The secret to a smooth face (June 28)

June 28. Made a major discovery today. My face has been getting all chapped from the sun, the wind, the rain and the DEET in the mosquito repellent. I have some cream called "butt butter" that helps with the sore rear end caused by sitting on that little bicycle seat all day. I put some on my face and now it is soft and smooth and pretty!

From June 27

June 27 I was lighting the cook stove. As I got started I noticed a bunch of mosquitoes gathered around the burner. I quick lit it and fried the little demons. Gave me great joy!
We saw a momma bear with three cubs today eating away next to the road. Cliff whistled and they all stood to attention as I took their picture. Really cute.
Roads are mostly gravel and oil with lots of big gravel. Causes lots of vibration which coming up through the handle bars causes lots of hand fatigue and neck pain. My mirror is on my helmet and usually it is shaking so much it is useless to see anything behind me.
I must be getting stronger. When we started I would see a big hill coming and I would say, "oh cow poopie" and then my heart would start racing and fear and trembling would fill me. Now when I see a big hill coming I say "I think I can do this one without getting under 6 mph" and if I went down to 5 mph I would say "oh cow poopie," or something like that.

And Another... [Major mosquito problem]

June 26 Climbed two monster hills today as we went over two passes. The first took over 2 hours pedaling in low gear at 4 mph and the second one almost as long. I had sweat running off my chin and I was panting like a steam locomotive. The scenery was breathtaking. It was as though we we were riding through a tunnel of snow covered mountains.
I had a major mosquito problem today. Usually we are riding fast enough they can't keep up with us but today going for so long a time at 4 mph the mosquitoes were swarming around us. As most of you know when you are riding a bike your butt is up in the air a bit, and when you are straining up a hill it is really up there. Because I was straining so hard on the pedals my shorts were pulled pretty tight over my rear end. The mosquitoes bit me through my shorts a bunch. It is hard to swat or scratch your rear end while you are pedaling hard. One time I was weaving around so much as I tried to scratch that a truck honked at me as he came up behind me. Probably afraid I was going to swerve out in front of him.

Another delayed entry...

June 25 we camped 4 miles from Haines Junction tonight. Drove in and bought ice cream cones to carbo load for tomorrow. We will be going over the two highest passes between Whitehorse and Fairbanks both around 3300 ft. We will start at 1200 feet and climb to 3300 in less than 25 miles, go back down to 1500 feet, then back to 3300 ft again, and then down to Kluane Lake.
I fell again today. Cliff saw a piece of rope as we were grinding up this hill and stopped to get it. In the process of trying to get started on the steep hill I was going too slow and just tipped over. I usually tuck in my arm when I fall but this time I came down on my elbow. Hurt like the dickens but I just rubbed dirt on it. What really hurt was when I got up there was a pick up across the road with an old couple in it really laughing at me. I am glad I could make their day. Even my own brother was laughing at me.
We are supposed to see lots of grizzlies tomorrow. Maybe I will get some good pictures. Maybe of one chasing Cliff, that would be cool.
Filling up my water bottles this morning and I discovered they were filled with mold. Probably from the sugar in the gatorade mix I am using. Scraped out most with a stick and used some of my mouth wash to sanitize it. That should work!

We made it!!

July 3. We are at Shelly's! Bicycle trip officially over!
*We pedaled 24 days. Rain 18 of those days. Rode our bicycles 1228 miles for a daily average of 51 miles.
* I lost 21 lbs. My goal was 25- so close.
*We saw 18 bears, most very close, but none tried to eat us. Saw lots of buffalo. 6 moose. Many deer. A wolf, a lynx, half a dozen elk, a dozen stone sheep, eagles, owls, hawks, beavers.
*I wrote many pages of ideas, dreams, musings, inspirations, experiences, thoughts etc.
*My physical conditioning is 1000 times greater than it was at the start of the trip!
*I had a wonderful time riding with my brother Cliff.
*The scenery on the trip was amazing. Wonderful, wonderful!
* Bicycle worked very well with no mechanical problems except for 5 flat tires due to the very bad road conditions in many places.
*Met lots of very interesting and nice people on the trip who were riding bikes as well.

