The Sixth Annual Alaska Bike Run

www.AlaskaBikeRun.com benefiting www.skihi.org
Darryl’s THIRD TRY at his GRAND ADVENTURE
July 2-27, 2007

Download the PDF of the trip journal for more pictures

Monday, July 2, my Grand Adventure began with a bang (literally) in Clovis! Like the song, “I fought the law, and the law won!” so I fought with sleep and the sleep won! I woke up from a “flicker doze” about 8 inches from a curb, drifting closer! BANG! Low side spill! The following motorist was checking on me before I could even get up! Idiot me did not even get his name for a proper thank you and souvenir picture! After about an hour and calming down with the diligent concern of John Lucero and Joseph Gallegos at the adjacent business, I continued (after some thoughts about whether Someone was using three mishaps in three years to try to tell me something!).

Damage report: two skinned knees, small dent and chipped paint on fuel tank, right 4-5” of windshield gone, lowers damaged and removed.

Someone had a large fire NE of Littlefield, TX, BIG smoke column! Met up with Mike Tuccelli and Dave Stufflebeam of Alaska Bike Run 2007 at Super 8 in Lubbock, TX, and requested Mike NOT include my mishap on the web update, so Pat would not worry more than she already would! I am consistent! Three years, three crashes/spills. At least I seem to be “over the hump” and am getting LESS serious mishaps now! 188 miles; New Mexico and Texas make 2 states

Tuesday, July 3, we started a bit after 6am. Dave and I were dressed a bit light -- this is supposed to be the warm and sunny southwest! -- and both of us were about to give up and add some clothing before the sun finally conquered the fog and mist and came out about 40 miles into New Mexico.

We saw an oil pumping rig up so close we encountered the “Poison Gas” sign and quit getting closer. Eastern NM along US 82 has some weird landforms -- humps with very vertical sides, almost like misshapen loaves of bread sitting on the plains! We visited White Sands National Monument and got separated when I tried to replace the Senior Pass that got lifted with my billfold after my crash last year, and it took awhile to re-find each other. We then proceeded on to Las Cruces. When I went to get pictures done at Walgreens, I was intercepted by Monte Creek Marlin, daughter of our long time across the street neighbor and school secretary Laura Creek for the first ten years or so we were here in House. They gathered up the entire family and picked me up to visit Laura and then go out to dinner. In view of my “big BANG!” in Clovis and my nap at San Patricio, Dave and Mike both urged me to try Red Bull Energy Drink as a “sleepy killer,” which I did on I am not sure what day, and IT WORKS! I pretty much have one or two on me essentially all the time now.

395 miles, total 583 miles; still 2 states; 1 national park

Wednesday, July 4, our nation’s birthday, was a short day to Tucson, AZ.

Mike had received an invitation to a program and barbeque at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, and since we did not have a time, we bypassed Saguaro National Monument. Dave had never done such long days, and rested. Mike and I drove into the hills a bit to see some of the saguaro cactus up close. We found one spot where they were just plain THICK. Then we went to the bash at ASDB. A great deal of what they do is based on work pioneered at Ski-Hi Institute, the charity benefited by our ride. They told me that blind is far more disabling than deaf, but deaf is far more common. They had a watermelon eating contest, and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. Several of the students at the school got to sit on one of three bikes (one staffer brought his bike.) I failed to contact Pat's Aunt Petty -- phone is not listed. About a week later, I discovered I had it in my cell phone! DUH! And I finally located a replacement for my damaged windshield. I only needed the shield itself, not the hardware and this is hard to find! And where did I find it? Tucson! It is on the way.

386 miles, total 949 miles; Arizona makes 3 states; still 1 park; one public relations appearance

Thursday, July 5, we temporarily split to the three winds! Mike left at, ugh, double ugh, 2a.m. so he could visit his dad south of San Diego. He will meet Dave in Sacramento in two days, and I will catch them in Grants Pass, Oregon the next day. Dave and I blew out at the usual 6- ish and started our NW “shortcut.“ The temperature hit 100° (on my in-the-sun thermometer, which is where Dave and I were) around 8a.m., 110° by 10a.m. and stayed 110-122° the rest of our 448 mile endurance ride to Barstow, CA Mojave had a double special for us, or at least for me! As we approached, the mountains to the west were COVERED with a HUGE wind generator farm! There had to be well over a thousand of them, and we learned that the next two ridges of mountains were similarly covered. Some were tubular monopole mounted like the ones at our House, NM facility, some were open angle iron type towers. We also saw about a square mile of the thickest concentration of oil pumping units I have ever seen. Some may have been as little as 50 to 100 feet apart! Mojave also says it is the first spaceport in America -- I think this is where the private rockets that put James Doohan’s (Star Trek’s Montgomery Scott) ashes into space are based. (New Mexico is also trying to become our first spaceport.) It is hard to believe how hot this day was! I had a long sleeve T-shirt on, and I thought I was going to get burned under it! BURNED burned, not sun burned! We know a bit how the troops in Iraq feel! I suggest that riders leave the LINER IN a mesh jacket. Insulation keeps heat out as well as in, and it keeps the rider’s arms out of that 65mph convection oven! 448 miles, 1397 total; California makes 4 states; still 1 park

