carpecycle

Hello everyone and apologies for the delay.

As you may have heard through the grapevine, I was hit by a vehicle on Aug10th 6pm, just 2km away from our stop for the day in Aylesbury, SK. Injurues include: bumps and cuts everywhere, lots of bruising to left hip and upper leg, scraps, cuts, bruises to the back of my head (helmet is toast and unusable – yes it saved my life), 5 stitches to the back of my head, concussion, fractured scapula (shoulder blade), broken arm in numerous places which required a long and somewhat complicated surgery but I avoided compartment syndrome and my arm is still mine!

I am on a long road to recovery, however i would still like to take the time to update this blog for the last portion of our trip too. Bare with me as typing with one hand is slow going. That being said, everyday I am clearer, on less pain medication, and on the slow and steady road to recovery. I want to take another moment to thank everyone (friends and family alike) for their kind words and ongoing support. It has made a world of difference to me.

Special people involved in this all: Kavita and Bruce have been outstanding pilars of support for all aspects small and large. Thank you, thank you! Jessie, my co pilot put up with a lot of stress and actually has memory of this whole terrible event and I do not envy her for that. Thank you Jessie – everyday I’m thankful that it was me and not you. I would not be able to forgive myself! Other outstanding supports: Brodie, Warren and Elizabeth, Barb and Brian, Harvey Lamar, Patty and Darryl, Barbara and Marek, Deb, and of course Karen and Sam for having us this week. 🙂

