Bicycle TidbitsI strive for browser independence, but it
is getting harder to achieve. |
Since there are no roads out of Juneau, riding is somewhat limited. The local bicycle club runs several races throughout the summer, but to make their century, they have to utilize every long stretch of pavement there is. The Yukon Territory of Canada is a short ferry ride up Lynn Canal and offers the closest access to the rest of the continent's road system. The Kluane Relay Race is run annually on the summer solstice weekend from Haines Junction, Yukon to Haines, Alaska. The route is 152 miles long, and ridden by teams made up of 2, 4 or 8 riders. The competitors are a mix of serious riders and couch potatoes (I'm not sure where I fall in that range), the support, water, and food is whatever you have brought with you, and you should keep an eye out for bears on the course.
I was one member of a team of eight in 1996 and we had a fun time. Our goal was to finish. We achieved that goal.
In 1997, we planned to field another eight member team. Plans fell
through after the registration was paid and only three of us made it. Then
I got sick Friday night and felt too icky to ride on Saturday. So we rode
a couple of legs, and headed home.
| In 1998, we decided that there wasn't enough interest in fielding a
team, but that we did enjoy the route. So we decided to take a van,
three bikes, and a couple of dogs up the week after the race and ride
portions of the "Golden Circle" route from Haines, to Skagway.
We had a wonderful time, had great weather, good camping, and decent ferry
rides.
Here are the five of us with the St. Elias Mountains in the
background. We were riding supported, so we didn't take the trailers
for our Fridays. |
Haines,
we took the Haines Hwy to Haines Junction. The surface was good, there was
a tailwind, the traffic was light, and it was a wonderful ride. The Alaska
Hwy (A.K.A. The Alcan) from Haines Junction to Whitehorse is much more heavily
traveled by RVs and trucks. We opted out of that stretch (since we had the
van) and drove to Whitehorse. There, we picked up the Klondike Hwy down to
Skagway. The surface on the Klondike was not a good as that of the Haines
Hwy, traffic was a little heavier, and there was a headwind. All of that
combined to make the Klondike Hwy less favorable remembered than the Haines Hwy.
I'm ready to do it again .... or maybe something different. I liked the Haines Hwy so well, that I would be happy to skip the rest of the distance. Maybe I can find a way to get dropped in Haines Jct and ride back to Haines. All it takes is money.