Friday, July 6, Dave and I got our usual early start out CA 58 to Bakersfield and CA-99. We used CA 46 to cut across to I-5, which Dave followed up to Sacramento. I continued on CA 46 to US 101N, proceeding to Aunt Myrna Fisher’s home in King City. We could not remember when we had last seen each other, but it has been a long while! We went over to (oldest) daughter Susan Gill’s and were spoiled with a huge feed! Everyone else was out of range or out of town, but we had a good time! Visit was short, but GREAT! During the long afternoon -- Myrna, dear that she is, did my laundry.

306 miles, 1657 total; still 4 states; still 1 park; long overdue visit!

Saturday, July 7, I started early on my 680 mile marathon catch-up ride to Grants Pass. On the CA 156 and CA 152 cutoff back to I-5, I saw THOUSANDS of motorcycles in groups of perhaps 10 to 50. It turned out I went by Hollister, and this was the opening weekend of the Hollister motorcycle meet -- a sort of California Sturgis! I also encountered some incredible wind turbulence -- like nothing I have experienced in 43 years of riding! Yes, worse than what created my crash last year! Next thing I knew, my damaged windshield (remember my big BANG! in Clovis?) had cracked all the way across except about 4-5 inches from the center bolt to one side bolt! I thought, “This baby is going to come off in my face!“ so I slowed down, found a quick gas stop where I removed the “carcass” where it could be disposed of without becoming litter! I entered Oregon around 6:20 and caught up with Mike and Dave a bit later.

Here I discovered they had met another cyclist who had been very thoroughly frightened by the same turbulence as he rode his highly aerodynamic crotch rocket across the Golden Gate Bridge -- he thought he was not only going to be blown into the railing, he thought he was going to get blown OVER it! 681 miles, 2338 total; Oregon makes 5 states; still 1 park

Sunday, July 8, another early start as we blitzed I-5N to Ferndale, WA, a bit north of Bellingham, our originally planned stop until we found Super 8, Ferndale, was a lot cheaper for just another 10 miles which we had to do sooner or later anyway! It is shocking how many dead pine trees we drove by in OR and WA. The pine beetle is bad! And it is astonishing how many live pine trees are there also! Mile after mile of glorious green trees! I was raised in Iowa, and while I like the low population density in New Mexico, I am still not comfortable with the lack of GREEN! 522 miles, 2860 total; Washington makes 6 states; still 1 park

Monday, July 9 saw another early start. We arrived at the Abbottsford border crossing into Canada. We drove for MILES along the lovely Fraser River valley.

The Fraser River is a great white water river, the canyon is lovely, and the road is a blessing to motorcycles! We also began to be introduced to the l-o-o-n-n-n-g-g-g-g distances between fuel in this part of the world! We found that pay-at-the-pump is not nearly as common in Canada, almost non-existent, actually, but that TRUST IS COMMON! Grab the nozzle, pump your fuel, then go pay! Cash or credit card in advance not necessary.

So refreshing! We also got introduced to speed limits in kilometers/hour (multiply km/h by 5/8), fuel quantity in liters (3.78 L = 1 gallon, divide Liters by 4, then divide this by 16 and subtract), and prices in the low-mid $1 range/liter, about $4-5.40 per gallon. We stopped in Vanderhoof, BC.

556 miles, 3416 total; Canada is country two; British Columbia makes one province; still 6 states

Tuesday, July 10 was another early start to a day intended to result in an early arrival in Hyder, AK. Mike was having trouble with his headlights, and when we found a Honda dealer in Smithers, BC, we stopped to see if they could solve the problem. The dealer was almost totally off-road oriented, but he looked up the right bulbs, and directed us to an auto parts store for the bulbs and a nearby custom cycle shop for installation.