Aug 5:
82km, Maidstone SK
We woke up to misty fog which looked daunting at first but quickly realized it was prime cycling conditions! No sun, a small breeze and slightly cool is so nice and comfortable on the bike.
A note about road conditions: The highway shoulders have been phenomenal.. Lots of space and feeling quite safe and separate from the traffic. That being said motorists im AB/SK aren’t nearly as friendly as the ones in the Yukon! I miss the support and seeming comradery. The actual pavement is much much nicer than the north and we are embracing that for sure.
Wildlife: None. Ok a couple deer, some large birds (of prey?) hawks, falcons and beautiful song birds but really no bears and foxes or anything like that. Although I did think I recognized some coyote scat the other day… I left my bear spray at home. It used to be strapped within easy reach and easy access to my handlebars. Dont think I really need it on this section..
Farm life: The cows and horses we pass are so curious about us and I love having chats with them haha
Anyways… We rolled into Lloydminster fairly early as we tried to just grab a granola bar type breakfast and eat something bigger with a few kms under our belts. Ah Lloyd. Didn’t like it. Someone yelled profanities at me (im not even a boy!) and honked at jess. But we had a great brunch and dawdled probably a bit too long at the restaurant. Just as we were leaving town jess noticed her fender rubbing her tire… Tried to repair but at a couple km we just took the whole thing off.
We arrived in maidstone fairly early on. But seeing as the camp options down the road were slim to none and we wanted to save our muscles we decided to stop for the night. Really lovely campground (park and pond and white ducks) although actually full of workers… 10on 4 off types who would rather rv it than hotel it. Very friendly! We met a couple girls en route to Winnipeg and got their info too. They were on an adventure of their own! (albeit by car)
Aug 6
85km, North Battleford, SK
Today was our day to rock our first 100km day! Similar grey foggy start to the day but it just didn’t clear up…. The scenery started to feel a bit monotonous.. The river valley on the left was nice but not right in eye sight. Anyways it started to rain quite heavily just north of the battlefords so we hung out in a Tim’s for several hours ordering multiple rounds of tea and food while utilizing wifi and planning our next couple days. We camped just down the road (1km) but it was so hard to leave the warmth of Tim’s. We utilized the day camp area to attempt to dry out the tent (only semi successful) but the night could have been wetter and leakier. It rained all night! Anyways not our 100k day. The weather/wind just wasn’t in the cards. But a solid day none the less!
Aug 7
102 km Saskatoon, SK
Ah what a weird and wonderful day!!! Packed up camp in record time… On the road by 915am or so. Told jess to go on ahead and I’d catch up as I had to pee (again). 3 km down the road my bike felt.. Weird. First flat! Please note I hit the 1000km mark on my summer odometer yesterday! J had the pump and Spare tube.. I had a patch kit.. Anyways took me a while to get the thing off. Finally got a hold of jess and she was back. Took us an extremely long time to get the tire back on the rim and then we saw the inner tube was pinched.. Etc etc. Finally figured it out.. Go to pump some air with our crappy hand pump but it wasn’t holding. I figured we needed to hit a gas station regardless for proper air admin so I hitchhiked back to north battleford as that was clearly the closest. Promised jess I’d be right back. Well an adventure ensues. Eddie and his son Tyson were amazing!!! They picked me up off the yellowhead took me to Canadian Tire, when simple air filling wasn’t working we went to the coop outdoor store where we found out the ‘new’ inner tube had 3 (three!!!) very small punctures in it. Next hurdle… No tubes in the store with a presta valve that fit my bike. At this point Jessie let me know that some German tourists and taken pity on her standing in the pouring rain and she had taken refuge in their RV! Phewph.
Eddie, Tyson and I mosied back across town to sport check where we finally got the inner tubes I needed (picked up a spare) and convinced the manager there to help me put the new set up back together. Very kind since the bike guy wasn’t in and the service shop was technically closed! The whole ordeal cost me $17. Two inner tubes and the ‘service’. And yes several hours of my time but really not bad in the end!
Eddie insisted on treating us to lunch at Tim’s. Although I tried so hard for it to be reverse! He wanted us to know there are nice Saskatchewanians (what’s the proper term here). Well I heard it loud and clear!! 🙂
He waited til the wheel was back on the frame. In the rain. Then offered to drive us a bit down the highway to catch up on lost time/distance. It was past 1pm and we were starving. And it was still pouring. We accepted. With the heat blasted, we devoured our sandwiches and drank tea and chatted with Eddie and Tyson. We got dropped off in Rundell just as it was starting to clear up! Couldn’t be more perfect. But then it was… Tailwind! Finally! We rolled into Bardon in record time (we did 50km, cheated on 30!) and I felt the momentum so kept on going to Saskatoon at 25-30k/hr! Jessie stayed with friends in Bardon and we will meet up again tomorrow. For now I am staying with Kieren’s family and being treated extremely well! What a beautiful home and yard. I feel so welcome here and just spent an hour soaking in their hot tub. So relaxing! I think a rest day here while I wait to catch up with jess is in order 🙂 with that wind, and despite the whirlwind of events this morning I still managed my first 100km day of part 2! Very happy with that. Overall feeling that life is good and you just got to “take what’s there..” Good or bad and just go with the flow. Bad stuff may happen but its all part of the experience and the adventure. I met some wonderful and kind people today and I biked a solid day! Feeling strong and happy in Saskatoon!
Nikki

