Kluane Lake, YT, Canada - RV, biker & cyclists heaven
Courtesy of www.SladeRide.com…
(Gallery at bottom of post)
Prologue – Peru, September 2005, Jon Slade ‘blog e-mail’ to home…
Firstly, an overlooked incident from the time of my last missive, whilst on mountaineering “manoeuvres” (no Jon, you are not and never have been in the army, Cub Scouts yes) in the Peruvian Andes. We’d been warned about thefts in our particular valley (Ishinca) and on the basis that we made up the only two tents in the whole area had become particularly vigilent, or so we thought.
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Filed in: Alaska South, Travel | admin | July 12, 2009 | Comments (3)
Tags: Adam, Alaska, Beaver Creek, border, Burwash Landing, Canada, Cottonwood RV, Fairbanks, Heat, Jacky, Kluane, Lion, Moose, North Pole, Rain, Tim, USA, Ward, Whitehorse, Yukon
Seward Glacier Cruise - ITS A HUMPBACK WHALE!
Courtesy of www.SladeRide.com…
(Gallery at bottom of post)
With my legs somewhat rested, bike (Charles) stored in Fairbanks (thanks John) I set off in the middle of June for a 2 week driving tour of Southern Alaska a friend from Liverpool / New Jersey, Lee. A CAR! NO PEDALLING!
To give you an idea of the sheer vastness that is Alaska, we cover 2000 miles…and only see maybe an eighth of the country! But it was a great 2 weeks (thanks Lee) and needed after the previous 2 of hard cycling.
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Filed in: Alaska South, Travel | admin | June 27, 2009 | Comments (2)
Tags: Alaska, Anchroage, Bear, car, Caribou, Denali, Exit, fjord, Galcier, Glacier, Glenn Highway, Harding, Homer, Hope, Icefield, kayak, Lee, Lynx, Moose, nightlife, Nikolaevsk, Seward, Valdez, whale
Ooh look at 'im with 'is arty stuff - who does 'e think 'e is? David bleedin' Bailey?!
Courtesy of www.SladeRide.com…
(Video approx half way down & Gallery at bottom of post)
So, the 27th of May 2009, a hotel room in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA on the Arctic Ocean Coast, 250 miles INSIDE the Arctic Circle, 240 miles south by mostly dirt road to the next Service Station (Coldfoot) and potential re-supply. Between here and there is the ‘North Slope’ of Arctic tundra, the 4,700 foot Atigun Pass, snow-bound and avalanche prone. Oh, and some bears. And after those 240 miles services are sporadic for the next 260. And I’m GOING TO DO IT BY BICYCLE! Alone. WHAT!?
The bike, Charles, is in a box and needs to be rebuilt by me in the hotel room. I’ll need to wild camp on the tundra / mountains / valleys, carry 2 weeks worth of food. At this time of year (spring) temperatures can still go below -10c. And then there are the infamous arctic winds.
If there is such a thing as being ‘out of ones comfort zone’ then I know for an absolute fact that I’m out of it about 10 times over. I think the phrase is ‘I’m bricking it’. I can’t remember when I was last so, well, scared.
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Filed in: Alaska South, Travel | admin | June 11, 2009 | Comments (8)
Tags: Alaska, Atigun Pass, Brooks Range, Coldfoot, Fairbanks, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Jon, Prudhoe Bay, Start, Wiseman
Hi from Roger (Jonathan’s Dad).
Kay and I are very proud of what Jonathan is doing. We do not ask “why?”. We know. If you know the answer to “why?” you do not need to ask and you understand. If you need to ask “why?” you will not understand the answer.
Jonathan rang last night – midnight UK time Thursday 4 June 2009. He is camping at Coldfoot with a nice warm diner to hole up in. He is tired, and resting for a day, but upbeat and elated by his experiences. Half way to Fairbanks and over the crest of the Brooks Range is excellent progress.
I will keep any relevant news posted on this site either directly or via Jason.
PS. Where does Jonathan get this from? Maybe in part from us. Feel free to visit my website http://www.rogersladephoto.co.uk. I work in Antarctica each winter. And I have just bought a large motorbike.
So, “keep on trucking Jonathan”.
Jon is now about 172 miles into Alaska now! He has not had internet communication so he hasn’t been able to send me his latest Route file. He does have a GPS tracker that you can see on the Where Am I? page. If you follow that you can see he’s making great progress every day. He is currently near the bottom of the first major obstacle of the ride. Take at look at the Where Am I? page and click on Hybrid in the upper right corner of the map. From there you will notice that he’s on the up-hill path out of the river bottom he’s been following.
In other riding news, it looks like Jon has taken a 7 mile detour around Gailbraith Lake. After getting to a dead-end, he had to go back the way he came. We’re looking forward to hearing what really happened Jon!
The next town that Jon is due to go through is Wiseman, AK. Hopefully he’ll find public internet access there. At his current pace he should be in Wiseman in 2-3 days.
Jon has now started his epic ride! Check out his “Where Am I?” page to chart his progress.
