I just looked up their plan, and they are taking 2.5 YEARS to do the trip. Haha, not going to work for us.

So here's a question: How about taking HWY 97 down to Ft. St. John then cutting down to Prince George INSTEAD of taking the HWY 37 Cassiar route? The Cassiar seems so remote... with gravely patches... and lions, tigers and bears (oh my!). Okay, maybe just bears.

I'm personally not worried about the bears. I had to learn how to deal with them when I was backpacking in New Mexico. (The "bermuda triangle" camp set-up, food protocol, and deoderant/toothpaste concerns, etc.) What I really wonder though, is if there is some kind of actual advantage by taking the Cassier route rather than getting on 97. I know the other route adds around 130 miles to the trip, but it looks like there is more level terrain, and TONS more towns, provincial parks, etc.

Muttsa, why did you choose the Cassier route (HWY 37) on your tour?

I heard the Cassiar route was very beautiful, which it is
Its terribly remote, but really nice
I've heard of people taking the ferry, but I decided that I'd only take a ferry where I had to (like in Mexico to get from Baja to the mainland)

Sometime in the next week I'll write out a set of directions with google earth links as a guide to getting from the Anchorage airport to the trail system ( real close together) and through the city. Any general questions feel free to ask. I just hate to see folks starting out on their wilderness adventure fight it out on a 6 lane hyw for the first 25 miles. Even if you need to stop at a bike shop on your way out of town you are much safer on the trails. BTW VERY EASY riding untill mile 17, and then a hill that is not really bad.

Thanks Alaska Tourer! That will be great to start the trip off on the right foot (wheel?)

That's good enough for me! A big part of doing these bike trips (for me at least) is the scenery. I'll plan on that route then for "Plan A". (I've already plotted my route through there anyway.)

Weather here in SLC just got to the point where I can start training, so I'll be starting that this week. It is still plenty cold, so I'll be able to try out some cold-weather gear. (You hear that Mark? You better get working too so I'm not riding circles around you!)

Well we made it! What a great adventure. I only wish I was in a position to keep on going to Argentina.

Anyway, I am working on a blog to cover all of the details of the trip with pictures, videos, podcasts, and good old fashoned blog posts. Check it out it you are interested:

https://alaska-to-mexico.blogspot.com/

You included, almost as an afterthought, the possibility of running down the Baja peninsula as well. That is a LONG ride . . . and unlike anything you will encounter in the States. FWIW, it is my favorite touring route, but it is long, and there are several challenging climbs. Going southeast out of Guerrero Negro likely will feel like a 200 mile climb with the headwinds you should encounter in the summer. And, it will be VERY hot.

My suggestion is to save the Baja for another trip . . . it needs three weeks on its own to be done correctly. (I have done the entire ride in just over 10 days, fully supported, and it was BRUTAL!)

Finally, don't pay attention to the naysayers re Tijuana. It has its problems, but there are beautiful sights to see and, as always, incredibly friendly people. Just don't be out and about at night, and definitely avoid the east side.

are you stupid? 75 miles a day is nothing. thats about 7 hours of biking. maybe you're just hella out of shape. bad advice itt.

I'm terribly stupid and 75 miles a day would kill me.

It actually turned out to be good advice for Alaska/Canada. 75 miles fully loaded with 50mph headwinds and lots of climbing turned out to be 12-14 hours of riding, depending on exactly how strong the wind was blowing and how many hills we encountered. It was the headwinds that got us though, for sure.

There is also a big difference in the severety of the climbs north of Vancouver. (Anchorage is at 0, Vancouver is near the 2100 mile mark, and Tijuana is near 3667.)


There were a few days that we were able to pop out 90 or 100 miles though. We even pulled a 150 mile day coming into Vancouver.

TJ is unsafe, and becoming moreso with the growing economic "issues."

People not spending in the U.S.+ San Diegan's afraid to go to TJ+ Sore thumb stickout tourist biker+ Already very poor TJ= Tempting Fate

I know of many, many surfers and spearfishers who have been going to Baja for 30+ years without problems, that speak Spanish fluently, and even they feel unsafe about going down there anymore.

Seriously, if you want to go to Mexico, don't go through TJ.

Lol, what are you, a comedian? He said average of 75 miles a day, that means 75 miles day in and day out with no off days. It can be done, but it is not easy, I know since I've done it. Especially in the area where they were, there are some brutal climbs and vicious winds. What are you comparing it to, the Pacific Coast Trail? I'm sorry, but that's a joke difficulty wise compared to Alaska or British Columbia

You must have missed out on Whistler in that case, one of my favorite towns of the trip
My first day off from biking I went skiing all day

Yeah, there was major construction going on and we would have been forced to take a bus over almost all of that route. We took an altranate route and came into Vancouver from the East. We were happy we took that route though because the scenery was SO SO different from what we had seen the rest of the trip. It looked a TON like our hometown area surrounding Price, Utah. We were convinced that we were going to run into our Canadian alter-egos. Haha!

Deleted due to old thread.

bump.

This is probably wise advice. We got it the WHOLE way through California, and especially as we got down further South. For us though, getting shot/stabbed/robbed was the least of our concern. We had been putting our lives in our hands the whole trip.

In Alaska and Canada, we were at high risk of getting randomly murdered apparently; We saw dozens of billboards that warned against hitch-hiking because of a string of killings. Then there is British Columbia which claims to have one of the highest populations of brown and black bear in the World. Should I even mention angry moose? I'm not sure what the risk was with them.

Then there is the fact that you have nothing between you, and the asphalt/trucks/cars/RVs except for a layer of spandex. One little mistake or bike mal****ion at 40 MPH, and you are hamburger, ya know?

By the time we got to TJ, we had so much behind us, and that was the end of our adventure, and like I said, getting shot/stabbed/robbed was a legitimate possibility, but we did not fear it.

GRANTED... having said all of that, we don't venture beyond that touristy shopping area directly accross the border and I also have my can of bear mace holstered. We have made several friends in the shops down there, and if you know what you are looking for, you can spot the "bouncers." These guys' shops rely on US tourism, and if people are getting killed or injured all the time, its just bad for business, so there is this sort of mafia style security in those areas.

As far as venturing into the heart of the city however... You said it, you are tempting fate.