Gravel......the prefered road surface of the North

Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon, taken from Dawson city when the gold ran out. A poor move in my opinion, but more on that later.

We stayed at a campsite with a hot spring which was nice, and we ate and drank well. Fully recharged we set off again this time for Dawson city. Well, I had heard of Dawson City and knew a bit about some gold rush stampede that went on but nothing could prepare us for what we saw.

This place is genuinely old. The town looks much the same as it did in its hay day and what a history it has. A few short glory years when people from all over the world descended after a terrible journey upon this city in the search for gold. The lives they led is evident everywhere around you. We loved this place and it is highly recommended. We stayed an extra day to take everything in. Lots of bikers on BMW's too all doing the Dempster highway and enjoying themselves.

I also decided that the sheds rear shock should be removed to make adjustments, So Sandra and I striped the shed down and rebuild her, we even enjoyed doing that.

Like I say we loved this place and it should be the capital of everywhere.

Anyway to get out of Dawson and head for Alaska you have to take the ferry across the Yukon. This is a free service and gets you across in about 10 mins. You can see Dawson as you leave, which is also nice. I had calculated that we could get to Fairbanks in one day.....WRONG.

From Dawson to the Alaskan border is 107 miles, all of it rough road and gravel. It took us 3 hours and was hard work. At the border it was time to meet the United States bureaucracy head on. We crossed the border at the most northernly land crossing and found all the lights out. The US customs and Immigration had a power cut. The officer processing us was really very good keeping a good humor as we battled against bureaucracy and a stubborn generator. After 30 mins or so we were all up and running and allowed into the land of the free and the home of even more poor roads.

We had to go all the way to Chicken (more goggling for you) where we stopped for a bite to eat.

Sharpe eyed Sandra noticed we had fuel pouring out of the shed after we refueled. This was traced to all the dust blocking the fuel tank vent and a quick blow up a tube removed the block and we were off again. Thank goodness the Dawson Chicken run was in great weather or we would be still riding it now.

The delays meant that Fairbanks was not possible so we camped in Tok. Now normally when we meet people theryare friendly nice and very helpful, but today was a little different. An old chap came up and chatted about the bike, his life in the military and we swapped stories, then out of the blue came a string of racist comments that I could not or want to repeat. I ended the conversation as politely as I could but couldn't help being shocked by this.

A rainy morning woke us up in our tent so a quick pack up and it was off to Fairbanks The weather picked up and on the way Sandra saw a mousse. I, however, saw endless miles of road and I am now one down in the "I have seen a wild animal" game.

We have had our first stay in a hostel in Fairbanks, GoNorth is a small group of cabins and tent pitches, We met some great people there and the site was just really helpful. Jim was a lone traveler who we met, an ex layer who has thrown in the towel and is traveling. A great chap who we had dinner with and swapped stories.

We have delayed our departure for Coldfoot and Prudhoe bay waiting for the weather to break, so we have treated ourselves to a Motel in Fairbanks. It's right next door to a, well lets say a 'gentlemens club, but Sandra says I cant go.

A Long way in the Rain

Well its been a while, we where heading north towards the Alaskan Highway last time we spoke, Well from Stewart we hit the Stewart Cassiar Highway north, This is not a highway as you would normally think of one but a series of good and bad roads some parts very difficult to pass on a bike, The weather was again very bad, continually raining as we headed north. At Bell II (look it up on Goggle) we stopped for a warm and a bite to eat. As we arrived another biker called Al was just leaving. He was newish to biking and on a adventure of his own see
http://inuviktrip.blogspot.com.

Although we never saw Al?s face (see our photo album ?friendly folk?) he was infectious and enthusiastic despite the weather and road conditions, He was heading south and we where north so we swapped stories of what lie ahead and went on our way, Its encounters like this that really boosts us both. The rudest woman in the world served us in the Bell II cafe, not very nice when you?re cold and hungry, but the soup was good and we where ready to go after filling up with gas.

From Bell II it was north towards Iskut, but stayed in a log cabin in Tataggo. Nice place and the rain made it impossible to camp and stay warm the next day.

From there it was north towards the Alaskan highway. When we did stop at places it was a ritual to exchange road conditions and weather reports with people traveling from the other direction. It was incredible to find just how bad conditions can be on these roads. The tarmac, or pavement just will suddenly end and gravel and or mud just takes over. This on a fully laden bike, two up is tough, very tough with the rain as well, Lots of concentration and very bad language needed and given.

Anyway we hit the Alaskan Highway and turned right towards the USA. Now the night before I had seen on goggle that a fuel stop and accommodation was exactly 65 miles from the Alaskan Highway junction, it was called Rancheria and I knew we had enough fuel to do this, just.

The miles went by and 65 mile mark came and went, oh dear, All I knew of this place was I had seen it on goggle, no more evidence than that, so I started to question my decision . I stopped the bike and told Sandra That we might be in a spot of bother, less then 2 liters in the tank and who knows how far to go if Rancheria wasn?t there. This went down very well of course but we pressed on and sure enough 80 miles from the junction was Rancheria, PHEW!

