Arctic Ride

I arrived home, and parked the bike in my garage at 3:20 this afternoon. Total miles: 10,416 in 20 days elapsed time. Actual riding days: 15. I had days (or partial days) off in Boise ID, Seattle WA, Hyder AK, Dawson City YT and Nashville TN. So when riding, I averaged 694 miles per day. I wasn’t fooling around. I can tell you this undertaking has given me a newfound respect for the people who participate in the bi-annual Iron Butt Rally. Those people ride an average of 11,000 miles over 11 days.

When I add in the projected donation match from my employer, Measurement Specialties, the total amount raised will be a little more than $14,000. Thanks to all of you who made that happen.

Today was one of the hardest days of riding I had. The combination of being ready to ’be done’, the total miles traveled over the entire trip, and the traffic on I-64 combined to make it a difficult day. Riding down I-64 in Virginia, makes me long for the ’traffic’ in Montana, Wyoming and up in the Yukon. I also had a bit of a ’wake-up call’ with the heat here in Virginia. I had not experienced temperatures above 80 degrees during the trip until I got back to Virginia. Speaking of weather, while I rode through some pretty heavy rain, all in all, I had very good weather. I never got snowed on. I was hailed on twice. I was never really hot until today. Despite the high price of gas, if you get the chance to take a road trip to Alaska and the northwest of Canada, take it. Allow yourself more time than I took, so you can stop often and get off the beaten path.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the people at Motel 6. The provided lodging for me anywhere there was a Motel 6. That was every night in the USA with the exception of the 2 nights I spent with my mother in Nashville, TN. I can honestly say I did not have a negative experience at a Motel 6. While some locations are nicer than others, every location was clean and the staff friendly. Some Motel 6 locations are nicer and more ’upscale’ than others, but that is true of every motel chain. I will certainly be spending more nights in Motel 6 locations.

Thank all of you for your support and good wishes. I had a great time making the ride and writing this blog. I hope I was able to give you some idea of what I saw and experienced. God bless all of you, thank you, and goodbye.

Terry.

This is my last night on the road, and I am in Bristol, VA. Those of you who follow NASCAR, will recognize that name. For those who don’t follow NASCAR, Bristol is in the far southwest corner of Virginia. I’m about 6 hours from Yorktown, and should be home in time for a late lunch tomorrow. I left my mother’s house in Nashville, TN today about 1:30 pm and headed for home. I was well ahead of schedule for the return to Yorktown, and took the opportunity to swing by Nashville and visit with my mother, sister and her family. It was a great time. My nephew, Jared, and I got to go see the new Indiana Jones movie on Tuesday. I recommend it.

Nothing much exciting today other than the big rain while going through Knoxville, TN. I don’t understand why so many drivers don’t understand that you need to slow down a little when it is raining really hard. Once again my new riding clothes worked great and kept me dry. Way to go First Gear.

I expect to be home tomorrow, and that will bring this great adventure to a close. I want to thank those who have followed the ride and offered support and kind words. All those emails of encouragement were a great help. You kept my spirits and my enthusiasm level high. This entire undertaking has been about raising awareness and support for kids and their families that are fighting brain tumors. Whatever minor inconvenience and discomfort I have experienced, pale in comparison to these kids and their families. If you have contributed to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF), thank you. If you have not, please consider making a donation. These guys are an "A" rated charity, who get the $$$ where it needs to go.

If you have ever wanted to visit Alaska or the Yukon, all I can say is GO. Everyone I met was friendly and seemed genuinely glad I was there. The opportunities to see wildlife are vast and frequent, and these are things you will not often see in the USA. The distances in NW Canada are much larger than what we USA natives realize. Roughly, Canada is the same size N to S as the continental USA. What you have to remember is that there are no ’interstate highways’ and you don’t go directly north. Rather you go diagonally NW. This means that it takes longer to travel the same distance when heading for the far northwest.

The ride to the Arctic Circle was much more difficult that I expected. I now realize that I really don’t like riding on gravel and dirt.

