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Dempster update
Sometimes, despite
all the planning, Mother Nature can still throw
you a curveball.
It was a dry hot
summer in the Yukon. Plus 32 when I arrived and
clear and sunny. The weekend before I left, the
wind changed and the smoke from numerous fires
rolled in. The smoke was so thick in Whitehorse
last weekend that you couldn't see the
mountains. In fact, there were 32 forest fires
burning in the Yukon on the day I started riding
and countless more in Alaska.
 Consequently, it made for very tough riding. I
had to stop tons of times just to catch my
breath. As Joel Plaskett would say, "smoke
so thick you need a lighthouse". The first
day I hit the wall at only 44k. The second
wasn't much better. By the third day, I knew I
was in trouble. My throat hurt, nose
wouldn't stop running and my lungs felt like a
brick. In planning for this, I thought I had
considered everything - good tires, good bike,
raingear, etc. - but I never even considered
forest fires. I talked to some tourists coming
from Inuvik and they said there was smoke all
the way to Fort MacPherson. There also was a
new fire burning north of Eagle Plains on the
Bell River.
So at the three day mark and by the rate I was
going, I realized that I wasn't going to make
Eagle Plains before my food ran out. I even
thought about hitching a ride but the traffic
was light and mostly tourist campers. So I had
to come up with a plan B. The trip then turned
into a ride out and a ride back - less than what
I wanted but the only reasonable compromise.
This also allowed me the opportunity to explore
a few sites along the way.
There were some highlights - hiking in the
Tombstones, swimming in the north Klondike
River, sharing coffee with fellow rider
Mary England in the clouds at the
Continental Divide and eating handfuls of
small, but sweet blueberries. I got to spend
seven days unsupported riding. I climbed 3000
feet to the Continental Divide and enjoyed the
long ride back down. Met a few cool folks too.
Mary did make it to Inuvik after battling
snow, rain and mud some 10 days later.
I am disappointed after all that planning but
plan B was a whole lot of fun, too.
Also, a trip to Dawson - didn't expect that. It
is hard to beat Dawson in the summertime.
Time to throw my disappointment in the ditch
and celebrate some of my accomplishments. With
the help of many, I was able to raise $2500
for cancer research. I was also able to
build awareness for Cameron Helps and the
Three Rivers Project so turning 50 has been
pretty darn good.
But for now, the Dempster will have to wait.
I do want to thank all the folks and sponsors
who helped. Particularly, Icycle Sports in
Whitehorse for helping me out of a
jam, Nielsen's Bicycles in Bracebridge for
going the extra mile, Lynne at 3W Solutions
for making the site look so good and the
good folks at the Yukon Brewery for
"Growlers". Time to start planning
the next trip.
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