I have learnt that the size of the Yukon is directly related to how much fuel you have in your tank. That last 20 miles of open, cold wilderness sure looked big.

Rancheria, was nothing to look at but what a welcome helpful lot runs this place we loved it. There even help repair the seat on the shed which needed a bracket bending into shape.

The next day was rain again but people had told us that sunshine would welcome us in Whitehorse, and sure enough it did.

A well earned two day rest in Whitehorse allowed recovery and proper drying out in a hot spring campground. Then onto our current location, Dawson City. This is an incredible place, it?s like the old west, the whole city is right out of the past and we will stay and explore a bit, and let you know how it goes.

Reality Bites.... and bears can too

Everything was going so well. Sunshine wonderful roads and astonishing scenery, How different it was all going to be on our journey west to the coast. It started well enough. A quick exist from the Prince George camp site (It might be worth noting here that mosquitoes are the national bird of Canada and did we just get eaten alive by them. ) Anyway I digress. Off we set in OK conditions , not sure where we would stop but Prince Rupert on the west coast was our target for a two day ride.

At the 200 mile point the weather came in and it rained and rained. This is not too bad on a bike, but when mixed with cold it can be very upsetting.

It got cold, and instead of being sensible and stopping we pressed on and by the time we got to Prince Rupert I had uncontrollable shakes and felt really very very cold. Sandra too was feeling it and as soon as we found any motel we stayed. 300 miles in the cold and rain is not recommended and we will not do that again........ until the next time.

Prince Rupert is quite a place - calm, clean and really nice to chill out in which we did for a day or two. The woman in the information center was really helpful. We where planning on taking a ferry up to Alaska but the timing meant we would have to hang around PR for a few more days so we decided to ride on, which we are very glad we did.

We backed tracked east for about 100 miles to the Stewart Cassiar highway 37 and headed north then east again to Stewart. What a wonderful road and a joy to ride. An even more fabulous glacier which was just stunning. We met three more BMW riders from San Fransisco and chatted for a while.

As we said goodbye we set off on the last 15 miles to Stewart. Then, out of the blue as we pulled out of a corner I noticed something on the road, it was massive and brown. It took me a few seconds to realise this was a full grown adult grizzly bear about 70 meters in front of us in the road. I slowed down and stopped. Although I had read a bit on bears and what to do if you encounter one, I had no idea what to do when on a bike. I just swore a lot and waited to see what would happen next. Sandra had no idea why we had stopped until I stopped swearing and said ?my god a bloody big bear?

Fortunately for us the grizzly looked at us and plodded off to the left of the road into the forest.

What a sight he was. It's so unusual to see something so big living in the wild, well it is if you live in Southampton.

We made it to Stewart and was advised not to camp due to the bear issues so we are in a very quaint and old fashioned Hotel called the Ripply Creek Inn...... very nice indeed.

Today its back to the Highway and north to meet the Alaska Highway in a day or two.

Moving on and very moving

Well , what have we learned? One thing is for sure biking, camping and blogging do not mix. It is only now that we have found a WiFi campsite that allows me to write this. This is not strictly true as we found one earlier but had too much writing to people at home which left no time to blog, My sincerest apologies for the delay.

Anyway a great deal has happened.

We finally managed to leave Vancouver and the ever exciting company of Richenda and headed North up the Sea to Sky highway. Well we did about 10km when I asked Sandra if she felt the shed was behaving herself, she felt very odd indeed (the shed not Sandra). It was clear that we had well overloaded her. So we stopped at a local gas station and started to be very brutal with our pocessions, throwing about 5kg of unecessary stuff into a conveniently placed skip much to the amusement of other gas station users.

Setting off a second time the shed was back to her old self. What a road the Sea to Sky is for newcomers to Canada. It took our breath away.

We had arranged to be in Clinton one week after this one to meet up with a bunch of other BMW riders but as we where already en route one week earlier than planned we could not get the timing right , Sorry guys. However we did go to Clinton and pitched our tent for the first time. Not a bad job on a rather peculiar but good site.

That night however the wind was strong at first but cleared up, This being hunting country the odd rifle shot could be heard too.

The next day broke bright and clear, not a cloud in the sky. We packed up quickly and headed out east towards the southern part of the Jasper National Park. A great ride indeed with varying weather and road conditions. A hairy moment when a 70km highway just turned into gravel and great care was needed to keep the shed upright, Sandra must be given credit she saw the danger long before I did.
Anyway all was well except new underwear needed.

Revelstoke in the lonely planet says its sounds its own horn and they're are not wrong. My God , how many trains pass through there is amazing and lucky for us we had our tent 10 meters from the track so we could appreciate every one of them. It didn't spoil a most enjoyable stay.

Then it was onto Jasper over the Icefeild parkway. Now I'm going to stop here. There is no way on earth I have the verbal or written dexterity to describe any of what Sandra and I saw or felt this day. Any thing I say or write will not even begin to show you what we have seen. I can tell you it was the greatest motorcycle journey of my life and, before I get even more sentimental and gushy, what I will say is - whatever you do before you meet the grim reaper RIDE THIS ROAD. Preferably on a motorcycle and preferably with some one you love, but if not ,do it in a car, bus, walk, do it alone even but I beg you do it. It was astonishing.

