The idea I've come up with is... in this case... Bigger is Better! :o)
Took a long two up ride, well for her it was! Up through Rocky Mountain National Park... Splitting the wind on a beautiful day, herself decided she wants to give "Riding Her Own" some more time to develop.
Bottom line? I'll carry both bikes... on a One Ton dragging a fiver. :o)
What I've come up with... that remains in Early Draft is that the V Star will continue to ride on it's carrier on the fiver... and the Raider will ride cross bed, behind the cab. I've thought of this way before... and just didn't do it.
Well... this decision is made... the Raider goes behind the cab... To get her up there and deal with the clearance issue at the break over point, I'll fabricate a "Dove Tail" section that will attach and extend 2' from the side of the truck. This will be built to split the difference between the flat bed and the angle of the 8' motorcycle ramp that will attach to it... and should allow the bike's low clearance to clear the edge of the bed as she's pulled up.
... and that is Pulled Up. The idea of riding up... and across the bed... into the new Wheel Dock chock... and NOT missing it :o) is not really working for me... so I'll put in a light winch to pull the bike up slow and easy!
All this requires moving the gooseneck hitch on the truck back to give sufficient turning radius... and likely a lil' suspension boost... though the total weight is under cargo capacity... uh... really! :o)
Gotta get this done pretty quick too... we need to leave! Wanted to pull out the 6th of Sept. Looks like a week later at least... But...
If I've got both Bikes along... It's worth the wait!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
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... Splitting the wind on a Motorcycle... Feeding my soul with the Healing power of the Open Road... following that twisting, Ribbon of Highway that leads me on...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I've Run into a Lil' Roadblock With My Fifth Wheel Mounted Motorcycle Carrier...
We're getting ready to pull out for a long circle with the Fifth Wheel... and though I don't consider, that loading the Bike to take her with us makes her a *Trailer Queen*... That's where she has to ride to come with us.
*Since we Live, Full-Time... in our Fifth Wheel... hauling her on a carrier is more like parking her in a Garage... not the insult of making her a Trailer Queen... Right? :o) *
So... I was just about to do some Trailer Frame bracing, to insure that I didn't pick up any Trailer Frame issues with the fifth wheel... carrying the 700+ lb Roadstar Raider, that I've not had in 10,000+ miles of carrying the 500+ lb. V Star.
SCREEECH!... That's the sound of that lil' project coming to a sudden halt!... The thought that the Raider, wouldn't fit on the existing Fifth Wheel Motorcycle Carrier never even crossed my lil' pea brain.
The thought that, maybe, I should put a tape measure to things... before I got any further along... Did... finally occur to me... OOPS! Turns out that the front tire is 'bout a half inch too wide for the Wheel Dock Chock... and the Back tire is almost a whole dang inch!...
I knew her hips were wide... but Whew! She's a big girl!
Bottom line is... I'm either gonna have to do, another, major re-work of the carrier, to fit the bigger bike; along with the Frame Bracing to protect the Fifth Wheel RV... or ... I'm gonna have to come up with another, totally different, solution for Taking that big Red Sweetheart of a Two Wheeler with us...
One of the two Has to happen... 'cause... Leaving her behind, for any significant period of time... Is Not... something I'm gonna Tolerate! :o)
so... put on another pot of coffee... pull out some blank paper... a pencil... eraser... and start schemin'!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
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*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
*Since we Live, Full-Time... in our Fifth Wheel... hauling her on a carrier is more like parking her in a Garage... not the insult of making her a Trailer Queen... Right? :o) *
So... I was just about to do some Trailer Frame bracing, to insure that I didn't pick up any Trailer Frame issues with the fifth wheel... carrying the 700+ lb Roadstar Raider, that I've not had in 10,000+ miles of carrying the 500+ lb. V Star.
SCREEECH!... That's the sound of that lil' project coming to a sudden halt!... The thought that the Raider, wouldn't fit on the existing Fifth Wheel Motorcycle Carrier never even crossed my lil' pea brain.
The thought that, maybe, I should put a tape measure to things... before I got any further along... Did... finally occur to me... OOPS! Turns out that the front tire is 'bout a half inch too wide for the Wheel Dock Chock... and the Back tire is almost a whole dang inch!...
I knew her hips were wide... but Whew! She's a big girl!
Bottom line is... I'm either gonna have to do, another, major re-work of the carrier, to fit the bigger bike; along with the Frame Bracing to protect the Fifth Wheel RV... or ... I'm gonna have to come up with another, totally different, solution for Taking that big Red Sweetheart of a Two Wheeler with us...
One of the two Has to happen... 'cause... Leaving her behind, for any significant period of time... Is Not... something I'm gonna Tolerate! :o)
so... put on another pot of coffee... pull out some blank paper... a pencil... eraser... and start schemin'!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Ewan McGregor gives a bit of an education in his "Long Way Down" DVD...
... Sounds a lil' bit like me.. or me like him?... he complains about feeling like he's caught in the "Gotta Keep Moving Along" trap... Pushed by Time Constraints... and not really being able to See the country he was traveling through... 'cause he had to get to the Next Place... to meet a schedule...
...Which is something that pushed me on my Motorcycle Trip to Alaska... and is something I Rail against on BOTH my websites! aaaarrrrgggghhhh! :o)
Time and weather conspired to move me along faster than I'd have preferred. Had I the option, me and that Roadstar Raider... would still be out there on the Open Road... and... waaaaaay back down it... covering the same country... not necessarily slower... but circling and yondering around... adding a Lot of miles, taking a lot of time... exploring back into out of the way, off the beaten track, lil' places...
Hunting up more opportunities to meet folks like Kerry, Ken and Sue, Genine and Nicole, Shadow Moss... and lunch with "Bob" Seeger! :o)
... and people? That is what made this trip, too short and too wet as it was... a Motorcycle Ride in Shining Times! ... looking past the Tourist Icons... and meeting up with the People along the way...
Though I wasn't as tight on time... except from the Money aspect of it... the weather wouldn't allow me to sit around much... I mean... sitting in a three man tent... alone... for days... waiting for a rain, the weather man says "ain't gonna quit"... to quit... is NOT my idea of a good time! :o)
So... if I could make a couple of changes to the trip, they would be to have had more time for it... a Month is Just Not Sufficient for the Best run through Alaska... though, I knew that going in... but sometimes you just take what you can, and do the best with it...
Then, the second change would be... to NOT ride it alone...
That was an unchangeable thing on This trip. I had personal reasons for it this time... but it would be a Huge upgrade of an already Great Ride on a Glorious Motorcycle Road, to have at least a buddy or two along to share it with...
