Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú

I have just arrived in the town of , cause for celebration as there aren't many towns on the Alaska-Canadian Highway.

With the exception of the '' of the Australian Outback, I have never ridden a more barren road. Getting out of the Yukon and into British Columbia has been an awesome couple of days riding but not without its challenges.

In the heart of the Rockies the scenery is now stunning after a lot of monotonous forest miles and with wildlife everywhere and often a little too close for comfort, however, I have also picked up a slight knee injury.

A few days ago, after riding late into the night, I aggravated what was a very tight right knee and woke to visible bruising on the tendon and muscle. With 13,500 miles to cycle and a major climb of Aconcagua in Argentina in the next six months and without any planned time off, this early injury has been a real concern. My new plan of action, designed to make the daily miles more sustainable, now goes like this:

1. Stop watching the speedometer - a habit I picked up when going for the World Record for cycling around the world. I have taken my cycle computer off my handlebars and repositioned it on the forks so I can't constantly see it, which will stop me trying to power up the hills. I am finding this mountain riding with a target of 70 miles a day at least as challenging as the 100 miles a day I did when cycling flatter roads around the world.
2. Start cycling earlier in the day so I never end up pushing long stretches in the saddle at the end of the day without break.
3. Eat more - I lost nearly 10% of my body weight whilst climbing Mount McKinley and have not managed to put much back on. The gaps between supplies in Alaska and the Yukon have meant that I have been making or stopping to buy three normal sized meals at best... nowhere near the 5000-6000 Kcal I am burning most days.
4. Lighten the bike - I have already done this twice but I have to send back more kit that I think I can do without, in order to lighten the load on these big hills. The extra film gear and communications which I am carrying this time compared to the world cycle means that for the same bag space my bike weight considerably more.
   

The good news is that after a few days of this new regime the knee has got no worse even though this included a climb to the highest point on the Alaska-Canadian Highway yesterday at 1250m. Another bonus, there looks to be more towns ahead in the lower part of Canada so I can try and put back on some fat and muscle reserves.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• |
• |
• - What's this?