BC welcome sign
Casio QV30 photo
To upload data to the website, I stayed the last couple of nights at a motel.
I succeeded in loading all my new data (even though my connection kept getting
cut off) but the effort consumed most of my rest time. I was up until 1:00
AM. Because I couldn't read my Avocet altimeter watch without my glasses,
from 3:00 AM on, I woke Tim, my temporary roommate, several times to ask
whether it was morning yet. When morning finally came, I was not all all
rested. I didn't get enough sleep and what sleep I did get was really poor.
I suffer from a sleep disorder and my riding performance and thinking ability
suffers profoundly from bad nights. On short days, I can lag back and actually
recover some energy, but on long days or those with serious headwinds, I
fall to the back of the pack.
In some ways, it is tougher staying in a motel away from the group. We didn't
have buzzing tent and sleeping bag zippers to wake us in the morning, and,
we had to haul all our clothes back to camp. I used my panniers and had
to detach them and stow them in the van, then get ready for the day's ride.
In what time we had before departing, we had to eat breakfast like everybody
else.
Today we seemed to be on the road before I even had time to catch
my breath. I'm sure I didn't eat enough. From Watson Lake, Yukon, we crossed
quickly into the Province of British Columbia.
It was cold and overcast all day and we bucked 12-15 mph headwinds.
Though he was nestled back in the woods behind a trash container and I never
saw him, Nelson and Ritt came across an Italian cyclist camped out. He told
them (in broken English) that he was a professional mountain climber who
had flown into Calgary, purchased a bicycle and a "bugger" (the
yellow trailer in the photo below) to haul his climbing gear with, and was
heading for Mt. Logan, Canada's highest peak. He was surrounded by mosquitoes
and wore protective headgear. He was using panniers to haul his bicycle
gear and the bugger to haul the climbing gear; an awesome load.
Italian mountain climber in mosquito headgear
Kodak DC50 photo (by Nelson Kibler)
We rode for hours through the remains of a 1982 forest fire that
consumed 400,000 acres of woods. 400,000 acres is a huge area. There was
fire damage as far as we could see in any direction, but the damaged trees
had fallen and saplings were coming back everywhere. The stark contrast
between what I saw when the fire was in progress in 1982 and what I saw
today was amazing. Nature's restorative abilities were quite impressive.
 1982 fire in 1982 scanned photo |
1982 fire damage in 1996 |
I was obviously suffering from inadequate sleep and was thoroughly exhausted very quickly, so fell back in the pack. When we stopped for lunch, I laid down for a nap on the rocky parking area.
Ritt was exhausted too, but from the smile on his face, Carol's
massage must have helped.
Near here there are huge rapids that we couldn't see from the highway. We saw some rapids, but the main falls was too far from the road.
We rode along the Liard River and had a rest stop at a high promontory
where during the gold rush era pirates watched for prey:
I can just imagine Sergeant Preston coming down here from Whitehorse to nab some pirate.
As I ride my bicycle, I can maintain a train of thought for only about 2 minutes maximum (this is especially true after a bad sleep). I use my microcassette recorder to record some sage observations as I ride. Some comments I recorded about bicyclists while I was riding today:
We crossed the Coal River and reached our destination. Altogether
we rode 100 miles and climbed 3,950 ft. for the day.
Coal River was remote (just a gas station/coffee shop). There
was nothing more exciting to do than sit in the laundry room (escaping the
cold and mosquitoes). Oh, we did take showers and do some laundry.
Tim composed e-mail to his friends in Singapore (though there
was no internet access at Coal River). [I didn't have
an opportunity to send Tim's e-mail for several days].
Bob and I sat around eating Canadian candy treats: "Mr. Big -- when you're this
big they call you Mister!" and "Cuban
Lunch" (is this politically incorrect or what?); while Ritt
tried to make a knot in his juggling string by shaking it.
 Cuban Lunch & Mr. Big |
 "Lively" action at Coal River Bob, Ritt & Ed (ogling Mr. Big) |
100 Miles.
 Yukon Page |
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 Tailwinds Home Page |
© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997