And, with more Bikes... you could conveniently carry more "Shelter" gear, along with the hands to help put it up, that could make riding out the weather a less athletic piece of work...
So... tonight I'll watch another segment of Ewans' journey... and see if it continues to stimulate my "wandering gene"... In RVing we've got Hitch Itch...
... Now it looks like I'm infected with Two Afflictions... Hitch Itch... AND ... The call of Two Wheels on the Open Road...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
...Which is something that pushed me on my Motorcycle Trip to Alaska... and is something I Rail against on BOTH my websites! aaaarrrrgggghhhh! :o)
Time and weather conspired to move me along faster than I'd have preferred. Had I the option, me and that Roadstar Raider... would still be out there on the Open Road... and... waaaaaay back down it... covering the same country... not necessarily slower... but circling and yondering around... adding a Lot of miles, taking a lot of time... exploring back into out of the way, off the beaten track, lil' places...
Hunting up more opportunities to meet folks like Kerry, Ken and Sue, Genine and Nicole, Shadow Moss... and lunch with "Bob" Seeger! :o)
... and people? That is what made this trip, too short and too wet as it was... a Motorcycle Ride in Shining Times! ... looking past the Tourist Icons... and meeting up with the People along the way...
Though I wasn't as tight on time... except from the Money aspect of it... the weather wouldn't allow me to sit around much... I mean... sitting in a three man tent... alone... for days... waiting for a rain, the weather man says "ain't gonna quit"... to quit... is NOT my idea of a good time! :o)
So... if I could make a couple of changes to the trip, they would be to have had more time for it... a Month is Just Not Sufficient for the Best run through Alaska... though, I knew that going in... but sometimes you just take what you can, and do the best with it...
Then, the second change would be... to NOT ride it alone...
That was an unchangeable thing on This trip. I had personal reasons for it this time... but it would be a Huge upgrade of an already Great Ride on a Glorious Motorcycle Road, to have at least a buddy or two along to share it with...
And, with more Bikes... you could conveniently carry more "Shelter" gear, along with the hands to help put it up, that could make riding out the weather a less athletic piece of work...
So... tonight I'll watch another segment of Ewans' journey... and see if it continues to stimulate my "wandering gene"... In RVing we've got Hitch Itch...
... Now it looks like I'm infected with Two Afflictions... Hitch Itch... AND ... The call of Two Wheels on the Open Road...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Alaskan Ride... So Many Miles... and so Damn Quick!
25 Days... 8678 miles, a pair of new tires, six states, two Canadian Provinces and one Canadian Territory. Six motels, three nights as a guest along the way, and 16 tent camps... lost count of the cans of Dinty Moore stew, Campbells chunky soup ... and really poor Instant coffee!
Along the way was something close to 3000 miles of rain! :o) through the most beautiful and intimidating land on this continent. The weather talked me out of traveling to some of the places I'd planned... and hiking alone in the rain lost its' shine for me before I got to the trailheads :o) ... all that means is I've got plenty to go back to.
That Big Red Yamaha Raider ran like a top... not a burp... for all those miles, though Star Motorcycles rates their Raiders at 42 MPG... this particular Motorcycle turned out just above and just below 50 MPG (turning out 56 a time or two!)... over those many miles... the only time it dropped down to 43 MPG... still above its' rating... I was climbing over the combination of Lolo and then Chief Joseph passes... going from Idaho to Montana.
Now, putting a big two wheeler on that road, on a sunny morning, is guaranteed to drop a gear or two, and twist the throttle a mite tighter... which curiously, consumes more fuel! :o)
But... unfortunately, you've heard it said; "All good things must come to an end"... so... after passing through Yellowstone...
... and leaving The Tetons behind me...
I rolled that Bike on across Wyoming, where there's no shortage of beautiful visions for an old cowboy either... Found these beauties a ways south of Lander... I wondered if they were wild or just damn lucky ranch horses... no matter really...
With the final leg of my run down Poudre Canyon, and a 438 mile day, I made it home last night...
The next couple of days are gonna be a bit of a scramble, with much to do and get caught up on... but like I said, I've got some "Summary" articles I'll be building in the next week or so... so, stay tuned!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Along the way was something close to 3000 miles of rain! :o) through the most beautiful and intimidating land on this continent. The weather talked me out of traveling to some of the places I'd planned... and hiking alone in the rain lost its' shine for me before I got to the trailheads :o) ... all that means is I've got plenty to go back to.
That Big Red Yamaha Raider ran like a top... not a burp... for all those miles, though Star Motorcycles rates their Raiders at 42 MPG... this particular Motorcycle turned out just above and just below 50 MPG (turning out 56 a time or two!)... over those many miles... the only time it dropped down to 43 MPG... still above its' rating... I was climbing over the combination of Lolo and then Chief Joseph passes... going from Idaho to Montana.
Now, putting a big two wheeler on that road, on a sunny morning, is guaranteed to drop a gear or two, and twist the throttle a mite tighter... which curiously, consumes more fuel! :o)
But... unfortunately, you've heard it said; "All good things must come to an end"... so... after passing through Yellowstone...
... and leaving The Tetons behind me...
I rolled that Bike on across Wyoming, where there's no shortage of beautiful visions for an old cowboy either... Found these beauties a ways south of Lander... I wondered if they were wild or just damn lucky ranch horses... no matter really...
With the final leg of my run down Poudre Canyon, and a 438 mile day, I made it home last night...
The next couple of days are gonna be a bit of a scramble, with much to do and get caught up on... but like I said, I've got some "Summary" articles I'll be building in the next week or so... so, stay tuned!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Close to Home
Passed through Yellowstone yesterday. It's mid August and there's no shortage of two legged "wildlife" in that place... better to wait for September! :o)
Set up my last night of this trip in a cheap motel in Dubois. Interesting thing was... coming over Togwotee Pass, the road Construction was the worst road of this whole motorcyle tour to Alaska!
Then, this morning, I went to do a post and I could't get WiFi to work... Waaagh! So this is getting bumped out on my lil' Droid phone sitting at Mickey D's down the road a bit in Lander Wyoming.
I'm back in my Home country now!... and will catch up with a few "summary" posts over the next few days... from the comfort of the Eagle!
Free on the Open Road in Wyoming!
Brian
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Ain't it Great That the Ride Just Keeps Shining Brighter on the Last few Days of it?
The Sky is Blue... except for that nice lil' Thunderstorm last night :o) the road is open and life is pretty darn good.
Ran east on Highway 12, along the Clearwater River through central Idaho Monday. Climbed up over Lolo pass and dropped down into SW Montana, to pass back through Ennis and find a camp just north of West Yellowstone.
