Author: Test Your Limits

Engineer Creek Campsite

52.6km

249m up and 528 down!!!!!

Big bacon fry up but still no bear…..and guess what Peg – Dale was LAST to get up today.

Overcast to start = glorious at campsite – Farid (call sign Freddie) didn’t realize that you needed to have a venting window so all of his stuff is soaking  wet – thankfully we got to camp early enough to dry out.

Got a bump on the ride – they were doing major road repairs adding 3 inches of surface – weren’t allowed to ride through so got the bikes on the back and took a lift with the highway repairman – nice 5k bump!

Great ride, but Farid couldn’t count – have I mentioned he has a PhD in biostatistics? I think perhaps simple algebra was just that….simple. In any case – he put us ahead and behind where we were – a recurring theme!!

Lost the most important plate, the microwave plate which serves as everything. Kind of a locked box puzzle scenario. Suneet and I knew we had put it where we always put it – called on Dale – 100$ if you can find it, it had moved up and over the lip of the shelf and then fallen behind the drawer (which can’t be removed) so some arm twisting action from the other cupboard allowed me to get my fingers on it.

And then the big one – the tap ran dry…..how could that happen????? OMG, of course we were accused of having showers (however the shower stall is our main storage area….) ……Thank GOD for the team. We started doing the whole MacGyver the water thing …so now we have to change food plans etc while we MacGyver the water situation to get us to Eagle Plains (3d hence).

Dave had a broken spoke on road -with a big wobble, so switch out from Dale driving to Dave and bike on back with repair in tent – Dave effectively deconstructed and reconstructed the back tire – have I said yet that this is the team to have? ….. still no flat tires

In camp started to pour rain, we just got the three guys tents up, and then it really started to come down, so much MacGyvering to be done – two tarps up, BBQ in camp for new York strip steaks, firepit for the potatoes pockets. All of us chilling under the tarp watching the flames. Despite pouring rain dinner was perfect – medium rare/potatoes/onions/and sour cream. Thank you Dale/Dave!!

Up and Over… Tombstone Park to unspecified camp ground – 64k – camp nestled up a bit in the mountains, glorious site full of all the bags of salt for the highway

50.98+8.22

Altitude gained  – 270m, descent 724m, we cycled through the clouds! the mountains towering around us – close tight (hence no sat signal). The huge granite mountains look like they shed gravel, the brush has all started to change colour to a burnt orange and red.

Animal sighting – Yukon swan, murder of crows.

Suneet did one big driving leg and was almost arrested as she stopped on the airport runway to wait for us. There were two runways nearby, one looked private – Dave and I saw this little 4 seater emerge from the bushes and take off – it looked crazy, can’t imagine landing that on the small runway.

Overcast with BIG wind – right at us…… made the descent feel more like flat… thank god for some drafting and peloton riding.

Complete tech failure, over and over again……despite multiple attempts by FF, DS and HR….Garmin InReach didn’t work, Iridium Sat phone (no signal) and Immersat was a disaster.

But at least we knew that Suneet was cooking – Teriyaki heaven!

Pair off to Arctic Highway towards Inuvik, Welcome to Tombstone Park 71km

Overcast with mist, burned off – high of 22C, slight tail wind. Quote of the day: “Up, disguised as level…” That is the best way to describe today. Total up 865m, total down 278m, for a net climbing of 587m.  

Team made good time. Dale, Suneet, Farid and myself set off with Dave in the zag wagon. Kind of like a yo-yo. Dale and Suneet leading the way on the uphills, me and Farid leading on the downhills, with a max of 66kph for yours truly. Everytime we would catch them on the downhill and then they would pass us on the uphill, rinse and repeat.  

Dave did our first stint of driving and he handed it over at 50km. I drove the crazy camper, ‘CeeCee,’ from there on up into the camping park. There were no spots available in camp, so I backtracked to the team and we took a turn-off onto a nice level gravel patch. Beers out, chips and salsa, soaking up the rays. Then the park ranger arrived and told us we were on the helipad and they were coming to pick up some large barrels and that we wouldn’t like the stench. She gave us permission to use camp four which was a commercial spot. Suneet and I bombed back to camp in order to secure it.

On the way we had our first animal sighting, a gorgeous bull cow moose! Of course we were scrambling to get the cameras going and only caught its behind.  I won’t share that photo. Gorgeous campsite with three picnic tables, three platforms for the guys. Suneet and I are in the RV tonight… And every night. Tonight is gourmet hotdogs and burgers, sauteed onions, old cheddar and fixings. Uphill tomorrow, so Suneet has a full protein breakfast planned to get us up and over it.  

We started the day with everybody congregating around the RV. We got all the bikes (still in their boxes) out and slowly started to put them together. Every tool imaginable between Dave and Farid meant that it went really smoothly. Suneet and and I got into the RV with all the chaos of the bags and the food and started to try to put things away (thanks Lori you’re an awesome shopper). We had our last coffee from ‘Baked’.

Once the bikes were assembled we thought we better pop by the bike store to make sure we had done everything correctly. There were a few minor adjustments and then a few major purchases (guess who?). What’s worse then a bunch of gearheads in an awesome store? The people at ‘Icicle’ biking were amazing.

Last-minute groceries and then we hit the road. I have to say the drive to Dawson city was like something out of a Harry Potter novel because the drive just seemed to get longer as we were driving.  In that optical illusion way, I thought we were going up, Suneet thought we were going down, and Dale thought we were driving flat.

