The Call of the Wild

The North American Epic

For those of you who have been following this blog for a while, you may recall that I nearly gave up on the idea of long distance cycling due to inner ear and balance problems. But luckily for me, I have found that I have better adjusted to the wooziness especially when I don’t have to deal with the whizzing by of traffic. So yahoo! Here we go. Into the Wild.

We are traveling once again with TDA global cycling, a touring company based in Toronto that we have traveled with on three other bicycle tours. This ride, the North American Epic goes from the northern edge of Canada all the way down North America and ends in Panama City. We are planning to do the first two months of the journey: Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories to Helena, Montana (see map above). We end up only a few hours drive from our home in Washington State. We are really looking forward to riding with friends from previous rides as well as meeting new riders. Some folks are doing the entire journey (5 1/2 months!!) but we decided that we only wanted to be away from home (doggies, grandchildren, friends) for a couple of months.

The girls: Lily and Star

This journey promises to be many things: beautiful, challenging, tough, buggy, cold, hot, exhausting, smoky, invigorating…just to name a few. We start at a small village on the Arctic Ocean, Tuktoyaktuk, otherwise known as Tuk. This town until recently was only accessible by air or by ice road in the winter as there was no all season road. An extension of the Dempster Highway was completed in late 2017 and so there is now a road, albeit gravel, from Inuvik to Tuk all year round.

The route from Tuk to Inuvik
Riding the tundra north of the tree line

We will then continue south through portions of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta finally ending in Montana in the US. The first 600 miles will be gravel and then we switch to pavement for most of the remainder of the ride. We hope for spectacular scenery and wild life. I am somewhat concerned that I am likely the slowest rider in the group of 30+ (You know what they say…you don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster then the slowest rider! Yikes!) We are busy packing, trying to prepare for wilderness camping (oh my aching aging body!), bugs, and bears. We have been trying to get in shape, a particularly daunting task due to my recent back surgery. But I think we are ready!

Happy at the top of the pass

We are so happy to have you joining us once again. As our good friend Linda said “We will be following you on your trip with awe (not necessarily envy”. 🙂 We don’t know about the awe part, but we certainly understand that these adventures are not everyone’s cup of tea. And believe me, we know that there will be moments that we will question our own sanity in taking it on. But here’s to giving it our best!! See you on the road.

26 thoughts on “The Call of the Wild”

  5. How Exciting! Certainly an adventure of a lifetime to experience this wonderful last wilderness.

    It brings back memories of the 3 weeks we spent on the Yukon River, paddling our canoe from Whitehorse to Dawson City.

    Enjoy your journey and Ride On! 😀

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  9. Sounds like another great adventure. I’m just getting into biking and trying to work up to a 75 miler. I can’t imagine riding for as long or far as you do on a regular basis. Have fun.

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  10. So glad your blog is up and running. Another Barb and Jim amazing adventure to follow! Having had the pleasure of doing some “prep” rides with you and Jim, I know you two are ready to take off. Thanks for giving us a chance to vicariously ride along!

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  11. Maybe they 🚲have bear mace that doubles a mosquito spray! Good luck. ❄🐻🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️
    At least with only one road, you won’t have to worry about getting lost again.

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  12. You guys are amazing! Wish I the ‘umph’ to do something like your trip. Will be following you. Safe riding.

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  13. Hi Jim and Barb,
    Great to see you on the go again.

    I am envious – looking forward to your blog updates.

    I see that Richard Walsh, along with Peter McCartney, Bill Wilson, Liz and Rinda from the Orient Express ride of 2015.

    Take care and enjoy

    Stephen

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