Sunny and a Tail Wind at Last!

Where is the Moose?

5/31/2016.  Fox Creek to Valleyview.  54 miles with a tail wind.   This morning when we woke there was frost on our tent.  Really cold until the sun comes out and today we had a great warm day of biking.  We are now in moose country and we are starting a pool to see who can spot the first moose. Dave has now had 10 flats, enough for each of us.  Tomorrow he is going to receive new tires.  We are in camp really early and there are lots of amenities here so we are warm and dry.

My find for the day.

Photos

5/30/2016.  Whitecourt to Fox Creek.   50+ miles

Fooling around on our way out of Sangudo

Do you think this might help?

Today is Bill's 70th birthday and we celebrated last night.  His wife and daughter arranged dinner in town and he was so surprised.  Jane made shirts with photos for everyone and we decorated his bike helmet.

Bill's 70th

Cold Here and Wish I Was in Arizona

Bud, the bike mechanic.

5/29/2016.  Sangudo to Whitecourt. 41 miles.    Wish I was in Arizona where I hear it is in the 80's because it is dang cold here.  When we arrive in camp and set up our tents the weather is nice but temperatures drop during the night and even in our good sleeping bags, it was cold.  Tonight we are borrowing an extra bag which better help keep us warm.  Travel today along Highway 43 which I heard is our route for the next while.  Lots of traffic, noise, and pretty boring.  Not my idea of fun biking.  But did manage to finish with encouragement from Russ so another day closer to Alaska.

Setting up camp for the night

Flats and Frogs

5/28/2016. Stony Plain to Sangudo. 54 miles with a head wind.   At least the day was sunny and no rain however a continued headwind kept us working hard.  We were able to stay on back roads for half the day and then onto the highway for the remainder of the ride.  We bike along riparian areas full of birds and frogs which are constantly croking.  The big find was a huge dead porcupine which Bud and Russ stopped to pull quills. Russ plans to use them in a clay project.

On her bike and in the kitchen - Jane's two favorite things to do.  We are so lucky!

Dave, from Scotland, has had 7 flats!  Pretty soon he will have enough for everyone.  Last night all the guys in camp examined his tires, retaped the wheel with electrical tape and thought the problem was solved.  It might have been but today he rode on a borrowed tube and had pumped it up to 100 psi.  It made it most of the way until it blew.  Guess the maximum was 80 psi.  Russ was the SAG today and gave him a lift the rest of the way into camp.  Must be a Scottish thing.

Road Kill

Another Sunny Day

Sue at the little store in Elnora

Dean and Bill ready to ride

5/26/2015. Leduc to Stoney Planes. 46 miles. Bud and Sandy decided that this whole trip might go smoother if we had another support vehicle.   So a few days ago he caught a bus home to Kamloops and drove back the next day.  Now we are going to share driving among the group but the nice thing is that we have another vehicle if people need to be picked up for whatever reason.  So I took my turn driving today.  On longer distance days, we will trade driving duties half day.  Our challenge is that campgrounds are full due to the fire so we are 2 nights at a Motel 6.  The RV is parked in a lot behind the motel and we are sharing bathrooms.

5/27/2016   Rest day:  it poured down rain this morning and the lot where the RV is parked is a muddy mess.  Glad to not be biking.

Fun along the way.

Best Day So Far.

5/23/2016   Bashaw to Leduc.  74 miles.  5 hours/11 minutes.  Average:13mph.
Today was the best day so far: lots of green farmland, trees, livestock and meeting the locals.  Russ and I rode together and made a point of stopping to chat with locals whenever we could.  Best of all, no rain.  Our first stop was in a little town of New Norway where the local gathering place was a tiny gas station/post office/liquor store and gossip gathering for this village of 200.  Had coffee, joined in the gossip and moved on.  About 20 more miles down the road we met  delightful lady named Angela who made a special trip home when she saw us on the road to get apple juice and water to share.  We talked for a long time and exchanged emails and a big hug before we trudged on.  She and her husband raise cattle on a big ranch outside of Hay Lakes.  Our last stop was at a small market in Hay Lakes where we sat with a retired guy who had lived there for over 40 years.  He of course knew everyone in the village and then some.  When we pulled into the RV park at Leduc we were told that 40 families were living there because of the fire at Fort McMurry.  They are not even allowed back to check on their homes until June 1 and then only a few can go back.  It must be an awful feeling not knowing if you have a house to return to.