I’ll post one more entry tomorrow. After that, it’s back to work. Signing off from Bristol, VA.

After my ’water adventure’ last night, I was glad to see that everything had dried out by this morning. I slept in and got a bit of a late start. I am running almost 2 full days ahead of schedule, so I have decided to swing by Nashville, TN to visit my mother. It’s only a few miles further to return to Yorktown via Nashville than by the most direct route.

Today was another mixed weather day. I got up a little late and was happy to see it was not raining. It looked like the front had passed through. So I packed the bike and headed east. Gradually the weather warmed, and eventually started clearing. Just before I got to St. Louis, the sky has cleared to blue and it’s actually getting HOT. This is the first time I have been able to say I am actually HOT since I crossed into Kansas on the way west. I think I failed to take the most direct route through St Louis. There were multiple warnings about closed interstates, so I elected to go around and hopefully avoid sitting in stopped traffic. Well, that part worked, I was able to maintain 60 mph all the way around town. But, I think I may have taken the long way around. No problem, I happened upon a great little place called ’Arbys’, and they had a great Prime Rib/Burger sandwich. If you ever get through East St. Louis, I recommend it.

Across I-64 into middle Illinois and then south on I-57. Just before I turned east onto I-24, it started raining again. I thought I may get lucky and make the turn east before the heavy stuff started. Silly me. Once again I am in rain that would strangle a frog. I duck under an overpass to wait it out, and this wait is only about 10 minutes. 15 miles later I turn east onto I-24 and within another 10 miles, the sun is out again. Before long I can say I am officially getting HOT again.

Again today I failed as a photographer. Nothing really eye-catching to take a picture of. Tomorrow I think I’ll take my nephews to the movies, and the go watch one of them bowl. My chance to be the ’fun uncle’.

As of this afternoon, I have logged 9400 miles in 18 days, and there were 3 days off during that time, so let’s call it 15 days. That’s an average of 626 miles a day. Not to bad. I won’t be posting a blog entry tomorrow ( Tuesday, June 10). Check back on Wed, June 11.

I left Rapid City, SD in cool but nice weather. In fact I had continually improving weather most of the day. For the first 10 hours, the ride was very uneventful. South Dakota has lots of cattle. Heading east across I-90, I probably saw more cattle that I have seen anywhere. There were lots in Montana but not as many as SD. Had pretty good luck finding radio stations to listen to as well.

About lunch time I stopped just west of Souix City for gas and took advantage of the Taco Bell for something to eat. It was warming slightly, so I was able to loose a layer. I found the NASCAR race on the radio, but as you can imagine, I had to hunt for it again about every 45 minutes, as I would run out of the stations coverage area. Surprisingly I was able to quickly find another station. A little ways into Iowa, the temperature made another jump and I stopped to remove another layer. This is the lightest I have been dressed in over a week. Feels great. But I’m not really looking forward to the 100+ temps at home in Yorktown.

Not long after crossing into Missouri, I can see storm clouds developing to the SouthSouthWest. I know KC has been dealing with big storms for several days, and the local radio station is only reinforcing that, and telling me they are still around. Oh great! Well my new riding clothes and boots are advertised as 100% waterproof. This may be the real test. I’ve been rained on several times on this trip so far, but none have been the ’frog drowners’ that are associated with the storms the mid-west has been seeing.

As I get closer to the I-435 loop that will take me around the NE side of KC, the roads get wet, but so far so good. I must be running right between the squawl lines. Just about the time I turn onto I-435 heading E, it starts to rain. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get the Blue Springs, MO before the worst arrives. HA, maybe I’ll win the lottery.

Here’s a tip for any radio announcers reading this. If you are giving weather advisories, don’t just say the county affected, give some idea where that county is located. There are probably people from outside the local area listening (as passing through your listening area) and they would really appreciate knowing that ’Jackson County’ is on the NE side of Kansas City (as and example).

