Day 0 of this journey actually took 2 days, so maybe I should call this day -1 and day 0. We had a long journey to get up to Deadhorse.
We got up early yesterday to finish packing up and cleaning the house. We had nerves – about leaving the cat and house (in the care of a sitter of course), about how the bikes would hold up to baggage handling, and about the journey in general.
We flew from Tucson to Seattle, then had a 4-hour layover in Seattle before connecting to Anchorage. We landed in Anchorage after 2am, the sky still twilight but cloud cover dampened some of the light. Many people were sleeping in the airport, and we joined them for a not-so-restful night. Our next flight was not due another ten hours, so we had plenty of time to rest, eat, charge, etc.
Finally it was time for the last leg of the journey up to Deadhorse. The cloud cover was thick but cheated up enough for me to see glimpses of the Yukon River, the Dalton Highway, and the icy Arctic Ocean. The flight was the least crowded plane I think I’ve been on in 20 years.
We landed in the tiny airport and spotted another cyclist. The three of us gathered our boxes, assembled our bikes, and ride together to the general store for bear spray, fuel, and the obligatory photo in front of the general store. Paul and I booked a run for the night and an Arctic Ocean tour for the morning Access to the ocean is on private land owned by the oil companies, so the tour is the only way you are allowed to go all the way to the Arctic Ocean. I don’t think we’ll be here again, so the tour is a must!
Our new friend bid us farewell and started his journey cycling to Seward. Locals told us of 2 more couples who started cycling yesterday and today. So maybe we’ll have company here and there on this first stretch. Everyone in town has been super friendly, and we also met a gentleman who just drove his Subaru here ask the way from Ohio. He’ll also be riding the Dempster (the Canadian version of the Dalton) better heading home again. He also offered many words of encouragement.
It was nice to shower and eat a hot meal, and now we are exhausted and going to bed early! Starting tomorrow, I won’t have service for a week, possibly 2, so it might be awhile for the next update to post, but I will as soon as I can.