It is not just the auto industry that makes things hard to find and work on! They took care of the installation, and encouraged me to cobble up a replacement windshield, so I bought a Plexiglas panel, and Sam Henderson (and Sara, of Sam’s Cycle Shop/Eye Candy Customs) drilled suitable holes, and rounded the corners. The auto parts store came up with grommets to serve as rubber washers, and I had a windshield again! I was handling the wind pressure all right, but windshields are good for about 10° of temperature comfort, which I was not handling so well! We were warned to fill up with fuel immediately, and at every chance henceforth! We rather hated to fuel up with only ½ gallon in Kitwanga, and very nearly regretted this when we found there was no fuel (station closed) at Meziadin Junction! So Dave and I both pussyfooted toward Hyder! I stopped to take a picture of a bridge at an information stop, and they did not miss me until they dared not double back for fuel concerns. I finally found the not-very-well-distance-marked BC 37A. From the entry onto 37A, I got gentle, but steady rain for the final 62km/39 miles, which Mike and Dave had a few minutes earlier. As I nursed my uncertain fuel supply at modest speed on a strange road in half-mile visibility and low ceiling, I topped a rise to see “fright sight,“ the massive Bear Glacier to my left front, and the road curving downward apparently directly into a large lake! I thought I was riding off the edge of the world! After quickly scrubbing off some more speed, I could see the road descended rather steeply until it curved to the right around the lake, after which I felt a whole lot better! I caught Mike and Dave at the first gas station in Stewart, BC, and we advanced to the hotel, also in Stewart. We had thought we would be in Hyder, but this worked, and the laundry was handy! Both Dave and I expected records on how much fuel our tanks would hold! Red Wing was good to me, and took less than expected. Slow riding uses less fuel! 392 miles, 3808 total; still 6 states, still 1 province; two glaciers (Bear, one with no name that we knew)

Wednesday, July 11 was our knockabout in Hyder area day. We actually slept in a bit! We drove to the border crossing and Hyder. Did a little exploring at the local tourist traps, then rode out toward the Salmon Glacier in misty conditions. When we got to the boardwalk along the river that lets tourists watch the bears catch salmon in the river, without letting the bears catch any people, we found that the salmon were not yet running, and Rangers informed us the visibility and road conditions would not permit us to either get to the Salmon Glacier, or even see it through the cloud cover! So Mike and Dave did a bit more shopping and I rode back to try to get pictures of my “fright sight” of the night before. It turned out I was too impatient, and I did not get that far out the road, but I did get some nice pictures. I caught up my laundry, and dried my clothing in hopes we would have dry riding tomorrow! 64 miles, 3872 total; Alaska makes 7 states; still 1 province; still 1 park; Misty Fiords across estuary was (sort of) visible, but not accessible.

Thursday, July 12 Mike and Dave headed east, I headed north to main Alaska after I popped back into Hyder for a couple pictures now that we actually had sun! I took a picture in a Bar in Hyder which is “wallpapered” with some $70,000 of paper money bills from all over the world -- almost all signed and/or addressed with the persons who left them. BC 37, also called the Cassiar Highway, is a beautiful road -- I saw a mother bear and two cubs, then two other bears, something that looked like a bobcat sized cougar -- too far to see it clearly -- another bear, and three bighorn sheep, two adults and a "teen" and quite close -- 50 feet or so! This is a gorgeous road! Four hundred miles of pine tree scenery with lots of curves and ups and downs, mostly 90kph / 55mph speed limits, and a very appropriate limit! It is astonishing how many LARGE lakes and rivers are in this part of the world! BC 37 is not a road to make time on, but definitely a road to enjoy! BC is absolutely rampant with insects that arrive almost instantly at any stop, mostly gnat like items that did not bite (me, at least!). It was most intriguing to find no bugs at all when I took a picture of Lower Gnat Lake, about the blue-est lake I have ever seen! On this road again, one needs to fill up with fuel at every opportunity! With a motorcycle in BC, if one skips a gas stop, then next one may not have fuel or may be recently closed or be closed for the night (no pay-atthe- pump, remember?), and your next stop might be the start of a long walk! For example, the fuel stop and motel at the junction of BC 37 and YT1 is closed, so I had to go east to Watson Lake for fuel and lodging. I would not have made it to Rancheria! 428 miles, 4300 total; still 7 states; Yukon Territory makes 2 provinces; 9 animal sightings

Friday July 13 I reached Beaver Creek, YT (Yukon Territory) -- the westernmost town in Canada. And I found Mukluk Annie’s Salmon Bake that Dr. Tuccelli had recommended so often and so strongly. He could not remember just where it was, but I found it on the west edge of Teslin, about 8-10 miles west of the mapped location. I was too early for the salmon menus, so went on in disappointment. I stopped to check on a motorhome that had slud (Dizzy Dean expressions live on!) off the road and rolled its Explorer toad. No one hurt. They said about 2/3 of passing cars stopped to check on them, and many others waved at their group as they all sat calmly in lawn chairs waiting for a wrecker. Again, both sides of the road were miles deep in lovely pine forest. The broad sandy area where the motorhome hit the ditch fortunately did not have trees to hit, which was unusual. The road from Haines Junction to Beaver Creek was difficult. The surface was good, but the roadbed was very pitchy -- like light frost heaves or humps -- some easily visible, some not. Red Wing’s suspension bottomed on a regular basis over this 100-150 miles, and riding over 80kph / 50mph was NOT COOL, although it could be shocking at times! 591 miles, 4891 total; still 7 states, still 2 provinces, +Kluane (drive by) NP = 3 parks (including the Misty Fiords look-in)

