Can an FJR1300 make it up the Dalton Highway?

[MotoStrap]

The 2nd half of Day 2

The 2nd half of Day 2 was quite eventful. After arriving in Mercier, Quebec, I made my way down the main drag towards Ken’s house where I had tent space for the night. There is much construction going on and the roads have several detours. Ken sent me detailed instructions on how to get to his house. I was relaying on the GPS and I wrote down the instructions in my little note book for future reference.

I turned down Salabury Boulevard and it came to a steel gate across the roadway.

The GPS put me where I was supposed to be but for some reason, it just wasnt clicking in my head that I had arrived near his house. I was thinking that I had to come in the south way to get around the gate and that his house was on the other side of it. I pulled a U-turn and pulled off the side of the roadway. The roadway was pitched to the right, but that wasn’t clicking with me either. I put the kickstand down and started to get off the bike on the right side.

Well of course as I did this, the bike tipped over to the right and fell down on the tarmac! My tank bag spilled all of its contents out on the ground and a small amount of gas got out also. As I tried to hold the bike up a bit I could also see that the right side mirror was broken on the stalk....great......

I tried several times to lift the bike on my own but but it was way too heavy. I undid the two helen 2 wheel bags strapped to the rear seat and laid them on the ground. Then I did what any self respecting ADV rider would do........I grabbed my camera and began documenting the “incident”....all angles and views...

Next thing was set the video camera up to get a movie of me trying to lift the bike. I set the camera up on the other side of the roadway and just as I was about to try again, a car pulled up with a nice french couple inside. Apparently they were driving by on the main road and looked down seeing me on the ground with the bike and they drove down to help! I didn’t catch their names, but he was wearing a Yamaha Racing Shirt, his girlfriend was a tall good looking lady. When they pulled up they started talking to me in french, which I immediately answered in english, yes please help me

So with his help and her encouragement we righted the bike and had a good laugh about it. I told him that I was looking for Ken’s house and I thought that it was past the gate. The frenchman said that he owned property farther down the same road, and that he would go a find Ken’s house for me. We talked a bit more and he backed up his car 30 feet and said that Ken’s house was right there....on the same side of the fence I was on........duh!

How I could have missed that I had no idea!

I thanked then a bunch and they were on the way. After I inspected the bike and saw that the major damage was only the mirror stalk, I was fine. There are some scratches on the side fairing, the rear right pannier and the frame slider was also damaged, but it did its job.

So taking my broken mirror, which was still attached, I got on the bike and made my way up to Ken’s house, 30 feet away.....

Ken greeted me in the driveway along with his two dogs, Molly and Moose. We chatted for a bit and then began mending the broken right side mirror. Ken suggested that I drill two small holes in the mirror stalk and then metal wire it back together, pulling it closed. First I needed to put it in a vice and hammer it back into place. Its made of a metal frame with plastic molded over it. So after doing a little bit of hammering, I drilled the holes and we used some 30 pound metal wire and threaded it between the holes, pulling it back into shape. I then used some of my metal/steel epoxy putty, mixed it together and filled the cracks where it connected. It isn’t pretty, but I think it will hold the trip until I get back.

After the mending, Ken and I spent a bit of time chatting about bikes, his farm, the kids, etc. We had a splendid time.

Tomorrow, I am off to Montreal for the Formula 1 race, about 8 miles away. The weather is a bit rainy tonight and I am hoping that Sunday will be a nice day for the race.

Full Text with Pics HERE

 

[Bounce]

Yeesh! This is why I don't do foreign travel! :lol: Nice report, looking forward to the coming installments! Hope your ride gets better.... it has to, right? :huh:

beats the 3 hours it took to clear customs during the original NWPassage rally. YEESH!

 

[MotoStrap]

Day 3: Woke up early, around 0530 hours. Had coffee and talked with ken for a bit before I got packed up for the ride to Montreal for the F1 race. Ken went over the route and where I should park the bike. Basically, I was going to follow AutoRoute 30 to Autoroute 15 and then get off an exit by the metro, park the bike inside and then metro over to the race track. When I started off around 9 or 10 am, it was not raining but the sky's were overcast. I started down Autoroute 15 and some how got confused and ended up on the wrong side of the Montreal. I pulled off the first exit with every intention of just turning around and getting back on the autoroute.