Within a couple of minutes the rain increases and fast. Soon it’s pouring hard, and the cross wind picks up. To make a long story short, in the next hour or so, I rode through some of the hardest rain I have EVER ridden through. In the 30 or so miles from the I-29/I-435 junction to exit 20 on I-70, I stopped under an overpass at least 4 times. The lightning show was fantastic, but just a little too close for when riding a motorcycle. This was one scary ride.

Let me offer a few tips for you to remember the next time you are driving your car in the rain, and come upon a motorcyclist trying to ’fight’ his way through the nasty weather. 1) Don’t crowd him. Besides being a bit ’on-edge’, he doesn’t have the ability to conduct evasive maneuvers as quickly as normal when the roads are slick. Skids for him are much more likely and dangerous than they are for you in that car. 2) After you pass him, don’t pull right back in front of him. That spray off your tires carries MUCH farther back than you think. Give him a good 1/4 mile before pulling back over. He doesn’t have windshield wipers, and that spray can create a virtual whiteout. 3) Don’t tailgate him either. He’s probably going slower than you, and it’s for a good reason (see #1) hopefully he’s in the far right lane. 4) Don’t get right along side him and stay there. Give that rider a break (and one less thing to worry about) and get away from him.

I can report that the First Gear jacket and pants, as well as the TCX boots are 100% water proof. When I finally arrived at the Motel 6, I was dripping, but underneath I was dray as could be. This stuff is amazing. I am now an evangelist and will tell every rider I know. If you want to stay dry, ride in this gear.

Sorry there are no pictures today, but I just didn’t see much that was ’photo worthy’. Maybe my standards have been inflated after the far north. Anyway, I’m letting the rain pass through, then I plan to use the day or so I am ahead of schedule, and head for Nashville, TN for a day to visit my mother. Then head for Yorktown, getting home, as planned on Thursday.

I left Great Falls, MT this morning, expecting a fairly uneventful day. Lot of miles with nothing much to see. I was mistaken and in for a pleasant surprise. Before I talk about that, I want to compliment the Motel 6 in Great Falls. It’s a really nice place to stay. A very large room with the fastest, most reliable internet connection I have had so far on the trip.

Leaving Great Falls, I headed west on US87, I passed an Air Force base, but didn’t catch the name of it. I noticed several Humvees meeting me, heading west. I wondered where they were coming from. As I continued east, I noticed some strange looking ’farm houses’. After a while it occurred to me that these weren’t farm houses, but Air Force installations. I am fairly certain I stumbled on a missile base. I’m not sure what got my attention. or convinced my these are not farm houses. Was it 1) the color of the buildings, 2) the antennes or 3) the barbed wire fence?

Not far from this ’house’, I passed a beefaloe farm, but was past it before I could get a picture. Leaving Great Falls, the terrain was mostly flat with a VERY strong west to east wind. Lucky for me I was headed due east, so I had a nice tail wind. That changed when I turned south, and provided some interesting riding. This is ’cow country’. Lots and lots of cows. Miles and miles of range land. I can’t imagine what it must be like out here in east/central Montana when the snow if flying.

While I was riding along through central Montana, I scan the radio for something to listen to. What do I find on the AM band, but ’cowboy country’ and an interview with Harey Carey, Jr. He is a famous character actor from the days of good cowboy movies. He stared with John Wayne in numerous movies. If you want to see some examples of his work, check out any of: ’The Searchers’ (best western ever made), ’She Wore a Yellow Ribbon’ or ’Fort Apache’. There are numerous others, but these are all good ones.

Eventually I got to Billings, MT, picked up I-90 and headed south toward Wyoming. The road turns east at Buffalo, WY and suddenly I notice there are deer/elk/antelope in all the fields alongside the interstate. I have no idea if these critters are deer, elk or antelope, but there were hundreds of them intermixed with the cows.

Sorry about the picture, but this is the closest I could get to one. About mile mark 50, the Interstate drops to 1 lane in each direction, and it starts raining. I’ve been dodging between rain clouds most of the day, no big deal, but now it starts HAILING. What’s up with that? And these things hurt. The good news is that I can see clear blue sky ahead of me. Within 10 miles I run out of the rain and hail. Next stop was Devil’s Tower National Monument, the very first National Monument. This is the mountain from ’Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. If you haven’t seen that movie, you need to rent it. It is really a neat place to see.