Saturday, July 14th I covered the 19 miles to Alaska Customs in just 25 minutes. Wanting a Post Office to mail a couple cards, I saw a sign “Post Office” and hastily stopped in Dot Lake, AK, and discovered that the Postmaster at this tiny contract post office was from Tucumcari! Not wanting to take time for a long visit, I blitzed North Pole and arrived in Fairbanks and Honda Outpost around 4p.m. Receiving all sorts of horror stories on AK 11 / John Dalton Highway / the "Haul Road," I decided to "ride with my head, not my heart" as Pat requested, and only try for the Arctic Circle. I specifically did not purchase a spare fuel can to assure this, since it would not allow me to have enough fuel for the 240-245 miles from Coldfoot to Deadhorse.

340 miles, 5231 total; still states; still 2 provinces, still 2 countries, still 3 parks

Sunday, July 15th, I headed for the Arctic Circle, up the Elliott Highway to the head of the Dalton Highway. About 15 miles past this junction was decision time, as beyond that I would have insufficient fuel to return, and I proceeded on a wet road in misty, light rain weather, but otherwise not bad.

I "observed" to God that this did not look so bad, and suggested that if He was game for me to go the route to Deadhorse, He would have to find me a fuel can at Yukon. Arrived at the Yukon River Bridge station, and NO FUEL for the three bikes that arrived almost together with me. I went in to eat, three more bikes arrived with 8 gallons of fuel, which was distributed among all outside and they left. When I got out, no bikes, still no fuel.

The gas man remembered they had siphoned a couple gallons from a deadlined truck, so I bought this. As I was paying for it, I saw a whole stack of new, two-gallon cans -- gas man had forgotten he had them! -- so with my new gas can (as requested), and still civilized road conditions (and uncivilized light rain conditions), I headed for the Circle. This fuel was enough to get to the Circle and either back to Yukon where there was no fuel, or to Coldfoot, which was halfway to Deadhorse.

I arrived at the Arctic Circle, 66°33’ north latitude, odometer 10435, trip miles 5435, around 8:30p.m. Alaska Daylight Time, and read all the markers. There is really no way to describe the odd feeling of having mid-day light levels at 9p.m. and even later! With no assurance of fuel at Yukon Bridge, I chose to continue to Coldfoot. I stumbled across two rangers working late at the Gates to the Arctic National Park and Preserve and they graciously provided an up to the MINUTE weather report for Coldfoot to Dead horse -- scattered showers and temperatures in the 40’s, more of what I had already weathered (bad pun, I could not resist!) At my fuel stop / restaurant, I talked with two truckers who said the rest of the road was similar, except for the infamous “Slide Path” and some road construction. Since I had traveled 100 plus miles of “Haul Road Training” road construction in British Columbia, I decided to eat and consider what to do next.

267 miles, 5498 total; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 2 countries; +Gates to the Arctic makes 4 parks

Monday, July 16, at my midnight or so fuel and meal stop, the road and rainy weather were still within my skills, so I proceeded on! The road then got much uglier. It had been raining gently for most of the ride.

There were a number of really muddy climbs and descents -- shallow 1/2 to 1 inch mud on hard, rough, gravel base. Each one was bigger and “better” and I thought I had reached the Slide Path. About the fifth one was actually labeled “Slide Path” with a number like 1.5 -- Mile Markers? THE Slide Path was like a “corduroy road,“ full width width lengthwise ridges as if the road were made of logs about 4” in diameter. Red Wing occasionally drifted across to the next valley between ridges, but NEVER SLIPPED on any of these! Again, the light at night at this high latitude was amazing! I drove through the night, and the light level never dropped below what those of us from the lower 48 would experience perhaps 1½-2 hours before sunset. I could hardly wait for the 100 miles of chip-seal that was SUPPOSED to lead into Deadhorse. NOT! I only saw one caribou on the plains between Antigen Pass and Deadhorse, and it was right ahead of me, coming my way! By the time I got stopped and camera out, he was alongside out in the tundra. I took a picture, took one to the left front for scenery, turned back, and the caribou was nowhere to be seen! Quick, or hard to see or both! Finally reached the chip-seal about 75 miles out, which much too soon turned to really ugly road construction 50 miles out -- lots of loose gravel, some of it a couple inches deep. This was not a pretty scene for this pavement only rider on a street bike with street tires! Red Wing did have a couple light slips in the last 10 miles or so.