​

As I came to the end of the exit, there were police cadets directing traffic. So I motioned to on of them and yelled I am going to pull over. She replied "why?"........"BECAUSE I AM LOST"..... She was very helpful and directed me to a parking area just around the corner, no attendant and free. I pulled the bike up in back of a small pump house and parked next to a guy from Tennessee who had a bike there too. Now I had to find a spot to put all my gear and change over to street clothes....... and I marked the GPS and SPOT where I left the bike. I routed a large cable through my bags, helmet and riding jacket, then used my pink handcuffs to secure everything.

 

​

I walked a short way and eventually grabbed a taxi, which ended up being $15 for 2 miles of travel. I was closer to the track then I thought. As we got close he said "ok I am going to pull a U-Turn in the middle of the road, they (police) don't like that so just jump out quick".......fine with me.......

So after the u-turn, I jump out and walk to the gate......where I can't buy a ticket. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.......the security gal says I have to walk back to the metro, where they have tickets. Now there is a sea of people walking towards the gate and I am "that guy" who is walking against the flow.

 

I stay to the right and make my way through. Finally a scalper see's me and I grab a General Admission ticket from him.

I make my way back to the gate and get inside. I have GA Stands 33, Section 7, Row I seat 21. Its around noon time now, I sit in the wrong section and after a while, I find my correct section, but the stands are so full of people that I don't even try to get my assigned seat. I just move to a different section and get a seat practically to myself.

 

So before the race starts I make my way to the hotdog stand and the bathroom........and people are smoking pot EVERYWHERE........and the hotdog guy is so stoned that my 10 dollar hotdog and coke-cola was only 5 bucks, because he cant figure out change for a twenty. Thank you THC for working so well on killing brain cells at work.......

 

I move back to the seat for the start of the race and it eventually begins. The Formula 1 cars are REALLY LOUD. They started the race under the safety car and eventually they got to go fast on their own. Its a pretty amazing thing to watch. They had to stop the race around lap 30 because of the rain, which was coming down like buckets. Most of the spectators gathered under the bleachers to get out of the rain. Around 3pm they announced that the race would be continue at 1550 hours.

 

Aren't these guys just great:

 

​

Went back to the seat and watched the end of the race. Vettel spun out on the last lap and was passed by Jensen Button right in front of our seats. The crowd went crazy!!

 

​

After the race ended, I moved with the crowd back to the way I came in. I checked my GPS and saw that it was a pretty straight shot back and decided to walk rather than find a cab. As I walked back with several other people, I got to the area known as Techno Park, I saw all the transport trucks for the F1 teams that are used to move the racing gear, pretty neat.

 

 

​

 

​

 

​

Just as I arrived at my bike, it started raining again! I quickly got changed over and got on the road, heading north on AutoRoute 15. The traffic was pretty heavy but moving. My visor was full of water and visibility was pretty poor.

I pulled in behind a pink Jeep and followed it for awhile. I eventually got cold because everything was still wet. I was going to try and stealth camp it farther up the road, but said screw it and just found a Super 8 Motel in Saint-Jerome, Quebec. Cost $114 for the night........well worth it.......

 

[MotoStrap]

Day 4: Woke up around 0600 in the Super 8 motel, after going to bed around 1230 am. My "plan" was to be on the road by 0730. I got some breakfast from the continental breakfast bar at Super 8. While I was there gathering my food, the hotel day shift guy started talking to me, en francis......which I always answer in english. I wasn't annoyed that he was talking to me, but I kind of had a plan in my head and wanted to be on the road at 0730.

 

After packing everything on the bike, and checking out, I realized that I couldn't find my earbuds for the sirius xm radio. But no worries....Wal-Mart to the rescue......which was just across the street.....I think they are taking over the world.

Oh and of course it was raining, so I got my rain gear on headed over to wal-mart. Bought the ear buds and checked out....en francis again..... I even threw out a "Merci Boucoup", which came out just as bad as my spelling.

 

So I fueled up and headed out on AutoRoute 117 north and ended up entering a wildlife park or Provincial Park "Reserve' Laungue La Verendrye". As I entered the park I thought I had enough fuel to make it threw and as I was going along the miles started climbing, but I didn't see any signs for fuel. I was getting pretty good gas milage around 44 per gallon, per the on board computer.