I intend to continue to ride my bike and to go on some more long distance trips in the future though I will try to find some routes that have way less hills!

Belated entry due to in and out cell service

June 24 pedaled 45 miles today. 11 mph average speed for the day. Our fastest average for a day so far. That means there were less hills or we are getting stronger. Probably a combination. We peddled through the Tahini Valley today surrounded by snow covered mountains. Spectacular scenery! We didn't see much wildlife today. It was warm today so Cliff was riding with his shirt off and I think the glare scared off all the animals! I was checking myself out in the mirror in the shower room where we are camped at Otter Crossing to see if I could see any evidence of weight loss. My chest has gotten smaller! I thought it was muscle- I didn't want to lose my chest fat, I wanted to lose my belly fat! Tonight in our camp a bazillion big black spruce beetles invaded our camp. We all headed for our tents for protection. I can hear them right now flying into my tent. Thump, thump, thump. I is like the Egyptian plaque. I hope this doesn't go on all night!

Almost there...

July 1 We pedaled 90 miles today with at least a 10 mile per hour head wind most of the day. I hate headwinds worse than a million mosquitoes! Worse than 4 inches of rain a day! Worse than 4 mile long 7 percent hills! I am not grumbling am I??
We are camped at Delta Junction and have 100 miles left until we are done. We will do it in 2 days. Saw a big moose today as well as lots of bicycle riders from all over the world. The Alaskan Highway is considered by purist type bicycle riders all over the world the premier trip, but only for the really in shape, tough bicycle people. :) Raining again tonight. It has rained at least part of 18 of the days we have biked! No flats today, yeah, though I hate head winds worse than flats!

Maybe Patty will bike South America with Me

June 29 evening. 65 miles today and 10 hours on the road. Probably the hardest day we have had. Lots of steep long grades of 6 -7% grades with a super strong head wind all day. Nothing sadder in life than struggling up a long hill and start down the other side and have to pedal instead of coast because the wind is blowing so strong. Just about breaks your heart! As I pedal up the hill cranking my legs at 80 reps a minute going only 4 miles an hour panting and sweating I keep repeating " I am burning tons of calories and getting skinny and my wife is going say to me "you hunk" when she sees me. Helps:) I had two flat tires. At least it gives me a little time to rest. Met a young couple from Portland yesterday who have saved up and are taking two years to bicycle to the bottom of South America. Can't believe how many are doing that. Maybe I will have to talk Patty into doing that with me. :) We are in Tok, Alaska tonight. 4 more days of pedaling.

Keep Praying!

Off for another day of adventure. Won’t have cell service for a week so don't forget about me. Love ya. Dee

Wolf Sighting!

June 23 evening. We pedaled 65 miles today and averaged 10.4 mph. 2 really big long, 2 miles, hills. We cranked away on those at 4 mph for over 30 minutes each. Tuckered when you get to the top. The rest was rolling hills that were pretty gradual. Weather was sunny and very nice. We saw a wolf today.. Not too far away but I didn't have time to get a picture of him. Two days in a row with no rain, hallelujah. We have some major road difficult to bicycle so we will put the bikes on the car and drive through that. We are camped at Whitehorse. I am getting tougher and skinnier.

Snagged shorts, a horrific discovery, and Hippies

June 22 evening. Pedaled 40 miles today. Sunshine all day. Super. The roads were up and down as usual with a couple of stretches of fairly flat road. We averaged 9.7 mph. After one of our breaks, as we headed out, Cliff who is in front of me was getting on his bike. He gets on his bike like he does a horse, puts his left foot on his left pedal, pushes off with his right foot and then swings it over the bike. As he was doing this his shorts which are baggy, hung up on his bicycle seat. He was trying to unsnag them as he was going down the road and it was very funny to watch from my end. I was pretty sure he was going to wreck but he got them undone and off we went. I made a horrific discovery this evening in the shower. I have lost quite a bit of my gut but now I have all this extra skin. How can anybody see my 6 pack. Maybe I can get some cream that ladies use after they have a baby. I don't know if it will work on a guy or not. We met a German couple on bicycles today who started bicycling at the Arctic Circle above Fairbanks and are headed to the tip of South America! There are some real crazy people out there! Speaking of crazy, we visited with a guy who had a harness on and was pulling a cart covered with peace symbols protesting the war in Iraq. He had pulled it from Whitehorse and was headed to Vancouver. Pleasant fellow. Reminded me of the hippies when I was a kid. I glued my mattress again for the fourth time. It still leaks. Oh well, I am getting used to the ground.

