Hi, I'm planning a bike tour from Anchorage Alaska to Tijuana Mexico... and maybe the rest of the way down the peninsula. My little brother and I just scheduled to fly to Anchorage on May 23.
I have toured the Washington and Oregon coast in years past, and my Dad (who will be joining me and my little brother in Vancouver) and my little brother rode from Victoria to Tijuana in 2006.
I'm hoping there are some people on this forum who have biked the Anchorage to Vancouver stretch that might have some good advice. ("Don't do it!" although probably good advice, will be disregarded haha.) There is a lot of good info at
www.cyclingforacause.com from Mike Brichacek's tour last summer, but there are a lot of things that he didn't talk about in his blogs.
Before the questions, here is some context: Me and my little brother must complete the Anchorage to Vancouver section within about 30 days, (averaging 75 miles per day) in order to meet up with our dad. We will be completely self sustained, and will be camping as much of the time as possible. (Hostels and CouchSurfing when not possible to camp.)
Okay, so here are some questions to start with:
#1. How much money should I budget per day in Alaska and Canada?
#2. Is there a guidebook available for the Alaska to Vancouver section of the ride?
#3. If there isn't a guidebook, would someone please share information about good places to camp, buy food, etc.
I am trying to plan my route and schedule, and I could really use some help here since I don't know the terrain. It is easy to look at "google maps" and say "hey, that looks like it is downhill! I think I'll ride 100 miles that day," but then be completely wrong and end up way behind schedule. Also, I know sometimes in certain areas North of the jet-stream that you can hit some pretty nasty head winds while heading South.
So basically, any info on route ideas and planning (and any other insight) would be very helpful!