 

There were several road construction areas with flaggers and pilot cars. I used that oppurnity to put on the heated vest, since the rain was cold. That did the trick and I soon was warm again. Also used my dad's waterproof BMW riding gloves, which were nice.

 

Then I hit reserve on the FJR, which is 2 gallons. I quickly checked the GPS and saw the closest fuel stop was 75 miles away and I could probably make it, with fumes to spare. I started doing some coasting and slowed my speed to around 50-60 miles per hour and the gas milage started to rise, 44.1...44.2.....44.3....etc....up to 45. I was feeling good, but still a little worried I would have to walk.

 

The fuel tank on the FJR holds 6.6 gallons, but who knows if I filled it the entire way.

 

Just as the milage crossed 270 miles, a gas station appeared that was not on the GPS.....I pulled in a refueled. That was the farthest I had ever gone on the FJR without refueling and I was sweating it!!

 

I grabbed a quick lunch from the food bag on my bike, one can of tuna and one can of smoked ham.

 

After finishing, I hit the road again.....satellite radio blasting in my ears on channel 51 BPM, techno music......which goes well when riding quickly

 

The rain stopped and I soon was too hot, so I approached the Ontario border and stopped at the "welcome", stripped off the heated vest, grabbed a quick picture and pressed on.

 

​

I stopped in Matheson, Ontario and got fuel. I asked the kid pumping my gas if there was any campsite around and he said no.

 

Moved on again, heading north on AutoRoute 11, looking for a camp site. I was figuring on stealth camping and started looking for a spot. I pulled into a picnic site, marked NO CAMPING, and was immediately attacked by mosquitos. Ok, not a good spot for stealth camping. I added a huge POI file to the GPS with campsites/parks etc for North America. I quickly punched it in and came up with "Finger Lake" Provençal Park.

 

I headed down there and came to the front gate, which was unmanned. They have the honor system on filling out the envelope and placing the money in the deposit bin. So, one vehicle, no water campsite is $37.50 per night....really? wow......

 

Found a spot and set up shop next to a couple, guy/girl. We chatted a bit and they gave me some wood for a fire. I also collected some for myself and got my fire going. Had a meal of rice/chicken and soup and coffee. The park even has showers and laundry facilities.

 

 

​

 

I pre-packed everything except the MSR stove for coffee and oatmeal in the morning. Hopefully I can get a early start tomorrow. I am about 600 km from Thunder Bay. I think its going to take me two more days to get across Ontario.

 

[MotoStrap]

Day 5, The Locals

Day 5: Woke up early this morning and hit the road before anyone else woke up at the camp site. Got my stuff together, had a quick coffee, packed up the bike and hit the road. The air temperature was around 46 degrees F and I got dressed to lightly for the conditions. So I pulled over and got my heated vest on and the north face zip up over it, then back on the road. I made a gas/food stop at some small town and grabbed a mcdonald's breakfast meal. It was $4.99 canadian with 64 cents tax...seems kind of high for tax. But as I am learning when I speak to people here they complain about the taxes and that everything they do has some form of tax associated with it.

 

Back on the road, and I spot another motorcycle farther up. I catch up and see there is a Pennsylvania license plate on it. He's going a bit to slow for me, so I speed past him and give a wave. He's riding a cruiser typer bike, not a harley, and he's got it tricked out with GPS, Tank bag, panniers, GIVI, etc.

 

I did over 200 miles and stopped again at an Indian Reservation for fuel/coffee.

 

​

 

After I pulled up to the pump, a local come up to me, I think he worked there. I told him that I would pump the gas if its OK, he seemed ok with that. We started talking......I look at the gas price $1.499 per litre (thats $5.62 per gallon)

 

local...."So where ya goin?" (insert canadian/indian accent)

 

me...."alaska...."

 

him....."wow...kind of far eh"?

 

And thats when he touches my handle bar and then places his foot on the foot peg.......

 

I am not sure if its a custom or not........to touch my bike.....

