A dark day on the road..

I woke up super early the next morning for my ride out of Whitehorse but I just couldn't get motivated to actually leave.I had suffered two very cold nights and woke up feeling less than one hundred percent.I managed to start a fire to warm up and waited for the office to open so I could have a coffee.The sky didn't look at all like the previous days prediction of "partly cloudy"but there was nothing for it,I had to go but still stalled in front of the fire until around 8:30 am when I was coaxed into hitting the road by English Brian.He knew how easy it was to get stuck when things are tough so he sent me on my way down the road towards Teslin around 180 kilometers away.

  The ride started pretty well and after a long climb out of Whitehorse I was cruising along the highway with relative ease.The day iself was pretty gloomy and I was hit several times my rain showers which did nothing but start to chill be even more than I already was.I tried everything I could but the hills made me hot and the descents froze me.I couldn't win and started to slow down significantly.I hit the town ( read gas station) of Jakes Corner at lunchtime having only covered 80 kilometers and went inside for a coffee and to warm up.Within five mintues I was asleep sitting in my chair and the lady who had served me was worried that I was not doing myself any favours by riding in the rain  and wearing wet clothes all day.I sad that there was nothing I could do about it and that I would be okay after a rest.I sat there for about an hour before heading off into the drizzle again.

I lasted about 12 kilometers until my next stop which was at a rest area on the side of the road.I had made a turn into another valley and the sun had come out and started to warm me up.I stripped off all my top layers and lay them on the picnic table to dry while I had another nap on the bench.I tried to drink as much as I could but was feeling a bit off colour and seriously thought about campiing there for the night.That thought soon passed and after a chat with some passers-by I was out on the road again.

At around 100k I came across a government campground and went in for a look but decided to try and push on to the next town of Johnsons Crossing where my map had a service station and camground marked.By the time I reached it I had ridden a slow 125 kilometers with the last two hours right into a tough wind.I was done and rode up to the restaurant and booked a campsite.I really was a bit too out of it to notice but after setting up my tent and having a shower I realise that this was not a town at all but just a gas station in the middle of nowhere and at that moment I was one of only four people staying at the facility.

After my shower I went into the restaurant and went on something of a feeding frenzy.This place is apparently famous for it's baked goods and before I knew it I had eaten one chicken pie,two sausage rolls and a berry turnover.I was starting to feel normal again and got the laptop out to do some Facebooking.I hung out in the restaurnt until around 7pm and then with my arms full of goodies for the morning went back to my tent to go to sleep.

The next day I woke up at three,completely drenched in sweat and had to get up and start a fire to dry everything out.I was wearing all my cycling gear and most of everything else so I needed to dry it out for the days ride.As my clothes hung above the fire I tried to get some more sleep but it was no use.My head,throat and eyes hurt and I knew I was about to come down with something so I rethought my days plan and waited until after breakfast to decide what to do.Until then I lay on the picnic table in front of the fire and tried to keep warm.

A few hours later I was inside the restaurant nursing a hot coffee and staring at the maps of the route I had yet to conquer.My mind was torn between riding on that day and risk getting sick or missing out on some mileage and keeping myself from getting ill which may have a negative effect during Ultraman in three weeks time.I needed to stay healthy over the next two weeks and so if it meant missing out on riding some of the remainer of my trip then  I would.I decided to take a day to recover,and for the first time,as luck would have it,that the sun shone bright and warm for the whole of my trip thus far.Bugger!

Not to worry though and although I didn't get very far from Whitehorse at all I was actually having an okay time of it and hung out for most of the day in the restaurant verandah writing in my blog.It was a productive day and I even managed to get sunburt but I had to wonder when I was going to have to make the inevitable decision to catch a ride south,deep into Bristish Cloumbia.I figured that I had a good twelve days left of riding in my legs before Ultraman but how far that would get me I had no idea.My running had suffered due to my dodgy knee but I had been diligent in my dry-land swim training.The problem was,I was losing interest in the race to the extent that I really needed some motivation to keep the event as my main focus.I did that by trying to write about my Ultraman Canada experiences,without anyone here to share them with though, it didn't really work and I found myself feeling a little flat.My old mate and crew chief for this year conacted me and said that if I wanted I could always  ride to Calgary and hitch a lift with them to Penticton.I will give that some serious thought and even if I have to race to Lake Louise by the beginning of race week at least my crew can start their duties early and pick me up on the way through.That would shave abotu 500 kilometers of the end of the trip and give me some time to get some more running and swim stuff in.I'll have to seriously think about it.If he mentions beer,it will be a no-brainer.