Yup, today we got to see 4 Grizzly Bears!! The highlight of the day, because for sure it wasn’t the hills we encountered today! Up down, up down seemed to be today’s theme toward the end of the day. The day began with another bitter cold morning in the teens. It was suit up and go! We wanted to get south to get out of this frozen tundra, literally, temperatures! So we peddled away…South!
The first 10 miles seemed to be quite a struggle! Our bodies were feeling all the pain from yesterday and the energy was low. So we did those first 10 miles and took another good rest and food. Strangely enough it did the trick! It was a much longer rest but it was much needed!
So now what? Back on the bikes for some more flat land and nothing to see in the far distance but snow with the occasional bird for the most part! Quiet was the air! Seriously, even the bikes barely made a sound! I’d have to ask William if he was still behind me many of the times! But of course flat land and paved roads wouldn’t last forever. We eventually hit our first patch of gravel road! Boy if the saddle wasn’t already harsh on our sweet little rumps bring on a whole bunch of small rocks and bumps! But we did it! So now it was gravel and hills! But guess what else?!?! BEARS!
So worth it! A mother and 3 of her cubs graced us with their presence about 50 yards from us. Walked right across the road we were biking and occasionally took a few ganders at us! And of course we didn’t take our eyes off of them or our camera’s or GoPro’s! Such a beautiful animal just out in the wild doing bear stuff! What an awesome sight!
So glad we got to see the bears and survived our first bit of hills! We made it 45 miles today and hoping to conquer that or more tomorrow. We are now approximately 1,100 feet up! So bring on the hills and lets go lungs!