We passed some gentle smoldering full forest fires and evidence of significant burns. The road intermittently detoured through sandy sections with us wheel clutching. Finally as we got closer to Dawson city we put on some rock ‘n’ roll and started to sing because we knew we were almost there!

The current bet now is: Who will get the first flat? How long till the first flat? What day will we get a flat tire on the RV?

Sourtoe – Farid’s notes

A while back I was chatting with a friend about cycling the Dempster highway. Having been to Dawson city, he told me that the “right of passage” of any visitor of Dawson is to have the Sourtoe cocktail.

Now that we are finally here, after a lot of arm twisting and convincing, I got 4/5 of us to commit to drinking this cocktail. A person forever known as X, the most sensible of us, remained resistant… here is why:

In 1920, a rum-runner (alcohol smuggler) named Louie Linken and his brother Otto were doing a cross border delivery. A terrible blizzard hits. To direct his dog team, Louie stepped off the sled into icy overflow. Prolonged exposure to the cold caused Louie’s toe to freeze completely. To prevent gangrene,  with an Axe, Otto cut-off the toe. They preserved it in a jar of alcohol. 

Years later, in 1973, Captain Dick Stevenson found the preserved toe in a jar. He wanted to capitalize on the summer tourists heading to the Top of the World Highway. He created a club – The Sour Toe club – and crowned himself the Toe Captain. He put the shriveled toe in a glass of champagne and called it the Sourtoe Cocktail. 

To join this club, you have to order the drink and let the toe touch your lips. Of course we didn’t have Captain Dick, but rather Captain Al. He poured us a shot of whisky, added the shriveled toe, and said: “Drink it fast or drink it slow, but either way, your lips must touch this gnarly looking toe!”

There are a few rules… 

1. No tongue touching
2. No biting
3. No swallowing

Yes, people have swallowed the toe…. It used to be a 500$ fine but now increased to 2,500$.

The club is still running based on donations. People who loose their toe, donate it to Captain Al, for maintaining admittance to the club…….

While Dale and Dave continue to drive to crazy 2000 km from Edmonton to Whitehorse, Farid, Suneet and I had the opportunity to explore this absolutely incredible city. We did 17,000 steps winding our way through every street, in and out of every shop. We did 2 mile hill up to the plateau that the airport is built on and found this phenomenal statue.

On our way back from 2 mile hill we came across the a barbershop and Farid had his first ever straight razor shave. We then continued to walk exploring all the amazing shops, bakeries and art galleries of Whitehorse. Lunch at Burnt toast – and while looking around the restaurant we saw a table of what could only be called old rockers – we were trying desperately to name the band.

Ultimately we landed at one of the best places ever…. Lumos studios. Luanne the owner was awesome. We watched them blow glass and make pieces of art unique each and everyone of them. Then sat out back and enjoyed the ambience. (www.lumelstudios.com). 

Luanne gave us a small heart as a token for our wellness on the Dempster Highway. She said that this was, a talisman, telling us that the indigenous people believe that if you carry this with you, you will have safe travels. It is heart shaped. She did not know the story of test your limits when she gave it to us. There’s something magical in that.

Meanwhile somewhere on the road from Edmonton……Dale and Dave’s excellent adventure (think ‘Bill and Ted’)…..these guys drove almost non-stop to get up here! While enroute to Whitehorse today the highway offered a variety of nature’s best to view along the way.  2 pair of bears, 2 sand hill cranes, 7+ Buffalos, and a Feisty mountain goat and of course many many northern lights.

In the town of Watson Lake, D&D came upon an unusual sight. The trees in one section of land in the town were covered in signs. Hometown names,  street names, license plates, etc.

As the story goes, an American soldier who was one of 11000 working on the Alaska Hwy became homesick and decided to put up a sign point to home. Over the year’s people continue to add their messages to home as well. There are currently over 85,000 signs.

WHAT a reunion – it has been 5 years since the band got together! We grabbed dinner at Klondike Rib and Salmon. Decided to head back………..but WAIT the night was NOT over….. on the way we started to hear the dulcet (not) tones of a full on R&R band, The Willie Nile’s Band. We were standing outside at MacBride Musuem watching, like fish through a fishbowl, and were invited in …….to a private fundraising event……and the dancing started. Everyone in the room was friendly and welcoming – we had an absolute BLAST……….woke up at 1 am but no Northern Lights for us…….

Well it is day one of test your limits. We are up here in Whitehorse waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. Wandering through this beautiful city situated on the Yukon River, I came across this statue which seemed incredibly fitting. Pretty much dedicated to everyone, everywhere who is interested in testing their limits!!!

As always there are gentle mishaps and challenges that happen on these trips. It started today with none of Dale‘s luggage reaching Edmonton. Thankfully Air Canada was able to reroute it and so he will have a bike to use on the trip.

Also disappointing, Perry won’t be coming as he tore a tendon in his finger in his left hand. He was going to get his arm casted so that he could grip a bicycle but that seemed, just maybe, a little bit too extreme for test your limits. Unfortunately he’s on the sidelines and will have to catch up on the next trip.

Farid arrived and went to the wrong hotel. Dave and Dale (who we are creeping using an RFID device) are 600 k away…..

Can’t wait!