 

I finish pumping my gas, say my good bye's to him and head inside to pay. The store seems to be a local gathering place for the reservation. The houses are just around back. There are several dogs just hanging around and people/kids are outside the main door. Inside is a Subway sandwich shop which is busy with truck drivers. They have a big selection of cigarettes for sale behind the cashier and the line is pretty long.

 

I grab a coffee and a peanut/chocolate bar and head to the cashier. I pay for everything and head back out to the bike. Now I cant find my keys to the bike.....were they in the ignition...I can't remember....

 

I start checking pockets and my jacket but can't find it. Now I am thinking that the local guy swiped them from the ignition. So another local guy comes up to me.....

 

him...."So....where you goin?

 

me...."alaska"....

 

and then he proceeds to pick up my gloves and tries them on!.....and then says "I want to get a Ninja...."........really? he makes some more comments about my gloves that he likes them and then touches my helmet, picking it up......WTF??? whats going on with these people......!?

 

He eventually wanders off and I find my keys in the tank bag.....I think the first guy put them there....last time I saw them was in the gas cap.......

 

Now my bike is in the way of the pump. So I walk over to the building and place my coffee on the sidewalk, and instead of starting up my bike, I just push it over to get it out of the way, moving it next to my coffee. As I roll to a stop, my helmet rolls off the seat onto the side walk, rolls one time and spills my coffee Really.....could my luck have been any better? notice the wet spot on the ground....

 

​

 

I quickly eat my candy bar and hit the road......this place is bad luck.....

 

A few miles out of the town I spot a black dot on the side of the roadway....then it starts moving...its a black bear! my first! I am excited so I quickly pull over and try to grab my camera from the tank bag. He lifts his nose from the ground.....looks at me, ears up and then hustles back into the woods.....no picture......bad luck again......still too close to the store......got to get farther away......

 

Start driving again.....another few miles....then I spot a Moose......a BIG MOOSE......and once again I don't have time to stop and get the camera. I make another pig push and do another 200+ miles. I stopped twice to stretch my legs and took some pictures/video. I then push on through Thunder Bay

 

At the last gas stop, I am at the intersection of TransCanada 11 and 17, where they split. Again its $1.499 for gas. I grab a quick sandwich for $6.00, so gas and food was $35. I sat down outside and contemplated my situation. I was quickly doing math in my head and figuring the gas vs money situation. I had budgeted for 4.00 per gallon, and figured 10,000 miles, $1000.00 in just gas. I am not sure if I have enough money to make it up and back home to Connecticut. I will have to figure it out later at the camp site.....

 

I bring up the GPS and locate the Quetico Provincial Park just off TransCanada 11, about 100 kilometers from where I was sitting. I made a mad dash for it and got there around 6pm. The office was closed to pay for the camp site, which was $32.50. There was a note on the door saying to just pay in the morning......great.......

 

Found a spot in the farthest part of the park right near a lake. I set up camp, washed some clothes in the lake and counted my money on the picnic table.

 

Lets just say....its going to be close and I have to be frugal, i.e. cheap.

 

I am not sure about the gas prices in Alaska, but I am hoping they are in line with the lower 48, around $3.85 per gallon.

 

While riding to the park, I was thinking about just bailing on the whole trip and just head home. It would be so easy to just do that....to quit........then I would have to explain to everyone that I am a quitter......I can't face that.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Nice report...but good luck with that $3.85/gal in Alaska thing.

 

[Bungie]

I'm liking this.

The natives are like that, it's their culture. You just never know if it's gonna be trouble or not. Hell we were in Toas NM last year for SW-FOG and 'Big Leaf' stopped by and helped himself to Rob's beer and cigar... and he was drinking and smoking them at the time!

I think Rob made a wise decision and declined the invite to go exploring Big Leaf's hunting grounds at 1am LOL!

 

[dcarver]

While riding to the park, I was thinking about just bailing on the whole trip and just head home. It would be so easy to just do that....to quit........then I would have to explain to everyone that I am a quitter......I can't face that.

No, you ain't no quitter - I can tell that already. Wonderful RR - I'm off to AdvRider to find the complete posting.. and thanks for posting here, too. Man, you got freaking RYAN posting on your RR, trust me, it don't get no better than that! :yahoo:

 

[MotoStrap]

I am posting the same time on ADV and here, one or two posts at a time, but the full ride report is on my blog...www.johnsalaska.com

 

[dcarver]

Ok then, off to www.johnalaska.com! Tx for the input - love AK RR's...