Jasper is a popular place with overpriced campsites. We pitched again and met Scott and Mark, both riding Motorcycles and had a beer and chat. It should be said at this point how many people you meet and chat to when traveling. The UPS guy at Whistler (Olympic village) Dave the I.T guy and his wife at one of the many service stations we visited. The young German couple in Pemberton. The crowd of people at the Icefeilds who lost interest in the mountains and all wanted to know about the adventure and the bike. The retired couple on the way to Prince George who we bumped into at a layby. Everyone wants to chat and we love it.

So here I now sit in the tent in the Bee Lazy campsite just south of Prince George . It's raining outside but it doesn't seem to matter. This is great stuff.

The Shed Meets Vancouver

Well, we found the shed. It was where it should have been all along. I phoned the shipper in Vancouver on our second morning and they were waiting for my call. Just a case of going across town with all our paperwork to pick her up. This of course went without a hitch until I went to clear the bike through customs. "and your passport sir?" said the heavily uniformed customs officer. She even had a stab vest! "What?" I said. "Passport", she said. "Bugger?", I said -I had forgotten to bring it. After all the lecturing I had given Sandra about always carrying our passports I had forgotten mine. This meant we had to travel across town again and back a two hour round trip. Richenda, our host in Vancouver , was brilliant about this and taxied us everywhere.

It was great being reunited with the bike. Very odd seeing her emerge from the crate. A very familiar object in very unfamiliar surroundings. Richenda's friend, Dianne, had insisted that she bring a hammer in case we needed it without which unpacking would have been really difficult as we had no tools. We had ?the shed? out of the crate quickly and she fired up first hit. It was time to start our journey.

Just a quick thank you to ALL at James Cargo for making this a n uneventful affair.

Now the last day or two has been getting over jet lag and seeing some of the sights around Vancouver. What a place this is. A busy, busy city with a back drop of fantastic mountains. We have just pottered around seeing some of the parks and sights. It's warm and sunny too. It seems a calm place regardless of the traffic and bussel, also very clean. A walk in one of the parks along side the mountain found us on a precarious suspension walk bridge and seeing our first Beware of the Bear signs.

Now though (day 3) I am keen to get moving and head north. I think Sandra feels the same. We actually planned the next part of the travels and we will take the sea to sky coast road north then head east into Jasper NP. Its time to get moving now.

Living The Dream

Well..... its started. We are now in Vancouver the very first step of the long adventure. Sandra and I are at Sandra's friend house. Richenda is a great character and a very generous person giving us full run of her house, while she has vacated to her friends house! Thanks Richenda.

The flight over was long but uneventful after Richard and Karen had given us the best send off any could wish for. Prior to that it's been parties and tears as we celebrated and said our goodbyes to family and friends. My Mum and Dad could not join in all the celebrations as Dad is recovering from a little surgery, I really missed them being there but understood entirely. I called them from the airport just before getting on the plane, more tears as we said goodbye again. Mum said the oddest thing, She said "I have been waiting since you were 15 for this day." I don't remember wanting to travel the Pan Am Highway at 15 but I do remember to always wanting to be here, traveling, so I guess she is right.... thats my mum for ya!

Anyway its 7:30 on the first morning. We have a busy day ahead of us. I have no idea where the shed is. Vancouver airport is massive, so today is finding gasoline (notice how easy I slip into the lingo), find the shed and getting her back here. I have to sort the phone out and make sure that works and start our journey in Ernest in the next few days (no hurry). What a great start,assuming I actually find the bike that is.

See you on the other side of the pond

We had quite a party last night ….. and we are all a bit jaded this morning. Still this is the day we say goodbye to the family and I am sure its going to be very difficult. It’s a mixture of excitement and sadness.

The Shed should now be in Vancouver all things being equal so Its all very very real.

So this is it………. Man, am I excited and also sad…….. but mainly excited.

 

15 Minutes of fame and last bits to pack

Ok its been a while, we have been busy. I had the best birthday anyone could have arranged with cake (with the shed in the icing FANTASTIC)  and ice cream and of course beer, thanks to everyone. Next came the big news that we where to become big TV stars as our local BBC South West station had heard about our story and wanted to film us. That was last Thursday, the day I finished work which left only a few days to sort this out. To cut a long story short it all went rather well except for me and Sandra fluffing lines and forgetting everything under the pressure.

 

Anyway it aired and was ok in the end.

 

We even managed to film the shed being packed upped, we had a great time doing this. Thanks to James Cargo and Giles for putting up with us.

 

This is a very quick blog, We have only 2 days left and we are having a big leaving bash at Sandra mums house then off to Oxford to stay with my friend Richard who will take us too the airport. So much last minuet stuff to get on with

 

Apologies for not blogging more, I think in the future our blogs will be more frequent , shorter and hopefully much more interesting. Stay with us, I will try and blog from the airport if that’s possible