June 26, 2025
Day 5: Galbraith Lake to Deadhorse
Jude did it!
We made it!
Another super long day, we weren’t sure we’d even make it until we got off our bikes at the end of the road. There are just so many factors that go into a day that make it so hard and unpredictable. Jude’s still processing what just happened.
We left by 4am with some sunshine and put some miles down. We got to some construction we were unaware of and arrived less than an hour after the flagger came out so unfortunately we had to get into the pilot car. We were both super disappointing, but Kirt, the driver, had driven Bond Almand on his record setting Trans-Americas ride last fall, so I think that helped Jude understand that the mandatory pilot car for short sections doesn’t undermine the spirit of the self-supported trip, though it does break the self-imposed principle. Kirt said Bond was super disappointed as well but called someone and found out he could get an exemption for a mandatory pilot car. Regardless, I felt the disappointment acutely and it took at least a couple hours for it to wear off and get back to pedaling. It just felt wrong and disorienting. I can’t imagine what it really felt like for Jude.
After the construction, we kept pushing through and battling the road conditions, fighting for every mile. While this day in theory was a descent to sea level, there were many more climbs, followed by rollers, some steep and some long. Nothing out here is easy. As we got out of the mountains, the glacial ponds, tarns and roadside water sources looked less appealing and so we stopped at a decent looking river to filter what we hoped would be our final water stop. We had our final lunch and took stock of the last of our food. I didn’t think we would eat through all 50,000 calories I had brought, but we would do it with only 2 breakfasts and 2 gels to spare, about 2,000 calories! The road continued to be rough and we were a bit despondent. Then we ran into a guy named Lewis from the UK who was heading to Argentina. He said the pavement started 100k outside of Deadhorse and we couldn’t believe it! We just had to get to mile 80 on the day and then we would have 60 miles to go on pavement! We knew once we came out of the foothills, though, the headwinds would start. Like I said, so many obstacles that factor into each day!
We generally pedaled silently and at our own paces for those final 20mi of bone-jarring, head-aching, mind-numbing gravel. And then we hit pavement! We broke it down into sections and drafted off each other, switching every 1-2 miles. The tundra was endless, the Arctic winds relentless and chilly, but the sun was at our backs and it wasn’t raining. Also, the only wildlife we had seen on the entire Dalton up to that point were rabbits. But now we saw a musk ox and plenty of caribou plus all sorts of geese, ducks, swans, cranes and birds.
Being in this surreal place, after so many miles, was like stepping into a Planet Earth episode, it helped distract my mind from the miles ahead.
We grinded out the 60mi to the end of the Dalton with brief stops and stopped at the T intersection at Lake Colleen.
No sign to mark the end of our journey, just a feeling . . . Was it a feeling of accomplishment? That felt too much like putting a nice bow on a present - too pretty and perfect and easy. Was it a feeling of success? The brutality of the last five days and the fight to the end felt more like survival than success. Was it a feeling of finality or closure? That was too much to process as Jude had been on a relentless push for 36 straight days and mentally he was no where close to closure, and we still had the Arctic Ocean to swim in tomorrow.
We certainly felt the visceral human feeling of being tired, cold and hungry. And we felt the visceral mental cravings of rest, recovery and time to process.
It’s hard to capture anything of substance in just one word, but perhaps I would use the words Pilgrimage and Togetherness. Pilgrimage has a connotation for me that includes faith, obedience and perseverance. A journey of this magnitude requires at least all three of these characteristics. And all three are sharpened and refined along the way. It takes faith to undertake a journey of this magnitude. Faith that the body God has given me will get through the rigors of the trip. Faith that God would keep us safe through the real dangers that we faced multiple times along the way.
It takes obedience to come up with a plan and contingencies and stick to it. Faith and obedience go hand in hand and it took both when Jude and I hooked up our bikes together to get down the mountain those last 300 miles. Togetherness. It brought Jude and I together for sure. On the first day of our trip, he prayed as we started out and thanked God for our friendship - not that he’s my son, but that we’re friends! What a joy as a dad to share such friendship with my son - a mutual expression of love, appreciation and respect for each other. And it brought a real sense of togetherness with God. Traveling through this vast wilderness, this “last frontier” you see your own smallness and God’s greatness. I felt God’s presence and nearness, a togetherness with Him that comes when you step out in faith and obedience.
And it took perseverance to get to the end of the road - a mix of grit and determination but also being open-handed with our plans for the day, being open-minded with what problems we might need to solve, and being open-hearted to what God would teach us through the journey.
Before we left Galbraith Lake and set out on our final day, I read these words to Jude as a prayer and sang them repeatedly throughout the day. They capture in a beautifully, personal way those words of Pilgrimage and Togetherness:
Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I'll follow, though I'm worn.
May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart's testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.
Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more.
Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne.
Standing at the T intersection, not knowing exactly what to do, we took a selfie and then rode back to Deadhorse Camp, checked in, took a shower, and dreamed of the breakfast buffet in just a few hours.
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Today's ride: 141 miles (227 km)
Total: 511 miles (822 km)
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