Sunday, July 29, 2012

Day 12 - Whitehorse to Squanga Lake

It was a particularly cold and blustery day for us getting started out of Whitehorse.  After clumsily maneuvering our loaded bikes down the elevator and out of the hotel, we stuffed our hands into our mittens and set off in the search of food.  While it was available, McDonald's was too good to pass up, and the novelty of "McDonald's Canada" hadn't worn off yet. 

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Work and Blogging

Ugh.  I'm about halfway done with the post for Day 12, but I've been scheduled at work pretty much non-stop, so I haven't been able to finish that up.  Ah, if only I could pay the bills by blogging.  Even with the few thousand hits I've had over the past month, my Google AdSense ads have only made about ten cents. :P

Anyway, look for the new major post next week.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Is Mexico Safe?


One comment that we got from people ALL THE TIME--especially in Southern California as we were approaching the US/Mexico border--was to avoid going into Mexico.  Actually, I still get the comment all the time.  It poses a tricky question:  Is it safe to enter Tijuana from San Diego on bikes?

The short answer is no.

Here is the long answer:

The entire US/Mexican border is a volatile place where much crime and violence has taken place in recent years for various reasons.  Stories of kidnappings and shootings along the border are fairly common in the news and by word of mouth.  So is going across the border dangerous?

Yes.  

But so is riding your bike down a mountain going 50 miles per hour with nothing between you and the pavement but a thin layer of Spandex.

Or spending the night in a tent in the middle of bear territory.

Or drinking water from a potentially virus contaminated stream off the side of the road.

Or sharing the single lane highway with geriatrics driving 50 foot long motor homes requiring no special training.

Need I go on?  By the time we got to Tijuana, drug cartels with automatic weapons and explosives weren't any more frightening to us than what we had already endured.  Any of those things I listed are potentially life threatening.  You can't be "deader" than dead.  It is like rock climbing; You get to a point that if you fall, you are going to die.  Climbing higher doesn't increase the severity of death you will experience if you fall.

The fear of death can drastically limit the flavors of life that you can sample.  Everyone dies.  Don't fear death.  Fear passing up the opportunity to live.  Given the choice between dying while just living an ordinary life (AKA, in a car accident, by terminal illness, or natural disaster) or while living an extraordinary life (AKA being mauled by a grizzly bear, eaten by wolves, or shot by a Mexican drug cartel) I'd have to pick the latter.

One can influence the chances of death or injury under given circumstances though.  How do you do that?  Well, to increase your odds of surviving a bike wreck, you wear a helmet, and learn how to ride safely.  To increase the odds of surviving a bear attack, first learn how to avoid them with proper backwoods techniques, and learn what others have done to survive actual attacks.  You can decrease your odds of danger when visiting Mexico too.  I'll talk about more of that in another post.

As a final thought for this post, we've visited the marketplace just over the US/Mexico border at Tijuana numerous times in recent years without issue.  One time, we actually asked one of the shop owners who we'd become chummy with if we were in any danger.  Here is how he put it:

"Our entire economy [in that area of Tijuana] relies on you Americans coming over the border and buying from us.  If you don't do that, we are history.  You see the guys there, there, and there?"

He pointed to some dangerous looking Mexicans standing like statues in the shadows with their arms crossed tightly over their chests and eyes hidden by sunglasses.

"They make sure you are safe.  They make sure that we can stay in business."

I got the impression that those guys weren't exactly hired by the city officials--but were maybe placed there by whoever really runs that town.  I'm not saying it was the Mexican Mafia... but I'm not saying it wasn't.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Day 12 Preview

In the next major post, Mark and I leave the last signs of the civilized world behind us again as we near the border of the Yukon and British Columbia, where we will begin the most rugged, desolate stretch of our adventure--the Cassiar Highway. 

But we had to make it there first. 

Follow along with us next week as we face off against heavy trucker traffic and road construction as we discover that potable water was becoming a rare luxury on Day 12 of our adventure riding our bikes from Alaska to Mexico.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

AK2MEX for Kindle!



Woo hoo!  The Alaska to Mexico Blog is now available for Kindle!  Help support the blog by subscribing for less than a buck per month, and enjoy the blog ad-free on your kindle whenever and wherever you want!  The blog will download automatically using Kindle's Whispersync, and you'll be able to read new posts without having to get online.  Cool, eh?

Friday, July 6, 2012

Day 11 - Champagne to Whitehorse


Tuesday, June 3, 2008

We were on the road earlier than ever--9:30 am.  I was excited because the day was supposed to be only about 56 miles of riding with our sights set on the city of Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory.  We had poked our heads out of our tent happily surprised to see the sun shining brightly as the air carried a warm tail wind.  All days prior had been too cold for shorts, but we were feeling optimistic and dressed for warm weather.  On days like the one prior where there was hardly a cloud in the sky, even the SPF 80 sunblock we were using couldn't completely keep my ears from being cooked like bacon in the intense sunlight.  I decided to try something new to protect my ears, and wrapped a bandanna around my head with my ears tucked beneath.  The day was looking like it was going to be great--except for one looming problem.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Pacific Coast Cycling Guides

I have decided to launch a new sister blog to Alaska to Mexico.  While the Alaska to Mexico blog will continue to tell the story of our 2008 adventure, the new blog will focus specifically on Pacific Coast travel guides, travel conditions, gear reccomendations, and bicycle touring tips, so for you readers who want the most in depth guides ever published for cycling between Anchorage, Alaska and Tijuana Mexico subscribe now to http://www.pacificcoastcycling.com/ and keep an eye out.  Right now it is just a baby, but it is growing all the time.

Oh, and did I mention, its FREE!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Two Wheels North: Bicycling the West Coast in 1909

If you enjoy reading my blog, this book might be worth a look.  Kinda sounds like us...except in 1909!  It is called Two Wheels North: Bicycling the West Coast in 1909.

Two boys on a bike trip are sure to find adventure. Send them off into the wilds of the American West, and it's a safe bet adventure will find them. (Its true!  That is what this whole blog is about!)