I met David in Seattle, he flew in while I took Amtrak. I rode my bike to the Amtrak Station in downtown Portland, only a 15 mile ride. A few days before leaving I put on NEW tires and took the bike for a test ride. The tires are the same make and model that I have uses on many past tours. But, this time I noticed a bulge on the side of the front tire. Boy did I panic. These tires have been very hard to get so I started called the bike shops to see if I could find a replacement. The bad one came from REI so I did not want to get another one from them just in case it was a bad batch. I just don’t want to take any chances when I am out on the road.
My local Bike Gallery had one and could get me another one the next day from one of their other shops. I also called REI and told them of the problem and that I would be returning both tires in about 8 weeks, when I returned from Alaska. I put on the new tires the night before I was leaving and took a good look at them, they seemed to be OK. But just to be sure I took the long way to the train station the next morning, riding 35 miles. The tires looked and rode OK. Was I worried? Yes, just a little bit. Other than 3 flats I had not problem with the new tires.
Arriving in Seattle I met up with David and Scott. Scott is a friend that we both met in 1998 while riding our Coast-to-Coast tour. Scott was also riding coast-to-coast with his two daughters. Scott lives on Bainbridge Island where we spent the night. As always Scott and his wife, Ann, were great hosts and we had a wonderful time talking over passed tours.
Over the next three days we would make our way to Bellingham, WA. where we would catch the Inside Ferry to Alaska. Alaska just might be the only state with a “Marine Highway” system. This would be a easy three day ride on back roads with a lot of rolling hills. In the next 8 weeks we meet many other riders, some just training for up coming tours, some who were touring Alaska as we were and some who were headed for parts south. Like in South America. There were just to many to list them all in the trip report. Of course some were on the special side and needed a mention. I have listed all that I remember under the link “People we met along the way - some pictures.”
This was true of two young, male, German riders that we met on our second day (still in Washington). Their bikes were very heavily loaded and they were headed for Mexico. When we asked them where they were camping at night they said that they were “free camping” (meaning just putting up your tent where ever you happened to be when it was time to stop for the day.) When asked them how do the shower (I need a shower every day just to feel fresh and to get a good nights sleep) they answered “we don’t need any showers.” By the way I never missed a shower the whole tour.
With a sailing time of 6 PM we had plenty of time for lunch and to ride around Bellingham. Arriving back to the dock I began talking to the purser and any one else I could to see how soon we could board the ferry. Scott had told us that the definitive thing to do was to put up our tents on the deck of the ferry and that the best place for them was on the 200 deck, under the over hang (as it often rains during this three day voyage to Alaska.) I guess they got tired of me asking since they let go aboard a hour before the others. We were actually the third and fourth persons to go aboard. Number one and two were a couple on motorcycles. We had plenty of time to make our way to the 200 deck and even had our tents put up before anyone else was even on board.
Our ferry was the M/V Columbia the largest of all the ferries and carries 931 passengers, 134 vehicles, has 44 four-berth cabins, 59 two-berth cabins, has a dining room, cafeteria, gift shop, cocktail lounge, solarium and a forward observation lounge. All the cabins were full even with only 414 passengers. Many others camped on the decks, or just sleep in the solarium, or on the floors where ever there was a place. The food was good and the coffee was great. Shower were available to all.
The next three days would be great fun with making new friends, great views, several stops, Ketchikan (we rode our bikes into town for breakfast at the Pioneer Café) and Juneau (rode to see the Mendenhall Glacier.) It was no problem to get to our bikes and to take them off the ferry for a ride, when ever time allowed. Along the way we saw a lot of eagles and killer wales. This ferry was not a “cruse ship” but the captain did circle the killer wales so that we could get a good look. The weather was super with NO rain and warm (HOT) temps. Sleeping was not easy as it just never got dark. I would have a hard time sleeping on the whole tour due to it not getting dark. I would wake up at 2 AM and it would be light out.
While on the ferry, and for that matter all across Alaska, we heard all the bear jokes that pertained to bicycle riders.
What do bears think of bike riders? “Meals on wheels.”
We were told to carry a bell to scare the bears. What do the bears think of the bell? “It’s the dinner bell.”
We were told to get a can of bear-spray (pepper-spray). What do bears think of the this spray? “It’s seasoning.”
One guy on the ferry told me that I should buy a shotgun and carry it with me. He said that you put in three different loads. The first load is a fine buck-shot to let the bear know you are there. The second load is a single slug to kill the bear as it charges you. Since the bear dies slowly and he is still heading you way at full speed, the third load is a heavy buck-shot that rips off it’s face so it can’t see you and you can side step him. The funny thing is that he was serious. I wonder what you do if you miss with one of the shots. We saw 2 bears while on the bikes and had no problems at all. The bear was happy to go his way while as we went ours. If you plays it smart, you should have no problems with the wildlife in this great state.
We pulled into Skagway we said our good-byes to our new friends, who were off for their adventure or in some cases ready to start a new job (mostly as school teachers or nurses.) We got on our bikes and headed into town to find out overnight “Alaska Sojourn Hostel.” As nice as the ferry ride was it was great to get our adventure on the way. The town was crawling with visitors, mostly from the docked cruse ships. After checking into the hostel we rode back into town and found it almost empty as the visitors had gone back aboard ship for dinner.
I will add points of interest at the end of each day (if there are any) for the area we rode through that day. We may not have done them since we did not know about them until it was to late, but if you are planning on an Alaska visit you just might try some of them.
Skagway (population 862) - Visit Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. Hike the Chilkoot Trail - 33 miles. Visit Jewell Gardens. Ride the White Pass Railroad. Shop at The Purple Moose. Stop by The Red Onion Saloon, est 1898. Read the Skagway News.
Although Skagway is only 13 miles by water from Haines, it is 359 miles by road. The name Skagway (originally spelled Skaguay) is said to mean “home of the north wind” in the local Tlingit dialect.