I realized I may have truncated the last post without fully explaining what part 2, ie the perseverance, entails. I’m such a mystery!
July 31st I got on a 28hr bus journey from Whitehorse to Edmonton. The very generous Chris Symons picked me up from the greyhound there near midnight. We met up with Jessie at the ever classy travel lodge where we stayed up much too late packing and organizing, balancing our loads and putting my bike back together. (it had to be quite disassembled to fit in the bike box).
Aug 2:
74km
Late start for day one but sleep was a necessity. The travel lodge was right beside the 16, our highway for the day so the transition to get out of town was seamless. A small bit of construction leaving Edmonton but I didn’t mind it because the speed limit was lowered and I actually felt more safe over all.
It was a hard first day, had high hopes for a big kick off but we were pretty beat early on. We stopped at the Ukrainian Heritage Village for a late lunch and break. The heat is tough on my red headed friend! Weren’t sure where we were going to stay the night but we lucked out finding a very quiet and treed in campground just north of the highway in Mundare, AB.
Chris came out for the evening and that was a nice surprise, especially because he brought Jessie a toothbrush haha.
Aug 3:
78km
A REALLY tough day. Decided to get off the “Sunday it’s quiet” highway 16 (yellowhead) onto the back road of hwy 631. First 18k or so before our first break were pleasant enough with a mild to moderate headwind at times. But the wind only got worse as the day went on. We were fighting it all day. Combined with the sun/ heat it was absolutely exhausting. We stopped for lunch in the shade of a tree in a meadow and had a little lie down. The back road didn’t offer any amenities so we quickly ran low on water. We cut back to the main highway earlier than planned just to find some hydration. That sad the toughest stretch. Didn’t make it! A kind neighbor rescued up with two cans of sprite and a small. We were so grateful!!
Finally crawled into Renfurly around 5/6 but there was nothing there. We spoke to some kind ladies in the community hall (preparing food for a funeral..) and they also supplied us with water but urged us in to innisfree for camping. We took a long break in the shade and had a meal. The last stretch was a struggle. Every slight incline was Everest! We finally rolled into innisfree campground after 8pm. 6 solid hours of brutal cycling. Luckily the camp was sweet and we had hot showers to wash away the sweat of the day! Haha
Aug 4:
85km
The winds were so strong overnight even in our sheltered campsite. The rain was off and on and paired with the wind ended up leaking thru the tent fly. The morning saw continued rain fall. So we hung out in the sheltered day use area for breakfast and some back break adjusting. Finally there was an ebb and I quickly packed up the soaking tent.
Luckily the day got better from there! We rode a solid 28km to Manville, AB where we treated ourselves to our first hot lunch! Delicious and so satisfying! The wind was still a but against us but nothing compared to the day before. We pushed through to Kitscoty, AB where we scored another baseball/rec park campground. We love those spots! No games so fairly quiet. Had to be careful tho since a golf course was adjacent and we were near a couple stray balls! Fore! (right?). We were able to have a fire again last night to cook with and sit around altho the rain continued to sort of spittle…
We are feeling sore.. But motivated and accomplished. Bring on day 4!!
Nikki

Where to begin? I suppose I should post a disclaimer that this blog now chronicles Nikki’s path from this point on.. Part 2 so to speak. Interested subscribers, un-subscribers.. be aware?

As a little bit of a back story… The group made it the 644km to Liard Hot Springs where we quite happily met up with Stan (originally met in Rancheria, camped with in Big Creek but then lost for the next couple of days). Stan treated us so kindly, paying for our campsite (which includes the passes to the springs) for our first night and providing general great company and chats. He took off on our day 2. We stayed at the relaxing springs for two nights before things took a turn and the trio went their separate ways. I suppose all things are not meant to be.

Will try to insert some more pictures from Part 1 into previous posts of the trip since I have access to laptop, albeit patchy wifi at the moment.

I should note the last cycle day was a tough one. A handful of (dicey) bison encounters, a nasty headwind and a longer day than expected. The hot springs were a great stopping place. Here is a picture of a bison as I bike along side him.. worked out pretty good considering it was a quick snap – and I was terrified!

Also a pic of Liard River which we biked along for most of the day on and off. Picture doesn’t do it justice!

Finally a couple pictures of the springs.

Nikki

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I put my bike trip on hold as I need to be with my family following the passing of my grandfather. As of the moment my plan is to restart cycling in Edmonton on August 1st. Very grateful to the support I have received here in Whitehorse during a trying time.

