Chance Encounters and the Shed Revived.

It was with a little apprehension that we left Richenda's in Vancouver. Richenda was the familiar face we knew and we would be seeing again on our return to Vancouver. It was always nice thinking we would see her again. However now we where heading for the USA and we may not return this way ever again. This could be the last time we meet but I seriously hope not. She was great , looking after us upon our entry in Canada and taking in parcels while we traveled. She fed us, showed us Vancouver and made sure we where comfortable. Thank you Richenda

As we set of for the Canadian Border I could still feel the bike acting oddly, handling badly and begging for attention.

Now let me take you back a day or two. Sandra and I had stopped for some frozen coffee (don't Google this, its not really worth it) at a store in Lac La Hache , a medium size town in BC. The Shed had already exhibited some peculiar handling characteristics in bends and I knew something was up but Sandra pointed out that the rear tyre was a bit squared off. This was not an understatement, it was very square indeed due to the constant abuse of under inflation on a heavy bike. We decided there and then we needed a new one but would wait till Vancouver.

Oddly enough that evening I got an e mail from Roy (one of the chaps we met camping north of the Arctic circle) saying we could use his home for resting. He had already predicted we would need tyres and said we could use his garage facilities to change them. Now Roy's house is in Washington State some 250 miles from the Canadian border which meant running on shot tyres a little further than I should, but we both agreed it would be better. I e mailed straight back saying thank you and we would be there in a day or two. I also asked Roy about mail ordering tyres to his house saying the exact make, model and size I needed. An e mail by return stated that he just so happened to have the exact tyres we needed and we were welcome to them. So from deciding to change the tyres, within a few hours we had a solution. This was the start of quite a few coincidences which happened. I also asked Roy about some tools needed to set up the shed and oil and filters. Roy had them all..... just incredible

Fast forward to the Canadian US border on the way south. Now keep in mind our last crossing into the USA at the most northerly land border crossing. Alone, no queues, no power and a friendly border guard. As we approached this border we could see this was going to be very different. Big queues and guards with there sense of humor gland removed by surgery. The number plate on the shed threw them a little and when we were asked how many times a year we did a trip like this, once was the curt reply and I wondered if this guy knew where Argentina was! We were told in no uncertain terms that after crossing into Mexico we must not come back. All very abrupt and clinical, still we got in without a strip search and the bike in one piece.

The sat nav now fully operational again thanks to Richenda taking in a package from Garmin, we plugged in the post code (Zip) for Roy's and set off. Some 250 miles away. Now it has to be said that we have slowed down a bit and 250 miles just seemed too far that day so we stopped at Isaqhat and treated ourselves to a motel.

The next day I was a little uneasy when approaching Moxee. We hardly knew Roy and his wife Shelley, we had only spoke for a few moments and we would be spending a fair bit of time with them. I know I have been wrong in the past (twice in total I think) but I should not have been the slightest bit worried. Sandra and I where treated as family and welcomed to their home. I can't tell you just how helpful and resourceful Roy and Shelley are.

Roy arranged the tyres to be changed and wheels balanced with the help of the local community - Brad in the fuel station, Dave the Muffler guy,Tom and Pat, (Dave and Brad's parents). Roy even called in favors to have the wheels balanced.... fantastic.


Now all this happened over a three day period in which Sandra and I were treated to some fantastic hospitality. We enjoyed their company and I hope they enjoyed ours. I for one liked them a great deal and hope we remain friends.

As we left, Roy riding the first 60 or 70 miles with us, we filled up with fuel at Brad's gas station in town and we even had the local fire brigade show us around the fire truck. Sandra was more interested in the firemen, but I want a big red fire truck when I get home now. All in all a great few days and thanks guys.


We Stayed in Morton that evening

The next day we took route 101 south. We planned to ride this rode along with route 1 all the way to San Francisco and stopped for lunch at a place called Seaside. This placed surprised both Sandra and I as it was just like your typical seaside resort in the UK. Tacky lights, slot machines, bumper cars and candy floss. Very surprising indeed, a bit like Blackpool.

Next night we camped near to the Oregon coast in Beaver heading south. All a little different now, scenery more gentle and roads much much better. It was the day before our wedding anniversary so we decided to find somewhere nice to stay to celebrate. we hit the jackpot. Heading out of Yachats we saw a small group of buildings in amongst the trees which fronted onto the sand and the sea. A quick look told us it was a hotel and we booked in. What a place it was and fitting for our first wedding anniversary. Fantastic views and very peaceful. We might have blown our budget but it was a special occasion and we both loved it.

End of Chapter one.........