THAT is a SUH-WHEET Motorcycle Road! The road writhes and twists, squeezed between the mountain on one side... the river on the other... It is what cruising the twisties in the High Country is all about. I'd hang a picture here... but right now... they're foolishly trapped in my camera, out in a saddlebag, while I enjoy my morning coffee, chompin' on a Mickey D's egg mcmuffin... and tap tap tappn' on this keyboard. :o)
Traffic, at least on a Monday, was light enough that a fella could make a few "runs" here and there to widen the grin on his face... Yes sir... the roads through Idaho, central and farther north... are just about all, fine rides on a fine motorcycle.
For anyone camping, there's plenty of good camps scattered along it... and didn't appear to be any real shortage of lodges or decent lodging for those needing finer accommodation.
Bottom line... if you're riding through this part of the world... I'd strongly counsel you to route your ride along Hwy 12... it is a gorgeous run.
On the last "Camp" night of this trip I decided to treat my self to a fine meal in a restaurant, first one of the ride... as long as you discount McDonalds and other such joints! :o) and "Three Bears Restaurant" is our favorite spot for a fine meal in West Yellowstone...
Today I'll work my way across my favorite "spot" in the world, Yellowstone National Park... and then SE to a motel for my last night on the road... of this trip.
Received a comment from a guy the other day wanting a post talking 'bout the "Sensations" of Riding the Alaskan Highway... got me to thinking along that line a lil' bit :o) ... so now... I've got a lil' list of "posts" I'll write... once I'm back... and can just think and put my thoughts together, along that line... and there's quite a few thoughts I have on that subject... surprised huh? :o)
One of the things you may have noticed... I haven't taken as many pictures as I'd planned... or usually take on trips... seems between the weather and where my Head, found itself... that just didn't happen... This trip turned out to be a lot of what it was hoped to be... a lot of looking inside... while my carcass rode through the Glorious Outside... a pretty good thing for a man to do once in a while.
...but, now that it's near over, I'll be building a regular page on the site with a full summary of my Motorcycle to Alaska ride, and most of the "Good" pictures I did capture... along with some observations in posts here, I've made on Motorcycle Camping gear and habits on Long Rides... so stay tuned!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Ran east on Highway 12, along the Clearwater River through central Idaho Monday. Climbed up over Lolo pass and dropped down into SW Montana, to pass back through Ennis and find a camp just north of West Yellowstone.
THAT is a SUH-WHEET Motorcycle Road! The road writhes and twists, squeezed between the mountain on one side... the river on the other... It is what cruising the twisties in the High Country is all about. I'd hang a picture here... but right now... they're foolishly trapped in my camera, out in a saddlebag, while I enjoy my morning coffee, chompin' on a Mickey D's egg mcmuffin... and tap tap tappn' on this keyboard. :o)
Traffic, at least on a Monday, was light enough that a fella could make a few "runs" here and there to widen the grin on his face... Yes sir... the roads through Idaho, central and farther north... are just about all, fine rides on a fine motorcycle.
For anyone camping, there's plenty of good camps scattered along it... and didn't appear to be any real shortage of lodges or decent lodging for those needing finer accommodation.
Bottom line... if you're riding through this part of the world... I'd strongly counsel you to route your ride along Hwy 12... it is a gorgeous run.
On the last "Camp" night of this trip I decided to treat my self to a fine meal in a restaurant, first one of the ride... as long as you discount McDonalds and other such joints! :o) and "Three Bears Restaurant" is our favorite spot for a fine meal in West Yellowstone...
Today I'll work my way across my favorite "spot" in the world, Yellowstone National Park... and then SE to a motel for my last night on the road... of this trip.
Received a comment from a guy the other day wanting a post talking 'bout the "Sensations" of Riding the Alaskan Highway... got me to thinking along that line a lil' bit :o) ... so now... I've got a lil' list of "posts" I'll write... once I'm back... and can just think and put my thoughts together, along that line... and there's quite a few thoughts I have on that subject... surprised huh? :o)
One of the things you may have noticed... I haven't taken as many pictures as I'd planned... or usually take on trips... seems between the weather and where my Head, found itself... that just didn't happen... This trip turned out to be a lot of what it was hoped to be... a lot of looking inside... while my carcass rode through the Glorious Outside... a pretty good thing for a man to do once in a while.
...but, now that it's near over, I'll be building a regular page on the site with a full summary of my Motorcycle to Alaska ride, and most of the "Good" pictures I did capture... along with some observations in posts here, I've made on Motorcycle Camping gear and habits on Long Rides... so stay tuned!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Freedom on the Banks of the Clearwater River up on Idaho
Had to ride through too many miles of HOT! Yesterday... to escape that stuff! :o) I didn't remember Lewiston as being that warm... but children let me tell you... When you've got yourself accustomed to cold and wet... Hot and Dry... kinda shocks your system! :o)
That and when you've just come out of the Solitude of the Great Northern Wilderness... into the chaos of Seattle, Tacoma... and such... you do just one thing... Twist that throttle and Ride! :o)
I found some more solitude, camped on the Banks of the Clearwater River east of Lewiston a lil' ways. Sitting here at the table in a BLM campground... sippin' hot coffee, listening to Bob Seeger on my Ipod and tap tap tappin' on the keyboard...
The country hereabouts... is some different than just a few miles west... on the same river...
Here, the pines are tall, the sound of the river, just below my camp is sweet... the breeze is cool... and life is fine!
This trip is winding down... and growing sweeter each day... the true value of FREEDOM is ever clearer... and the precious cost of it.
For those of you heading west...this year or next... Central Idaho is a fine ride! Just about any of the two lane between Couer d'Alene and Lewiston are twisty sweet rides through glorious country. Forest Svc. and BLM camps are plentiful... motels are to be had for those more wary of being converted to bear crap! :o) ... and I'll tell you what...
Sitting here at my BLM table... in the morning sunshine... Brothers and Sisters?... It DON'T get any better!
Today I'm planning on riding over Lolo Pass and working my way back toward West Yellowstone... that I passed through nigh on to three weeks and nearly 8,000 miles ago...
For anyone wondering... my Yamaha Raider has proven to be a Sweet Ride on this Long Tour... I've averaged between 45 and over 50 miles per gallon... How Awesome is that? for a 113 cubic inch Hot Rod of a Motorcycle?!!! :o)
There are few changes I want to make to bike and outfit... illuminated by this ride... (I'll talk 'bout that in future posts/pages on the site) but all in all... for me... This Naked Raider has proven to be THE Motorcycle Touring machine for me for the foreseeable future! HooYa!
