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Wasilla - Tok

August 2, 2009
I spent the morning packing my equipment
Around 14:00 we loaded my trike onto the truck. Bill & Terry will drive me to the cuttoff in Tok after Glennallen so that I don't have to drive this route again.
We arrived there around 19:00. I said goodbye to Bill & Terry.
After only 600 m I suddenly heard a clunk and the chain on the trike had broken...
What a bummer, I'm in trouble with the new chain. So what the heck, I unpacked the chain riveter and after a short time I was able to continue.
There were a few climbs, but they were not too bad. I could see the mountains a few times.
Great, finally no smoke in the air...
After about 3:23 hours, around 22:30, I set up camp next to the road.
I hurried, because the NoSeeUms, small biting flies, were out in masses.
Km 26.9
Pure riding time, 2:39
Total time 3:23
Standstill time 0:44
Average 10,1
Camp 22:30

Sue's beloved 63 Thunderbird. The car, known as the T-Bird, is considered one of the classics of American automobile construction. It symbolizes the 1950s and 1960s in the USA. The name “Thunderbird” stands for one of the longest continuously used brand names in automotive and industrial history. The 1963 V8 had a displacement of 6.4 liters and 340 SAE horsepower ...

The 63 Thunderbird is just as old as I am!

My trike is packed and ready for transport!

Good thing Terry has a big truck...

The Matanuska River just behind Palmer.

Again we passed the Matanuska Glacier.

Farewell to Terry & Bill.

(Thank you so much for your help guy's !)

Again and again I passed the Matanuska River.

Mt. Sanford

Mount Sanford is a shield volcano in the Wrangell Mountains. Standing tall at 4949 m, it is the second-highest peak in the mountain range and the third-highest volcano in the United States.

My camp, at least a bit off the road...

3 August 2009
The night was nice and quiet, hardly any traffic on the road.
I set off around 11 a.m. in the best weather, bright sunshine, around 30 degrees in the sun, it's hard to believe these temperatures this year in Alaska!
Tell me again, there is no global warming ...
At Christochina I bought a can of root beer in the roadhouse. What a pity that this drink is not available in Germany, or do any of you know where I can get it there?
A little later, I met two Swiss people who are spending a few weeks in the Yukon & Alaska on their bikes. Really nice people!
The scenery is great, always magnificent views of the mountains. It's always pleasant up and down, but the gradients are limited.
Two hours later I met two Belgians who were also on bikes. Luc Stadtfeld and Bert Nuyts. They had just come from the Yukon and were staying in Alaska until September, after which they were flying to Asia and Australia & New Zealand!
Around 21:00 I set up my camp next to the road again.
Km 56.1
Riding time 6:11
Total time 10:00
Standstill time 3:49
Average 9,1
Camp 21:00

Endless roads...

The two Swiss. Roland Schefer &

Toni Morell

Christochina River with Mt Sanford in the background

This is what makes triking fun...

Belgians who also ride bikes.
Luc Bert Nuyts.

I can tell you that triking in Alaska is very, very exhausting...

Another camp next to the noisy road, but with a beautiful view of Mt. Stanford.

August 4, 2009
I could hardly sleep last night.
Somehow I didn't get tired until around 3 a.m. and when I finally fell asleep I was woken up every hour by a passing truck …
I started at 10:00 am.
Barely asleep and dogs tired, I got on the trike and set off.
This morning there was smoke again and the mountains had disappeared into it.
I had barely covered 20 km when the trike suddenly became very difficult to ride. The fault was quickly found.
A piece of glass had penetrated the tube. So I dismantled all the luggage and then jacked up the trike with wood, removed the wheel, changed the inner tube and casing and reassembled everything.
And all this in sweltering heat. To make matters worse, the air pump went on strike, which I also had to repair….
The landscape was very beautiful, when I could see it.
Lots of small lakes and mountains. But also a constant up and down…
After exactly 49.9 km I set up camp at 20:35 next to the road, but this time at least there was a clear creek (Bartell Creek) next to it.
At least I could wash up a bit and there was enough water to drink, and it was nice and cold.
I was glad that I had the hand water filter…
49.9 km
Pure riding time 6:41
Total time 10:35
Standing time 3:19
average 7,5
Camp 20:35

The next morning there was nothing left to see of the mountain, the smoke from the fires had enveloped it...

Straight as a candle ...

I'm slowly getting tired of the smoke.

A flat tire, with the trike a somewhat greater effort ...

The smoke cleared somewhat...

Finally, a camp with a river nearby again !