This was NOT EVEN like the road construction that I was trained on in British Columbia! IT WAS DEADHORSE ITSELF that almost unhorsed me! An inch of wet mud on a very hard, very smooth undersurface, and at 10 mph, this is where I almost went down! I arrived at the hotel where the Tours to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean are based about 11:45 and amazingly felt fine! Red Wing had been overheating about every 2-3 miles for about 15 miles, so I checked coolant. On the money! Then I looked at the radiator! I could hardly find it! (Only slightly exaggerated!) Mud. MUD! MUD! Problem diagnosed, but not easily solvable! They do not put water on the ground in Deadhorse, so with no spray carwash, I had no safe way to clean it! Went to the lunch buffet at Arctic Caribou Inn (the Tour Place), and just flat WILTED! -- I could hardly lift a fork to my mouth! I thought, "Darryl, you wanted an ADVENTURE! You HAVE HAD AN ADVENTURE! Do you really want TWO of them in two days?" Doing as Pat requested, I felt it was time to “Ride with my head, not with my heart!“ Most grateful for the safe, almost slip-free ride from the Lord, I decided not to stretch His patience by trying for a repeat performance, and chose to let Carlile Trucking and Alaska Air do the return drive, with no regrets, although I felt pretty much normal long before the plane left two and a half hours later. Cheaper than a crash! And it was a good decision -- I was clearly rattled and not quite myself -- I totally forgot to take any pictures until Red Wing’s truck had departed, so I have no picture of Red Wing, with or without me, in Deadhorse! I did remember belatedly to take some pictures of the town (which looks like a highway construction site, not a town). I have former student who do advertising and art work -- maybe one of them can insert a car wash picture of my dirty, muddy baby into one of these. I was back at my motel by evening, and the truck driver expected Red Wing to be at Outpost Honda across the street sometime Tuesday morning. I had talked with two drivers while eating at Coldfoot, and low and behold, they both worked at Carlile, I saw them both in the Deadhorse terminal, and one of them drove Red Wing’s truck to Fairbanks! 246 miles, 5744 total; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 2 countries; still 4 parks; 1 caribou; and I was not disappointed to see no grizzlies!

Tuesday, July 17, I slept in, then headed to Honda Outpost to greet Red Wing. Everyone is amazed that I actually rode the Haul Road IN RAIN AND MUD, and ALONE, but Red Wing had the muddy radiator to prove it! Around 4p.m., I gave up on delivery that day, called the terminal, made arrangements to pick up myself, took a bus, picked up Red Wing, rode quickly to a near-by car wash before she overheated, took some pix of my muddy baby, and gave her a rough and ready wash job! Then I went to Pioneer Park and the Salmon Bake (which also included cod and halibut).

24 miles, 5768 total; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 2 countries; still 4 parks; and I have Red Wing back and somewhat clean!

Wednesday, July 18, I got up early, jacked Red Wing up, cleaned and lubed the chain, repacked saddlebags, and headed east, hoping for Beaver Creek, but only reaching Tok. About 10 miles out of Fairbanks, I took some time and pictures at North Pole, AK, where it is Christmas year around, and they have two reindeer. With all the trouble I have banging my little helmet on doors and more, I have no idea how reindeer, deer, elk, moose, etc. manage to do ANYTHING with those two foot high by two foot long by four foot wide racks in the way! 220 miles, 5988 total; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 2 countries; still 4 parks Thursday, July 19, I made a stop at the back side of U.S. Customs to admire 5 classic cars regrouping -- the first of a group of 16 Model T's and 11 Model A's, which I saw off and on for the next 90 miles.

And still more and again, I was IMPRESSED with how BIG this part of the world is! One can, and does, drive for DAYS in mile after mile of pine forest that is miles deep on both sides of the road, broken by an amazing number of surprisingly large lakes and enormous rivers! The well known Yukon is not the only river up here, and it is not the biggest, either! I called it a day in Whitehorse, partly because there was no suitable stopping point for many, many miles! 394 miles, 6382 total; still 7 states; for still 2 provinces; still 4 parks Friday, July 20 I had hoped to reach to Ft. Nelson, or at least Watson Lake, but I got rain, rain, rain! My riding pants are somewhat water resistant, and absolutely windproof, and my raincoat does nicely, even if it is tight and hard to get over my jacket, but I was concerned about frostbite from that 42° breeze on my water-soaked and exposed ankles, and when I ate at Rancheria / Continental Divide and found they had a room for $54, I holed up around noon. The very long steel grate bridge over the Teslin River was AWFUL! It was bad coming north in the dry. In the rain, I rode at 10mph, and stopped to let one car by -- I did not want ANYONE behind me! And again, I went by Mukluk Annie’s because I was much to early for her salmon specialties! Bummer! 198 miles, 6580 total; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 2 countries; still 4 parks