Bottom line? I've achieved most of what I wished for this ride to do. It's cleared my head a lot and I've managed to sort out some priorities a bit... and That, is what I find straddling a two wheeled sweetheart for a few weeks will do for you! :o)
So kids?...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
That and when you've just come out of the Solitude of the Great Northern Wilderness... into the chaos of Seattle, Tacoma... and such... you do just one thing... Twist that throttle and Ride! :o)
I found some more solitude, camped on the Banks of the Clearwater River east of Lewiston a lil' ways. Sitting here at the table in a BLM campground... sippin' hot coffee, listening to Bob Seeger on my Ipod and tap tap tappin' on the keyboard...
The country hereabouts... is some different than just a few miles west... on the same river...
Here, the pines are tall, the sound of the river, just below my camp is sweet... the breeze is cool... and life is fine!
This trip is winding down... and growing sweeter each day... the true value of FREEDOM is ever clearer... and the precious cost of it.
For those of you heading west...this year or next... Central Idaho is a fine ride! Just about any of the two lane between Couer d'Alene and Lewiston are twisty sweet rides through glorious country. Forest Svc. and BLM camps are plentiful... motels are to be had for those more wary of being converted to bear crap! :o) ... and I'll tell you what...
Sitting here at my BLM table... in the morning sunshine... Brothers and Sisters?... It DON'T get any better!
Today I'm planning on riding over Lolo Pass and working my way back toward West Yellowstone... that I passed through nigh on to three weeks and nearly 8,000 miles ago...
For anyone wondering... my Yamaha Raider has proven to be a Sweet Ride on this Long Tour... I've averaged between 45 and over 50 miles per gallon... How Awesome is that? for a 113 cubic inch Hot Rod of a Motorcycle?!!! :o)
There are few changes I want to make to bike and outfit... illuminated by this ride... (I'll talk 'bout that in future posts/pages on the site) but all in all... for me... This Naked Raider has proven to be THE Motorcycle Touring machine for me for the foreseeable future! HooYa!
Bottom line? I've achieved most of what I wished for this ride to do. It's cleared my head a lot and I've managed to sort out some priorities a bit... and That, is what I find straddling a two wheeled sweetheart for a few weeks will do for you! :o)
So kids?...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Back in the USA...
... about a week ahead of schedule.
When the rain kept me moving it put me farther down the road than I'd figured to be. I slowed down a bit, here and there, but let's face it... waitin' out what folks up there had told me was a "summer of rain", in a three man tent... by my lonesome... just didn't make sense to me...
I talked to a few other riders, along the way, that had set up in a campground for a couple days...and then just continued on, in the rain... for much the same reason..."We didn't come to sit in the tent... We came to Ride" was how one fella put it to me...
So... Yesterday, Kerry took me on a fine, twisting, zig zag through some of the ranch land of southern British Columbia. Weaving back and forth from our night camp in Barriere...
But not 'fore Kerry got to show off his "Kermit Chair"... darn lil' thing is Oak and Stainless Steel, and folds up into a package 'bout 2 1/2" X maybe 18"... perfect for Motorcycle Touring... though it is a lil' pricey. I guess it's up around $130 in the U.S. , but, it is a comfortable lil' chair.
...to Kamloops and back around to Spences Bridge... where we had to say our goodbyes.
He headed back north to Prince George and I rolled south through Fraser Canyon, bound for the border.
Spotted these folks, way down on the river... hmmm ... if it's so much Fun ... how come I could hear the screaming... clear up on the side of the canyon... a few HUNDRED feet above 'em? :o)
It's my suspicion that the Wal Mart down the road did some fine business that afternoon... selling fresh underwear! Me?... I'll stick to the safe and sane activity of straddling a hundred horsepower bolted twixt two wheels... and scream it down the two lane with my pegs scrapin' the asphalt in the twisties! :o)
Late in the day... I got a refresher course on contrasts... From lookin' out at Millions of acres of undisturbed wilderness, all along the several thousand miles... of two lane I've traveled in the last, nearly three weeks... to the hustle and unadulterated Mania... of Seattle!
Now... I don't believe, as much as I love the Wild Country, that I have left, what it'd take to live and prosper in Alaska... or the Yukon... but... I've got even less of whatever kind of endurance a person has to have to get along in the collection of craziness that is an American City these days...
Whooooeee! A whole lot of folks, in a genuine rushin' hurry to get to the 7-11! ... Lordy!
Had a fun night last Thursday... "Shadow Moss"... a blog reader provided a space for my bedroll just south of Tacoma... and even gave me a quick tour of part of Fort Lewis... where she's employed as a private contractor ... and where I took my basic training... a Looooong time ago... kinda of interesting, to go back to 'where it all started' so long ago... :o)
Yesterday I rolled on south from Olympia on I-5 to get to hwy 12 that runs east across Washington State. It sure feels good to be back in sunshine and warm! :o) Found a camp east of Mt Ranier and set up for what I hoped would be a quiet evening...
... only to be just 'bout put on the ground by a Navy jet... clippin' the tops of the trees! Whooeee! I'll have to stop at Wal Mart today, to repair the damage... wouldn't have been so bad... but the sucker turned 'round... and come a roarin' back up the valley... even lower... I swear that bugger has to have pine needles in his air filter! :o)
Today... I'm on the Homeward leg of this two wheeled journey... and looking toward moving off on the next part of our RV Boondocking journey... much to do back in Colorado for that... so I'm kind of torn... which way to roll... south along the coast a ways, before turning toward the sunrise?... or just start angling east from here?... and make some easy rides across the Mountains and deserts...
... Gonna have to think on it over morning coffee... somewhere down the road...
Either way... I'm Bound for the Colorado Plains in the next week or so...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
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*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
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When the rain kept me moving it put me farther down the road than I'd figured to be. I slowed down a bit, here and there, but let's face it... waitin' out what folks up there had told me was a "summer of rain", in a three man tent... by my lonesome... just didn't make sense to me...
I talked to a few other riders, along the way, that had set up in a campground for a couple days...and then just continued on, in the rain... for much the same reason..."We didn't come to sit in the tent... We came to Ride" was how one fella put it to me...
So... Yesterday, Kerry took me on a fine, twisting, zig zag through some of the ranch land of southern British Columbia. Weaving back and forth from our night camp in Barriere...
But not 'fore Kerry got to show off his "Kermit Chair"... darn lil' thing is Oak and Stainless Steel, and folds up into a package 'bout 2 1/2" X maybe 18"... perfect for Motorcycle Touring... though it is a lil' pricey. I guess it's up around $130 in the U.S. , but, it is a comfortable lil' chair.