Enough water for bathing and drinking. On a trip like this, you always realize how important water is!
At home, you never really think about it

August 5, 2009
Woke up at around 5 a.m., raindrops pattering on the tent. I checked the trike again to make sure everything was watertight.
Now that I was awake, I went to the river to filter some water. When I got there, I saw a moose on the other side not 20 meters away from me who looked at me just as surprised as I looked at him...
There was a lot of smoke in the air again, despite the occasional rain showers. I lay down in the tent again to wait and see if the weather improved.
Around 10:00 a.m. I set off in the direction of Tok.
It was again a constant up and down and it was extremely warm again, hardly a breeze and the landscape was shrouded in thick smoke. My lungs hurt from all the smoke in the air!
Hours went by. Suddenly I saw a cow moose with two calves crossing the road. But by the time I got my camera out of my bag, they were already back in the bushes.
I hate cycling in this respect, I always miss out on good photo opportunities because I have no room on the trike to mount the camera so that I can quickly unpack it ...
Somehow I'm losing air in the front right tire, I'll have to check that when I get a chance.
And again I drove for hours through a foggy landscape.
Suddenly I saw a few camper vans parked at the side of the road. There was a moose in the lake. A German couple was already busy taking photos.

Well, at least I got some shots today, even if the light wasn't great. I miss my telephoto lens, I couldn't take it with me because of the weight...
I reached Tok around 18:00.

I drove to Fast Eddy's a restaurant where you can eat as much salad and fruit as you want for $9.50, well of course I really hit it, yiiiiiihhhhhaaaaaa........
I was so full after the meal that I could hardly ride my trike....
Then I drove to the campground and showered and cleaned my clothes.
Finally clean clothes again....
Km 71,1
Pure riding time 5:49
Total time 8:00
Standstill time 2:11
Average 12,2
Camp 20:00

I don't want a hair to impair my aerodynamics...(lol)

Unfortunately, the moose cow and her two calves had already disappeared into the forest by the time I had my camera to hand!

It would be worthwhile paddling here...

Finally, a classic moose picture...

The moose, which belongs to the deer family, is the largest representative of this family worldwide and of the numerous geographical moose subspecies, the Alaskan moose is considered the most powerful: adult males can reach a shoulder height of 190 cm, a length of 320 cm and a weight of 820 kg.

6 August 2009
Today is a rest day!
I sorted my equipment again and serviced the trike. The new chain is still causing trouble, if it continues like this, I'll put the old one back on!
I repaired the front right tube, it was a tiny hole that was causing the slow loss of air.
Two motorcyclists from Germany arrived in the afternoon. They were Katharina Herrmann and Thomas Kröger, they have been on the road for some time.
Super nice people. We camped together and cooked together in the evening.
The two of them are real travelers. It's always fun to meet like-minded people.

I'm glad I have the DD-Tarp with me, because it's raining a lot now...

Katharina Herrmann and Thomas Kröger, they have been on the road for some time. Have a look at their website:

www.globusbiker.de

August 7, 2009
I had breakfast with Katharina & Thomas and then drove to the Visitor Center in Tok and called home first.
My mother was happy to finally hear a sign of life from me again...
With an overcast sky and lots of smoke in the air, we continued on to Tok Junction, the turn-off to the Top of the World Hwy.
It was uphill from the start. The landscape was shrouded in smoke from the forest fires. Anything but healthy to drive in such a wasteland!
The radio kept warning us not to exercise because it would be very bad for your health!
Great, now it seems to go on and on with the smoke. I hope I'll at least be able to see part of the landscape...
Somehow I felt tired, then there was the miserably slow ascent, I was creeping up the mountains at 2-5 km and the smoke was getting thicker and thicker...
Around 15:30 and after only 34.2 km, I set up camp next to the road and immediately went into the tent and fell asleep.

I only woke up again around 19:35.
Hmmm, that's not a good sign when you literally fall over and immediately fall asleep as if in a coma....
In the evening, the smoke became even thicker and it smelled terrible. The landscape looked really spooky.
It was getting dark again at night. In combination with the smoke, the smell and the silence here, really eerie ...
You can hear every sound for miles. It beeps and rustles in the bushes, occasionally branches crack ...
Well, at least I finally have some peace and quiet tonight, because the highway here is not used much at night!
Km 34,2
Pure riding time 4:28
Total time 5:23
Standstill time 0:55
Average 7,7
Camp 15:30

Now it's over the Top of the world Hwy up to 1200m to Canada. My rainproof cover for the trailer is now, after I impregnated it, finally really waterproof!

Again, nothing but smoke, which is not exactly healthy when cycling...

I was exhausted, the route was all uphill....

Weiter mit: Tok - Chicken

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go! Expedition in the USA, Alaska & Canada, Scandinavia with folding boat, motorboat, catamaran, motorcycle, off-road vehicle, bicycle ...