At the time of writing these lines, we are enjoying the sun and warmth on Oahu, Hawaii. Couldn’t there be a better moment to look back before we move on to the second part of our journey?
Travelling by bicycle
Statistics
(Disclaimer: Only for the people interested in numbers and our riding performance!)
We generally opted to cover larger distances per day and instead profited from many rest days – for us, this was the ideal way of bike touring. Of the 157 days travelling, we therefore “only” cycled on 93 days. We totally covered a distance of 8768 kilometers, sat on the bikes for 435 hours and climbed 77471 meters. This results in an overall average speed of 20.1 km/h. Per day, we in average covered 94.3 km. The longest distance we cycled in one day was 180 km, while the maximal climb was 2257 m. The full statistics and our stopovers are enclosed in the pdf-file, which can be downloaded from the side bar. Simply spoken, the chosen route was ideal for us because of its diversity and scenic beauty; if we would start in Los Angeles again, we wouldn’t change anything! Equipment
We count ourselves very lucky not having had problems with our gear. Either it was shear luck or our preparations and research have paid out!
Our Trek 520 bikes were very reliable travel companions and we only had to undertake minor repairs, the worst being two broken spokes and a bottom bracket, which needed adjustment. Considering the heavy load and sometimes wet, dusty or even muddy conditions, this amazes us. Naturally, after all this kilometers there are several parts, which are worn out and need to be replaced (e.g. cassette, chain, chain rings, tires) or adjusted (e.g. wheels). With the exceptions of the inflatable pillows and one of the kickstands, not a single part of our gear list failed. It goes without saying that we are more than happy with all our equipment. Still, we would like to mention our favorites:
Health
Furthermore, we didn’t have any injuries. There was no need to touch the first aid kit and over all we have only needed one or two patches to cover blisters. The bike helmets, which we always wore while cycling, are as good as new (only much more sweaty now). It seems that the signatures of our families and friends protected us very well :-).
Traffic
Wildlife
Food
In some areas - including of course the remote North - it required more organization or coordination, but we have never needed to stay hungry a day. The main limiting factor regarding food was the two bear-proof containers. We already bought them in Los Angeles and even though it was a slight overkill most of the time, we actually liked this extra bit of safety and think it was a good decision; one we would definitely take again. After all, we were not only protecting ourselves from the bears (or other animals like raccoons, squirrels, raven etc.), but also the wild animals from getting shot once they get used of feeding on human food.
People
A standard conversation went like this: “Where are you from?”. “We are Swiss”. “Are you on bicycles?”. “Yes”. “Where are you cycling?”. ”Along the Pacific coast from L.A. to Anchorage”. “Are you kidding?”. “No, this is great fun”. “Awesome. Good for you. How long does that take?” . “5 months, more or less”. Here, the conversation normally stopped. Only the very interested ones wanted to know how many miles we cover per day, what we do back home or how it actually is to travel on bicycles. In very touristy areas we therefore started to think about either handing out pamphlets with FAQs or charging 1 dollar / 1 coffee / 1 banana per answer.
Camping
Weather
It took us by surprise, though, how cold it could still get in spring in California and how hot in Alaska’s summer! We had expected to use our down jackets in the North and bathing suits in the South - it was vice versa. In the end, we truly support the saying that there is always appropriate gear for all weather conditions.
Photography
Credits for the majority of our pictures taken go to Philipp. Fabienne concentrated on editing the texts. As you may know (or may have noticed :-)), our Ortlieb panniers were sponsored by the Swiss bike store Veloplus. Veloplus liked our photographs so much, that they will use a selection of our pictures taken in B.C., in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and in Alaska for the winter decoration of their stores. So, if you happen to be close to a Veloplus store in winter, feel free to stop by and have a look.
After Hawaii, our next stop will be Lima (Peru) from where we will continue our Panamericana journey without the bicycles. Our stories and pictures from our backpacking adventures will be posted here.
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Several hikes led us to impressive grand glaciers, abundant blue berry patches, through enchanted forest with manifold types of mushrooms, along rapid rivers with red sockeye salmon fighting their way upstream for spawning and to various lakes wherein the sky and mountains mirrored. The pictures sometimes look like kitsch, but the colors are indeed real! While hiking in the Chugach National Forest, we could even witness a bear swimming approximately 200 m in Lake Ptarmigan. Soon after, we encountered another bear along the trail; the black bear was so busy eating berries that we could observe it for several minutes.
