Things Get Interesting

A rider we met going Southbound who was from Columbia.  He started in April from Prudhoe Bay and riding to Florida

We are seeing lots of black bears while riding

We just finished Day 22 and are camping at Toad River.  The lodge/general store claim to fame is having over 10,000 hats handing from the ceiling.  They looked like they had been hanging there for many years, which they have, and it struck us that they could be a real fire hazard.

6/11/2016. Toad River to Liard Hot Springs.  71 miles.  This is where things got interesting.   First, Sue and Bob left the group (as planned) and had to head home.  Sue had biked past Toad River to see Muncho Lake and reported that the road was not as bad as we had heard about, however most of the group wanted a lift to the summit past the construction.  But Sandy, Jane and Rolf were biking so I decided to go along.  Russ ended up taking a lift to the top.  At the top, a sign indicated continued construction, dust and poor road conditions so everyone bailed except Russ.  Us bikers had a steep pass to climb but the scenery was spectacular and we stopped for lots of pictures along the way.  However, dust and large vehicles were a problem and even though we had Bud and Bill in a SAG vehicle, we managed throughout the day.  Finally we did hit the main construction area where they had the road surface torn up and used a pilot car to direct traffic for 7 km.  But the big problem was that Bud's car broke down in the construction area and Bill and I had to hitch a ride into camp.  The tow truck came to the campground after midnight and towed the car to Watcon Lake which was 130 miles away.   Liard Hotsprings was great for soaking sore muscles and tired bodies.  That was the first time we had been in a natural river hotspring.