And just incase you think I pulled this picture off the internet,

On the ride from Devil’s Tower to Rapid City, SD I rode through some beautiful country.

Fred and I should have taken this ’side trip’ when we rode from Evansville IN, to Eugene OR back in 1988. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, but skipped Devil’s Tower on that ride. Tomorrow’s plan is to head east across South Dakota on I-90, and then south on I-29 to Kansas City, MO for the night. I think there may be some BarBQ in my future for dinner tomorrow night. That’s it for today.

Well I made it back into the USA today. I crossed the border into Sweatgrass Montana, at 4:28PM MDT. Trip mileage at time of border crossing: 7669. Tonight I’m staying in Great Falls, MT. Total miles so far: 7789.

It was raining when I got up this morning. That makes it hard to get excited about jumping on the motorcycle. It’s one thing to be riding along and have it start raining. It’s a completely different thing to START in the rain. That said, it is much less difficult now that I have boots, pants & jacket that are 100% waterproof. I no longer worry about getting wet. I can’t say enough good things about the First Gear jacket & pants, and the TCX boots. They really take out the discomfort of riding in wet weather.

Most of the day was spent riding down major roads in Canada, and then down I-15 after crossing the border. I didn’t get any pictures in Canada, until I was well south of Calgary (when it stopped raining). Edmonton & Calgary are really large towns. It was a stark contrast to the "towns" I’ve been in where there are 3-6 buildings total. I stopped to get gas just south of Calgary, and finally ate at an A&W. I have seen many of them throughout Canada, but never stopped. This time there was one in the gas station (like McDonald’s, Subway, KFC etc are in the USA), and it was a good time for lunch. Did you know you can get a diet coke at A&W? I just figured you’d get a root beer by default. I was mistaken.

As I neared the border, the Canadian Rockies swing east and can be seen from the road I was traveling. Not sure how visible the mountains will be in the picture, but it was really nice in person.

The border crossing was pretty uneventful. I waited a total of 19 minutes.

While sitting in line waiting to cross, I discovered a little secret that Angela and Lynne have been hiding (it’s a work joke):

After crossing the border, the cross wind picked up and was a constant 25-30 MPH. I spent the next 80 miles with the bike leaned over to the right at a 10 degree angle. Passing big trucks proved to be a ’exciting’ undertaking. Strong cross wind, suddenly NOTHING, followed by strong cross wind. That will keep you alert.

Tomorrow I head for Wyoming. Most of the day will be spent off the interstate riding two lane US highways. That’s it for today. Gotta go do some laundry. Don’t want to stink-up ’big sky’ country.

Well, internet access seems to be something I am not destined to have at this time. Eventually, I’ll get this entry posted, but I don’t know exactly when that will be.

I spent my birthday, June 3rd, as an ’off day’, and I had a great time. I have never experienced a town of more friendly people than Dawson City. I was treated to free ice cream because it was my birthday. Had I known that was coming, I’d have gotten more than 2 scoops If any of you are ever in Dawson City, I’d highly recommend the Downtown Hotel. They are really noce people. I also was "comp’ed" for dinner as an ’atta boy’ for this ride. These folks are really nice. The people in every store I visited were courteous and an joy to talk to.

I departed Dawson City, Yukon at 6:15 the morning of June 4. Generally the day was uneventful, and full of miles. I spent the night at Liard Hot Springs Hotel. A little out of the way place in the middle of BC. A small room that was significantly overpriced. But when you are the only option for about 100 miles, you have some leeway in pricing. During the ride to the hotel, I did spot some wildlife. A bear, a couple of buffalo and a moose.

