As you might recall, yesterday we had a beautiful day to ride, as it was warm and sunny most of the day. Well, we paid for yesterday today. We woke up to rain and it rained for our first four hours on the road. We had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant in Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory, and then loaded up and hit the road about eight o’clock. The rain wouldn’t have been too bad by itself as we all have good rain gear, and though we’re riding in the rain, “we” don’t get wet. The rain, however, made the last 50 miles in Canada a little less than enjoyable. And yes, that is sarcasm, you smell. It was bad; here’s why… Along the Alaska Highway, they have what are known as “frost heaves.” These are dips in the road, sometimes severe, that are caused by the freezing and thawing of the ground underneath the road. With the rain making seeing the dips harder, several times our butts were [temporarily and symbolically] up around our shoulders with little notice. After crossing into Alaska, the roads improved greatly to the point where we could relax a little bit, increase our speeds, and even use the cruise control or throttle lock.
We got to the Canadian-Alaskan border around 1:00 p.m. PST. There were quite a few bikers and other folks taking a break at the area and taking pictures using the Welcome to Alaska and the Welcome to the Yukon Territory signs as backdrops. We visited with one 60’s couple (meaning they were in the 60’s, and not necessarily hippies) that were like so many couples we know. The man was just as happy as he could be where he was, and the woman wanted to be somewhere else. Of course, they had also just traveled over “heave highway” so some of her dissatisfaction with life probably (and hopefully) came from being subjected to that nasty road. Even though they were traveling in a nice, large RV, they probably still had it rough too. She, at one point, said she might just get on the back of Tom’s bike and ride. Her husband didn’t say a word to the contrary or in argument, as this may have been the opportunity he had been looking for many a mile… She did say that she was normally a very good traveler (though everyone around her would probably beg to differ), and that getting to Alaska made it their 50th state to visit.
Another lady from British Columbia remarked that she would tell us to have a good time, but she could tell from watching the four of us, that we were having a good time.
Several folks have asked along the way how we’re doing being able to get gasoline often enough due to the sometimes very long stretches of highway without gas stations (or anything else for that matter). We’ve been pretty lucky, and with prior planning by the trail bosses and filling up sometimes after traveling only about 90 to 100 miles, we have made it without a problem. However, we did have one close call a few days back in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, as Carey ended up putting 5.27 gallons (19.96 liters) in his five-gallon gas tank.
The long days are getting longer. To give you a little perspective, we met a middle-aged gentleman in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, yesterday who was on his way to Dawson City, Yukon Territory, to tee off at midnight. Imagine that. We got back to the hotel tonight about eleven o’clock and the sun was low in the sky, but had a ways to go before hitting the horizon.
Sad things… We finally have a couple of regrets. We regret that we will have to again travel on the stretch of the Alaska Highway just east of the Canadian border. Those fifty or so mile miles were brutal; hopefully, on the return trip it won’t be raining so it will only be half as bad as it was on the way here. Secondly, since we’re out of Canada for awhile, Carey’s going to miss practicing his Canadian accent and greeting folks with a congenial “How’s it goin’, eh?”
Those that know Ed know that he has a very close relationship with a certain holiday, and know the good things he has done for the people of Paris, Arkansas. Stopping in North Pole, Alaska, then, was a no-brainer. Just southeast of Fairbanks is the festive little town of North Pole, and apparently, it’s Christmas time year round.
We ended up with 430 more miles today. Oil changes for all tomorrow and maybe another wash, as we didn’t really get our money’s worth out of the last one. We should have gotten a rain check.