Signs of Weight Loss!

June 22 morning. Hallelujah the sun is shining with no clouds in sight. Sitting in my camp chair drinking coffee soaking in the sun. Our plan today is to bike 50 miles to Johnson's Creek Campground. Yesterday we met a young husband and wife on bicycles. They had started in Fairbanks and were headed for Florida. They were school teachers and the day school was out they flew to Fairbanks and plan on being home in Florida before it starts. Next year they plan on doing it again but starting in Florida. They sure must pedal faster than I do. I am going to try and get Cliff to quit singing while he is pedaling and we might see some wildlife today. I had the worst cramps last night in my legs. Woke up and stretched and wow, cramps in both thighs! I rubbed my legs for 15 minutes before they went away. I keep thinking that soon my legs are going to get in shape and this soreness and stuff will go away. Takes longer for old, fat guys who are out of shape, I guess. Speaking of fat. My wrist has gotten skinnier. My watch band which is usually stretched and tight is loose and my watch falls around to the back side. Nice to see a sign of weight loss but I was really hoping it would be around my middle rather than around my wrist.

Burned a Bazillion Calories

June 21 Evening.. We biked 55 miles today. With all the hill climbing that we do that is going to be at the top end of the number of miles we will do in a day. I was totally bushed when we got into camp. About half way through the ride we stopped to take a break and Cliff went down the bank and then was struggling to get back up so we both lay down next to the road and took a nap. I was hoping nobody would stop and try to give us CPR. Didn't rain on us today but we had a strong headwind that really added to the difficulty of biking.. I think I burned a bazillion calories again today. Lots of amazing scenery today. We rode next to a range of snow covered mts. All day. We are at Dawson Peak Campground outside of Teslin.

The Rain Stopped!

June 21 Morning. It isn't raining!! Quit about 6 this morning. I was reminding myself about 4 am this morning that I all I really needed was God's joy, His peace, and His strength and He would give it to me if I asked. I don't need sunshine or a mosquito free environment so I will quit asking for that. Nice fire going this morning. Nice bowl of oatmeal and a hot cup of coffee!! The patch job Cliff and I did on my tire is still holding air this morning. I can't find the hole in my air mattress but I am getting comfortable sleeping on the ground!

And More Rain!

June 20 evening. We started out riding in the car because it was raining so hard and then we got out of town a ways and it stopped so we unloaded our bikes and rode. Did 40 miles today. Went uphill all day as we head for the Continental Divide. We will get there in about 5 miles so I am hoping for some downhill riding. Met a guy on the road today from Sweden who flew to Anchorage and is riding to San Diego. Very nice young man. Didn't rain much on us today but was very cold. Funny experience, sweating from riding hard and cold at the same time. Saw lots of very beautiful scenery today. Had another flat today. Little sharp rock went through the tire. Between Cliff and me we were able to get it off, patched and put back on. Were doing it at a rest stop and we gathered quite a crowd to watch. They probably hadn't seen anything that funny in a while. Raining right now in camp but we have a tarp stretched out to sit under and a big fire. More road construction today where there is lots of gravel. We ride out where the vehicle tires have flattened and smoothed out the groove and when we se a rig coming in our mirror we move into the soft stuff. My tires are a little bigger around than Cliff's so I don't have quite as hard a time navigating in the soft gravel. I am getting a little more in shape every day with not so many aching muscles but my thighs are burning tonight with all the uphill we did today. I am hoping that it isn't raining in the morning but the way things have been going I would be surprised if it isn't.