Saturday, July 21 I realized I could wrap my feet and ankles in plastic shopping bags, and it worked beyond my wildest hopes! I had rain all morning, and while my shoes got soaked, my feet and ankles were warm and dry and completely unaware of all the wet! Watson Lake has a park of about 1 square block, COVERED with hundreds of posts holding thousands of road signs from all over the world! I headed for Ft. Nelson.

The rain quit about half-way there. The Alaska Highway from about 200 miles to 350 miles from Watson Lake (200 to 50 miles from Ft. Nelson) is a lovely up and down, curve and swoop road (except for two steel grate bridges. Red Wing has fits with them, especially when wet!).

This road showed me an incredible batch of wildlife! I quit counting, but roughly 125-150 buffalo -- a huge herd + 3 + 11 + 1; 4 caribou, 3 bears, a dozen or more sheep (I think Bighorn, but possibly Dall), a couple Dall sheep.

What marvelous “punctuation marks” to several hundred more miles of mostly pine timber, rivers, and lakes. My main cupholder brackets broke, but I got to Ft. Nelson 5 minutes before the Ace Hardware closed, and found the necessary the repair parts. It had been giving increasing trouble for several days. The last two rainy days were ugly, but I was basically enjoying myself anyway! My incomparable wife Pat and Kay Noland were/are correct as usual! -- I am addicted! This will likely be last update until I get home (this is the end of one update I was able to email in mid-trip) -- late Thursday earliest, and since that is five 600's in a row, it is a bit (to a lot) doubtful. Red Wing is just purring, and seems to be getting better fuel economy as the trip proceeds.

408 miles, 6988 total; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 4 parks; at least 150 animal sightings

Sunday, July 22, I again planned for, and got, rain! I had hoped to get to Saint George, but punted in Chetwynd, where I learned that the alternate route from Fort Nelson, which did not go to the Dawson Creek Alaska Highway Mile 0, had been flooded out earlier in the day, and Pine Pass, where I was headed, was “getting it“ as we spoke! I had gone via Dawson Creek so I could see the Markers and information at Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway, completed in a bit over 8 months in the depths of World War II. Arranged for a rather expensive ($120+tax) room in Chetwynd, then weather cleared, and I wondered if I chickened out early, then it rained more, so my punt was rewarded after all ! 370 miles, total 7358; still 7 states; still 2 provinces; still 2 countries; still 4 parks

Monday, July 23, I looked at the sky and prepared for rain with a new set of plastic bag “super-socks!“ On The Road Again (OTRA) at 0625 and “Then the Rains Came!“ (movie title) just past Pine Pass, which had gotten pasted about the time I stopped on Sunday. I closed a big Canada loop when I pulled into Prince George from the north and exited east toward Alberta and British Columbia’s FourPlex of National Parks (Jasper, Banff, Yoho, Kootenay). In McBride, where Mike and Dave spent a night a few days ago, I found a chain saw carver at my fuel stop, so took some pix, including a short video! He says one of the 18-24” or so bears takes about an hour and a half, if he is being sharp. I entered Jasper Nat. Park around 5:50 and the village of Jasper around 6:50, to be stunned by $160 motel rates! I did take a picture of “Patricia Street” and “Lake Patricia” signs. Since the weather looked acceptable to the south, I rebelled, and simply drove on, figuring the next places down the road could not be worse! But the weather could! About 20 miles out, I discovered why I had seen so many of these “Caution! High Mountain Road! Sudden Weather Changes!” signs, and the seemingly ever-present light rain re-appeared as I drove the “Ice-field Highway.” I did get a couple breaks and pix when I could keep the camera dry, but it got very dark and visibility got very short, and unlike the other rainy times, I did NOT enjoy the 2 hours it took for the last 40-50 miles to “The Crossing” at the Saskatchewan River, during which I entered Banff National Park. The motel was full. I started to continue, thought about riding alone, after midnight, in the rain and dark, and returned after about a mile. The gas station guard/attendant saw me, and graciously opened a company Chevy Van, where I spent the night reclined in the passenger seat. Ah, the joys of a roof that does not leak! 552 miles, 7900 total; +Alberta is 3 provinces; + Jasper+Banff = 6 parks; 1 chain-saw carver!

