Bike Odyssey
Alaska 2006
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| David Linda Bike Odyssey E-Mail: djf01@bikeodyssey.com.au | |
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| Journal for 19-Sep : Manchester Beach |
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Spent the morning re-organising my bike. Caught the bus into town for the public library internet to book a hotel in Copenhagen. Did a bit of shopping. Got gyped again. Shelf packers in Norway (and everywhere I guess) have an annoying habit of putting expensive things in the slots with the price labels of cheaper things. Careful checking of the bar code numbers is almost always required. But today I managed to buy a single plain bread roll which I *thought* was marked at $0.60 for $2.50. And I don't realise until I check my receipt wondering where my change had one. I have about $50 of Norwegian money left, which I hope will be enough for the 2km cab ride to the airport. I haven't written much about Norwegian architecture. I didn't write much about Finish architecture either, primarily because I couldn't see any of for all the trees. But in northern Norway most of the buildings are made of wood, are functional but fairly plain in design and have a certain homogony about them. The explanation is simple. In 1944 when the German's abandoned their Scandinavian conquests, they burned everything they left behind to the ground. In 1945 through to 1950 most of the destroyed structures were rebuilt in their original positions, but in a basic contemporary (for the time) style. And in a lot of the smaller towns where not much has happened since, that's all that remains. ... A bit later ... Got gyped again. Checked the campground phone, oh shit! Does not take coins. Had to buy a phone card for NOK40 ($8) to call my taxi tomorrow morning. Everything is packed. I'm more excited now than at the start of the trip! I'm *almost* on my way home! D Actual:62.9 T Actual:2:50 D estimate:110 T estimate:5:30 Excellent early start, knocked off the hills to Legget by 9am. Road varied between dual carriageway freeway with huge shoulder, and narrow old highway with steep twisting curves and redwoods protruding onto the carriageway. Ie, like a lot of America, either very very good, or very very crap. The northern most end of highway 1 fantastic. Climb to highest point on the coast pretty easy really. Quite surprised when I reached the top so soon. Magnificent descent, twisting and winding through seemingly endless forest. Stupid woman pulled onto the wrong side of the road in front of oncomming traffic, wound down her window so she could tell me off. Very impressive coastal riding, but narrow seriously undulating road that carried steadily more traffic as it got closer to Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg nothing special , but does have public toilets, a rarety in the USA. Did a lap of the town trying to find the bike shop (listed in LP at the address of the Safeway). Got my new computer, bike shop guy frustrated with my inability to get it working immediately . Safeway "signature sandwhich" lunch. Felt a bit ill & started shivering. Decided to warm up in the sunshine out in the bike. Traffic eventually eased off the further I got from Fort Bragg, but road quality eased off faster. Massive tailwind made things easier. Massive down and ups did not! Ordinary road, pretty spectacular scenery though: clifftops, beaches and ocean. Eagles soring everywhere off the points and at lookouts. Camera battery almost completely dead. Saw an Elk at Elk. Landed flat on my feet at KOA campground. Purchased extension lead & "made" a power cable for my recharger, slightly less than perfectly safe. << Prev - Next >> |