Building Character

June 20 morning. Poured rain all night and still raining super hard. Filled my coffee cup which was sitting on the table outside clear full and running over and it is 4 inches tall. I stayed in my sleeping bag until 8 this morning. Finally I had to get out to go to the bathroom and it was still pouring. My trusty ole tent couldn't hold up to the deluge and it leaked and my sleeping bag got soaked. My air mattress fix job didn't work so I laid on the ground all night. As I was laying in my tent thinking about this I thought, “Let's see now, I wanted a challenge and I certainly have one, but instead of fighting grizzly bears that try to attack me along the road I am smiling and having fun in spite of the events that are different than my plans. I think fighting a bear would be easier; at least there would be more glory in it. We decided to go to the only restaurant in town and have a real breakfast. Then go back to our camp and put everything we own in the dryers at the camp and after that see if it is still raining. If it is we will pack up and drive to the next camp destination at Rancheria. I am sure thankful for cars and dryers, and restaurants. Darn, a mosquito bit me right on my bald spot while I was rolling up my wet sleeping bag. That is my least favorite place to be bitten. I think if I were going draw a picture of a demon it would look like a mosquito! Visiting with an old guy in the laundry room who is from Sitka, Alaska. He said they come to this area in June to vacation because it is the driest month and it rains all the time in Sitka. He was grumbling a bit about the unseasonal rain and he is in a motorhome! I didn't want to tell him that it was my fault in that God was testing me and building character in me with the rain.

Still Raining

June 19 evening. Pedaled 40 miles. Our goal was 60 but it monsoon rained on us all day and by 4 pm I was froze to the bone. I was soaked to the bone. Even my internal organs were wet. They had showers here where we are camping. Two dollars for 8 minutes. I put it on straight hot. Whooee, that felt so good to get warm again. Thank you, Lord, for showers. Still no service here at Watson Lake. We saw 2 bears today and a bunch of buffalo. The 40 miles we did do worked us hard with lots of hills. My legs are definitely getting in shape for this riding, we only had to walk one hill today. Met a guy on a bicycle today from Taiwan. He flew to Anchorage and was pedaling to San Francisco. He had at least 100 lbs of gear on his bike. Now there was one tough guy. I can't believe all this rain we are encountering. The lady where we stayed last night said it hadn't rained in 2 months and then we show up. I found the leak in my mattress. I put some glue on the hole and we will see how it holds up tonight. I have to admit that this weather is getting discouraging. Everything is affected, the biking, the camping, and my writing. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

Major Crisis!

I woke up to a major crisis. My really comfortable,insulated air mattress has sprung a leak. I will use my bicycle patch kit and see if I can fix it this evening. If not this could be the biggest challenge of the trip, sleeping on the bare ground!!! It is Father's Day and I have no cell service so I can't get any texts from my kids wishing me Happy Fathers Day. Should have service this evening when we get to Watson's Lake.

Got My Socks On!

June 18 morning. Rained last night but we put everything in the car because it seems to be a pattern in the Northern Rockies to rain at night. I had another victory this morning. I was able to put my socks on lying on my back on my sleeping bag using two hands. Usually I have to use one hand to put behind my leg and pull down to me while I try to get my sock started on my foot with one hand. Got my socks put on this morning in record time and minimum amount of grunting like an old pig. Our destination this morning is Cole River. It is only 40 miles but the next camping spot after that would be a 100 mile ride and we are not ready for that.

Comparing Mosquito Bites

Only bicycled 40 miles today in that the only other camp site would have been 100 miles. Very nice sunny day with some breeze blowing on the backs of us today to help push us along. Mild, rolling hills today; none which required walking. It was probably our easiest and most relaxing ride of the trip. We are camped at Coal River with free showers, right next to a covered gazebo with a fire pit and lots of free firewood. Saw more buffalo today. They sure are big. Cliff was eating a hard boiled egg today at our lunch stop and he was sprinkling some strange looking stuff on it. I asked him what it was and he said pepper. I commented about the color and he said it was special pepper that Kathy bought him that was low fat!! That was a first for me. Cody, Cliff and Kathy's 11 year old grandson and I are sitting in camp comparing mosquito bites. He is sure that he has more than I do, but he said he has 25 and I have at least 100. One thing about so many is that the new ones don't seem so bad. My legs seem to be getting into shape, but my hands are asleep most of the time while I am riding and it still takes a couple minute break every 5 miles to recover from "butt soreness". The roads are being covered with oil and gravel in many places so when anybody passes us either way it makes for a lot of dust. The shoulders where we have been riding have a lot of the excess gravel which is hard to ride in so we ride up on the road where tires have made it smoother, with one eye in our mirror so we can move back to the side when a truck or motorhome comes.. I am hoping that tomorrow has less of that. Hope all is going well at home in church. I prayed hard all day for Sam's preaching to be annointed.

