DAY 124
July 16, 1999
I woke up at 6:45am to the sound of rustling
in the bush. There were some kind of animals around, but I didnt know what. It was a
cold 52 degrees F. as I slowly woke up and put my sleeping bag away. The ditch wall was
too steep to push my bike up with the trailer. I carried the trailer and bike up
separately and was pedaling again by 7:30am. Stopping at Stewart Crossing, I was very
hungry. I ate 2 turkey sandwiches and drank 2 Cokes. It was difficult to break away from
all the people. First it was a lady from Florida that blocked me in as she kept talking to
me. The first 5-10 minutes was cool. I enjoy talking to people but after that I began
feeling trapped. When I was able to break free, I went out to my bike which was leaning
against the wall. Within seconds I was approached by 20-30 somethings. They surrounded me
like water surrounding a rock. At first I felt trapped again, but everyone was really
cool. They were on a group trip through Canada and Alaska. Many nationalities were
present: Scotland, England, German, New Zealand, and even 2 people from the tiny country
of Luxembourg. After talking to them for awhile, I told them Id probably see them in
Dawson City. My short break at Stewart Crossing ended up lasting about 1.5 hours.
As I rode away, I encountered a hill to climb up from the river. As I began to climb I cranked up my walkman "more human than human" by White Zombie began to play. And as the intensity of the song progressed I stood on the bike and pushed hard. That has a great beat to work hard to and push against the pedals as I began to feel super human. But before the song ended I was a bit fatigued from pushing myself and pedaling hard to every beat of the song.
Today - 56.7 miles |