Nikki

July 9 pm –
Total mileage: 587km
Couple updates we forgot to mention over the last couple days:
July 5/6 Rancheria. The owners really did treat us cyclists so kindly. On top of the free camping they heavily discounted our dinner (salads plus mains followed by pie and tea) but before we could pay a trucker named Al treated us. Thank you so much Al!!
July 6: Such a nice ride to Big Creek. Rolling hills and a few solid climbs but rewarding. We had met and chatted with a fellow cyclist named Stan at breakfast in Rancheria whom we camped beside at Big Creek. What an awesome guy. Great stories and a positive, welcoming attitude. We planned a few of our upcoming days together but somehow got separated in Watson Lake. Perhaps the camping there was a bit too…. Rustic? Urban? It was in the back lot of a Tags that is…
July 7: A couple more cyclists to add to the list. We sort of invited ourselves to their camp spot in Watson since it was the greenest and could accommodate pegs for tents best! Pascal (Switzerland) and Jeff (Australia) travelling together. A fun duo with a frank view of life and laughter. Would have liked to see more of them however they were headed south (and probably at a faster pace given their touring experience) and we – east.
July 8: Midnight. A bus pulls into Watson with a smelly yet adorable Brodie on board. Strangers passing in the night? Lovers united! For a brief 15 minutes.. But amazing to see each other none the less. A huge thanks to everyone helping Brodie get settled in the Yukon while I gallivant across Canada!
Onwards after a late night to Contact Creek (66km) where the Alaska highway met from two ends and was completed in the 40’s. A very friendly female  dog named Jake was very happy to welcome us to her world. So wish we could take her with us. She loved our tent and couldn’t wait for us to wake up this morning. Literally watching the door of Brandon’s tent as he emerged first.
The smoke, from southern yukon/northern BC wild fires, was bad coming into Watson lake, but not as bad the following day due to a lot of wind? We hear the highway is closed/piloting cars south of fort nelson towards prophet river. We hope it is resolved by the time we get there next week. It did rain constantly all night last night so hopefully that helps. Coming over a huge climb before contact creek we could clearly see a giant plume of smoke from its source further down in the valley. This one was 12km off the road but controlled now.
We also saw our first bear yesterday. We have been interrogating fellow cyclists about bear protection and encounters and we are happy to say the bear didn’t care about us as per the stories we’ve heard. It continued on eating it’s roots and bearly (hehe) gave us a passing glance. We tend to try to travel in a tight pack when encountering animals. We saw another bear much further away today and sang our hearts out as we passed the spot we saw it and luckily it didn’t request an encore. Hey its hard to sing and cycle!
Other wildlife: Nikki saw a red fox and also a coyote today! We also saw 4 bison on three different occasions. They seem a bit curious (which is super intimidating) but no calves and no charging mother bison. But please note.. These animals are HUGE! Even biking along side one as it snorts and trods along side the road makes you want to pee your pants.
So that brings us to Coal River (82.5km today) where we are paying for our first camp spot. We have been so lucky and so spoiled that the thought of paying seemed too steep. Soo.. Nikki managed to barter the price down a bit. And showers are included! Its actually a lovely spot, off of the road, a little gazebo for a fire to cook a nice dinner with, complete with field containing 1 loner resident bison casually strolling and eating grass, you know, what you might expect from any standard campground!
Signing off for the night.
Nikki

 

 

July 7th, 60km today

Well, I for one was definitely sweating and struggling up the last few hills to get into town, but we made it: we’re in the big city now! After arriving in the early afternoon, we spent our day enjoying the luxuries of laundry and shower facilities, wifi, cellphone service, taps, and of course delicious restaurant food at Kathy’s Kitchen. In the words of a loved one who recently gave me this advice, I wore my perspiration with pride – but man, it felt good to wash it off!

A note on the road conditions for any other cyclists reading this hoping to plan their own trip: along the Alaska highway thus far the road has been fairly uniformly good, with a marked shoulder and not too many potholes, but the 20km stretch of highway from the junction with the Stewart-Cassiar to Watson Lake has a long patch of chipseal with no lanes marked and a very rough shoulder. Quite a bumpy ride, though as always traffic has been more than courteous to us.

I’ve gotten ahead of myself, though, my apologies. We spent last night in the Big Creek camp ground, where we enjoyed the tranquility of the tall pine trees and spent some time in the Big Creek itself. We also had a wonderful time with Meg, a nursing friend of Nikki’s and mine, who drove the 4 hours from Whitehorse to camp with us for the night. This beautiful soul brought us a fresh load of food and other treats (including shower caps for all 3 of us! Perfect as rain covers for helmets!), but most importantly herself – her positivity and enthusiasm for life is always such a glow to bask in. It was lovely to see her, and to hear about her own upcoming adventures – hiking in England!

In any case, the library whose computer I am using is about to close, so I will just finish by saying that our group is (I feel) really starting to come together and develop our routine. We’re starting to know what to expect from each other in terms of breaks and meals, making and striking camp, communication on the road … it feels good. Go team!

This is Freija, by the way – the first blog post I’ve written myself (thanks Nikki for doing the rest so far – typing on a touchscreen takes me FOR EVER).

Cycle on!