to the dog that you can't even imagine, I'd love to fly home immediately....
(Our dog was operated on, he had ulcers in his stomach which were removed! He's back to his old self! )
Today I cycled 60.44 km in 6:23:15 h pure cycling time.

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A phone booth somewhere in the bush....

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At these temperatures, the sweat runs in streams...

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The partly dried up Gerstle River.

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 I had to ride the Pirol Trike right away...

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No problem for the spring-loaded Pirol, in spite of the heavy luggage!

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So far I haven't had any problems with my Pirol Trike apart from loose spokes in the front wheels! I only really realized how extremely good the Pirol Trike really is in 2014, when I bought an ICE Trike, which was BIG BAD compared to the Pirol!

 04.06.2009
My legs were weak today too, somehow I had no strength again. Just as well that it's not that far to Delta Junction today.
I really have to think of something to get rid of this feeling of thirst. I also have to radically change my diet to regain my strength!
Shortly before Delta J. I stopped at a butcher's and bought a pack of buffalo sausages, they tasted great! You don't get to eat buffalo meat every day!
When I arrived in Delta Junction I went to the visitor info and bought an ice-cold Coke, that was good...
The obligatory photo with the trike in front of the end of the Alaska Hwy's sign, and off to the campground. Once there, I took a shower and washed my clothes.
Now I've been sitting at the computer for hours again. Editing pictures, reducing them in size and then putting them on the website, an endlessly long task at the speeds here...
I only cycled 29.99 km today in 2:44:12 pure cycling time.

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Endless straight road to Delta Junction....

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The Meat and Sausage Company, where you can get delicious meat, including buffalo!!!

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Quite expensive at almost 6$, but simply taste great....

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Arrived in Delta Junction.

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The end of the Alaska Hwy's at mile 1422 in Delta Junction.

Weiter mit: Delta Junction - Fairbanks 

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!
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