{"id":445,"date":"2018-06-17T17:13:09","date_gmt":"2018-06-17T21:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/?p=445"},"modified":"2018-06-20T13:38:37","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T17:38:37","slug":"first-days-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/first-days-on-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"First days on the road!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally, I am on the road with Laf. I was disappointed that I hadn\u2019t been able to start from Prudhoe Bay, but I soon realized that it was probably a good thing. I had forgotten how hard it is to start a bike trip and I really don\u2019t think I would have been able to ride the Dalton, and for sure not in these conditions. As I pedaled away from Fairbanks, I thought that at least I had been to Prudhoe Bay with my bike, so in a way I felt satisfied. I also felt sorry (and still do) for the cyclists that are still facing such hard conditions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Laf in Fairbanks, ready to go!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Before the first pedal stroke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am now 4 days and 333 km into my trip, mostly flat roads, but somehow I finish my days exhausted. Part of it is that I am still carrying winter gear that I only needed for the Dalton, and too much food! And I needed to get back into shape.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rika\u2019s roadhouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One night I camped next to a beautfiul roadhouse built in 1909. I fell asleep thinking about all the travelers that found shelter here over the 100+ years.<\/p>\n

Last night I camped near a big river. It was getting very windy so I pitched my tent near the bushes to be somewhat protected from the gusts. However, the wind just got worse and worse. By 2 am I woke up and realized the wind was just insane and that things would not be good if it started to rain. So I got up and moved tent and gear into the bush to be more sheltered. Not a restful night, but at 6 am I was already on my bike, trying to take advantage of a calmer morning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Very civilized rest area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first 2 hours I saw more rabbits than vehicles, and as I stopped at a creek to get some water I was thinking about how basic my life is: finding water, food, shelter and staying warm. And pedaling, of course.<\/p>\n

I finally made it to Tok, where I was hoping to stay with someone and enjoy Alaskan hospitality, but unfortunately, once in Tok, I found out that the house was 5 km before the village. By then, my knees and legs had decided that I wasn\u2019t going back, especially against the wind. I felt a little better when I ran into another tour cyclist who said he also had knee pain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Maybe a tour cyclist decided to leave her fancy shoes behind…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I stopped at a hostel to inquire about camping fees, but while we were talking about the different options, the caretaker pulled a secret weapon: she gave me ice cream. So that was it: I ended up staying in her nice hostel, where I had a delightful shower, washed some clothes, cooked a delicious meal and now plan to spend the rest of the evening on a sofa with a book.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe this is why I do these things. Basic comfort feels so amazing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finally, I am on the road with Laf. I was disappointed that I hadn\u2019t been able to start from Prudhoe Bay, but I soon realized that it was probably a good thing. I had forgotten how hard it is to start a bike trip and I really don\u2019t think I would have been able to ride the Dalton, and for sure not in these conditions. As I pedaled away from Fairbanks, I thought that at least I had been to…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alaska","category-north-america","category-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":467,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions\/467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathmandu.com\/catproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}