OH, Canada!!! this section deals with the border into the Yukon, British Columbia on to Haines AK were I will catch a ferry to Bellingham, Wa
July 23th
Rain drops keep falling on my head....you know the song!!
Boom Boom the heavy rain drops form the trees crash into the tent and awaken me at 6am, I toss and turn for a while but can’t fight the urge to get up, so I unzip the tent, feel for rain outside it is not raining at this moment so I rally the other and we pack quickly and make our escape. We headed to the camp ground we were going to last night to look for J.P. Rice and make breakfast. Just as we were arriving J.P. and his wife were pulling out on their way to sunnier places, we said our goodbyes with the hope we would one day see these kind people again and set about eating our breakfast, no sooner than we had oatmeal cooked then we see J.P. coming back in the big white bus he and his wife converted to a R.V. he comes over, invites us to tea and a bit of warmth from the cold rain, he and his wife are truly nice caring people, few would of turned around and did what they did, we are so appreciative. The warmth and conversation were a real treat, we enjoyed their company very much but the road was calling, we were soon on the bikes in a cold drizzly rain.The road is long and cold with lots of rain no views to be had as we make our way to the Yukon and Canadian border with the hope that after the crossing the sun will magically shine the rain will stop and smiles will creep back across our faces once again. We 
passed the US border but still had 20km to go until the CA border. Shortly after the US border we entered the Yukon were the hills, mud, bad road and headwind made getting to the Canadian border a real ordeal. Just as we were about to cross the rain came down extremely hard with a nice stiff headwind to help us along, it seemed that AK was not wanting to lets us leave. We made the border handed over our passports got our stamp and prepared for the 6 miles left to Beaver Creek or so we thought when we asked the Border Patrol Agent she said we were 2km from town, a sigh of relief and surprise rose form all of us and a smile crept across our faces as we rolled out for the last tiny stretch.
We all agreed that a room with a shower and dry beds would be great so we headed to Buckshot Betty’s an oasis in an otherwise ½ horse town. We are very lucky indeed the only room left was a double queen bed with shower, internet (didn’t work) and room for all our crap to dry out, the price was $33 each very easy to swallow at that point. After a shower we all headed over to Betty’s to have dinner and was not disappointed the food was excellent, the portions were huge not to mention all homemade. With our bellies happy our spirits lifted we settled in and watched a bit of the BBC before drifting off to a warm deep sleep.
July 24th
I love you Canada !!
In the morning the rain had stopped and the skies were looking as if they might just clear up, blue appeared for the first time in days, we headed back to Betty's for breakfast. In the front of the restaurant are 2 touring bikes loaded with gear so we knew that 2 other hungry cyclist were inside with the same idea about food. Inside we met Alvaro Martin and Alicia Urrea two Spanish cyclist from Spain doing a world tour in segments check out there website @ www.rodadas.net.
After breakfast and a few picture of each other we said goodbye to the Spaniard’s made a left out of the parking lot headed for our next destination of White River and before that a French Bakery supposedly in the middle of no were run by some mean French people that you don’t ask for anything from, so with this in mind we headed out, blue skies and warm weather would eventually find their way to us as we cycled to bad we could never get rid of the headwind.
The scenery we are riding in today is fantastic with big mountains on both sides and many small lakes placed here and there to break up the trees, it was the first time in over a week I was able to see what I was passing by and actually able to appreciate the scenery I had come to see. The winds were strong so we formed a pace line and started taking pulls soon the miles were flying by and we had made to the French Bakery and sure enough a French man with a look of “what” across his face served up a good but not great cinnamon roll and a cup of soup that was actually very good, we didn’t ask for anything so I am not sure if the stories of his rudeness are true??
Brunch tucked away we rolled on to more hill and great views, we passed a giant river with grey murky water flowing in all kinds of little streams, just as we were about to cross a bridge a Black Bear was spotted a few feet from me on the side of the road I missed it as I was looking at the bridge ahead but Russ and Lorely saw it and called out to me, I stopped and looked but saw nothing just as were started to ride on the bear came out across the road behind me, it was the first and only Bear I have seen on my trip, I was able to get an OK pic.
Bear behind us we crossed the bridge and made our way over to the White River R.V. 
