Catholic church at Haines Junction
Casio QV30 photo
 About 2 miles out of Haines Junction Kodak DC50 photo (by Nelson Kibler) |
 Ritt and Ed Kodak DC50 photo (by Nelson Kibler) |
We started out at Haines Junction taking our time photographing a Catholic Church constructed from a World War II Quonset Hut.
About 2 miles out of Haines Junction Kodak DC50 photo (by Nelson Kibler) |
Ritt and Ed Kodak DC50 photo (by Nelson Kibler) |
I rode for a while with Ritt and Nelson, but at some point about 20 miles out, decided to strike out on my own. It was cool (around 50 degrees) and grey, but for some reason, I was really fired up for serious bicycling. I managed to do a Century (100 miles) while climbing about 3,000 feet, all in about 6 hours. I was flying. Headwinds early on changed to quartering winds for most of the day and then to tailwinds for the last hour or so. I arrived in Whitehorse at 4:00, stopping twice for lunch (salmon salad sandwiches and Gatorade from the back of Cyclevents' trailer).
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While the scenery was nice, it wasn't as spectacular as Kluane Lake,
so I didn't do much photography today. I had cut back to as little excess
baggage on my bike as possible and pedaled continuously from start to finish,
even on the downhills. Though my bike computer was out, I'll bet I got to
over 40 mph on the downhills.
There were long straight segements of roadway.
I was riding so hard that I missed the third lunch (we eat about
every 30 miles on Cyclevents rides). Cyclevents didn't finish serving the
2nd lunch to other riders in time to catch up with Bob and I who were literally
miles ahead of the pack.
It was really weird seeing signs of civilization about 15 miles out from
Whitehorse when we hadn't seen any sign of commerce all day. There was not
one restaurant, lodge or store open in the 100 miles between Haines Junction
and Whitehorse. Rain was just starting to fall as I reached Whitehorse,
but I managed to stay ahead of it.
At Whitehorse I headed straight for a bike store, where I wasn't
able to find a Trek Radar computer, but did acquire a CatEye bike computer
and a Sachs chain to replace the one on the bike that seems particularly
worn. I then checked into the Edgewater Hotel. Since the other riders were
camped out about 4 miles away, I rented a car and shuttled folks to town.
We have a day off tomorrow, so I should be able to get my reports loaded
through the assistance
of
my friend Richard Lawrence at PolarNet/YukonWeb.
When I get a chance, I hope to program some links to other sites, but here
is a link to Robert Service's poem "The Cremation
of Sam McGee."
100 Miles
 Yukon Page |
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 Tailwinds Home Page |
© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997