Big Bear CG to Valdez – Day 18

07.18.12 Day 18 Big Bear CG to Valdez 8.07 miles, 970.54 trip miles 7.8 avg mph, 15.8 max 1:01:31 ride time All pavement Mostly sunny. 70′s Days of rain: 7 I slept well last night for sure. Though I did wish I had more sleep. My stomach was fine but shortly it reared it’s uglier side in no time. Eating breakfast helped for a short while but soon it hurt again. We broke camp, paid our camp fee, got rid of our trash and started towards Whietter. We stopped at the visitor center just a few miles up the road to check things out. It sat on a lake that was once under a glacier. The actually land the building was on was glacier free in 1852. The glacier has bees receding since. The ranger gave us the tips on catching a ride through the tunnel. To get to Whietter there is a one mile long tunnel. (Mike just said not to write he is an asshole in here. I think it’s Fruedent thinking on Mike’s part). Bicycles are not allow in the tunnel so we had to hitch. We left the visitor center, went through a short tunnel and on the other side found the parking lot the ranger suggested we hitch from. Mike got there about 20 seconds ahead of me and was talking to two guys on motorcycles. I figured he was making small talk. He actually got us a ride. The guys, Joe and Craig, had a friend Cristy following the in a truck. We loaded our bikes in the back and put Craig’s on the trailer with Cristy’s to cut down on fees. We ended up riding all the way to town with them, had lunch together and then rode the ferry with them. We didn’t take our bikes out of there truck until we got to Valdez. By doing so we save 13 bucks. Joe, Craig and Cristy were awesome. During the five hour boat ride we got to know them well. I even slept two hours in the beginning. My stomach and appetite were off the whole time. When we got to Valdez we said goodbye to our new motorized friends and share our contact info. While on the boat we also met Josh, another bike tourer. Josh is from Oregon and took the ferry to SE Alaska, then road to Dead Horse where he got a ride back to Fairbanks with a trucker. He then road to Denali like us and on to Anchorage. From there he continued south to Seward before backtracking to the ferry where we met him. The three of us got dinner together, shopped, and are now camping on the edge of town. Josh is going to ride with us a few days. It’s nice to have a third for a bit. The views from the ferry were amazing. We saw glaciers, icebergs, sea otters, sea lions and lots of birds. There were a few whale sightings but I missed them. The most spectacular part was the mountains and glaciers. There was just so much snow and ice. The stomach felt a little better after dinner and I had some cookies and strawberries Josh bought. I’m hoping it’s better soon as I need more energy. Not having any is bringing me down. It will pass, I’m sure of it. I just need to push on. Glove count: 36 Tie Down Count: 102 Scatman