Camp ground. We had been warned that the Old guy there was mean and would not let us camp there but we had to try. Sure enough this gruff old dude on a 4 wheeler sees us and makes his way over his first words are “what do you want?” I speak up “we saw the sign that said Tent Camping. so we would like tom know how much” his face drew a blank as if he had lost his train of thought or forgot about the sign and was now wondering how he could get out of letting us camp, after a long pause he says “$30 for the 3 of ya, includes showers” we look at each other not liking the price I ask about no shower and then he begins to tell us the tales of the cycle tourist and bike travelers that say they “don’t want a shower” but then take one anyway, and how they wash their clothes in the sink and bath tub and make a mess, we assure Bob as we come to know him that we are NOT that type! We had a shower a day ago and are feeling rather clean. He goes back in the trance so I say what a beautiful day it is and that snaps him out we agree on $15 for the 3 of us and NO Showers, all parties happy Bob shows us to our camp site. The area is real nice the grass is green and soft and even though it is close to the road the traffic is so light as not to be a bother.
Later we meet Amanda the owner, she is English but grew up in Ireland came on vacation 6 years ago, saw the place was for sale came back the next year and bought it, now she is renovating it with Bobs help and making it a real nice place to camp.
A NOTE TO OTHER CYCLIST: if you want to camp here do the right thing leave it like you found it, want a shower pay for it, don’t wash your clothes in the tub or sink and leave a good impression it is the only way cyclist will be able to stay here in the future.
Just before dinner Amada came over and invited us on a nature walk around the place , looking at plants and trees and the like, it was great with the highlight being the hole she dug in the tundra were you could reach in and feel the ice below the ground “the permafrost” it was real cool.., literally. After the walk we made dinner then headed over to the community campfire to sit a while and enjoy the beautiful night air.
July 25th
Goodbye Cantankerous Bob!!
We left Cantankerous old Bob behind said good bye to Amanda the owner and headed out with cool overcast skies and no rain in site. The road was in fairly good condition with few hills to start and no real wind to speak of; we passed a few derelict buildings that had there hay day many years ago but now sit in disrepair with no hope of revitalization. The mountains around us opened up into a beautiful valley and with it came a nice strong headwind. The views today are the best I have had so far and I am so glad that I didn’t take the ride to Whitehorse. We passed a large river and started a nice climb up to a lookout were we could see the snow covered peaks in the distance, after lunch it was a nice ride in the middle of the valley but we could not get rid of the head wind.
We had hoped to stop at a community that was marked on our maps for water but when we arrived it was the eeriest place I have ever been it felt like we were being watched but could see no one and no life at all to the town even though the cabins for rent looked sort of newish the rest was rundown and abandon looking, it reminded me of the movie “The hills have eyes” we left in a hurry and never looked back. We eventually found our water and filled our bottles and Dromedary bags for the nights meal and breakfast in the morning.
In the end not much really happened today and we ended up camping at a rest stop looking over the Kuane river valley the view was great the camping not so much, we had to hide our food in the toilets.
July 26th
Hello hellish wind!!
We left the camp at the rest stop in a driving wind it was blowing hard enough to slow our speed to a 5mph crawl. The scenery has become steeper on both sides with the peaks high above tree line. The road is winding up and down as we follow the river towards Kluane Lake.
Stopped in a dinner for pie and coffee it was fantastic. When we asked about the wind we were told it was always this strong and blew in the same direction all the time. Darn there is no hope. Stopped in Destruction bay for lunch and a break from the wind not much here to speak of, and the prices for the portions were high. After lunch we struggled on to a camp ground called cottonwood on the end of the lake we have been following all day, the spots were good next to the lake but the wind made the water churn with no rhythm it was difficult to sleep.
In the morning I met a real nice sailor named Albert and His first mate an Israeli girl Adva. We talked about travel and swapped emails for later contacts around the planet.
July 27th
The beautiful Mountains are all around...
We cycled around the end of the lake and crossed the bridge the end of the lake is dry and looks like a dessert landscape; at this point the wind stopped neither head nor tailwind to speak of. The cycling became very pleasant and the sun shined bright making the miles in the lull of wind go by quickly. The calmness of the lake made reflections of the mountains Impossible to ignore so we stopped and happily snapped picture after picture, most were just pics in my mind I would look at later when the cycling got harder.
The road followed the coast for a few miles
before cutting inland climbing gradually up and away from the lake and the surrounding peaks into a valley with high snowcapped mountains on one side high but grassy hills on the other we would be in this valley all day. We got our first taste of climbing in the Canadian Rockies as we made the first of a few long 6% grades that would deposit us higher and higher up the valley we climbed the road becoming more gradual but with longer ascents. After 3 hours of cycling we stopped for lunch on a dirt road headed straight for the rugged mountains in the distance, it was a nice spot to have lunch even if we were eating next to a giant stretch of “Bear Berries”. 
