mile 8503

Hurra, we are on the road again!

The team at Mighty Peace Harley-Davidson had worked great and got the bike ready early morning, then cleaned it good and even added some parts for me, so we loaded our stuff shortly before lunch time and off we were.  It felt good to roll again, the sun was shining and after we had left the city traffic we made our way down South on Hwy 40 towards Hinton and Jasper.  The first 100 miles or so traffic was really bad, lots of big rigs with supplies for the surrounding oil fields, but once we were beyond those, riding was just a cruise.  Nice gentle curves, good road, nice scenery, exactly what we needed after having been stranded for almost three days.  We are still in the mood of the Yukon and Upper British Columbia, were ten cars a day was a traffic jam, and the plaines of northern Alberta simply don't have the charm of the rugged mountain terrain of the North.  So coming South towards Jasper NP and into the Athabasca and Miette Valleys soothes a bit the loss of the North.  We found a nice camp site (KOA) south of Hinton, and are happy, believe it or not, to sleep again in the tent and to cook our own meal.  Great day!!

Oil Fields all around, between Grande Prairie and Grande Cache, AB

Between Musket River and Entrande, AB

Camping in Hinton, AB

"Let me be a free man - free to travel, free to stop, free to work."  -  Chief Joseph

mile 8280 (+683 by car)

It's 3:00 AM and the alarm clock goes off to wake us up as our transport vehicle for the bike and us will pick us up at 4:00 AM.  Punctual as a German our Yukon driver Jeff shows up and loads us and our belongings, and en route we are to Grande Prairie, AB.  Being an early bird has the advantage that we are on the road as the sun comes up, and that is honored by seeing many animals as they start the day by feeding along the forest edge.  We are lucky to see many Moose, cow w/calve, bulls, Bison, Caribou, Wolverines, Black Bear, it is unbelievable how many animals are active such early.  This is an added bonus, but our goal is today to get the bike before 6:00 PM to Grande Prairie, AB so we know what's wrong and how to fix it.  Off course road conditions work against our timing, as west of Fort Nelson, BC some major road works are slowing us down, then some more east of Fort Nelson, then some more around Fort St. John, and I'm getting worried.  We continue to fly through Tyler, Dawson Creek, and Hythe, but having no time to stop in any of them to take in the impressions of those towns catering completely to the oil drilling industry in this area.  Jeff is on a mission, only stops to fill the truck with gas, and we arrive at 4:45 PM at Mighty Peace Harley-Davidson in Grande Prairie, AB.

Now what can I say?  The patient has been admitted, "Dr." Rick Gaynes and his team have examined the patient and diagnosed rear wheel bearing damage, treatment has started, and family members and friends are awaiting the recovery and a quick release from the hospital.  But the patient has to stay overnight, and we will visit him tomorrow morning after the morning attendance by the team, and hope the patient can be released after lunch.

1422 miles remain the same, forward or backwards

The team of Mighty Peace Harley-Davidson, Grande Prairie, AB

"If you can’t get it going with bungee cords and duct tape, it’s serious."  -  Unknown

Mile 8280

What a day, or better what not.  After many phone calls and lots of waiting, "Road America" did find a service company willing to transport the bike (it's too much value to transport so the excuses of some towing companies) to Grande Prairie, AB.  So late afternoon we managed to lift the bike on the bed of a pick-up truck, secure it as good as possible for the 690 mile ride tomorrow morning to the HD dealership and then to find out what's wrong with it, and hopefully get if repaired ASAP so we can be on the road again (Willie Nelson song).  Kind a being a little down not having the bike available, and even more of not being able to ride that section.  But what can one do??

PS.: Paul, it didn't work.  When riding the bike the 1 mile to the pick-up place I turned up the music, did work for not hearing the grinding noise, but the wobble was still there.  Figure we need professional help.

Ready to go

Checked on our sign we placed  here July 6th

"That's all the motorcycle is, a system of concepts worked out in steel."  -  Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

mile 8279

We left this morning Whitehorse, YT with the plan to reach Muncho Lake, BC.  As said, that was the plan.  Riding along the Big Salmon Mountains and the Nisutlin Plateau in beautiful weather (for a change), the plan came to shambles shortly before Junction 37 on the ALCAN, about 15 miles out of Watson Lake, YT, when the bike made some erie and grinding sounds from the rear end.  We limped into Watson Lake, looked for an accommodation, and made a phone call to "Road America - Road Side Assistance" to get help.  Now since its Sunday we are stuck here for at least tonight, and the next H-D Service is 690 miles away in Grande Prairie, AB.  Besides having made good mileage over the last two days, now we're thrown back in our plans, but without the bike we go nowhere.  So another bullet to bite.  The irony in that story is that during a phone call this morning with my dad asked how the bike was doing, and we told him "no problems, is doing great".  300 miles later, not doing great.