Tuesday, July 24 I woke up at 5:40 in my “Chevy Van motel” at “The (Saskatchewan River) Crossing.” I ate breakfast in their cafe, bought a couple refrigerator magnets for Athan and Allie, and headed out a bit before 8a.m. through Kootenay National Park. In Radium Hot Springs, AB, the gas pump had this MARVELOUS sticker showing where the gasoline dollar goes -- at least in Canada in 2006! 48% cost of crude oil, 35% taxes, 15% refining / marketing / transportation, and 3% total profit at all levels (except crude oil providers). I also talked with a local about my age who is originally from South America, and who in two years wants to buy a dual-sport bike -- Kawasaki KLR 650, BMW GS650 or Suzuki V-Strom, and ride to Tierra Del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. I wished him the best, but oh-so-much-better him than me! Also in Radium Hot Springs, I met two of the three riders who pulled into Yukon Bridge at the same time I did! Small world! We re-entered the U.S. at Roosville about 4:15, and Glacier National Park about 5:45 to drive the Highway to the Sun over Logan Pass. Now I know what the Bible means when it says, “the people’s hearts melted!” This is a very narrow road, and riding west to east. I had the outside lane all the way up and all the way down! All my confidence evaporated as I considered that if I fell down, that meant 50-500 feet vertical, or several hundred to several thousand feet at the angle of repose of an avalanche! I was TERRIFIED, hugging the yellow line and sometimes left of it except when meeting traffic! Not logical, but logic cannot compete with dropoffs like those! I did see two impressive Bighorn rams, and one waited to mug for my camera. At 8p.m. I settled into a motel in Browning, MT, and learned that while electric tape on shopping bags comes off quite nicely after 12 hours, it most assuredly does NOT come off so nicely after 36 hours! I still have some red borders around scabs eight days after patches of skin came off with the tape, and it looks like it will be a couple more weeks at least until I part with these not-so-nifty “souvenirs!“ 449 miles, 8349 total; +Montana = 8 states; still 3 provinces; +Kootenay NP+Glacier NP = 7 parks; 2 Bighorn rams

Wednesday, July 25 was a late start as I decided that 4 rainy days deserved a chain lube to see if that would take care of odd noises and parking lot shudder type movements, which it did. It was interesting to note that in “reasonable and proper” speed limit Montana, the Interstate is now marked 75mph, and I drove into Helena at 65 and was almost never passed! I motored into Idaho Falls about 8:30pm, DRY ALL DAY! 461 miles, 8810 total, +Idaho = 9 states; still 3 provinces; still 2 countries; still 7 parks.

Thursday, July 26 was WOW! A second day in a row with no rain! Red Wing and I hardly knew how to act! And 75ph was slow south of Idaho Falls! Entering Utah at 9a.m., we successfully found the UT 30 turn to Logan - - no notation for Utah State University(?). We arrived in Logan a bit after 10, and began the adventure of: a)finding this almost unmarked university, and b) finding Ski-Hi Institute, which the guard I got directions from was not up to date on! I found his five years out of date location, but it was a different specialty branch of the University, they had never heard of Ski-Hi, and it took awhile to find a phone book with a map, which they could not read, but I could! Finally found the correct parking lot, building, floor, and people about 11. Bess Dennison, the person I e-mail correspond with, was out of state giving presentations, so Fran Payne, Sue Watkins, Beth Gill and I gabbed awhile, then they took me to the “source” for locally famed “Aggie Ice Cream” (very good) and a barbeque sandwich (also most worthy). I followed US 89, which is as lovely as Fran and Sue said it is, to I-15 and went zooming through the entire Salt Lake City metro area at 75mph, stopping at Riverside Inn, Moab, UT. There is some truly desolate country west of Moab -- it makes our semi-aridt eastern NM look like the Garden of Eden! The only signs of “life” visible to motorists are fences which means there must be something alive around here! 485 miles, 9295 total, +Utah = 10 states; still 3 provinces, still 2 countries; still 7 parks

Friday, July 27, with a long day staring me in the face, and wanting to get home at a decent hour so we would have the option of visiting children and grandchildren on Saturday to Tuesday, I started early again! More road construction on US 191 to Monticello, then construction warning signs for US 491 before I even got to it! Wow! Did the first part of 491 ever need it! Worst paved road of the trip! This must have been the last of it, as the construction started almost immediately, and after I got out of it, the road was quite nice. I easily found my change to US 64 in Shiprock, NM, but my change to NM 44 in Bloomfield was another adventure story! I saw a sign for Albuquerque, but it was on NM 550, so I went on. I got nervous, and stopped for information. NM 44 has been renumbered to 550! Fortunately I had checked quickly and only had to backtrack about 2 miles.