Fueled up and ready to go we climbed even higher edging closer to the mountains until we finally came to a sign that said “downhill” we didn’t expect much as most of the hills we came upon with this sign were not much to speak of, well this one was 6 miles long and a proper pitch down. At the bottom of the hill we found ourselves only 6 miles from Haines junction with a strong cross wind to see us in.
Haines junction is nestled in some of the prettiest mountains we have seen all trip; the town is not big but very nice and has all the stuff you’ll need to continue on including a fantastic 
bakery with all the goodies, we camped at the RV park in town close to the bakery and store. At the bakery we met another 2 cycle tourist from Switzerland Marcel and Nicole Baracchi they had some good info for us on winds and a mystery cabin that we could stay at on the way to Haines.
July 28th
Sweet treats at Le` bakery
We stopped at the bakery on the way out of town had a snack bought some bread and I was also able to talk to Kaori before we left and she flew back to Japan, we hope to meet up soon and cycle together. We climbed out of the valley away from Haines Junction on our way to Kathleen Lake and the Kluane National park camp ground and lake. Made the camp ground with little difficulty it was 
only 16mi away so a very short cycling day. The lake is nice with large mountains on 2 sides and a glacier you can’t see in the distance keeping the water level constant.
July 29th
Off to find the cabin....hell wind tries to stop us!!
I Finally scored some off road in the Yukon a sweet piece of almost double track for about .8 of a mile, I am a god.... OK back to reality it was cold this morning around 52 degrees and a breeze blowing but not a full Gale in our faces. The road was dirt for a while during the construction then it turned to a sweet tarmac that all roads should be like smooth as a baby’s bottom and rolling fast. 
We played the Game as we call it a bit of drafting to make the miles go by quicker and were able to tick off 15mi before we turned a corner by the lake and BAM the wind was full on in our faces for miles. The scenery became more mountainous if you can believe that and we were soon in a wide valley with beautiful mountains on both sides. We stopped at million dollar falls and it was great a huge fall with the clearest water I have ever seen running in it. After the falls it was up up and away we went for a long series of climbs the wind had died and so the climbing was doable. But 
it was not to be the wind came back stronger than ever and we had 20 miles to go before we reached the cabin we had heard about at mile 62 today, we descended then climbed up a pass to were the cabin is it was so windy it was hard to keep going and many times I wish I could of stopped and tented up but the promise of a warm cabin kept me going. It was the hardest day I Have ever had cycling and one of the best as well since at the end was a magical cabin complete with fire wood and a loft to sleep in. 
July 30th
Parting is such sweet sorrow
Leaving the cabin was hard it is such a magical place I was hard pressed to take the pedal strokes away. The plateau we were on was amazing we went over a pass then climbed up another wert the view was world class snowcapped mountains filled our field of view , we sat had lunch and talked with a bicycle tour group that was doing our same route but at a quicker pace with their support vehicle towing all the food. After lunch it was down a long decent we passed into AK again back in America the views of the mtn’s are un real the cycling was great with a hot and sunny day that started at 48 degrees and ended with us swimming in a nice pond with 70 degree weather and blues skies all around in the end we did 73mi camped by the side of the road 6 mile from Haines. Today was by far the best day of cycling I have ever had up to this point.
July 31st The end of the long windy road We left our camp in a slight drizzle the sun and warmth of yesterday had vanished, been replaced by overcast grayness but not even that could bring us down, we were only 6 miles from Haines and were so looking forward to having a day off of in this case almost 6 because we have 4 days on the ferry to Prince Rupert. We made it to Haines had some breakfast then proceeded to the very cool Bicycle/hiker camp ground on the other side of town. Today I catch a Ferry for a 5
day sea cruise to some small towns and the famous inside passage of AK . I will have more updates from the Ferry ride soon...
We set up camp then headed back to town to look around do some laundry and see what was up with this County Fair we had heard about. The rain continued all day and would into the night but at least we had the fair to go to instead of sitting in our tents. Around 4 we headed over to the fair grounds and wondered around the place, for a Small town fair it draws some really great crowds and entertainment we saw several great bands and a act called NANDA that was super fun ( video coming soon).