Wow! It's been a while since I did my blog. After the shock shenanigans in Fairbanks our plan was to ride as quickly as we could back though Canada and into the US. This was in part due to the Visa restrictions. We only have 90days to visit the US and the clock started ticking when we went into Alaska (visiting Canada or Mexico does not reset the clock). Well, riding through Canada quickly is an impossibility. Firstly the country is massive and no matter how long you stay in it, being a Brit you still can't get your head around the distance you need to travel.

Anyway, from Tok we headed towards Watson Lake, a strip of Motels and restaurants on the Alaskan highway. It was Saturday evening so a meal and a beer or two made it a pleasant stay. We met up with the Blue Knights, a group of ex cops from Nevada who, all but one, rode BMW GS Motorcycles and boasted international law enforcement on there business cards. A really nice bunch of people who left aforementioned calling card on our bike inviting us to stay should we be passing.

Sandra, quiet rightly, decided that Sunday would be a slow start and we would visit the sign forest in Watson lake. Back when the Alaskan Highway was being built by both US and Canadian troops in 1947 I think it was, one US soldier decided to erect a sign post showing where he and his colleagues' home towns where and the number of miles away that town was. This single post soon multiplied as more and more troops got involved with the highway construction. After the work was done, civilians added to the posts until today it has reached over 65,000 signs. So we added one more.

Well, as we entered the forest we met a lone cyclist and said the usual hellos and started to chat. Turns out we had bumped into Mark Beaumount. Mark is the current round the world cycling world record holder competing the circum navigation in only 139 days and supremely fit and dedicated. It was nice to finally bump into someone as physically and mentally strong as myself. Unlike me , Mark's diet did not consist of beer and pies so I wondered how he managed to be so healthy. Anyway, look Mark up on the BBC website. On this trip Mark is making a one man documentary about his north to south adventure on a Bike whilst climbing the mountains (you can see how alike we are now). So Mark made his sign with ours and filmed the whole thing too so we might be on the telly again. It goes out in March next year.

From Watson Lake it was onto Lairds Hot Springs camping next to two pools of biblically hot water heated up by mother nature herself. Mother nature also provided an odd pong to go with this. We had to have a dip of course. I don't know about you but I find getting into really really hot water odd. I just get tired and want to sleep so the hot spring thing is never my cup of tea, but it was nice enough to see.

From there it was onto Fort Nelson and a night in the famous Fort Nelson Hotel. I am not sure why it is famous but it said it in big friendly letters so I guess it must be. We met a a couple of chaps who run the place and these guys where really helpful for our Mexico, South America leg of the trip.

We then went onto Prince George (Remember this from previous blogs, went to the same campground and even the same camp spot) The Gilroy family who had an RV next to us, took pity on us and gave us beer and food and treated us like one (or two) of the family. It was a real boost, particularly having spent days and days without a day off on the bike. The night in the tent was interrupted by a some very odd beastly type noises outside. Whilst I was not scared out of my skin, I felt I should stay in the tent just to reassure Sandra of course (read Sandra blog for details) I have no idea what the hell it was.

From Prince George it was onto Chache Creek then using back roads recommended by a guy on an old Suzuki we headed to Vancouver. This road turned out to be a wonderful road running through tiny remote villages, green and turquoise lakes and wonderful forests. It added lots of miles and time and as we approached the metropolis of Vancouver both Sandra and I could not help but feel a little sad. This was to be one of our last days in Canada, a country we both love now and I cannot begin to tell you of the endless beauty of this place.

Vancouver also represented the end of chapter one of the adventure - over 7,000 miles in just over a month and we are loving every moment of it (Prudhoe bay excluded of course)

The Shed is in need of some serious TLC. She has had her moments and from memory these are

Burnt out GPS cradle in Prince Rupert
Bent seat clips in the Yukon
Fuel leak in Chicken
Scratched tank due to falling over in Fairbanks
New shock needed in Fairbanks
Foot pegs shaken loose in Fairbanks
Headlight out in Dawson Creek
Completely squared off tires now in Vancouver

We had meet some chaps on our way to Prudhoe bay who offered to help and good to his word a chap called Roy will be helping me sort the shed out after we cross the border into the USA

So thats' chapter one out the way and we are going to miss Canada. We have loved it here but the USA beckons and more adventure lay ahead.

Shocking News and South at Last

If you look at our location on this site via google it looks like we have been in Fairbanks Alaska for about two weeks, This is not quite as it appears. Four days of that was traveling to Prudhoe bay and the two or three days we took a train down to Denali NP.