Aside from the spectacular landscape, we have been enjoying opportunities to relax, to talk, to pick berries, to canoe and to get into the "Alaska holiday mood": bonfires and marshmallow roasting were part of it :-)!
After 93 days on the bikes we have reached our destination: Anchorage. It felt weird to cycle into Alaska’s biggest city, not only because of the heavy traffic and congested roads but most importantly because of the fact that our bike journey has come to an end. Anchorage has always been in the back of our heads and we have barely spent thoughts about it. Now that we are here, we are kind of overwhelmed. Apart from relaxing in our hostel room and enjoying good food (lots of it!), it was also wellness-time for our bikes. After carrying us and all our belongings for more than 8’700 km (not to mention the sometimes nasty weather and road conditions), they deserved a thorough cleaning. Finally, we diligently packed them in cardboard boxes for their way back to Switzerland.
In Anchorage we will meet Philipp’s parents and travel Alaska’s Southern part together in their rental camper van for a few days.
When coming from the Tok Cut-Off Road and arriving in Glennallen - advertised as the gateway to Alaska's South - the town struck us as pretty cyclist and tent unfriendly. Additionally the weather predicted rain for the region of Valdez in the coming days, so our decision was quickly made: we would head north again and undertake our last gravel road adventure during this trip on the Denali Highway. When riding up to Paxson we got soaked wet, but for all the remaining other days our strategy had worked out once more. We were rewarded with sunny and warm late summer days and could enjoy the scenery at its best: from the Denali Highway we had a fantastic view on the Alaska Range and some close glaciers and from the George Parks Highway we were even as lucky to see Mount Denali one morning out of the clouds. What a spectacular finishing highlight for our cycling tour! These days we also encountered the Alaskan mentality more closely. The hunting season for caribou and moose had started last weekend and it seemed that half of all Alaskans drove their pick-up van, motorhome and trailer with (at least) two ATVs on the Denali Highway to shoot anything that couldn't get out of the way in time. Proof for that were the numerous bullet holes in the road signs! From then on, we were only cycling in bright colored clothing! For the first time while touring, it was quite difficult for us to find food. We would have expected this situation in more remote areas like on the gravel roads in the bush, but truly, it was more difficult to find proper food in Cantwell, just in front of the portal to the Denali National Park. The reason for this is, that all motorized vehicles stock up on food in the Anchorage and area, before driving the 300 miles to the park entrance. Being on bicycles, we can only cover such a distance in 4-5 days and were thus forced to shop at a gas station's food mart: for basic groceries (pasta, tortillas, chocolate bars, no fresh fruit and veggies etc.) we paid over 70 USD! To get this into a relation: one can fill up gas for three small sedan cars with that amount of money in Alaska! So it is evident where priorities lie in this state. Also, when approaching more inhabited terrain again around Wasilla and Palmer, we were amazed by the nearly even number of fast food restaurants, gun shops and churches that alternated along the highway. On the other hand, we were greeted and welcomed to Alaska warmly on the farmer's market in Palmer by numerous pedestrians. It seemed to us that the Alaskan people are as rough and diverse as the state's landscape - and you can always be in for a surprise! One morning, when calmly cycling along the George Parks Highway, we suddenly came up upon a moose mother with two calves feeding right next to the shoulder on the road. The encounter however was too close and too sudden to end peacefully: the moose cow charged at us but we were have been rolling at a decent speed and could easily escape. Although we were well aware that moose could be much more dangerous than bears, this experience made our hearts pound and the effect of loosened adrenaline was stronger than having drunken two espressi! What troubled us most was the unpredictability and dumbness of this moose: instead of standing still or fleeing into the woods it chose to charge... From now on, whenever we saw anything alike brown fur we changed sides on the road. And sure enough we saw another two calves along the shoulder