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

While riding to the park, I was thinking about just bailing on the whole trip and just head home. It would be so easy to just do that....to quit........then I would have to explain to everyone that I am a quitter......I can't face that.

No, you ain't no quitter - I can tell that already. Wonderful RR - I'm off to AdvRider to find the complete posting.. and thanks for posting here, too. Man, you got freaking RYAN posting on your RR, trust me, it don't get no better than that! :yahoo:

+1

Go, man, go!!! Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

 

[stevec677]

Your trip sounds awesome. I just took a solo ride to New Orleans (3,600 mile round trip) and a few times I had the same feeling (should I bail?). I stayed with it and am so glad I did. Stay strong. Your write up makes me want to load up the bike tonight and head out (maybe not all the way to Alaska).

 

[n1acguy]

Excellent write up. I hope you can find the funds to be able to continue.

This post has me looking forward to your next day :blink:

 

[MotoStrap]

Day 6 A big push for miles.

 

Wednesday June 15, 2011 Day 6: woke up early again, packed up the bike and headed over to the showers in the camp ground. Took a quick shower then hit the road.....but not far...I remembered that I left my soap in the shower and went back. This was the morning sunrise:

 

​

I bundled up again, it was around 55 degrees this morning. And of course it started raining, not a lot, but just enough At my first stop, after about 100 miles, I grabbed a quick coffee and then hit the road again.

 

I entered Manitoba and stopped at the first rest stop, which was about 175 miles from the last gas station.

 

 

​

Actually it was an information center with a couple of nice ladies working it. I grabbed a few maps and asked about my route. They said that there was major flooding in the area I was going to travel, but I should be fine. I was going to connect with route 44 to route 6 then route 60. It was supposed to be a scenic route. After a quick lunch of MRE chicken pesto (by the way, was really good), I hit the road again.

 

As I started up route 44, I began to think about the trip, my time schedule and funds. Back at the camp site I worked out that I was about 2500 miles from Fairbanks and could do it in 4.1 days if I did 600 miles per day. That said I made the decision to stay on the major roads and not take the scenic route. My goal is Prudhoe Bay.......with scenery in canada a far second.

 

So I turned around and headed for West Trans Canada 1 to Yellow Head Highway (Trans Canada 16 North). Driving through Manitoba I saw a bunch of beaver dams, they are a industrious bunch of animals. Their den's (if thats what they are called) are pretty big and they can back up streams flooding the area. It was really neat to see.

 

As I made my way across Manitoba, it was mostly farm land, and very flat. My speed was around 70 or 80 mph. I passed several cars and didn't see any police the entire length of Trans Canada 16. The gas prices also started to come down. The first stop in Manitoba the price was 1.189 compared to $1.499 at my last stop in Ontario.

 

I stopped two more times for gas on Route 16 and kept the miles up. Very boring driving, but I had my satellite radio



I made it to Saskatchewan

 

 

​

I started looking for camp sites and came to one run by a church. But the sites were all flooded out and I didn't think it would be a good idea to put up my tent in a puddle.

 

At my last gas stop, I talked to the kid behind the counter working the register. He pointed me in the right direction to the campsite I am staying at tonight. It's run by the city of Yorkton.....nice lady in charge of it and only $15 for the night.

 

 

​

I also did a quick walk around of the bike and saw that the tires were begining to "cup" on one side. I checked the tire pressure and saw that they were both at 28 pounds. which is way to low. When I changed the tires I must have mis-read the air gauge and put in too little. I would like them at 40 front and rear. I'll stop at a gas station tomorrow morning and add air. Hopefully it will correct the tires back to round. The bike did feel a bit wobbly today. I have a tire pump but didn't feel like digging it out tonight to fill them up.

 

Tomorrow the plan is another big day of miles, 3 or 4 gas stops, I want over 600 miles.

 

[MotoStrap]

June 16, 2011 Day 7: Another early day for me. I think I am still on east coast time, even my watch and dash clock on the FJR is still set to that time. So the actual time I woke up was 0430 and the sun was up already.