...to Kamloops and back around to Spences Bridge... where we had to say our goodbyes.
He headed back north to Prince George and I rolled south through Fraser Canyon, bound for the border.
Spotted these folks, way down on the river... hmmm ... if it's so much Fun ... how come I could hear the screaming... clear up on the side of the canyon... a few HUNDRED feet above 'em? :o)
It's my suspicion that the Wal Mart down the road did some fine business that afternoon... selling fresh underwear! Me?... I'll stick to the safe and sane activity of straddling a hundred horsepower bolted twixt two wheels... and scream it down the two lane with my pegs scrapin' the asphalt in the twisties! :o)
Late in the day... I got a refresher course on contrasts... From lookin' out at Millions of acres of undisturbed wilderness, all along the several thousand miles... of two lane I've traveled in the last, nearly three weeks... to the hustle and unadulterated Mania... of Seattle!
Now... I don't believe, as much as I love the Wild Country, that I have left, what it'd take to live and prosper in Alaska... or the Yukon... but... I've got even less of whatever kind of endurance a person has to have to get along in the collection of craziness that is an American City these days...
Whooooeee! A whole lot of folks, in a genuine rushin' hurry to get to the 7-11! ... Lordy!
Had a fun night last Thursday... "Shadow Moss"... a blog reader provided a space for my bedroll just south of Tacoma... and even gave me a quick tour of part of Fort Lewis... where she's employed as a private contractor ... and where I took my basic training... a Looooong time ago... kinda of interesting, to go back to 'where it all started' so long ago... :o)
Yesterday I rolled on south from Olympia on I-5 to get to hwy 12 that runs east across Washington State. It sure feels good to be back in sunshine and warm! :o) Found a camp east of Mt Ranier and set up for what I hoped would be a quiet evening...
... only to be just 'bout put on the ground by a Navy jet... clippin' the tops of the trees! Whooeee! I'll have to stop at Wal Mart today, to repair the damage... wouldn't have been so bad... but the sucker turned 'round... and come a roarin' back up the valley... even lower... I swear that bugger has to have pine needles in his air filter! :o)
Today... I'm on the Homeward leg of this two wheeled journey... and looking toward moving off on the next part of our RV Boondocking journey... much to do back in Colorado for that... so I'm kind of torn... which way to roll... south along the coast a ways, before turning toward the sunrise?... or just start angling east from here?... and make some easy rides across the Mountains and deserts...
... Gonna have to think on it over morning coffee... somewhere down the road...
Either way... I'm Bound for the Colorado Plains in the next week or so...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
And the Open Road Just Keeps on Rolling
I did take a lot longer rolling south down the Alaskan Highway, from Tok down to Watson Lake, than I took to roll up it. Something like 3 days plus... as opposed to one goin' up.
Only thing was... comin' back was rain... then some... Rain... and then, juuuuuust a lil more RAIN! :o)
I did have the opportunity to meet a few of the locals...
Though, one of 'em... a big ugly bugger... seemed to take offense at the rumble of my Raider... and started comin' over to have some words with her... at which time I thought it best to twist on that right handle bar... and see what I could do to avoid any more dents in the fuel tank...
Ran a few miles from Haines Jct down to Bucking Horse River for a camp... and found that I better "shovel it in Cowboy!"... before the next rain gets here...
Next morning, NOT having made a meal for an overweight bruin... I loaded up my soggy camp... and ran all the way back on down to Prince George where Kerry put me up another night...
But first... I had to stop and flush some of the Junk off that poor abused Red Raider...
This picture actually looks better than the bike did! Took nearly 5 dollars to chew through the baked on road crud... you just can't see how the crap was plugged into the engine fins and such... and she's still filthy... gonna take me three days with a bucket and brush to scrub her clean... once I get her home!
Kerry decided that I should have a Canadian escort, down to the border... so he's riding along for a couple days... to make sure I get there... and out of Canada!... Hmmm... and I thought they liked me up here! :o)
He led me through some fine, twisty, motorcycle roads where we... uh ... shhhhh... don't tell no one, but we kinda abused the Canadian speed laws! :o) ...
along the way we stopped for a break at a place called 108 mile ranch... where they've collected a set of old restored cabins and buildings from the area... dated from like 1908...
Now... this lil' store building is ok I guess... but... there was this HUGE freaking house... that I don't even want to Think about the work it took to cut the firewood to keep it livable though a 50 below winter! Ugggghhhh!
...then then a requisite stop at a roadhouse for a cool sip of... uh... Water! :o) ... and are now, sitting in our lil' camp in Barriere British Columbia... after having a chicken dinner at the little pub just up the way...
and guess what?... It ain't Raining! HooYa! :o)
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Only thing was... comin' back was rain... then some... Rain... and then, juuuuuust a lil more RAIN! :o)
I did have the opportunity to meet a few of the locals...
Though, one of 'em... a big ugly bugger... seemed to take offense at the rumble of my Raider... and started comin' over to have some words with her... at which time I thought it best to twist on that right handle bar... and see what I could do to avoid any more dents in the fuel tank...
Ran a few miles from Haines Jct down to Bucking Horse River for a camp... and found that I better "shovel it in Cowboy!"... before the next rain gets here...
Next morning, NOT having made a meal for an overweight bruin... I loaded up my soggy camp... and ran all the way back on down to Prince George where Kerry put me up another night...
But first... I had to stop and flush some of the Junk off that poor abused Red Raider...
This picture actually looks better than the bike did! Took nearly 5 dollars to chew through the baked on road crud... you just can't see how the crap was plugged into the engine fins and such... and she's still filthy... gonna take me three days with a bucket and brush to scrub her clean... once I get her home!
Kerry decided that I should have a Canadian escort, down to the border... so he's riding along for a couple days... to make sure I get there... and out of Canada!... Hmmm... and I thought they liked me up here! :o)
He led me through some fine, twisty, motorcycle roads where we... uh ... shhhhh... don't tell no one, but we kinda abused the Canadian speed laws! :o) ...
along the way we stopped for a break at a place called 108 mile ranch... where they've collected a set of old restored cabins and buildings from the area... dated from like 1908...
Now... this lil' store building is ok I guess... but... there was this HUGE freaking house... that I don't even want to Think about the work it took to cut the firewood to keep it livable though a 50 below winter! Ugggghhhh!
