July 17th, 2019. 14 hours flight: Montreal => Calgary => Seattle => Anchorage. It is 2am, we are exhausted from such a long journey, but luckily had no problem crossing the border; the bikes arrived in good condition, but more importantly, we are here… We are in Alaska.

We’re in Anchorage more specifically, the largest city in the state. Jim was waiting for us in his red pick-up, our host for the next few days. After a long night of sleep, we discover this large family composed of Jim & Bernice, their 2 daughters Omi and Elise, their 3 dogs: Merlin, Hershel and Ella, the cat Teddy, the 3 rabbits, the 7 hens and finally the 3 birds. In other words, it’s lively! First day, we jumped right in and started the day by attending a course entitled “living and recreating among bears and other wildlife in Alaska”. Tips, warnings, trialing bear spray; it was the whole package! Amazing Info: Although less dangerous than bears, moose are more aggressive, they injure more people a year than bears!
We spent 3 days at Jim and Bernice’s place to prepare our bikes, start planning the coming ride, and dehydrate some food before heading south to Alaska. For now, we will be hitch-hiking, with our bikes staying here in Anchorage, and our return scheduled in 5 days.

“Be prepared to stop” (stop = French translation of hitchhiking)

It is by hitchhiking that we leave the city to discover the Kenai peninsula. Why hitchhiking? Simply because the distances in Alaska are enormous and the peninsula is not on our route.

Hitchhiking in Alaska is quite easy: 5 days, 1000km and many encounters with beautiful personalities. To give you a small overview: Helen, military, hunter-fisher, Trump sticker on the pick-up, who told us 1000 stories and offered homemade wine and salmon caught and smoked on site by herself. Ann, OH MY GOSH, she does not stop, 6 omg a minute, everything is “OMG”. With each pick-up there is an incredible atmosphere!

We will make 3 stops: Hope, a small fishing village where we find a perfect place to pitch the tent. It was on the oceanfront and at the foot of the mountains.
Then come the city of Homer. We were hosted by 2 ultra cool hippies, Debi and Charlie, we slept in a cabin they built at the bottom of the garden overlooking the ocean. They welcomed us with open hearts and arms.
Our little peninsula tour ends with the city of Seward and a 20km hike that leads us to the Exit Glacier. Above us were frozen peaks as far as the eye can see, while below we walk in t-shirts. It’s magic, we’re amazed.

After the hitchhiking, comes the bike.

We make our first pedal stroke on July 29th, it’s so exciting. Jim & Omi accompany us for the first kilometers. After sharing a last pizza, it’s time for us to fly on our own … on the highway. There it is. 20km on the emergency strip, our calves being brushed by the trucks. But we don’t have any other choice, welcome to America. We will have to follow the main roads to cross the country; there are very few secondary roads. It is therefore on the side of the major axes that we will advance.

The days go by, we begin to get used to the task, to find our rhythm. We cycle ahead in music, without forcing too much. It’s our first days, we take it easy. The further we go, the more the distances between the villages stretch, the nature is more present and the landscapes are more beautiful. The traffic also decreases (except for the big RVs), the road is ours. Our first pains appear: the back, numbness in our hands, but no stiffness to be declared. We have time, mainly because the days are long: the sun sets at 11:30pm, and gives way to a bright night, reappearing at 4:30am in the morning. Every night we settle our camp by the river, there are plenty here, it’s just a matter of choice. We spend our first nights getting woken by moose (or bears?) that revolve around the tent, it’s sureal!

Even if our goal is to leave towards the south of the continent, for now we head north, to discover Denali National Park. It is Alaska’s most famous and most visited park. It is also known to house Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America. In short, it is a must-see!

I’m singing in the rain

August 1st, rainy awakening, we discovered the happiness of cycling in the rain. We put on our waterproof clothing and hit the road. We move through a mist that covers everything, the view we had on the mountains was over. All we see are those RVs that shower us while they pass by. 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, the rain continues and does not stop.

We reach Denali, happy with the road traveled but exhausted by these days in “automatic” mode, to advance like robots until finding somewhere with a roof to eat or sleep. Pricy park, high camping fee and not really created for the visitor without a motorhome … we are disillusioned. Especially because the weather looks rainy for several more days. We thought we would discover the park by bike, but the weather conditions are changing our program. The idea of ​​going on isolated muddy tracks, in a continuous rain does not enchant us. It’s impossible to hitchhike because the park is forbidden to cars, so it is with the shuttle that we will discover it.   

Back at the camp, everything is soaked. Our fault, we misplaced the tarpaulin, and the water has seeped under the tent. We were supposed to hit the road again the next day, but that would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. We really need a dry break.

Done. We are writing this article from a dry cafe and are staying for free in a small caravan lost in the forest. This little break makes us crazy, the weather looks better for the next few days. We can’t wait!  

Fun facts

• The customs took our camping stove away from us, while it was … in the hold! Not the gas, the stove!
• Daisy had her first leech experience during a daily shower in a lake. A real pleasure.
• Day record: 116km.