Chapter 7 05 Road Signs in Alaska

In brochures or postcards of Alaska, you can often see the following words: "Last Frontier—the last untouched land—" Indeed, Alaska gave me the impression just like this sentence. As soon as you leave the town, you are surrounded by the sky and the deep coniferous forest, which stretches continuously, and there are almost no houses in the village.No matter how you ride, the scenery is almost the same, as if you are not moving forward, people start to lament their insignificance. Finally, a sign similar to a road sign appeared in front of him, and he felt relieved for some reason.I was so excited and full of anticipation that the road sign was gradually approaching. What was written on it?

"Next 10km Unpaved." I was very disappointed.Most of the road signs have irrelevant things written on them. Even so, I am still excited when I see a new road sign. After passing this road sign, I subconsciously look forward to the next one.It seems that only "man-made objects" can make us feel at ease in this vast nature that makes it difficult to distinguish between southeast and north.Perhaps somewhere in our hearts, we still hope to be connected with human society. Finally a small town appeared.It is called a small town, but it is actually just a rest stop (gas station and grocery store) plus a few private houses.The towns in this area are like this, and it can be said that they only exist to refuel and supply vehicles.

I asked the boss: "How many kilometers are there to the next town?" The distance must determine how much water and food to load. The slightly bald, fat boss thought for a moment and said, "Eighty kilometers." It's not a big deal for people who use cars to move around, but it's a bit far for cyclists who can only ride 100 kilometers a day.Just in case, I asked the same question to other people. The red-faced man who drove the big truck laughed and said, "Don't be surprised! You can see the next rest stop after riding a hundred kilometers." The sense of distance of most of the residents here is messed up, and the figures provided by them must not be easily believed.Overestimate, I think it should be 120 kilometers.

For this 120-kilometer journey, I started to buy the necessary food.In fact, there is nothing to buy in the store. The frozen bread from a few months ago, the only vegetables are onions and rotten limp radishes.What kind of food do the people in this town rely on every day for their livelihood?I continued to step on the pedals, and after riding for a while, I saw another road sign, and I felt more at ease.Hehe, what is written on it? “Next Service 175km. (175km to the next rest stop)” Ah, even such a sign, I like it so much!