Day 2: Dalton Highway, mile 387 – 333, 13th July 2008
July 14, 2008 by Harry
Filed under Alaska, North America, Trip reports
People who know me, know that I am generally quite laid back. I hate a few things though: intolerance, dishonesty, general stupidity. And mosquitos. Especially mosquitos.
The wind was gone and the air was filled with a low but constant buzzing noise. Millions of mosquitos were hovering above the tundra. In Alaska the mosquitos are not just annoying, they are annoying in very large quantities and sizes. We were warned about them and fortunately Peter from Outdoordacht had supplied us with some Sea to Summit head nets. It might sound excessive, but unless you have experienced this, you have no idea how crazy these bugs can drive you.
We had our breakfast inside our tent and then packed quickly and headed off. We noticed that as long as you were cycling, it was still reasonably doable, but when stopping, even for a moment, the mozzies would attack. we almost wished for the wind to return, not sure yet, which of the two makes the cycling the hardest. Read more
Outdoordacht
July 4, 2008 by Harry
Filed under
Outdoordacht/Technolyt:
Peter Wayper is the boss of Outdoordacht. The name is a Dutch play on words: “Outdoor” is clear, but “doordacht” means: well thought through. And so it is. All the gear Peter imports and sells is smart and useful. From famous brands like Sea to Summit to newer products like Steripen and Dobermann.
Peter is an avid cyclist himself and couldn’t wait to leave his desk to take a spin on our Santos bikes. He has cycled in many countries and know what cyclists need and want.
One of the most interesting items he imports are Solar Supra solar panels: foldable solarpanels, that come with a smart battery. You can use the solarpanel directly (it comes with a range of adapters and plugs), or you can charge the battery first and then take power off it later, offering a voltage switcher, to use it with many appliances.
This is not only an excellent way to conserve solar energy, but offer many new possibilities: even with a relatively small solar panel, we can generate enough power to charge our laptop, batteries for the water purifier, headlamps, bike light, but also all cameras and mp3 player. It s a great feeling to be able to use the solar power and to be independent from any other power source for a long time.
One other interesting product Peter supplied us with is the Steripen. We used to drag large water filters and pumps with us or all kinds of bad-tasting drops to purify the water of viruses & bacteria. Now we just take water from any source (we tested tab water everywhere in Zanzibar and Tanzania), press a button, stick the pen in and stir for 2 minutes. Ready to drink immediately!
A great weight saver and as the batteries are rechargeable, we can use it for a long time. One charge will purify about 100 liters/26 gallons and the light will last for about 4000 liters/1000 gallons.
For this and much more useful travel and cycle gear, go to www.outdoordacht.nl
Thanks Peter and we will definitely report back in detail on all the great gear.
Some of the products Outdoordacht sells:
OUTDOORDACHT
MARSOOPS
www.marsoop.com
SOLAR CHARGER
Sponsors
July 3, 2008 by Harry
Filed under
A trip like ours needs a few basic things: first of all determination, but close second is good gear. It is no use trying to make do, for a good trip, you need good material.
Without the help of the following people and companies the trip would not have been possible. They have not only supplied us with the best gear available, but also have kept us focused on our first goal: to get started! Most if not all of the people are cyclists or sportsmen and -women and they have not just donated their products but also their time and enthusiasm, which is priceless .
- First of all our bicycles. No compromise here, we wanted the best as we will test them to the max. The only suitable solution is Santos Bikes. Our machines are the best and totally custombuilt. Please read more about Santos and its owner Robbert and their custom configuration tool here.
- A great new laptop, almost designed for our wishes was supplied by Lenovo laptops
- Outdoordacht has sponsored all types of gear, with the solarpanel being the ultimate green-travel tool
- There really is only one brand of panniers: Ortlieb. Their importer Jacobsons has worked hard to help us with all gear needed
- Gecko climbing is the importer of Carinthia, together they have supplied us with great sleeping bags and down jackets, to fight the harshweather of Alaska and Canada
- Mario Wolff is the importer of Vertical and has set us up with great and very usable clothing
- WorldNomads has sponsored a year of health insurance, get yours here as well, it really is cheaper and better, we also use it for our Everest expeditions!
- Elephant Drive has sponsored a year of free use of the Elephantdrive solutions, really a weight off our shoulders to know our back-ups are safe.
- AdventureFood has supplied us with great tasty meals to survive the first two weeks in the wild of Alaska
- De VakantieFietser has helped us with advice, gear and a sense of humour to get us started in the right direction
We are still looking for financial support as our trip is very costly, not just our daily cost of living, but also internet access, server hosting etc. any donations are welcome, or if you want us to give special attention to our products (of course only if they are useful for cyclists!) contact us using the form above.
If you are interested in related products and links, check out the Google advertisements that appear on every page as you will help us at the same time