...then then a requisite stop at a roadhouse for a cool sip of... uh... Water! :o) ... and are now, sitting in our lil' camp in Barriere British Columbia... after having a chicken dinner at the little pub just up the way...
and guess what?... It ain't Raining! HooYa! :o)
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Another Rainy Day in the Great North Along the ALCAN
**you might want to go to the bottom of the page to read the 'catch up' post I did... just before this'un... if you want it in order of "Travel" :o)**
Now first... let me say... it ain't been rainin' on me all day every day... just if I'm awake... or I take my rain gear off! :o) ... I've maybe rode, oh, a hundred miles without it on in the last 6 days... at least my Frog Toggs rain gear, actually works. :o)
Luckily, I've gotten a couple breaks in the last couple days for the puttin' up and takin' down of my tent... I'm gettin' pretty good at bein' quick in that lil' window of opportunity. :o)
Second... there's some of you folks who don't believe my warnings 'bout Ninja rabbits... hitchhiking mice and other such critters... but let me pass on this'un. Your survival might could depend on it!
When you're pickin' out your tent for Your great northern tour... make sure you get one built out of kevlar. It's the Only material guaranteed to stop Alaskan Skeeters from gettin' into your tent on their nightly asssaults.
And... buy your "Cutter" or "Off" bug repellent in the bulk gallon cans... and apply it with a weed sprayer...
I cheaped out and bought my tent built of nylon. These suckers came through that the other night, like butter through a goose! The only thing that saved my life, and allowed me to subdue 'em... was my bad breath and some long unused Army Training!
The Doctor said I can take out my stitches... next week!
But, once the battle was done... and the first aid rendered... I put the bike on the Open Road and rolled on south... It was hard most of the time to collect any decent pictures... the leaden skies just interfered with my Arteest Eye...
They allowed me back across the Canadian Frontier to continue rolling south without any searches or other indignities...
Struggling with the bad picture taking weather... I managed to make a picture or two as I traveled... I see fabulous views everywhere I look. Grey skies or not...
Something that's come to me in all this... is that though it's wet and rainy, and pretty durn cool, running as far as I'm running in this sort of weather... the beauty ain't lacking... just my ability to capture it in a camera.
That, and the fact, the country is just so gloriously HUGE... I'm having trouble trying to translate that into a tiny lil' photograph to post here... Nothing I put here can do it justice... and no way can a week or two... moving through this Northland, allow Anyone to say; "I've seen Alaska"... or; "I've seen the Yukon."
Sorry folks... if you haven't come back here several times... for months of time... I'd have to say, ya'll can't have Seen enough to have more than a sliver of a taste... It is a Magnificent land.
I wish I had more time... to just sit in a place and watch the personality of a spot change though the day... and through the days... maybe next year... with the rig... where we can wait out the rain...
This day, Sunday, landed me, back in Watson Lake... where I'm laying up in what's the old U.S. Army pilot quarters, from 1942, all shined up and reworked as a motel... wind, rain and weariness pushed me inside tonight. :o) ... think I'm gettin' old! That... and the fact I really wanted to get a post or two done up.
I've rolled this part coming south in just about three times the amount of time I covered it going up... and seen places I'd kind of like to take even longer on our return... when I'll have the rig... and we can day trip out with the Raider... or the truck if it's... RAINING! :o)
Tomorrow I'll be back into British Columbia... bound for somewhere around FT Nelson maybe... hoping for better picture taking weather! ... though... as I work south I'm getting a lot closer to the fires in southern British Columbia... I heard a report they've got something like 400! started in the last week... the Cassiar Hwy is closed 'cause of it... so I'm going back down the ALCAN to Prince George, the way I came up...
I guess I shouldn't complain about rain... some folks are likely prayin' for it!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Now first... let me say... it ain't been rainin' on me all day every day... just if I'm awake... or I take my rain gear off! :o) ... I've maybe rode, oh, a hundred miles without it on in the last 6 days... at least my Frog Toggs rain gear, actually works. :o)
Luckily, I've gotten a couple breaks in the last couple days for the puttin' up and takin' down of my tent... I'm gettin' pretty good at bein' quick in that lil' window of opportunity. :o)
Second... there's some of you folks who don't believe my warnings 'bout Ninja rabbits... hitchhiking mice and other such critters... but let me pass on this'un. Your survival might could depend on it!
When you're pickin' out your tent for Your great northern tour... make sure you get one built out of kevlar. It's the Only material guaranteed to stop Alaskan Skeeters from gettin' into your tent on their nightly asssaults.
And... buy your "Cutter" or "Off" bug repellent in the bulk gallon cans... and apply it with a weed sprayer...
I cheaped out and bought my tent built of nylon. These suckers came through that the other night, like butter through a goose! The only thing that saved my life, and allowed me to subdue 'em... was my bad breath and some long unused Army Training!
The Doctor said I can take out my stitches... next week!
But, once the battle was done... and the first aid rendered... I put the bike on the Open Road and rolled on south... It was hard most of the time to collect any decent pictures... the leaden skies just interfered with my Arteest Eye...
They allowed me back across the Canadian Frontier to continue rolling south without any searches or other indignities...
Struggling with the bad picture taking weather... I managed to make a picture or two as I traveled... I see fabulous views everywhere I look. Grey skies or not...
Something that's come to me in all this... is that though it's wet and rainy, and pretty durn cool, running as far as I'm running in this sort of weather... the beauty ain't lacking... just my ability to capture it in a camera.
That, and the fact, the country is just so gloriously HUGE... I'm having trouble trying to translate that into a tiny lil' photograph to post here... Nothing I put here can do it justice... and no way can a week or two... moving through this Northland, allow Anyone to say; "I've seen Alaska"... or; "I've seen the Yukon."
Sorry folks... if you haven't come back here several times... for months of time... I'd have to say, ya'll can't have Seen enough to have more than a sliver of a taste... It is a Magnificent land.
I wish I had more time... to just sit in a place and watch the personality of a spot change though the day... and through the days... maybe next year... with the rig... where we can wait out the rain...
This day, Sunday, landed me, back in Watson Lake... where I'm laying up in what's the old U.S. Army pilot quarters, from 1942, all shined up and reworked as a motel... wind, rain and weariness pushed me inside tonight. :o) ... think I'm gettin' old! That... and the fact I really wanted to get a post or two done up.
I've rolled this part coming south in just about three times the amount of time I covered it going up... and seen places I'd kind of like to take even longer on our return... when I'll have the rig... and we can day trip out with the Raider... or the truck if it's... RAINING! :o)
Tomorrow I'll be back into British Columbia... bound for somewhere around FT Nelson maybe... hoping for better picture taking weather! ... though... as I work south I'm getting a lot closer to the fires in southern British Columbia... I heard a report they've got something like 400! started in the last week... the Cassiar Hwy is closed 'cause of it... so I'm going back down the ALCAN to Prince George, the way I came up...
