Day 46
   
   6/12/01
   Mile 4270
   Beaver Creek, Yukon
   
   What a wonderful day! I'm loving it!  The rain mixes with the gravel
   road and becomes a soup that splatters mud everywhere.  Even better
   when a truck passes.  And don't forget the headwinds, they're the best.
   Short on food?  Add some crunch to your diet: just open your mouth
   while biking to catch the mosquitoes.  That'll show'em!  You can eat them
   while they're eating you!
   
   Has Eldon gone truly mad?  Can he recover his sanity?  Or is it too
   late for him?  Find out in the next semi-intelligible episode of
   Travelog!
   
   Or, just keep reading this one.
   
   I found out why I've been so fatigued lately; I was sick, and I didn't
   even know it.  I woke up about 2am with a sore throat and cough, which
   means it had already been working on me for a while.  Not to worry; I
   ignore these things and they go away.
   
   I stopped for breakfast at a little roadhouse near Koidern, and
   listened to the shopkeeper's tale of woe about a bear attack.  But
   this wasn't an attack on her - they attacked a building, doing about 
   $10,000 worth of damage.
   
   I got some emails from home, and Mike assured me that everything would
   be taken care of with my flooded apartment, and there was no need to
   return home.  This guy has just jumped right in and done a lot of
   heavy work without a second thought; a tried and true friend, there is
   nobody I'd rather have at the other end of my rope on a mountain than Mike.
   The climbing community, I am told, has really pulled together to lend
   a hand, and I am very grateful.
   
   I rolled down the endless road for a couple of hours, amazed at how
   fast I got hungry again after eating a huge breakfast.  I opened up
   another bottle of baby food, the mixed pureed vegetables.  Man, this
   stuff is incredibly bland; bachelor chow it ain't.  Don't babies eat tacos or
   something interesting?  Can't they put that in a blender and bottle
   it?  I'm sorely tempted to hit it with a blast of pepper spray, but I don't
   think I can regulate the flow well enough, so I'll save it for the
   bears.
   
   It started raining again just before I got to Beaver Creek.  No
   problem; there's a hostel and a restaurant here, so I can get a meal
   and if it continues I can just call it a day, and get over the cough at the
   same time.
   
   I don't have to bother saying if it continued.
   
   It turns out the hostel is inside the Westmark Inn, a very nice place
   that goes for close to $100CAD a night.  Weird thing is, the "hostel"
   is simply private rooms on the top floor, and at a ridiculously cheap
   $20CAD.  No private shower, but other than that it was a hotel, not a
   hostel.
   
   I had wanted to get further tonight, but the weather isn't
   cooperating.  Nevertheless, my altimeter shows I have climbed a total 
   of 126,000 feet, and I have surpassed another personal record, making this
   the farthest bike trip I have ever taken - the previous record of 4137
   miles being 10 years ago on a trip from Calgary to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
   This trip, however, is being done at twice the speed.
   
   I stayed up until about 10pm making my log entries, in front of the
   fireplace lounge in surroundings entirely inappropriate for my current
   appearance, then got to bed early for a change.  I didn't get far
   today, but since I wouldn't have to break down a tent and pack away the
   sleeping bag and whatnot, this way I could make a good early start in
   the morning.
   
   Or so I hoped.

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