I was up early on the 5th, and left Laird at 5:30, heading toward Edmonton. I didn’t really expect to get there, but I wanted to get close. Well, I did. I am spending tonight in Whitecourt, Alberta, about 105 miles from Edmonton. If you’ve never visited scenic Whitecourt, don’t bother. Not much here, and what there is, isn’t that exciting.

Today, June 5, was cold and rainy for most of the day. I guess it’s my fault, I washed the bike before leaving Dawson. You know how a clean vehicle attracts rain. That coupled with long miles of mostly nothing, made for a very long day. All of the ’excitement’ happened early. More bear, buffalo and then elk and ramhorn deer. But after the wildlife, it was extreme monotony. I never thought I could become used to seeing spectacular mountain scenes, but I did today. After I got out of the mountains, it was mile after mile of emptiness. Canada is one big place. Several times it was hours between any sign of civilization. When I finally got to Dawson Creek (where the Alaska Highway starts) I finally felt I was back into civilization. Farms, pastures and cultivated fields. I haven’t seen these since I left the USA about a week ago.

Tomorrow, June 6, I will re-enter the USA, at Sweetgrass, Montana. From there it’s down I-15 to Great Falls, MT. Right now I am about 1.5 days ahead of schedule. We’ll see if I can maintain that advantage. Great Falls is 616 miles from Whitecourt. Not an extremely hard day (based on miles), but nothing to take for granted. If all goes well, I’ll have time to do some laundry tomorrow night.

I am reminded that tomorrow is the anniversary of D-Day. The Canadians, played a major role in the Normandie landings, specifically on Juno Beach. This is a day we should all remember, and say thank you to a member of that generation.

After the day I had yesterday on the Dempster Hwy, I decided to take a day off in honor of my birthday (today). What a great idea. I washed the bike, had some ice cream, had a couple of drinks with the locals and just generally enjoyed the day and the glorious weather. The locals tell me it should be a lot hotter this time of year. I never thought about it getting really hot this far north. Obviously I need to get out more.

Since I put a grand total of maybe 10 miles on the bike today, not much to report in that area. I did decide to ’refresh’ the oil using the BG additive treatment they donated. The idea is to add the 11oz can without overfilling the crankcase. That means you have to get 11oz of oil out, then add the contents of the can. Sounds easy, right? Well the only way I had to get 11oz of oil out was to loosen the drain plug, catch the oil in a container and then tighten the drain plug before more oil ’escapes’. You see a problem forming right!? Well everything was going along fine until I dropped the drain plug and a gust of wind (they get some doozies here), and all of a sudden I have more like 3 qts of oil out instead of the planned/desired 11oz. Good thing I’m in the parking lot of the NAPA store. Buy 3 qts of oil and I have effectively changed the oil. I figure the additive can makes up for the dirty oil still in the filter. Actually that is the biggest problem of the day. Hard to beat a day like that. eh?

The lady at the Ice Cream store is treating birthday people to free ice cream, so I win there also. The bike is sorta clean again, and I have not met a crabby person all day. I’m about to get a ’free drink’ in the hotel bar, again because it’s my birthday (I gotta have these more often). Like I said, hard to describe a better day.

I plan an early start in the morning, leaving Dawson City about 6am. Working plan is to ride to Watson Lake, BC arriving about 12 hours later. But I don’t have a firm plan. I’m still ahead of schedule thanks to yesterday (has to be some bright spot about that day from hell) so I have no pressure. I’ll tell more tales about the Dempster when I return to Yorktown. But if you ever hear of someone planning to go up there, have them talk to me first.

I can’t say enough good things about Dawson City and the people who live here. What a pleasant place. I guess that is somewhat to be expected since they depend on tourists, but this place really lives friendliness and hospitality. I’m sure the Brockman’s will second my nomination for this town as one of the nicest places to visit I’ve ever seen.

Well there is a "SourToe Cocktail" with my name on it in the bar, so I gotta go. Ask me about this when you see me. I’m sure to have to entire story then. All I know is that these are one of the ’big things’ here in Dawson City.