I guess I shouldn't complain about rain... some folks are likely prayin' for it!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Shining Times and Psychosis on the Alaskan Highway
Yes sir! It just keeps on gettin' better an better, rolling my Yamaha down the ALCAN!
Started the day off Friday morning collecting my End of the Alaskan Highway Picture, late... and backwards. I turned south for Anchorage coming up... and didn't go on up to Delta Junction... so I captured it on the circle when I hooked around through Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks... and then on down to Delta...
But it was Friday night that is what traveling, wandering, RVing, Motorcycle Touring and any other sort of yondering you can think of, are supposed to be all about. New places... and new faces... and just possibly... the best day/night of the trip...
... 'cause of the variety of folks that gathered together for an absolutely shining evening...
When I walked out of the Laundromat in Tok to reload my bike...another big storm was brewing behind me... So... I topped off my tank... grabbed my supper for the night... and breakfast for the next day... twisted the throttle and ran south east,down the Alaskan Highway, like a scared rabbit... trying to get far enough ahead of the storm to allow me to set up... before the rain started...
I pulled into Lake View Wildlife area, 50 miles or so east of Tok, to pitch my tent for the night... having successfully outrun the storm...
To my surprise, sittin' there is a fella I'd had a short conversation with back in Tok, at the laundromat... First words out of his mouth, in this musical Aussie accent, when I shut the bike down were; "Ready for a cup of coffee?"... well... I'm always ready for a cup O' Joe!
I sat for a goodly chunk of the afternoon sippin' coffee... sharing biscuits... and fine conversation with Ken and Sue, from Australia. Ya kind of figured that didn't you? Considering the Aussie Accent? :o) In short order they invited me to share supper with 'em... and beer too! :o)
While we talked, an Otter swam by on the lake... followed by a muskrat... and talk of just 'bout everything you might could imagine... even the coming storm... which Sue assured me (correctly) the weatherman said would stay to the north and miss us... which it did! :o)
Ken and Sue flew up from Melbourne Australia, to Vancouver, bought a small Class C rig, and are touring for five months or so... they'll sell the rig, before they return home... I'm tellin' you... there's a bunch of travellers, from other parts of this lil' blue marble that can sure give us some lessons on yondering! :o)
Well, after a bit, I had to take my leave for a short while, before supper, to get my camp set up... in my absence Belinda and Robert, from Maine pulled in and joined the camp... followed shortly after that by a couple of gals, Genine and Nicole, travelers from Switzerland! We had us quite a lil' gathering.
It was genuine, unadulterated Shining Times! One of the Swiss gals had ridden a motorcycle, with her boyfriend, from Switzerland... to ... CAPE TOWN! HooYa! Ken and Sue have travelled much of the world, Robert and Belinda had just made a deal for a small property near Wrangell...
Together, we shared a few hours of fine food, and sharing experiences. The only word I can find in my feeble vocabulary, that describes the evening is... Fellowship... It, was, in one other word... Freaking SUPERB! Oh dang... that's two ain't it? Whatever... it was a memorable evening.
I've been trying to work myself "Out of the Box" a bit on this circle... well... Sue even provide the Wine... in a box! :o) to help me along with that goal!
Now... can't you just see this... one Ol' puss gut, bald headed, broken down Colorado, cowboy biker... sittin' on the bank of a lake, in the Alaskan woods... sippin' red wine from one of those long stem crystal goblets?! with Australian Teachers, Swiss Gals, and Wandering Maine folks! with his big red motorcycle sittin' on the hillside behind him? :o)
I tell you... it was a wonderful, awesome night... the Aussie hospitality that triggered it all was amazing... and has left a mark I'll not ever forget...(those Aussie teachers sure taught this ol' buster a couple things!)
It was one more time that showed... when folks open their minds... their hearts follow...and good things happen.
I remember reading somewhere... that prejudice can't survive travel... or something to that affect... If the fellowship we all experienced last evening is any testimony... that's surely true.
When total strangers can spontaneously gather from Switzerland, Australia, Maine and Colorado... from widely different circumstances, beliefs and ambitions... and have such a shining, fulfilling, time together... it rekindles a lil' hope in this world... if we could just deal with "People"... and not continue being crippled by "Leadership"...
Ok... so I get up Saturday morning and put my Raider back in the wind, and a lil' bit of rain, nothing bad, mostly a beautiful day... still carrying a smile from last night... I get to my camp here in the Yukon, eventually... and get set up...in the sun!
I had a false stop or two... It don't take much of a warning... that the Bears are King in a place... to keep me hauling my lil' tent down the road to somewhere more hospitable! :o)
But get there I did... Just a mite east of Haines Jct. Cook supper and eat... clean up ever'thing for the morning... and...
Everything is A Oh K... right? Well, yeah... right up until I look for my bag of "electronic connectors"... so I can down load a few pictures from camera to laptop.
... GONE!... every gol darn wire an' charger... GONE! Oh Lordy my life is over! Yesterday was so fine... and now a one hundred eighty degree U turn and catastrophical CRASH! I can't charge my camera... my laptop... down load pics... NOTHING!
Shoot me in the head and call it an accident!
So... I call Heidi... whinin' and cryin'... she says; "well look around... you've looked for things before and missed 'em"
But I tell her... there's no where for it to be hiding... I've searched ever'thing twice!... WHa Wha Wha!...
So... I hang up and I'm thinkin' on it...
I go through my east saddlebag again... my west saddle bag...again... my warbag/drybag... my ruck... and everything, all over again...
Nothing... just panic... until... I finally dump out the entire ruck... everything this time... I'd reached down in until I'd felt a bag of clothing extras I'd packed in at home...
and THERE is the bag of wires... UNDER that bag that I've not taken out or moved... since I left Fort Collins... It CAN'T have gotten down under there... but... Down under there it was! you understand the magic in that... I'm listening! :o)
Some day... they'll come up with a cure for my psychotc episodes... till then... I'll just keep workin' on my ability to dive straight off the roof into an empty pool! :o)
So... with a fresh mystery unanswered... and the panic subsided I went to bed... to rest up for my continued journey southward...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Started the day off Friday morning collecting my End of the Alaskan Highway Picture, late... and backwards. I turned south for Anchorage coming up... and didn't go on up to Delta Junction... so I captured it on the circle when I hooked around through Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks... and then on down to Delta...
But it was Friday night that is what traveling, wandering, RVing, Motorcycle Touring and any other sort of yondering you can think of, are supposed to be all about. New places... and new faces... and just possibly... the best day/night of the trip...
... 'cause of the variety of folks that gathered together for an absolutely shining evening...