 

I took a quick shower and hit the road. First stop was the Shell gas station to add air to the tires. I set them both at 40 psi. I went to put the air gauge back in the Wolfman bag, the zipper's let go. Looks like a couple of the zips on the zipper broke off. So now there is no way to secure everything in there. I used a piece of cord to close it as best as I could.

 

Got on the road and did some miles. I passed all the new born horses and calfs as I made my way across the prairie. Its VERY flat driving. I continued on TransCanada 16 West and after I passed Saskatoon I hit a BIG rain and hail storm. Cars were pulled off to the side of the road. I pressed on and made my way to the border with Alberta. I stopped at the information center and bought a map for $2. Not sure why they are not free, they usually are.

 

​

 

​

Just over the border, I stopped and bought gas for $1.099 per litre! Which is super cheap compared to Quebec and Ontario. I could see the rain clouds following me and I hit the road again eventually making my way to Edmonton. It was around 4pm and the traffic was HEAVY, with stop and go traffic. The city had rain clouds and it opened up again. I must have driven 100 miles in the rain, stopping one last time for fuel. Over 600 miles for today.

 

​

I pushed on to Whitecourt, Alberta, which was 100 kilometers from my last gas stop. I hit rain again.....

 

I scanned around the sky and saw dark clouds all around. I was soaked thru and made a command decision to find a hotel and dry out for the night.

 

Pulled into the first hotel I saw and got a room......even had a fireplace......nice for hanging wet socks over.

 

[MCML]

Ah, warm hands and dry clothing.

Sometimes that is a requirement.

Welcome to Alberta!

You are starting to begin to commence to get ready to rock and roll (with a nod to Commander Cody).

 

[MotoStrap]

June 17, 2011, Day 8: Got up early today with every intention of hitting the road early. My plan was to be on the road by 7am. After I woke, I looked outside and saw that the rain was still coming down. I also checked the radar map and saw the storm, yellow and red, which is BIG rain.

 

Also I had a bit of an adventure trying to take a shower. I could not for the life of me find the knob to turn on the shower. I could get the water going but the lever to start the shower was elusive! So after about 5 minutes of standing there naked (scary), I broke down and called the front desk.

 

"front desk, how may I help you?"

 

"uh......yea......I am trying to take a shower and I can't figure out how to turn it on"

 

So she explains that there is a circle you pull down under the spout where the water comes out, but not too fast or it won't work......huh? not work?

So I see what she ment and took a shower. I shot a video of the shower, showing the faucet, so you can see that I am not stupid......



After showering I made my way to the breakfast and spoke to a welder who was on his way to work, except he couldn't because of the rain. Apparently, welding and water don't mix

 

I also spoke with the front desk girl when she wandered into the breakfast room. I joked with her about the shower and she said hold on a minute, then returned with a prop shower that the hotel uses to show the guests how to operate it. I told her I tried the Jedi mind trick on it before I called but it didn't work......

 

So I delayed my departure about 2 hours and when the rain stopped, I quickly checked the radar again and saw the gap between two storms. North was wide open. Quickly I packed the bike and got dressed, checked out and hit the road North on 43 from Whitecourt, AB

 

I drove about a hundred miles and stopped for gas. It was raining on and off the whole way. I think the miles and gas stops just flow together sometimes. I eventually rolled into Dawson Creek and fueled up at a shell station.

 

Also decided that since it was 1230 that I should have some lunch, which was a spaghetti and meat sauce MRE and MRE Pineapple. The food supply is getting low, but I have a package in Tok, Alaska waiting for me with more food. Anyway, I talked to a 20 year old kid outside while I was eating. He said that he came up to see his brother because his brother had a child, then his brother died. So he's looking to get out of the town and head to "Surrey"......

 

Anyway, back on the road, heading to the center of Dawson Creek, where I took a picture of the famous sign, then headed north on the Alaska Highway...yea for me....

 

There is a little bit of Hawaii in Dawson Creek.....Aloha!

 

​

My first gas stop, I came to a full service station where mom was working inside and the brother and sister were working the pumps. Cleaning windshields, checking oil, etc. They were covered with dirt, but seemed "happy in their work" (sans Bridge on the River Kawi).