the same day! We didn't wait to meet mummy too... Our days on the bicycles are definitely counted now as we are only miles away from Anchorage. We are therefore starting to take it slower: we stayed two nights at Nancy Lake State Recreation Area (thank you for the hint - Ines, Res, Anja and Sina :-)) and some days in Palmer where we enjoyed a genuine American breakfast. The "Top of the World Highway” connects the Yukon (Canada) with Alaska (USA). More precisely, the 281 km long road consists of two highways: the Top of the World Highway from Dawson City, over the Poker Creek border, to Jack Wade Junction and the Taylor Highway from Jack Wade Junction to Tetlin Junction, right before Tok. Some parts of it are paved, some parts are gravel. Most commonly, though, the road leads steeply up away from the Yukon River to the crest and then "roller-coasts" in seemingly endless ups and downs through the Fork River Valley and along Mount Fairplay’s feet into the plain of the Tanana River. For us, the "Top of the World" Highway was meant to be the queen stage of our biking tour - and it truly lives up to its name! We had to earn it well and also encountered our most strenuous legs on this road. The climb from Dawson City we had to master in deep fog and additionally the gravel road was so soaked, that our bicycles dug themselves right into the mud. We gritted our teeth and fought our way. Passing RVs stopped and offered us a ride, but we were too dirty to feel comfortable enough to load our bicycles into their living rooms... and we were also too stubborn and proud :-). Finally - and just as we reached the crest - the fog lifted and we had a gorgeous view over a manifold of mountains. Continuing seemed so much easier now and when we crossed the border, we were cheered upon by the awestruck border control agents. Pictures were taken of us, the giraffe honk was admired and we received drinking water and plenty of good wishes for the rest of our trip. That was the nicest US border crossing we have ever experienced! On our second day, we cycled on to Chicken. The former gold mining village was intended to be named Ptarmigan - a common bird in this region - however, it is said, that its inhabitants did not know how to spell the word, so it was soon established as Chicken. We will also remember Chicken for another reason: just as we were having lunch next to the only Café and souvenir shop, a truck camper pulled in and Philipp's parents were waving at us! It was all arranged that we will meet them in Anchorage at the end of our bike trip, but it was a total surprise to see them already on the road. We celebrated the gathering by spending the rest of the day in Chicken and the night together on the RV Park. We got spoilt with news and food from home and felt very lucky altogether :-). It made it just slightly harder the next morning to wave good-bye and part in different directions. Here we went on another roller-coaster tour towards Tetlin Junction. After every climb we hoped it was the last one, but sure enough we could spot the next one once we were on the top... perseverance and stubbornness became a new meaning on this day for us! We stayed optimistic (after all what other choice did we have and let's remember that we absolutely wanted to cycle this road) and were happy that the sun was shining, temperatures were high and the view priceless. In the end we made it to Tok after only three days and had dinner observing a movie-like sunset from our campsite. It can't get much better, seriously :-).
The beautyScenery: The route leads through rough mountain chains, vast plains, endless tundra with thawing permafrost, drunken forest of small spruce trees, wide and rapid rivers. The diversity and the abrupt changes of scenery are breathtaking. The nature seems not to have changed since the last ice age and being in the middle of this grandness makes you feel very humble. Wildlife: We saw arctic foxes, ground squirrels, ptarmigans, falcons and a grizzly bear mother with two cubs. Also some mosquitos and black flies... but the latter were not as bad as we were warned of. We only used half of our insect repellent stock and we neither used our two head nets nor the AfterBite lotion. People: As during our travelling before, it was the people who made this experience even more fulfilling. During our preparation for the journey in Dawson, we received great support from the Northwest Territories Visitor Centre. We were offered to have food delivered to Eagle Plains - midway of the Dempster Highway - which only made our adventure possible. On