![[Bike]](./ht/only2500b.gif)
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The Bike Touring Pages of
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Losing Latitude, Gaining Credibility -
Our trip north was difficult - very difficult. But not necessarily in the ways that we imagined it would be. And the good things took us by surprise too. Basically, we just weren't very well mentally prepared to ride around in the mosquito and bear infested north. We didn't really have a strict plan that we were required to adhere to and we had all but completed the nominal goal of riding bicycles to Alaska. We were ready for something different. Every mile north had seemed to be an invitation to greater frustration and difficulty - always in unexpected and irritating ways. By the time we got to Whitehorse, the answer was clear - south. This was especially true since we were also losing our Swiss friends and bike trekking mentors, Susan and Hanspeter, to their Yukon River canoe trip. For us, they really were the highlight of travel in the North.
This section of my bike touring web site documents our retreat from the crazy latitudes. We got off to a good head start with a magnificent ferry ride through Alaska's inside passage. We nervously (still those damn bears) enjoyed Vancouver and Canada's west coast before beginning the standard bike touring route of the U.S. Pacific coast. Because I had done this route at least one time before, I was interested in increasing the difficulty level a bit. This was accomplished nicely with forays into remote and difficult-to-access areas in northern California. Those experiences in the King Coastal Mountains and the coastal trails really seemed to crystalize our status as serious bike tourers. We felt that we had somehow made the transition to some more advanced level. The traditional cycling routes on the coast seemed a bit easy to us by this point.
After some resting at my uncle's house, we had another mission to complete that is documented in this collection. From very early on in our trip planning process, my friend, Dennis, and his wife expressed an interest in joining us for some part of the ride. In theory, this plan had good intentions, but it turned out to be a bit complicated by the fact that April and I had just developed superhuman ability and even the self-confidence to use it, while Dennis and Nancy were abject beginners. In any case, we did manage to get everyone through that week successfully and overall, it was quite an enjoyable diversion.
You might notice that the week Dennis and Nancy traveled with us is
represented with quite a few more pictures than normal. These are Dennis'
photos (marked with an [R]).
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| Day | 1997 |
daily miles |
total miles |
daily km |
total km |
| 1 | 11 July | 28.1 | 28.1 | 45 | 45 |
| 2 | 12 July | 37.4 | 65.5 | 60 | 105 |
| 3 | 13 July | 52.9 | 118.4 | 85 | 190 |
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FERRY
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| 9 | 19 July | 28.9 | 158.5 | 46 | 255 |
| 10 | 20 July | 53.5 | 212.0 | 86 | 341 |
| 11 | 21 July | 47.0 | 259.0 | 75 | 416 |
| 12 | 22 July | 46.9 | 305.9 | 75 | 492 |
| 13 | 23 July | 28.2 | 334.1 | 45 | 537 |
| 14 | 24 July | 46.8 | 380.9 | 75 | 612 |
| 15 | 25 July | 46.7 | 427.6 | 75 | 688 |
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BREAK
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| 17 | 27 July | 35.8 | 467.9 | 57 | 753 |
| 18 | 28 July | 33.7 | 501.6 | 54 | 807 |
| 19 | 29 July | 34.7 | 536.3 | 55 | 863 |
| 20 | 30 July | 52.9 | 589.2 | 85 | 948 |
| 21 | 31 July | 47.1 | 636.3 | 75 | 1024 |
| 22 | 1 August | 44.9 | 681.2 | 72 | 1096 |
| 23 | 2 August | 57.8 | 739.0 | 93 | 1189 |
| 24 | 3 August | 71.7 | 810.7 | 115 | 1304 |
| 25 | 4 August | 52.6 | 863.3 | 84 | 1389 |
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BREAK
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| 27 | 6 August | 75.9 | 941.3 | 122 | 1514 |
| 28 | 7 August | 60.8 | 1002.1 | 97 | 1612 |
| 29 | 8 August | 31.4 | 1033.5 | 50 | 1663 |
| 30 | 9 August | 74.6 | 1108.1 | 120 | 1783 |
| 31 | 10 August | 51.1 | 1159.2 | 82 | 1865 |
| 32 | 11 August | 40.9 | 1200.1 | 65 | 1931 |
| 33 | 12 August | 29.4 | 1229.5 | 47 | 1978 |
| 34 | 13 August | 25.0 | 1254.5 | 40 | 2018 |
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BREAK
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| 36 | 15 August | 69.6 | 1324.1 | 112 | 2130 |
| 37 | 16 August | 17.2 | 1341.3 | 27 | 2158 |
| 38 | 17 August | 30.7 | 1372.0 | 49 | 2208 |
| 39 | 18 August | 24.9 | 1396.9 | 40 | 2248 |
| 40 | 19 August | 38.3 | 1435.2 | 61 | 2309 |
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BREAK
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| 42 | 21 August | 45.6 | 1484.9 | 73 | 2389 |
| 43 | 22 August | 55.6 | 1540.5 | 89 | 2479 |
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BREAK
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| 50 | 29 August | 93.0 | 1705.0 | 149 | 2743 |
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BREAK
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| 53 | 1 September | 31.5 | 1743.6 | 50 | 2806 |
| 54 | 2 September | 31.3 | 1774.9 | 50 | 2856 |
| 55 | 3 September | 45 | 1819.9 | 72 | 2928 |
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BREAK
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| 57 | 5 September | 44.2 | 1864.1 | 71 | 2999 |
| 58 | 6 September | 36.5 | 1900.6 | 58 | 3058 |
| 59 | 7 September | 28.5 | 1929.1 | 45 | 3104 |
| 60 | 8 September | 43.6 | 1972.7 | 70 | 3174 |
| 61 | 9 September | 12.0 | 1984.7 | 19 | 3194 |
The photos are organized onto index pages for easy reference. You can use one of the photo index pages to find a specific photo or you can start at the beginning and work your way through all of the photos in chronological order. Also, the dates on the preceeding table are links to pages from that day's journal entry.
| Photo Index One - 11 July 1997 to 13 July 1997 |
| Photo Index Two - 13 July 1997 to 17 July 1997 |
| Photo Index Three - 18 July 1997 to 23 July 1997 |
| Photo Index Four - 23 July 1997 to 30 July 1997 |
| Photo Index Five - 31 July 1997 to 3 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Six - 4 August 1997 to 9 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Seven - 10 August 1997 to 12 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Eight - 12 August 1997 to 15 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Nine - 15 August 1997 to 17 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Ten - 17 August 1997 to 18 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Eleven - 18 August 1997 to 22 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Twelve - 22 August 1997 to 29 August 1997 |
| Photo Index Thirteen - 29 August 1997 to 1 September 1997 |
| Photo Index Fourteen - 1 September 1997 to 3 September 1997 |
| Photo Index Fifteen - 3 September 1997 to 5 September 1997 |
| Photo Index Sixteen - 6 September 1997 to 6 September 1997 |
| Photo Index Seventeen - 6 September 1997 to 8 September 1997 |
| Photo Index Eighteen - 8 September 1997 to 9 September 1997 |
| Photo Index Nineteen - 9 September 1997 |
| Xed |
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This page was created with only free, open-source, publicly licensed software. This page was designed to be viewed with any browser on any system. |
| Chris X. Edwards ~ August 2000 |