Laird Hot Springs

Evening June 17. We had a much easier day today. 80 percent of the pedaling today was gentle downhill following next to the beautiful Laird River. Riding next to the river made it easier for Cliff to tell if the road was going up or down though once he asked why that river was going uphill! The few hills that we did have made my legs squeal like a little pig in that they were so sore from yesterday’s mountain climb. Super weather today. We saw a bunch of wild buffalo and I got super pictures. We saw another big black bear who just sat by the road and watched us as we slowly rode by. Saw a bunch more stone sheep as well. We are camping tonight at Laird Hot Springs. There is a hot springs pool here that is absolutely amazing. If you go up to the head of it is unbearably hot and as you move down it gets cooler though the coolest place is probably 102. There is a dam that makes the pool and I went below the dam and sat under the 2 foot waterfall and let it come down right on my shoulders and then bent forward a bit and it came down on my back. A wonderful massage. When we finally got out I was like a limp rag. I could barely walk. We got out an hour ago and I am still sweating. Cliff is talking about going back up (1/4 mile walk) right before going to bed so he could sleep well. I am still so wrung out from the last sit in it that I think I will pass. The flat tire I had this morning seems to be miraculously healed. We pumped it up this morning and it was still good this evening. We will see what it looks like in the morning. Don't forget to send me some texts when you get a chance. I love getting them. Someone give an update on NFL.

New Day

New day. Overcast but not raining. I am hoping it stays like that. Had raisin bran, 2 yogurts, glass of orange juice and 2 cups of coffee in the motel free breakfast. We have targeted a campground that is 55 miles away for today. The wildlife count should go up now that we are heading into the Rockies. Love ya all. Dee

Good, Wet Ride and Dry Motel Sleep!

Evening of June 14 about 8 pm. We pedaled 55 miles today and averaged 12 mph. I think that is our fastest average speed so far. That either means there less hills or we are starting to get in shape. It seemed just as many hills and up and down as usual. It rained on us hard for most of the day. That might be one of the reasons that we went faster, to help us keep warm.

We pedaled to where we had planned to camp but it had closed. The book we have with all the camping spots must not keep up on that kind of thing. We decided to load the bikes on the car as Kathy was at the camping spot waiting for us, and drive to the next closest camping spot. We drove 60 miles into Ft Nelson without seeing one. There is a nice RV park in Ft Nelson that has places for tents but by this time Cliff and I were so chilled from our ride we decided to splurge and stay in a motel for a night. Kathy has been using the dryer here which is free to get all our stuff dry and do some laundry. Went out to eat. I ordered off of the "fat boy" part of the menu where they have the calories listed. I got a really nice meal that was only 500 calories! Got back to the motel and we all went and sat in the hot tub. Finally feeling warm again.

Didn't see any animals today. It was raining so hard I mostly looked down at the white line and stayed right on top of it. Had to use my brakes hard on the downhill sections because the rain would get into my eyes and I couldn't see. I am not praying for nice weather tomorrow but that God would give strength to manage whatever and enjoy the experience and the challenge. The road turns west from Ft Nelson and heads over the Rockies. It climbs from where we are tonight from 1380 ft elevation to the summit in 90 miles which is 3800 ft elevation. There will be a lot of 1st gear peddling tomorrow. I was hoping to be in super good shape by the time we got to this point but I think I am still a wimp. :) It should be a very challenging day and I will try and not cry too much. Lots of moaning and groaning though, because Paul said that was OK. Supposed to be lots of bears where we are headed so maybe I will have an exciting wildlife report tomorrow evening if there is cell service. Cell service will be pretty hit and miss for the next week as we go through the Rockies. Love ya all. Dee

Up and Down and Through the "Wall"

It is the evening of June 13th, Monday. Not sure when I will have service to send this, hopefully tomorrow.