The Patient

“The universe is so well balanced that the mere fact that you have a problem also serves as a sign that there is a solution.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

mile 7998

After a day of rest and sightseeing in Fairbanks, learning one thing or two about building an oil pipeline in permafrost, about the gold rush and the struggles of the town when it all finished, we left Fairbanks today early morning in a steady pour of rain.  Our plan was to move South to Tok and then turn North to Chicken and over the "Top of the World Hwy" to Dawson.  But with the recent rain we learn in Tok that the unpaved portion of the taylor Hwy is in a really bad conditions and most probably not possible for a bike like ours to pass through.  As we had heard similar stories from people with BMW's GS's who had attempted this road some weeks ago in similar conditions and their struggles or turnarounds, we decide not to risk the bike and waste time, and bite the bullet of making the same way twice i.e. continue on the ALCAN to Whitehorse.  Our bitter decision is sweetened by the weather improving and giving us a nice afternoon and evening, thus providing us with a great view of the Wrangell Mountain Range with Mt. Logan in the distance, and some pretty wildlife like Bald Eagles and Moose. So not bad for a day which started not so well, and some good distance too.

The Alyeska Pipeline

Old houses of Fairbanks restored in Pioneer Park, Fairbanks, AK

Kluane National Park, YT

Kluane NP, YT

"There's a land where the mountains are nameless

  And the rivers all run God knows where;

  There are lives that are erring and aimless,

  And deaths that just hang by a hair;

  There are hardships that nobody reckons;

  There are valleys unpeopled and still;

  There's a land--oh, it beckons and beckons,

  And I want to go back--and I will."  -  Robert William Service, Spell of the Yukon 

mile 7345

After 14 hours of first rain and mud, then mud only, did we return to Fairbanks, tiered but satisfied with the achievement.  We have survived a not so easy day, riding North the James Dalton Hwy on a surface which was like a wet soap bar, when seasoned riders on their Triumphs and BMWs advised us at the Yukon river not to continue as they were struggling the road conditions, when the weather didn't knew wether to trench us, or to let the sun come through, when trucks were spitting the mud at us like a wall plasterer.  But we made it, and we reached the Latitude 66° 33' 44", otherwise known as the Arctic Circle.  What else to say?  Happy, simply happy!!

Mile 84 of the Elliot Hwy where the Dalton Hwy starts

Following the Alaskan Pipeline on the Dalton Hwy

Crossing the Yukon River

 Gas station at the Yukon River Camp

Happy Birthday Elke

 ... and this requires a good cleaning

mile 6801

DENALI, what can be said about it?  One could run down all the statistics and numbers which describe this park, or one could simply say, "you have to see it to believe it".  We had an early start and after we left the visitor center at the park entrance we headed to the Savage River which is basically the limited park entry.  From there you can't use your own vehicle anymore and park tour busses take you to the various locations.  Climbing up to Sanctuary River we got a great, clear look at Mt. Denali's south and north peak (the south peak is the higher one, 20230 ft, distance between north and south peak approx. 1.3 mile), considering ourselves very lucky as the top is around 3/4 of the year covered in clouds.  Continuing our way to Teklanika River we saw our first Grizzly Bear, a mother bear with her two cubs, playing and exploring a hill side.  Following further west the Alaska Range we see impressive glaciers and mountains, and Caribou grazing in the meadows, Eagles searching for prey, and Dall Sheep climbing the steep slopes.  Not much further down the road we see another Grizzly Bear feeding on flowers and grass, unimpressed by our presence.  We continued along Muldrow Glacier which is covered with vegetation like grass and small shrubs, but just a couple of feet below the surface is solid ice, flowing towards East.  Our turnaround point was Wonder Lake, a lake formed by a glacier and just in the process of developing its own aquamarine life.  The weather has by now also turned to the usual, and the clear skies of the morning have given way to rain.  Nevertheless, the wildlife is not bothered by that, and we saw some more Caribou and Grizzly Bear, and different birds on our way back to the Wilderness Access Center at the park entrance.

Mt. McKinley

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the thing you didn't do, than by the ones you did.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore." - Author unknown

Found at a plaque in Denali National Park