Roadside Attraction

Sour Puss Liquor in New Norway

Catching Up

5/24/2016.  Trochu to Bashaw. 63 miles. Sunshine at last and spirits are lifted.  It is actually fun biking when the weather is good.  Flat and rolling hills and the countryside is more scenic with pasturelands, horses and cattle along the way.  However, just when things were looking up, we had trailer problems and the trailer had to stay in Trochu for repairs.  So instead of camping in Bashaw as planned we had to find lodging for everyone.   Two small motels, one was eliminated immediately and the other one we grabbed 3 rooms and everyone shared beds.  Sue and I drove back to Trochu in her car to collect everyone's bags for the night.  The bright spot was that there was a good pizza/restaurant next to the motel so everyone got a good meal.  Wonder what will happen next?

A few other folks are doing blogs and each show a different perspective on the trip.  Jane's blog is www.alaskaonabike.blogspot.com and Dean's is crazyguyonabike.com and search under Dean Fasette or north to Alaska.  

Dave Proctor, our SAG driver.  Always with a smile on his face and a good story to share.  

Photos

Tent City in Champion
Thank goodness for the picnic shelter!

Jane and Sandy enjoying sunny skies.

Dave from Scotland

Kicking our Butts!

5/23/2016. Strathford to Trochu.  60 miles but we only lasted only about 25 miles.

We avoided the rain but the headwind was so strong that it took us close to 4 hours to go less than 25 miles.  I drafted behind Bill all morning which was a lifesaver for me.  Poor Russ had to fend for himself.  Must say that a this was the strongest wind that we have ever biked in.  Again, nowhere to stop and get out of the elements.  Acres of wheat farms everywhere you look.  Finally, Dean, Russ and I decided to take a detour to the town of Rockyford and call for a pickup.  Today is Victoria Holiday here so when we rode into this small town (population 300), the only thing open was the small grocery store.  It was so much fun talking to the girl working there and all the locals who came in during the couple of hours that we were there.  We met a couple passing through from Holland and they showed pictures of their 30 hector tulip farm and a video on harvesting bulbs, a farmer who farms a 4000 acre wheat farm and the little gal who was working at the store that her mom ownes.  By the end of the day only Rolf finished the ride and it took him 10 hours in the saddle.  Tonight we are again in a motel.  We have heard that the weather will be way better tomorrow.  It couldn't be much worse!  Sorry, no pictures, to cold and wet to stop.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

5/22/2016.  Champion to Strathmore.   Our route was 60+ miles but both Russ and I bailed partway.  We started in the rain (which is never a good start) and got to the town of Vulcan where they did happen to have a gas station/mini mart to get warm and dry.  However I was so cold and wet by then that the SAG wagon happen to stop for gas and I hopped in.  Russ and Jane kept going.  After  the rig got to campground it turned around and headed back to see who needed a lift.  By then there was a strong headwind and rain.  Russ bailed at that point and tried to talk Jane into doing the same but she insisted on riding.  Only half the group lasted the day.  Jane finally made it into camp at 6:00 pm and I have never see her look so miserable!  Congrats to Jane who rode the whole way in over 10 hours under wet, cold and windy conditions.  No tenting tonight.  Some of us are at Motel 8 and others are on the floor of the RV.

We passed through the town of Vulcan where they have the Enterprise and we did manage to get a picture which I will post later.  Ray took a spill crossing a railroad track and is sore but OK and Bill broke his chain which Russ is trying to fix tonight but isn't being successful.

We heard that it snowed last night in Calgary and we are an hour away from there.  Guess this weather will continue for a few more days. We have asked Dean to try to shorten the route tomorrow in anticipation of more bad weather.  For tonight, we are cozy at Super 8.

Cold and Wet!