the campground in Dawson, a guided tour from Cycle Canada were our neighbors and we got to know Bill, Ed, Ted and Katie together with their supporting guides, who started their journey a day before us. It was fantastic to meet this pleasant group on the road again and to share several evenings and bike cleaning/repairing sessions together :-)! At the Tombstone campground we met Jason from Edmonton and we happened to travel about the same legs everyday and thus arrived together in Inuvik. At the Arctic Circle - just as we were taking our memorable snapshots - a VW Bus T5 with Swiss license plates turned in and Elvira and Ingo, together with their dog Perla, approached us. The same evening on the Rock River campground, they offered us a piece of delicious home-made camping bread and an apple-berry cake and the next evening at Nitanlaii campground, they invited us for pizza from the camping grill. We had definitely gained a new friendship! Their "Bye Bye Büssli" by now passed us every day and once in Inuvik we even celebrated August 1st together :-). Also, we received great support from other Dempster travellers along the road. There were Kelly and Peter from friendly Manitoba who offered us cold water, granola bars and original South Korean coffee on top of the Seven Mile Hill. The same supply we received again, when we crossed them at the ferry station of Peel River! And there was Günther and his family from Germany who were so kind as to transport our bear spray and camping fuel back in their RV from Inuvik to Dawson. The Arctic seems to connect people! The beast
The Dempster Highway has a few passes to take, but we found it more demoralizing to see endless roller coaster stretches of up- and downhill passages in front of us. And in the plain close to Inuvik, there is a 30 km stretch right through the tundra that is all straight. As we had strong headwinds on this stretch it took us two hours (it felt like 5 hours!) to ride it. That's when you start emptying your heads and just keep spinning. Weather: All together, we consider ourselves lucky with the weather we experienced on the Dempster Highway. In general, the weather could always change within minutes and one of our constant debates was whether to wear our rain gear or not. Often we ended up wearing it, just to protect ourselves from the dirt and also from mosquitos. We had rain on a daily basis, but in all essential moments i.e. while passing the Arctic Circle, the sun was out. The wind was mostly in our back and temperatures ranged in between 5 to 25 °C. Bicycle cleaning and maintenance: Our bikes aged by around five years in terms of usage during this journey. Every day we cleaned the essential parts such as chain, brakes and gear shifter; sometimes twice a day. If the mud got into our chains, a horribly scratching sound evicted. Midway through the Dempster, Philipp had to replace two spokes on his rear wheel (for which he first had to remove the entire cassette). We were carrying a lot of water on that specific day, and thus had overloaded his bike and it could not withstand the weight on the bumpy road. Thanks to our excellent advisor M*** back home, we had all the necessary spare parts with us and Philipp could luckily fix it, otherwise this would have been the end of our journey by bicycle (there are no bike repair shops in Inuvik or Dawson City). Additionally, Bill could supply us with a lower pulley, which started to wear out. Other than that, we have been very lucky and no major repairs were necessary. InuvikWe arrived at the end of the Dempster Highway in the morning of our 7th day. The sun was shining, the temperatures were up at 25 °C and it was August 1st – the Swiss National Day. It felt tremendous and we were glad having had decided to face this challenge. Together with other happy Dempster-Finishers we celebrated the successful journey and rested for two days in Inuvik. Life in Inuvik stroked us as fairly different. We were impressed by the variety of goods in their supermarket (food, ski-doos, chain saw and housing supplies under one roof), the pretty Igloo Church and the houses on stilts as well as water/sewer connections above ground, both measures not to harm the permafrost. For our journey back to Dawson, we treated ourselves with a flight in a Hawker Siddeley 748 (built in 1971 and one of only 22 of its kind still in use) with exceptional service from Air North. Landing on a gravel strip was another adventurous experience :-). We will rest in Dawson City for a few days before heading for the Top of the World Highway into Alaska.
