First before I say anything about our ride today, I have to tell you guys that I woke with swollen feet! What?!?! Oh my gosh they felt so tight and they hurt. So the whole plan of getting up and riding early didn’t happen. I took myself right into the Coldfoot Camp lounge and put my feet up, and William rubbed them for an hour. Luckily the swelling went down quite a bit, so we decided to suit up and hit the road.
So what did Mother Nature greet us with today you ask? Weellll let me tell you. Snow, large flakes of snow. It didn’t deter us, because we already knew this was a possibility for this mornings ride. So whatever, 30 degrees and snow. Wasn’t too shabby. And barely any wind. So we started our day.
Oh that day of rest did us well yesterday. We were kicking butt on speed today, and taking the hills like a champ. The weather changed about 10 miles into sleet then rain, but who cares! We just peddled our hearts away like nothing could stop us!
But eventually, something did start to concern us. So all that rain, sleet, and snow that we had all day, well it started to get into our gloves, shoes, and even into our clothes! Our feet started to feel like bricks because of all the rain that seeped into our socks! Our hands and body took several minutes to warm up after each stop, and sometimes the hands just stayed ice cold! For sure the discomfort was there most of the day today, but we kept on a pushing since we had a goal…Get out of the Arctic Circle! 60 miles south! As awesome as we felt for most of the ride today the last 15 miles took a toll on us! Actually I think I was becoming a pro at Hike a Bike at that point. Wellll maybe not. One hill seemed like it never ended! It was 3.5 miles long and mostly steep. My chest was getting tight and my lungs were praying for more oxygen and I was pausing my Hike a Bike like every 25 feet! It almost felt pretty pathetic, but as William said “When’s the last time you’ve been on a bike or any activity for 7 hours?” Ummm good point! Thanks for keeping up my spirits William! Soooo smart! Lol. It’s like I always would like to think I’m in good shape, but I guess there’s always something around the corner to show me otherwise. In this case, a long kick in the butt hill on the Dalton Highway!
And always remember the best part about a forever climb was that it meant a nice downhill. But of course going down takes a fraction of the time it takes to go up! Oh and on a day like today too, not only was it fast, but it also meant your face being pelted with rain, snow, or sleet that was never ending. All day long one of the 3 was falling from he sky! Hence…DRENCHED! Ha!
Well we did finally make it to the Arctic Circle entrance/exit. They have an awesome area for look out, restrooms, and even complimentary camp sites you can stay on. Which is what we did for this evening. We posted up on one of the campsites, made some dinner, hopefully only for us, and not the BEARS! And most importantly, we got out of our soaking wet clothes! Ahhhhh…let the warmth of my sleeping bag and Everest bootys begin! Goodnight world!
Ps: Mother Nature, can you bring us some sunshine and warmth tomorrow? It would be much appreciated.