5/21/16. McGrath to Champion. 71 miles.

Good thing we had a cabin to stay dry in McGrath because it rained most of the night.  In the morning when we started the rained had stopped.  Still cold but we knew to layer more clothes.  Things went good until the last 20 miles or so when it started to rain again. When we got to camp they had a picnic shelter that we set 4 tents in to stay dry.  They did have hot showers so all was well. Most of the guys are sleeping on the floor of the RV to stay dry and warm.  Bike time was over 7 hours. And we averaged around 9.8 mph.

Everywhere you look there are wheat fields.  The roads have been good with nice shoulders and not much traffic.  What is surprising and different on this trip is that there are no towns to pass through and no place to stop and get warm.  Barns are few and far between and there are no trees to hunker under when it rains.  That has been really hard on everyone.  We have to carry enough food and water  to last the day.

So far the big excitement on the trip is that Jane forgot her passport and didn't realize it until we got to the border.  Luckly they let her into Canada.  She said afterwards that she envisioned having to bike back to Cut Bank and train it home.  Now she is working on getting it sent UPS to a future destination.

This is Jane looking happy until she realized that she forgot her passport.  

A Very Cold Start

5/20/16.  Cut Bank to MaGrath, Canada.  40 miles

It was about 38 degrees all day with a 10-15 mph head wind, overcast and raining!  The wind chill made it 27 degrees!  What more do I need to say. It was so cold that Russ and I bailed at the border.  Only half the group finished the 70 miles (Jane being one of the finishers).  We averaged around 8 mph. Needless to say we were miserable.  No tenting tonight, we are in a funky cabin at a campground with the heat on high and pouring down rain.   Tomorrow is suppose to be more of the same.

Ready to ride

This is the gang. 

All Aboard!

Are first overnight train trip.  The scenery was beautiful across Washington and into Montana.  (We brushed through Idaho in the middle of the night).  However, even with a sleeper, you didn't get much sleep.  The food was good, met some interesting people and arrived in Cut Bank, Montana before noon the next day.  Russ and Jane got bikes assembled without a hitch while I spent time organizing all our stuff, probably some of which we won't need.  The group is all meeting for dinner tonight and looks like we are ready to roll early in the morning.  The weather is not projected to be the best but we will hope for clear skies and no rain.

Amtrak in Seattle

Preparing to Ride

This year Russ and I are off to Alaska on our Bike Fridays.  Folks joke about our small tires and how the bikes look with tiny wheels but they are really fun and easy to ride.  They are designed especially for touring and have very low gears which helps on the hills.  The tires are wider than our road bike tires and that is a benefit on such a long ride. But most important is that these bikes fold and fit into a suitcase which makes it possible for train and airline travel at no extra cost.  Russ can assemble them in around 40 minutes and they are ready to ride.

Some of you know about our trip and some don't.  Here is an overview:

On May 18 we board Amtrak in Seattle to Shelby, Montana.  Our ride begins in Cut Bank, Montana on May 20.  Ten cyclist are on this tour organized by Dean Fasette who planned our Northern Tier ride in 2014.  Most of the riders we know from the previous trip, from Yakima and Green Valley.  It is 2355 miles from Cut Bank, Montana to Anchorage, Alaska.  Our tentative arrival date in Anchorage in July 4.  We will average about 60 mile per day (wish it were kilometers) especially since the first few days are 80+ miles each.  We were told that it is flat the first few days and I am hoping for a strong tail wind!  We travel thru Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska.

We have a SAG vehicle that is a 5th Wheel RV that will carry all our gear.  Dave, the SAG driver, is from Georgia.  We all will be tenting along the way and sharing cooking responsibilities.  The challenge on this route is that we may have days with no designated campground
and that means no showers also.

Folded Bike Friday

Russ and I have been biking pretty strong for the last month but how do you get in shape for a trip like this?  Russ says "the first week is training" but I am sure we will be pretty tired, have sore legs and seats and of course, you have the weather to contend with.  Anyway, we will keep you posted with this blog.

We may not be able to blog daily, it will depend on internet access but we will do our best.  Hope you enjoy following our travels.