We have also discovered a new ingredient thanks to Laura: tortilla wraps instead of (toast) bread. It's very tasty with salty and sweet filling and it takes half the space of bread in our bear vault as we can conveniently roll it. Additionally, one can get very creative with it (check out the slideshow)... :-). Right after our lunch break a big RV pulled aside us and the Swiss family from Berne that we had met on the ferry, was waving at us! How good it was to see each other again on the road! We stopped over for a chat, could visit the very cosy RV, and exchanged advice for the travel route in Alaska and addresses back in Switzerland. Ines, Res, Sina and Anja even had a surprise for us: a bag of Basler Leckerli and some Lindt Schöggeli!!! They had seen us eating Leckerli on the ferry and wanted to give us something from home too. We felt extremely spoilt and were very touched - merci viumou! After this great encounter we cycled on to Tutshi Lake, where we found a picturesque spot for our wilderness camp this night. The following day, we pedalled into Yukon and stopped in Carcross for lunch. The route to Whitehorse was very scenic and led along astonishingly shimmering lakes, like Emerald Lake just out of Carcross. Once more, we were lucky to get hot summer weather (although we didn't expect it at all in this region!) and thus decided to stay three days in Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. We also rented a canoe for half a day and paddled down the Yukon River for 20 km. It was a welcomed change to the cycling for once and we saw a lot of eagles and as well as a beaver slapping its tail onto the water surface. The next day we were back from the Alaska Highway on the Klondike Highway and the landscape began to look like one imagines it from the North: endless forests of spruces (sometimes burnt from forest fires), occasionally mixed with birch trees and berry patches. And the light is very different from what we are used in central Europe. There is daylight from 5 in the morning until 11 in the evening... We now even have to be careful to catch enough sleep :-). And there was another characteristic weather symptom that we were soon to discover: if it rains, there is still sunshine and wind! Together, these three form a vicious trio and we constantly debated whether to put on our rain gear or to get wet in shorts and T-shirt. Soon enough though, we didn't need to take this decision anymore: it was raining two entire days. Well, that can happen if you travel North in summer :-)! The best method to cope with it, is to keep on pedalling. Therefore, it only took us four days to cycle from Whitehorse to Dawson City. In Dawson City we allowed ourselves a rest of a few days and it proofed to be a good decision. The weather cleared up and we could explore this gold rush town mostly in the dry (which is an advantage as the streets are not paved!). Dawson is yet touristy, but historically well displayed and prettily maintained. For once, we joined the tourist program and went to see a dance show in the Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino: it was entertaining and a fun evening. There was also the annual music festival going on in town when we were there, so we probably had hit the busiest weekend, but the town was full of relaxed festival goers and we enjoyed some good music just while walking in the streets. While we had time to think about our route further north, there was another temptation and slightly crazy idea coming up. Originally, we had planned to continue our trip right away with the Top of the World Highway into Alaska. However, there is relatively sunny and dry weather predicted for the Northern region of Yukon and the Northwest Territories, so we will take the challenge and go on an adventure: we will try riding the Dempster Highway - a 740 km long and desolate gravel road - from Dawson to Inuvik in the coming days. As smooth we had entered into Canada, as nerve-wracking it was to re-enter the USA! Cars and even passengers on foot advanced on a routine, but it took the ferry crew ages to have two bicycles checked through customs and properly stowed in the ferry belly... One wouldn't have thought, that we had informed the ferry company well in advance and also paid for the bicycles separately. We were amazed by the effort of goodwill and patience that was expected from us as customers! Finally aboard, we enjoyed our two-days ferry ride from Prince Rupert (Canada, B.C.) to Skagway (USA, Alaska) very much! It was meant to be a treat for us, as it were the first 1000 km towards the North that we had decided not to cycle. On the solarium deck we awed at narrow passages and glaciers leaping directly into the sea and spotted humpback whales, orcas and porpoises. In our cozy and warm berth we relaxed, read and enjoyed yummy picnics with food from Switzerland :-)! The ferry schedule allowed for stopovers of a few hours in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau and Haines. We have also made various interesting acquaintances and gained a friend or two on the journey. Early in the morning, we arrived in Skagway, the legendary starting point for taking the White Pass Trail towards Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Today, Skagway's gold is tourism and especially the cruise ships. Five of these giant vessels arrived today and loads of cruisers stormed the town: by bus, by train, by foot... They all passed our tent on the RV Park and we were watching them quite amused. Tomorrow we will make our way into Yukon on the Klondike Highway. Equipped with plenty of good wishes from our host family and some delicious homemade cookies from Darah, we left Smithers heading further west towards Prince Rupert. After our longest bike-free time so far, it felt good to be back on the