 

The girl pumped my gas and said she liked my sheep skin seat cover. It was kind of funny, she was johnny on the spot with the pump, but I have a whole procedure to dismount the FJR......stop....shut the bike off, in gear, removed plug from radio.....remove helmet...remove ear buds.....dismount bike......unplug heated vest.....find spot to put helmet......unsnap the back of the tank bag.....swing bag to the side.....get keys from the ignition, unlock gas cap......and finally tell her Ok to pump the gas.....I of course apologized for my delay......

 

​

So back on the road again and eventually stopped for gas again.....it was raining on and off the whole way. Saw some more wildlife, a grey fox and a moose really close to the road. Also saw several other ADVer's heading south on the Alaska Highway, we waved. I think one guy was from twitter.....can't remember his name off hand.....

 

I crossed into British Columbia somewhere/sometime, I can't remember.

 

​

I saw some awesome Beaver!

 

 

​

I stopped at 100 miles to refuel again, because of several signs and the maps showed big gaps between to town's. This time is was $1.699!!! zoinks!!!....the gas station was a mud pit and I was very leery about the bike falling over

 

While I was pumping gas, I saw 3 harley guys and a goldwing guy drive by together. It took me a while to get going and I caught up to them in about an hour when I saw them pulled over to the side of the road. One guy was towing a small trailer that he carried extra fuel in, which he was adding to his tank. We talked a bit and I found out they were from Minnesota and they were heading to Fairbanks. I asked if I could follow them for a bit and they accepted.

 

We hit the road and eventually they pulled into a hotel, I kept heading north, stopping for gas once again in Fort Nelson. As I was pumping gas I heard a small bike. Looking over, I see a guy on what I think is a 125 or 250cc bike all Adventure Rider'd up, with Givi bag, pannier's and they guys wearing an Aerostich jacket. I quickly caught up to him and I gave him a wave as I passed by slowly, he waved back and we both headed north on the Alaska Highway.

 

After about 50 miles, I pulled into Tetsa River Campground, really nice area on a river. $17 for the night. As I pulled in, I saw an older couple walking along the roadway near the entrance, I gave them a wave and did a loop of the grounds, eventually ending up back at the main gate. My intention was to grab the envelope for a campsite and deposit it in the metal box.



They struck up a conversation with me and told me that they took a picture of a father and son on a motorcycle trip last year at the Arctic circle sign on the Haul Road. I new exactly who they were from ADV but I can't remember off hand. Funny too, the couple was from Bay City, Michigan...where I used to live in the 90's. They even knew exactly where the condo's were I lived in near the community college, Bay Valley Condo's.

 

Went to get some water.....boil before consumption and took pictures of the Tetsa River....

 

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[MotoStrap]

June 19, 2011, Day 9: woke up early AGAIN, which is fine I made a quick coffee, packed up and hit the road from Tetsa River Campground. Made the left turn and was back on the Alaska Highway.

 

The next section between Tetsa River BC and Watson Lake Yukon was the best for seeing wildlife. Spotted two black bears, a porcupine, a BIG brown bear, several fox and many Bison. Oh and the mountain sheep/goats with huge horns. They all had little babies with them....the bison and sheep/goats.....maybe I saw both.......

 

It was a big day for miles, between Tetsa and Dawson City. I must have stopped 5 times for gas. I was really burning up the fuel though, I was doing about 90 mph for some portions and the milage really fell. I would regularly get 200 miles before the reserve would start to flash, but on one tank it was around 175 and when I pulled in for gas I was at 213. Thats cutting it close, where one time I went 270 when I pulled in.

 

I think my sweet spot for miles vs fuel economy is between 65-70. The average in the computer will goto over 45+mpg.

 

May more ADVer's heading south then north it seemed. I saw the 4 guys I ran into yesterday on the Harleys, they were pulled over for food/fuel when I went past. Never saw them again after.

 

Later I crossed in Yukon.

 

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I make it a habit to stop for biker's I see pulled over in rest areas or on the side of the road. I always ask if everything is OK, chat for a minute and then head off. I like to make good karma for myself. One guy I saw pulled over was on a F800GS, he had an emergency service truck with him. I figured he was fine but I pulled in anyway.