I think I pedaled through my "wall" today. We will see as the days go on. We pedaled 50 miles and we were both super tired. Up a hill for a mile and down a hill a mile. We did not pedal on any flat road today, up and down, up and down, all day long and riding into the wind most of the day to boot!! Going up I keep shifting down as we climb the hill as it continues until I am in my lowest gear which will be about 4 miles an hour- about walking speed. If it is a really long hill and I am going to be at that speed very long, I get off and walk. I can walk at 3 mph pushing the bike and it feels good to use different muscles for awhile. We averaged 9.8 mph today. The downhills helped. We usually get up to 20 mph and as high as 35 coasting downhill. When we are going down hill I stand up on one pedal with my rear end barely clearing the seat. Gives my butt a bit of a rest.

For the last couple of days my rear disk brake has been squeaking very loud. Last night I sprayed it with WD40, then I figured out it was the front brake, not the rear one so I loosened the cable a bit and the squeak went away and the tire spun much freer. I discovered biking today that it is not a good idea to spray disk brakes with WD40, they don't stop!! Good thing my front brake worked. I think I burned most of the WD40 off today as I clamped down on the break lever a lot.

No animal sightings today except a few white tailed deer and a dead moose next to the road that someone had hit with a car. It smelled pretty bad.

We had a nice day as far as weather was concerned, overcast and cool but no rain. I still sweated buckets and drank 6 bottles of water. Nice camp ground on a beautiful river. I am sitting in my camp chair 5 feet from it with a fire going reading my Bible and writing this. If it is hilly tomorrow we will be happy with 50 miles, if it flattens out a bit maybe more. I am not sure how much weight I have lost, visually it still looks like I am 6 months pregnant!

Hit the wall

When I have run marathons I hit what they call the "wall" at about mile 22. Every cell in your body and brain is screaming at you to quit. I don't because after all there's only 4 miles left. It is almost over. Climbing Mt Adams the same thing happens at the false summit where there's very little oxygen to breathe and your whole body aches- but again there is only 1000 ft to go, so close you can do it. I woke up this morning at 4 am because it was broad daylight and I hit the wall. Every cell in my body and mind was screaming at me, "this is too much pain for an old guy, why are you doing this to yourself? Life is too short to be torturing yourself like this." I worked hard turning off the thoughts but they kept coming back in like a tsunami. The biggest problem is that there aren't just 4 miles left, there are 23 days, 1400 miles left with thousands of monster hills! I got up and trudged to the outhouse thinking, "you aren't a tough guy anymore but a wimp!". Oh no! What I am hoping for is that on one of my inglorious falls as I get on or off my bike I will break my collar bone, nothing really bad now that I have discovered that I am a wimp. Then I would have a legitimate out. But I am going to get back on that machine of torture and do another day. I am walking around camp this morning singing Jesus Loves Me. Seems to be helping. Well I think we won't have cell coverage for the next three days until we get to Ft Nelson so you will just have to guess how I am doing. Love ya all. Dee

PM, Sunday June 12

We are camping at Charlie Lake Provincial Campground. Very nice. Very few mosquitoes or flies. We camped right next to the outhouse which is a good thing for me! Lots of very tall birch trees which are beautiful and provide lots of shade when needed. Been sitting in the reclining camp chair writing for the last 4 hours and got lots done. Starting to feel re-energized and ready for a big day tomorrow.

Love getting texts from people. Include a little news from time to time. I have no idea what is happening out in the world or at JBC.

Since our official start we have pedaled 4 days for 200 miles and driven 2 days for 120. We have 23 days before I want to be in Fairbanks to see my new grandson Evan Freeman Crabb. 1400 miles to go. Lots of challenge and adventure to go I am sure. Love ya all. Dee