72 Miles from Watson Lake

No call tonight, just an email. Here are excerpts: "Great day---it was 23 degrees last night, but I slept fine! There was cold fog for 3 hours, then the day was stellar. I crossed the continental divide today, at one of the lowest points in Canada."

He had minor bike problems and I'll ship him some stuff (seat post bolts, cleats for shoes). He'll call tomorrow.

Route? Fort St John / Grand Prairie or Prince George

Is Pauls intended route published anywhere?
Good Thing You Had Fog Neck Training!!
Is it all down hill, yet? With a tail wind?
Hard to argue with the bears with the their Huckleberries. Does that leave you any grubs or worms?
We have some friends in Williams Lake that would share a cup of tea, food, dry warm surroundings or you could camp on the porch if you are more comfortable? At least the warm meal would be a plus!
Well, you still have your Leatherman. You will be Fine! Don't trade it for food, you can build a snare and still fish!
Happy Trails, Fair Skies and Favorable winds!

125 Miles, No Rain, Campsite Closed

Paul made it 125 miles -just past Teslin. A good day of cycling with no rain (a first I believe). He had found a campground on the internet that looked perfect and pressed on to get there up a big hill at the end of the day. The campground was closed! They did let him pitch his tent and shower, but no food (it advertised restaurant and all sorts of services). The owner said they closed early due to the bad weather and said that others are doing the same. The weather report for tomorrow is good. I hope Paul finds a better place to land with better accommodations.

Weather Update, and Failed Repair Attempt!

Wow, acording to the forcast, my planned route will take me from good weather to better weather. My origional plan was to camp at least half of the time, and that has just not been in the cards. Tomorrow, I have choices on stopping points from a little before Teslin to a few miles past Teslin...then it still looks like 2 more days to Watson lake, then 2 more to Laird Hot Springs----and another rest day or maybe even 2! (If it is camping weather and I am holding up).

Thanks to all for your kind thoughts, and be assured that your traveler is in good spirits, not to be "dampened" by a little weather. I have worked in worse.

I don't know what I will have for either phone or internet for the next leg, so we shall see.

Repair failure---I was unable to effect the repair on my heart rate monitor. Thus, I went to none other than Wal-mart and purchased another one. Hate the place, but you gotta love the price (and availability). So David, I guess you are still well ahead on the "Leatherman tool tales."

Speaking of Bliss

Paul had cell phone service in Whitehorse so we got to have a leisurely talk over coffee this morning - indeed blissful! I want to note the random acts of kindness that Paul tells me about. Listen to this! A professional photographer was shooting by the road and Paul stopped. He asked if Paul would like a candy bar, which of course he couldn't refuse. This fella produces two candy bars for Paul. Once again to another good Samaritan - bless you! And blessings to all of you praying for and cheering on Paul. You are appreciated.

Rest Day

Friday---blissful rest day. I was able to find a massage for my tired legs. Thanks to Bill Gibson!
I washed and lubed my trusty steed again, followed by a visit to Phillipe LeBlonde, bicycle mechanic extraordinaire and sculptor. Very interesting fellow----you might find reference to him on the web if you are interested. He tweaked my front gears a bit, as they were getting a bit balky. My heart rate monitor has ceased to work, so I am trying to follow in my middle son's footsteps and effect a repair with nothing but my Leathermans tool. And why do I care, you might ask? Knowing my heart rate helps me to know how I am doing....for example, if I am slowing down, and my "perceived exertion" is high, but my heart rate is low, that might mean I have not eaten/fueled enough, or that I am just plain toasted. If my heart rate is still where it should be in relation to the level of exertion, then I know that I just need to "buck up" and keep pedalling! (Probably more information than most of you care about....but there is is.

Weather update----it has rained hard today. Not all day, but there have been some very heavy periods of rain, so I am hoping once again that tomorrow will be better.

Whitehorse, Capital of the Yukon

Today started out wet with full rain gear for the first 6 hours of my 9 hour ride. The last three it stopped raining, and it sure felt food to peel of the wet rain gear, and let the layers beneath "air dry." The wildlife sighting for the day was a wolf......well maybe it was a big coyote, I really couldn't be positive.

I am very glad to be 1/4 of the way through this adventure, and am thinking the weather might get better...The next stop down the road is Teslin, about 110 miles from here. Then 165 miles to Watson Lake, but I will try to divide that distance into more managable bites! The next stop after Watson Lake is one of the things that I have been looking forward to very much, Laird Hot Springs! The following link was posted by a motorhome traveler, and is quite good if you are interested in hot springs, as I am!
www.motorhometraveler.com/Alaska_Highway/Laird-River-Hot-Springs.html

It is late now, and I may post again tomorrow. Thanks to Dave and Sheila for all the help making this an interesting read.