Bellies now full of a delicious halibut appetizer, freshly tossed halibut salad, salty and savory halibut main course and rich halibut dessert we slept contently. And woke up to this view. Lucky to be alive.
We ride two up for the last 100 curvy miles to Seward AK with some "turn at the big tree, just after the waterfall" directions to get to the campsite. We roll into camp @ 2am, after being up for 24 hours for the second time in 3 days. Somehow we find camp and get about 4 hours of sleep. Wake at 6, shower & eat, and get stuff down to the water taxi by 8am.
next 4 days
water taxi
Miraculously, we made it. 1,000 miles in 60 hours. 8 hours of sleep, gas flavored beans burritos and coffee. Our reward is relaxing on the 2 hour boat ride to our campsite and viewing the wildlife along the way, such as Dall's porpoise, who ride the pressure wave off the front of the water taxi. Pretty neat.
This is where we will be spending the next few days. Not too shabby.
Time to set up camp and take a nap before heading out in the kayaks to find some halibut.
We wake up @ 2 am next to the river. Ride in the rain towards Seward AK, gotta be there @ 5 pm. We stop in Anchorage at Brad & Emily's place to get gear for a 4 day kayak fishing trip in the Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park near Seward. My dad has flown up from Minnesota and is meeting us in Seward, we've been planning this for a few months now.
About a half hour out of Anchorage, the sprocket issue has raised its ugly head again. The chain comes off, and is completely wrecked. We lay in the ditch at 4 pm, wondering how we are going to make the last 100 miles of curvy road to Seward.
After lots of phone calls, 2 wreckers, and some wonderful people named Ben and Stacie in Girdwood who let me store my bike in their shed, @ 11 pm, we leave Girdwood AK on one bike. The water taxi leaves @ 8 am and we must be on it.
A huge massive big ups, thanks and gratitude to Ben and Stacie. you rock.
butt to nut. must like fishing alot.
400 rainy miles, 2 sprockets, 1 chain, 2 tow trucks, packing for 4 day kayak fishing trip, 100 miles to go two up.
I haven't posted for awhile, since January. Hmmm, right about when I got a job. huh.
I digress to scumbuckets riding south towards Fairbanks... and start to notice that my bike is making funny noises. We stop in Fairbanks for gas, its about 90 F and we haven't slept or showered in... awhile.
we notice my sprocket is missing about half its teeth, and my chain has about 47 feet of slack. not good. when did this all happen?
It also turns out when you ride 1500 miles in 3 days on gravel the chain and sprockets take a beating.
time for scumbucket problem solving. within an hour I've procured a spare sprocket, and the guy we got it from not only put it on, but also washed our bikes! Alaskan's Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We continue south with the paved road humming underneath us.... such a melody.
calming
soothing.
relaxing.
till we realize we're falling asleep. while riding motorcycles. on a public road. time to stop. still 400 miles to Seward, but if we keep going we'll surely die. we find a place to sleep next to a river.
wanna swim in there?
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
24 hours to make the fishing boat. must be in Seward by 5 pm tomorrow. alarms set for 2 am.