I then took advantage of the 75mph limit on I-25S and I-40E. I saw a neat custom trike and matching trailer at my lunch stop in Bernalillo, ran into the owner inside and talked with him a bit. As I approached 100 miles from home, and Santa Rosa, my last significant highway change landmark, my faithful stopgap windshield decided it had had enough 75mph, and with a soft “pop,” gently folded itself back against my water cup just 112 miles from home, after 6128 faithful miles, over half the trip! The fragment was too large to stow aboard, so I went to a conveniently located storm drain in the median, and neatly laid it flat on the concrete margin, where it should stay put, perhaps until a mowing crew picks it up. A final fuel stop and light meal at Love’s in Santa Rosa, and a phone call home so Pat would know when to expect me, and I was on the final leg! Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) is still correct, “There’s no place like HOME!” as I arrived at 7:35pm.

579 miles, 9874 total; 26 days; HOME; +Colorado = 11 states; 3 provinces; still 2 countries & 7 parks 9874 miles; 26 days; 380 mi./day; 11 states; 3 provinces; 2 countries; 7 parks; about 200 animals.

It was interesting to notice that the further north I went, the more bikes there were! In places, it was almost all recreational vehicles (motor homes, travel trailers, pickup campers) and motorcycles! It was almost as if Alaska is a sort of pilgrimage for motorcyclists! Mostly Harleys, a lot of dualsports (Kawasaki KLR, BMW GS, Suzuki V-Strom), many touring bikes doubled up.

I only saw at most a half-dozen crotch rockets, and Red Wing and I were the ONLY small tourers except for Dave’s Silver Wing! Summary: Darryl’s Grand Adventure: 26 days, 9874 miles, 380 miles per day. Odometer is 2% high, by GPS, so true miles are about 9675±.

THE QUESTION: Can one tour on a 500? Absolutely! I was never stiff, never sore, my sometimes balky back never twinged. Red Wing mowed down 6% slopes in 6th gear and 11% (I had never seen one of these before) in 5th to 6000 feet. Higher than that, 5th gear ate up everything! Running at any legal speed was routine. 50-52mpg seems to be improving. Red Wing (OE front tire, Metzler 880 rear) despises steel grate bridges, especially when wet, but as a street bike with street tires under a street rider, she went gently and slip-free up the entire muddy Haul Road until deep loose gravel in the road construction. The radiator needs better mud shielding.

Could my originally planned Honda 250 Rebel, “Baby Wing,” or a Ninja 250 or other 250 do this? Easily.

Do tourists need 1-2000cc, 700 pound, $10-25,000 bikes? No.

They are over-budget, over-weight, overkill.

Other observations 700 mile days are possible, but brutal.

600 mile days are livable, one at a time.

400-450 mile days repeated maximum work pretty well; more than that can be a bit much.

Shorten this if you wish to take lots of pictures, or read all the historical markers, or hike.

300-350 mile days work better for hikes and pictures and markers, and an overall average.

This trip averaged 380, and was all that I would want! Mesh jackets WITH the liner (at least First Gear) will keep you fairly dry in light rain. After several hours, the jacket and liner was soaked, my lined flannel shirt under it was wet, but everything under that was dry.

In very hot weather (Mojave Desert), keep the liner in your mesh jacket.

Insulation keeps heat out as well as in, and it keeps your arms out of that 65 mph, 100+ degree convection oven! Plastic shopping bags and RUBBER BANDS make great rain gear for feet and ankles. Tape MUST be removed in not over 14 hours.

Initial packing for saddlebags should be NOT FULL. You need spare room for less-than-efficient packing, souvenirs, short term items like snacks.

Basic tools, especially if they are needed for cargo access, should be easy to get at.

Take only what you are pretty sure you will need. Remember Dear Abby’s advice: “Take half the clothing and twice the money.” ROLL daily changes (socks, underwear) together – it is more compact.

Pack these items vertically, so you can pull one out without disturbing the entire contents.

Underwear can be washed in a motel room, but probably will not dry overnight. Consider a screened enclosure on a sissy bar or back rest where you can put wet items and dry them on the road.

If you get pictures made from your digital camera touse as postcards, get several of very few items. Then you do not have to wonder if you have already sent this picture to that person. Get one picture, all copies of a given picture the same day, and don’t use it again. (I sent two alike to my wife, and Io nly got 4 sent to anyone because it was hard to find a store with the equipment when I had the time to dawdle waiting for them to be made.) DON’T LET ANYONE STOP YOU FROM YOUR OWN DREAM OF THIS NATURE! Many parts of this trip did not work out quite as planned, but it was MARVELOUS, and I WILL NEVER FORGET IT! - Darryl Petrak and Red Wing