 

He sounded german, and he "thinks" that he put diesel fuel in the tank instead of gas. The mechanic working on his bike I could tell was a truck mechanic, but I think he had the general idea of how to fix it. My idea was drain the tank, pop the fuel line from the injector and try to start the bike. The diesel will purge itself from the lines. We were about 100 miles from WhiteHorse, where I know there is a motorcycle dealer. I didn't stay long and hit the road again, since he was in good hands it seemed.

 

A bit up I pulled into a hunting/flying/tourist lodge for gas, which was $1.899 per litre. The german girl behind the counter offered me a $1 off coupon for breakfast........I offered my right arm instead.

 

They had several float planes and a helicopter. I talked to one guy wearing a orange safety vest with pockets all over it filled with various "stuff". He said he was finding "right of way" for the oil pipeline. He was also with several other women, who were all in the same outfits. The oil company hired a helicopter to fly them out into the bush to map the route. What a job!

 

At the fuel pumps, I spoke with a couple from Oregon. They gave me the lay of the land up north and told me about the rain/hail they drove through up near fairbanks. I told them to pray to the sunshine gods for me, I was tired of rain.

 

Saw lots of wildlife along the way.

 

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Got to Whitehorse and pulled into McDonalds for a burger and then fuel. I was hoping they had internet, but they were renovating so it was a shambles inside.

 

At the fuel stop down the road, I talked to two kids working the full service. They were pretty excited about Dawson City and said they loved it there, especially the HUGE hot cinnamon buns there. They both insisted that I have one when I arrive.

 

I then took a right and headed north on the Klondike Highway. Stopped for several areas of construction, with flag girls working. This road seemed to have more RCMP (police) on it then any other area I have been on my whole trip. I set the throttle at 100kph and set myself into cruise mode.

 

One thing I need to adjust on the bike it the placement of the SiriusXM radio antenna. When I am heading north, my body blocks the signal from the satellite which is more towards the south. So it cuts in and out as I drive and make turns. I was thinking that I could route it under my seat and duct tape it to the top of my GIVI bag. I don't actually have duct tape, but which they call "100 Mile Per Hour" tape. They use it to fix holes in helicopters from gun fire

 

At Carmacks, Yukon, I stopped again for fuel and talked to a father/son team from Alberta. They were both on DL650's and heading south from Dawson City. They did some adventure riding and were heading home. The dad made fun of my heated vest.......he had no idea how good it was to have one. When they asked me what I was riding, an FJR, they said "thats not really an off road bike"....me......"yes but it has tires and they are round, so I'll give it a go to prudhoe bay....". They don't think I can make it on the FJR.

 

That was my last fuel stop and I headed to Dawson City. It was mostly cruise mode, nothing really to see or report about. I pulled in at around 2130 hours and began looking for a camp site. I had read there were tent camps somewhere, but I also was told that the ferry stops running at night. I seemed stuck.

 

I waved down a RCMP who was patrolling, and we chatted for a minute about campsites. He suggested I try an RV campsite just down the street. I thanked him and he drove away. Then he turned around and came back, saying that there was tent camping on the other side of the river, just take the ferry and then first right. He also said the ferry ran 24 hours a day. Thank you very much Mr RCMP

 

On the ferry I go, and at first I am the only person/vehicle on the ferry. I ask one of the deck hands where I should park....he says "have a party, anywhere you want"......I was hoping the Girls Gone Wild ladies/music was going to start up.

 

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Got off the ferry and took the first right, about 100 yards up and pulled into the campsite. Found spot #15 was open. Saw other ADVer's with various bikes in camped out. Just a few spots down, a groups of mostly girls were giggling and drinking Jack Daniels from a large bottle they were passing around.

 

I set up camp and got some sleep.

 

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My plan for tomorrow, day 10, will be to take a day of rest and walk/drive around Dawson City to see the sights. I am not going to be able to make the Dust2Dawson event on June 23rd, which is sad in a way. The plan didn't work out with the riding schedule.

 

On Monday, Day 11, I'll make the border crossing and head into Tok to pick up my box of food from the US Post Office.

 

[Tom Edison]

Great stuff!! Looking forward to your ride on the Top of the World Highway.

 

[MotoStrap]

Great stuff!! Looking forward to your ride on the Top of the World Highway.

Let me say that it rained the whole way on the top of the world highway