The trip to Prudhoe had taken its toll on the shed,.The rear shock was absolutely shot, you may recall I had my worries back in Dawson City, but once we left the Yukon Bridge stop on the way back from Prudhoe the shed just sank down and looked sorry for herself. Myself and Sandra had to ride the last 60 miles back to the Fairbanks hostel motocross style standing on the pegs just to move our weight forward, our legs hurt the next day. Those of you who know the BMW R1100GS will know how bad it is to have the suspension bottom out all the time and have excessive loads transfered to the gearbox casings. Techy or what? We needed to order a new shock, this was going to be difficult so remotely and on the 4th July weekend. We did find one and could get it to us in Fairbanks but would take 5 days.

Given we now had some time we decided to take a train to Denali NP. We camped there for a few days and came back to the Fairbanks hostel. I found the Denali trip interesting in lots of ways. Firstly I had time to enjoy the scenery, something thats hard to do riding the bike, The train was clean and had viewing cars which was brilliant, Now the park itself I found a bit odd. It is, of course, one of the most beautiful places in the world and its hard to argue with that. What I found odd was the organisation of it all. The visitors are controlled to a massive degree, passes into and out of the park, buses taking people round and an overall feel of containment and not freedom which I expected. The park organisers go to great lengths to tell you that this is for the good of the landscape and wildlife, and I guess it is, but it made me feel uncomfortable. The bookshops and gift shops are lovely places with videos and nice books. I asked for a copy of 'Into the Wild'. The smartly dressed girl behind the counter looked shocked as though I had asked for some under the counter adult magazine. She lent forward looked shiftily from side to side and whispered, Sir if you need that sort of book you need to go to the bookshop in town. Only nice books about the nice park sold.

All in all though I enjoyed the trip to Denali but hope that Yellowstone is organised differently.

Anyway we got back safely and we found Shunsaku the Japaneses chap who we met at Coldfoot camp there resting after his epic trip to Prudhoe on his 50cc bike (took him over 8 days) Again big respect to him.

Back at Fairbanks it was an anxious wait for the shock, and decided to do a little shopping in the local store, A chap came up and introduced himself. John was a UK traveler too, doing a similar journey and waiting for parts for his BMW after a spill retuning from Prudhoe. We decided to meet up that evening for a meal and a beer or four. We had a great time and John was certainly great company and a real good laugh.

The Shock turned up and Sandra and I set to work changing out the unit and completing a full service on the shed.

With everything done it was time to hit the road, AT LAST. We packed up on a very rainy morning and headed out of town, South.

The shed felt like a new bike and we headed for our next stop Tok. Due to the weather we stayed in a Cabin, this allowed us to catch up with post and get a nights rest. Then onto Haynes Junction which was a fun night camping and our first experience of cooking on a open fire. Beans and Jacket Potato have never tasted so good. More rain in the morning meant a quick start onto Watson Lake, which is where I am writing this now. Now I know we are not dating any of theses locations but we do have a travel log with dates, location ,millage etc, which we can share with you if you would like.

Its been over a month now since we left the UK, I have to tell you that I am loving this lifestyle, weeks no longer have beginning and ends. I often have to ask Sandra what day it actually is. I love the freedom of it all the setting off and stopping when we want. Yes , I miss the folks back home but we get e mails from them and this really helps. The ups and downs make the trip but if you ask me today, I could do this forever.

North.. about as far as we wish to go

I can't begin to tell you how relived I am that this part of their adventure is over.
It was always a worry two up, big bike and fully loaded too, It was not as I imagined or planned, well I hadn't planned a damn thing which was part of this sorry tale.

This was meant to be the start of the adventure south. A big event. A milestone and something to be proud of. WRONG again!

We hung around Fairbanks for a few days looking for a good weather window and one faithfully came along. So everything packed (first mistake) we set off. We wanted to get to Coldfoot (or as we later called it cold sore) which is about 250 miles north and marks the half way point to the sunny sea side resort of Pudhoe bay. Now I have read lots of encounters about ?the haulage road?, how people have sailed up and down, and indeed met people who where doing just that, so at first I felt really confident about this part of the trip (second mistake)

The haulage road or Dalton highway was built to construct the 800 mile pipeline from the oil rich environment discovered at Prudhoe Bay, and named sometime later as the Dalton highway. HIGHWAY! This is a ridiculous name for a selection of mud and dirt tracks (I feel a letter to the Times coming on) Anyway I digress.

The journey started from Fairbanks in thick fog which quickly cleared as we increased in altitude. The shed purring like a very purry thing. Everything going well so far. i even managed a smile . Unbeknown to me they would be few and far between in the next four days.

