Nature Sans Nurture

Whitehorse has embraced us with its warmth and graciousness.  We are “actively resting” which is not a misnomer when one is extremely tired and hungry, or when one is taken into a retirement home and fed delicious moose stew, rhubarb pie, and saskatoon berry desserts.  Nathan made the acquaintance of Father Jim, the priest of the Catholic church in downtown Whitehorse, and before we knew it we had been housed in a home for retired priests and fed like kings.

Lunch stop on top of a lonely old station wagon.

If only Mother Nature was so kind to us.  This present splendor dulls the pain from a week of difficult riding.  The road from Tok has been challenging.  Nathan has struggled with tendonitis in his knee which led to a hitchhike to Whitehorse to rest and recover.  We battled five straight days of 20mph headwinds.  Unrelenting, unforgiving, unbelievable headwinds.  Our “modest” pace of 65 miles per day was made grueling by the uncooperative attitude of Mother Nature.  The wind was so fierce that our bikes would roll to a stop on slight downhills if we ceased to pedal.  To give you an example of a day in the life of Bound South: the winds with steep mountain climbs near Haines Junction meant that we began to ride at 9:30AM, rode hard all day, completed 70 miles by 7:00PM, and finished just in time to devour 2,000 calories at a generous grocery store.

Bridge across Destruction Bay

Our last day of riding was a 100 mile trek from our campsite in Haines Junction to the city center of Whitehorse.  We were so mentally and physically exhausted that the crosswinds seemed like a gift from above.  To be taken in by the community here was a gift from above and this rest is much needed.

EKG of a living day in the Yukon

Ten miles outside of Whitehorse, fierce and cold headwinds appeared.  Once more we found ourselves yelling and laughing out of exasperation and exhaustion-induced euphoria.  I said, “Don’t forget, David, there are thousands of people out there that envy us right now.”  There are certain times when you lose sight of the important things; like when you’re hauling a heavy bike up a steep mountain into a headwind with grizzly bears around.  

The diet of Bound South: bagels, peanut butter, and honey.

We’re riding bicycles from Alaska to Argentina, building a house for Habitat for Humanity, and capturing the essence of this spectacular adventure as we go.  This is not easy, but it is a privilege and a dream and like any difficult and wonderful thing it is worth doing.