Day 17 to 19 (last riding day)

7/9 Dawson Creek to Williams Lake - 252 miles
7/10 Williams Lake to Whistler - 253 miles
7/11 Whistler to Issaquah - 228 miles

Day 17 - Started out in the 50's and overcast. Then progressed to clear sky and 70's. A very nice day for riding and the road had some twisty sections. Michael's fuel pump failed again mid day. The pump was hot to the touch almost like it was having to run a much higher duty cycle than normal to keep the pressure up. We had fitted up the auto fuel pump that we got when we were in Anchorage so it was plug an play. We had a pretty good spot in the ditch to work on the bike and the weather was nice. Took about 45 minutes from start to finish. During this time not a single person stopped to see if we needed help. Not that we needed help this time but I was surprised.

Day 18 - Mid 50's to low 90's. The best ride of the trip. Riding the Sea-to-Sky highway. Lots of twistys and mountain scenery. The road was a little rough. It was in the 90's when we got to Whistler and that is getting a little warm with the riding suits. Whistler is a very popular ski area and in the summer it is still very active. We stayed in the village close to all the activities. The most impressive thing going on is the downhill mountain bikers. They ride up the chair lift and then pretty much let gravity bring them back down. The bikes are very sophisticated. Full suspension and disc brakes front and back. Nicest hotel we stayed in but they charged us for underground parking and there was no free wi-fi access.

Day 19 - last day of the ride back to my parents house in Issaquah. The ride from Whistler to Vancouver is a very scenic rid but I would not ride it again until 2010. Whistler is the site of the 2010 winter (February) Olympics and they are widening the road. The road is two lanes now and it is going to four lanes. About 40 miles of construction non-stop. There are a few places they cut the current road in to the side of a cliff. A lot of rock needs to be blasted out or tunnels put in. At any rate it is a mess and will be this way through summer of 2009. The next challenge was getting through Vancouver and over the border. It was in the mid-90's and it was very hot riding. I drank a quart of water waiting in line 20 minutes at the border crossing.
Once back in the US we road the Chuckanut drive road along the coast. This was mostly shaded and 15 degrees cooler from the breeze off the ocean.

We met a guy on a Buell that had ridden the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. He said it was not that bad with good weather. He did hit a pothole in the paved road south of Whitehorse that bent his rear rim so bad it would not hold air. A lot of bikes not use tubeless tires. The rims are aluminum alloy and he was able to bend it back so that it would hold air.