As soon as the 'highway' splits at the Elliot highway point the road falls apart and the rot sets in. The road is marked in MP which are mileposts and they are a constant reminder of how little distance you have traveled and just how many endless miles you have to go.

Mixed surfaces from just compressed mud to gravel to much bigger gravel and another surface which I have a very rude name for which I kid you not is like riding on a mixture of ice and 20/50 motor oil.

Anyway we are still in good spirits at mile point 56, the Yukon crossing, a very important bridge that allows trucks the size of small ocean liners to move along the length of the Dalton without taking a hover craft which they used to have to back in the 70's. Hey, a restaurant and fuel kept also kept spirits up.

It was then more different surfaces until you reach MP 115 (remember thats about 180 miles from Fairbanks) which is the Arctic circle and you stop and get a photo for the record. It should be mentioned that the scenery is just wonderful, but if you're focused on the next 100 meters of road in front of you , you see little of it.

We titter to one another as we passed Gobblers Knob. This is where you can see the midnight sun if you climb a hill and wait till midnight. Of course, neither of these things filled us with passion so we just giggled at the name.

Camp one was at Coldfoot, well about five mile north in Marion Creek. This is a basic site with no services, but very very beautiful and incredibly quiet. I loved it there.

We slept well packed everything up again (mistake number three) and headed straight off. No food, no planned stop or refreshment with us except water in the camel backs (mistakes four and five). I started to feel tired straight away and this concernd me. The night before we met a couple of chaps who had reassured us we did not need knobbly tyres for the next part of the trip. TheY had a couple of fully kitted up BMW GS's with, you've guessed it, knobbly tyres. Mistake six was tyre choice

Now I would put myself in the enthusiastic amateur when it comes to off road riding. I am not good but can manage. This was a totally different kettle of fish.

Different surfaces again . Big climb outs, which in themselves where not a problem, but the 250 miles we had to do had me sweating and getting very very tired. Those of you who ride bikes will know you get good and bad days. Days when the bike feels like part of you. Nothing can or does go wrong. You are at one with your steed. I was at odds with mine as I struggled to get any sense from it or myself, Confidence was dropping and I am afraid to say I let Sandra and myself down where at one point I could not even manage another sodding milestone post. I was completely knackered. Arms, legs, head all stopped working properly. Pulling over to give myself a damn good talking to with 40 miles to go I realised I had not got off the bike, not for one moment for over seven hours, (mistake seven).

Anyway the talking to kinda worked and we struggled the last 40 miles to reach Prudhoe Bay. Now, given what we had gone through , Prudhoe Bay was never going to get good press from either of us but I can tell you it's a dump, and all we could think of was why the hell are we here? Some official bandits ripped us of for the hotel room, we took the picture and went to bed.

More talking to myself to make sure we did not repeat the mistakes the day before, Tyre pressure reduced to the lowest I could hope for with the tyre still remaining on the rim. Lots of chocolate and a hearty breakfast, and of we set.

What a difference. The last 60 miles were now the first and we just blasted through it. Confidence almost restored we did OK.

Back to Coldfoot campsite and pitched our tent, smiles returning (well almost) to our faces. Now if you think we are crazy (and to be honest you would get no argument from me), you and we would be wrong because we met a chap at Coldfoot camp who was doing what we were doing but on a 50cc moped. From Japan, Shunsaku rides alone and carries my highest regard, but he is as mad as a fish. We both wish him well.

Uneventful night at Coldfoot we had the last section of the trip ahead of us and all went well except for a rather major tank slap and a front wheel washout that nearly had us over. I would like to think it was my lightening fast reactions, but my reactions were on a par with a small slug with shingles. It was only luck that saved us.

Anyway we are back in sunny Fairbanks, and chilling. I cant believe how wonderful that wife of mine is. Not one compliant and no, well not anything other than full and total support, THANK YOU SANDRA.

It should be written in the record that Prudhoe bay simply is not worth the trip. Yes an adventure, no doubt about that, but the final destination, God knows why anyone want to ride there other than its a long way north. A bit like John o Groats, but not as nice. It's just a point on a map and a milestone completed. I have no desire to return. Should you be daft enough to embark upon a trip like this, stop at the Arctic circle, climb up Gobblers knob and look at the sun at midnight if that floats your boat, but forget Prudhoe Bay......... Bonkers.
Well actually all is not lost, and a very odd thing happened on the way back at the Yukon crossing (remember that on the way north), In the line for fuel we met Bruce a tough looking ex marine, who had the same thoughts about visiting Prudho Bay as we now feel, and said the Circle was far enough from him, we chatted about all sorts, and Bruce filled his tank and without a word filled ours also, What a surprise and very generous, ?....We both started to smile again