bikes again! On the first kilometers, however, we were slowed down: a sharp metal cramp punctured Philipp’s back tire. This was fixed in a matter of minutes, though. Day by day we are amazed how well our Schwalbe Marathon tires cope with the rough roads. Three flat tires in nearly 6’000 km are an amazing (intermediate) result and we hope that the even rougher roads in Yukon and Alaska won’t change the statistics too much. Our first intended stop was at the aboriginal village and museum "Ksan" in Hazelton. We visited the museum, traditional buildings and totem poles, which were very well displayed and described. We especially liked the art paintings of the Ksan. On our ride to Kitwanga we then got lucky once more with bear sightings: we saw two mother bears with cubs and another (probably male) bear, that had a shiny pitch black fur. In order to reach our campground in Kitwanga, we shortly turned into the famous Cassiar Highway, that leads to Alaska. Following the Skeena River until its stream mouth into the Pacific Ocean in Prince Rupert, we saw many fishers. The majority was of human kind, but also white headed bald eagles were hunting for the salmon which now start to migrate. We were surprised by the various snow-covered mountains along the river; somehow we had expected the landscape to be flatter. Prince Rupert welcomed us with thorough rain showers... nothing unusual in this region, where it is raining 220 days a year. Some even call the town "Rinse" Rupert :-)! The day after, the rain ceased and even the sun was shining occasionally, so we could enjoy a stroll through the town’s pretty centre and along the waterfront. As Fabienne's parents, who were on a two weeks Canada vacation tour, were stopping by in Prince Rupert, we were waiting for them to meet and enjoyed the reunion! Tomorrow, we will board our ferry to Skagway (with plenty of goodies from Switzerland!) from where we will cycle on through Yukon and Alaska. After a half-day break in Prince George, a dinner of yummy Indian food and a comfy night in a motel we were ready to head for Smithers. We pedalled through wide passages of lower woods and grassland, passed various lakes and were constantly looking out for animals along Yellowhead Hwy again. Despite the signs warning from moose crossing, we haven't been so lucky to spot one, but we topped up our counter with another bear sighting (it was so busy eating berries, it didn't even notice us!) and we also saw a coyote and deer. What we didn't expect though was the strong head wind! From Vanderhoof to Lake Burns our dear friend The Wind - whom we knew already all too well from the Pacific Coast - hit in with all its strengths and we had to mobilize ours as well. This leg felt like pedalling 200 km... Luckily, the next day the wind was still present, but in a decent manner. On a hot Sunday afternoon we arrived in Smithers at the house of our HelpX hosts Tamara and Mark. We were staying with the family for 10 days. HelpX is a volunteering program where hosts needing a hand with various tasks sign up on the platform and volunteers can get in contact with them. The family has a 1 acre farm with chickens, sheep, pigs, bees, and several large gardens and greenhouses. We helped weeding, looking after the animals and cleaning beehives. However, it was not all about work! We were welcomed very warmly by Tamara and Mark and their three children Darah, Caitlyn and Hayden into their home and we spent a great time with them! We happened to join the family in their last week of school before summer break. So one afternoon Tamara took the kids and us on a short hike to the impressive Twin Falls (there were five falls at the time though :-)) and we got all soaked by the mist of the biggest fall while climbing up to it. As it was a hot summer day, this was a lot of fun and didn't hinder anyone to go to nearby Lake Kathlyn afterwards, where the children paddled out to get some water lilies. We were also in Smithers on Canada Day, July 1st. The museum in town offered a historic walk along the main street in which we participated. It was very interesting and humorously held by a local historian who told plenty of amusing stories. Apparently, Smithers has an active Swiss society (we didn't know that!) and the town's emblem is a man playing the “Alpenhorn”; in fact the entire town has to follow an alpine theme in its appearance. After the culture crawl, Mark took us to the nearby wildlife shelter together with the kids, as it had its door open to the public on the national day. The main attractions were the 20 (!) black bears cubs - and no, we did not use them to boost up our bear counter :-) - and a famous tiny fawn that had even made it to the local newspapers. Its mother was hit dead by a car and a farmer from Alberta, who happened to see the accident, freed the fawn by a caesarian cut out of the dead deer's belly and had brought it to the wildlife shelter. At the same time, the midsummer musical festival started and the entire family was involved. We joined the festivities for one evening and had a great time. If you want to get a sneak peak about the kind of music that was played at this folk music festival, listen into the songs by the duo Jennis. After these great days in Smithers, we will soon continue our journey to Prince Rupert, where we will meet Fabienne's parents on their Canada vacation for one day and afterwards take the ferry to Skagway, Alaska.
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Blog Archive
September 2016
CountersKilometers pedalled
Hours on the bike
Meters cycled uphill
Flat tires
Burgers eaten
Bears sighted
Day by day statisticsFor those interested in our day by day activities and statistics, please download the following document.
World Clock
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