TaTa For Now……

Note: 3 days have been posted now that my web page hosting service is back online. They have a fire in the computer room and were offline. That is why you couldn’t get to my website and I have not posted blog entries for a couple of days. Scroll down and read the previous days first.

This morning I left the hotel at 6:10 heading for the Arctic Circle. After the great day yesterday, I have changed my plan again and decided to make the trip up to the circle and back to Dawson City all in one day. I had originally planned to leave here and ride to the circle, then spend the night in Eagle Plains. I would then make the return trip down the Dempster Hwy and turn east on the Klondike and spend that night in Whitehorse. I’ve decided to come back to Dawson City and send the night of the 2nd here, and then head east on June 3 (my birthday). That will put me a full 1.5 days ahead of schedule. So I pack just what I want to the days journey, and leave everything else at the hotel. This gives me lots of room on the bike, and takes about 40 pounds of weight off. NOTE: I have not linked to the full size pictures for this post because I have a bandwidth limit at this hotel, and I don’t want to exceed it. Full size photos (6 mega pixel) will be available when I get home. I have lots more that are not included in these posts.

I get gas at the Dempster Junction store and turn left onto the Dempster Hwy. Sign says I have 254 miles to the Arctic Circle (I converted from kilometers). 2 miles in the gravel starts. Noce hard packed base, almost like asphalt with a lite scattering of gravel. Closely resembles a normal highway when they are ’oiling and graveling’ just after they roll the gravel. If this is what I can expect, this is going to be much easier than I thought. It’s NOT. a few more miles and the gravel gets deeper. It thins again and becomes intermittant good road where I can ride 55 with no problem, and then goes back to thicker gravel where 35 is more like it. About 50 miles it, my odometer turns over 100,000. I stopped for picture, but I’m sure none of you really care, so I won’t include that picture. The scenery is spectacular in this section. I am riding in a valley with mountains on both sides, and I run up the mountain on the west side from time to time, and then back down into the valley.

The terrain is almost desert like. I keep expecting to see cactus growing around the next corner. The trees are the skinniest most spindly fir trees I have ever seen. As I progress, the underbrush will disappear and it will be just the trees and underlying grass. The gravel starts to become more the norm, and my progress slows markedly. At this pace, I am looking at 6 hours to the Circle and then 6 more back. This is going to be a long day. The scenery just gets more spectacular. About 50 miles south of the Circle, I come across and area that has obviously burned.I never thought about forest fires, but I guess they occur in all forests. As I ride along the burned area stretches for at least 10 miles. Sometimes on one side of the road, as if the road acted as a firebreak. Other times on both sides of the road. The regrown grass indicates it’s been awhile since the fire, and in some areas, regrowth of larger plants is starting. This makes me think there have been several fires over the years. The extremely short growing season means it probably takes longer for things to recover (but that’s just my guess). I pass Eagle Plains, and that means I am about 23 miles from the circle. Finally I arrive. It’s about 12:40pm PDT (that’s 3:40 pm for those of you reading in Yorktown, VA). I take a bunch of pictures to document my arrival, and of the kiosk that makes the spot.After about 30 minutes here I remount and head SOUTH. Eagle Plains is where I get gas for the return trip and stop to have lunch. I meet another rider coming along behind me heading for Inuvik, another 300+ miles north, where the road ENDS. He’s on a bike made for this kind of road. I am NOT. The ride to the Arctic Circle and then back to Dawson City is the hardest thing I have ever done on a motorcycle. Nothing else comes close. If anyone else thinks about taking a big heavy touring motorcycle up there, I would recommend AGAINST IT. I scared myself half to death a number of times. I have a couple of blisters on my hands from gripping the handlebars so tight for so long. When I got back to Dawson City about 9:45, I called home to let everyone know I was back safe, but I was exhausted. Therefore my plan has changed again. I’ll be spending one extra day here in Dawson to rest and clean the bike before I start the trip home. A good night’s sleep will help and this is supposed to be my vacation, not a complete ordeal. Dawson City was the heart of the Klondike Goal Rush in the 1890’s. I think I’ll do a little sightseeing. I’ll still be a day ahead of schedule, and what the heck, June 3 is my birthday. I’ll just call it a present to myself.

This morning I left Hyder at 4:30, heading north toward Dawson City, Yukon. For the first time this trip, I’m riding with someone. I met Chuck, from Daytona Beach, FL at HyderSeek, and he is heading to Fairbanks, AK and the Dalton Hwy. The Dalton (sometimes called the Haul Road) is the ’other’ road in North America that crosses the Arctic Circle. Because we are heading in the same general direction, and both like to get an early start, we’re leaving together.

On the road out of Hyder, back to the Cassiar Hwy, we see lots of ’scat’ on the road. You would know this as bear poop. No bears, just lots of poop. So I think the correct answer to the old question: "does a bear poop in the woods?", would be NO, they poop on the road. At this time of morning, it’s not light yet, but it’s not dark either, but light enough that headlights are not really needed. A beautiful time of day. It is a bit chilly (as expected) and I have my electric pants and jacket liners on and working. When we get to the Cassiar junction, both of us stop to put on our electric gloves. They are bulkier than normal riding gloves and we tried to avoid them, but…. no reason to be uncomfortable. More bear ’evidence’ on the road, and then I see my first live bear of the trip. He’s on the road ahead (pooping no doubt) and jumps into the brush as we approach. We stop to take a picture a little later and Chuck has seen several more than me. He’s out front, and they jump back into the woods before I get there. By the time we stop for gas in Dease Lake, I have spotted 5 bear, a moose, a gray wolf and something that looked like a mink, but neither of were sure what it was. The moose was just walking down the middle of the road in front of us and in no big hurry to yield. No problem for us, we just waiting for him. With the big heated gloves, working the camera is not gonna happen, so there is no photographic proof to offer, sorry. About 50 miles north of Dease Lake, Chuck pulls over with rear tire that is just about flat. No problem, out comes the plug kit and my new little compressor. 45 minutes later, and 2 plugs. we are on our way again. He actually got 2 rocks to penetrate at the same time on opposite sides of the tire, what are the odds of that? Chuck is also using a SPOT to track progress, but he is not using the "automatic" tracking, he just presses the "OK" button every hour on the hour. Too much to remember for me

We reach the Alaska Hwy just before noon and turn west. About 12:30 we pass Rancheria Lodge, my planned stop for the night (how was I so far off?). I make a quick stop to tell them I won’t be staying there tonight and we’re back on the road. We made phenomenal time up the Cassiar, that’s why my plan is now toast. The Cassiar hwy (until the last 50 miles) is really smooth, with long sweeping corners that just begs for speed. We ablidged. The Alaska Hwy is not nearly as scenic as the Cassiar, and there is much more traffic, so wildlife is not to be seen. However, we do finally cross into the Yukon. This road becomes make miles while enjoying the view. We stop for gas and lunch in Teslin and meet a Harley Rider heading home from Alaska, and have a nice talk. We also start to think about where we will be parting company, and where each of us plans to spend the night. Chuck is planning to make Destruction Bay (still in Canada), then Fairbanks tomorrow and put on a new rear tire. I will turn north onto the ’Klondike Loop’ when we reach Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory. We get there about 4pm and I wave goodbye to Chuck. He was good to ride with. We kept about the same speed, I just had to stop sooner for gas. He also has an aux fuel tank, but he gets better gas mileage and carries 1.5 gals more gas. He didn’t mind at all.

The Klondike Loop takes me up to Carmacks and I stop to get gas and start thinking about where I’ll spend tonight. After consulting my map, I decide to press on to Dawson City. If I get there tonight, I’ll be a full day ahead of schedule. That’s 2 days of the plan in 1 day. I get to Dawson about 9:30 and I’m ready to stop. Today’s total miles: 985 in 17 hours. The longest day of the trip by over 100 miles, but with the speeds we were able to cruise at, and the tiny amount of traffic, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Tomorrow, the Dempster Hwy to the Arctic Circle.