When I walked out of the Laundromat in Tok to reload my bike...another big storm was brewing behind me... So... I topped off my tank... grabbed my supper for the night... and breakfast for the next day... twisted the throttle and ran south east,down the Alaskan Highway, like a scared rabbit... trying to get far enough ahead of the storm to allow me to set up... before the rain started...
I pulled into Lake View Wildlife area, 50 miles or so east of Tok, to pitch my tent for the night... having successfully outrun the storm...
To my surprise, sittin' there is a fella I'd had a short conversation with back in Tok, at the laundromat... First words out of his mouth, in this musical Aussie accent, when I shut the bike down were; "Ready for a cup of coffee?"... well... I'm always ready for a cup O' Joe!
I sat for a goodly chunk of the afternoon sippin' coffee... sharing biscuits... and fine conversation with Ken and Sue, from Australia. Ya kind of figured that didn't you? Considering the Aussie Accent? :o) In short order they invited me to share supper with 'em... and beer too! :o)
While we talked, an Otter swam by on the lake... followed by a muskrat... and talk of just 'bout everything you might could imagine... even the coming storm... which Sue assured me (correctly) the weatherman said would stay to the north and miss us... which it did! :o)
Ken and Sue flew up from Melbourne Australia, to Vancouver, bought a small Class C rig, and are touring for five months or so... they'll sell the rig, before they return home... I'm tellin' you... there's a bunch of travellers, from other parts of this lil' blue marble that can sure give us some lessons on yondering! :o)
Well, after a bit, I had to take my leave for a short while, before supper, to get my camp set up... in my absence Belinda and Robert, from Maine pulled in and joined the camp... followed shortly after that by a couple of gals, Genine and Nicole, travelers from Switzerland! We had us quite a lil' gathering.
It was genuine, unadulterated Shining Times! One of the Swiss gals had ridden a motorcycle, with her boyfriend, from Switzerland... to ... CAPE TOWN! HooYa! Ken and Sue have travelled much of the world, Robert and Belinda had just made a deal for a small property near Wrangell...
Together, we shared a few hours of fine food, and sharing experiences. The only word I can find in my feeble vocabulary, that describes the evening is... Fellowship... It, was, in one other word... Freaking SUPERB! Oh dang... that's two ain't it? Whatever... it was a memorable evening.
I've been trying to work myself "Out of the Box" a bit on this circle... well... Sue even provide the Wine... in a box! :o) to help me along with that goal!
Now... can't you just see this... one Ol' puss gut, bald headed, broken down Colorado, cowboy biker... sittin' on the bank of a lake, in the Alaskan woods... sippin' red wine from one of those long stem crystal goblets?! with Australian Teachers, Swiss Gals, and Wandering Maine folks! with his big red motorcycle sittin' on the hillside behind him? :o)
I tell you... it was a wonderful, awesome night... the Aussie hospitality that triggered it all was amazing... and has left a mark I'll not ever forget...(those Aussie teachers sure taught this ol' buster a couple things!)
It was one more time that showed... when folks open their minds... their hearts follow...and good things happen.
I remember reading somewhere... that prejudice can't survive travel... or something to that affect... If the fellowship we all experienced last evening is any testimony... that's surely true.
When total strangers can spontaneously gather from Switzerland, Australia, Maine and Colorado... from widely different circumstances, beliefs and ambitions... and have such a shining, fulfilling, time together... it rekindles a lil' hope in this world... if we could just deal with "People"... and not continue being crippled by "Leadership"...
Ok... so I get up Saturday morning and put my Raider back in the wind, and a lil' bit of rain, nothing bad, mostly a beautiful day... still carrying a smile from last night... I get to my camp here in the Yukon, eventually... and get set up...in the sun!
I had a false stop or two... It don't take much of a warning... that the Bears are King in a place... to keep me hauling my lil' tent down the road to somewhere more hospitable! :o)
But get there I did... Just a mite east of Haines Jct. Cook supper and eat... clean up ever'thing for the morning... and...
Everything is A Oh K... right? Well, yeah... right up until I look for my bag of "electronic connectors"... so I can down load a few pictures from camera to laptop.
... GONE!... every gol darn wire an' charger... GONE! Oh Lordy my life is over! Yesterday was so fine... and now a one hundred eighty degree U turn and catastrophical CRASH! I can't charge my camera... my laptop... down load pics... NOTHING!
Shoot me in the head and call it an accident!
So... I call Heidi... whinin' and cryin'... she says; "well look around... you've looked for things before and missed 'em"
But I tell her... there's no where for it to be hiding... I've searched ever'thing twice!... WHa Wha Wha!...
So... I hang up and I'm thinkin' on it...
I go through my east saddlebag again... my west saddle bag...again... my warbag/drybag... my ruck... and everything, all over again...
Nothing... just panic... until... I finally dump out the entire ruck... everything this time... I'd reached down in until I'd felt a bag of clothing extras I'd packed in at home...
and THERE is the bag of wires... UNDER that bag that I've not taken out or moved... since I left Fort Collins... It CAN'T have gotten down under there... but... Down under there it was! you understand the magic in that... I'm listening! :o)
Some day... they'll come up with a cure for my psychotc episodes... till then... I'll just keep workin' on my ability to dive straight off the roof into an empty pool! :o)
So... with a fresh mystery unanswered... and the panic subsided I went to bed... to rest up for my continued journey southward...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
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Friday, August 6, 2010
The Reality of Alaska... Kind of Gets in the Way of "Plans"
My original plan was to spend maybe as many as ten days of this circle... in Alaska...
But... when it started raining east of Anchorage... and the weatherman just predicts the same for the foreseeable future... I chose to just keep on moving... there's always Next time... which is supposed to be, next year... with our rig...
This is one place that having the rig along... and day touring out with the Motorcycle would be about perfect... a hell of a lot easier to wait out the weather in my fiver... than, caged up for days in a three man tent... in the rain... wondering if you've been in one place long enough so that some sorry Yogi is starting to mistake your lil' butt for a snack!
So... I'm back in Tok, doin' laundry... I'll find a place to make camp for tonight, and then start working back down the Alcan in the morning... Technically, since I came out of Delta Junction, I'ver already started the southward trip.
I believe I'll pass on the Cassiar Hwy going down as well... fires had it closed several times coming up... I'd just as soon not deal with that! :o)
I'm not much concerned with the things I'm Not seeing this trip... there's so much up here... I ain't ever gonna see it all... so I just enjoy that which I am gettin'... and workin' to get a sense of the real beauty in the Country I am passing though... not just tally up a bunch of Place Names and Tourist Traps...
I've left Jasper and the Kenai for Heidi and I to do together... two Place Names I'm sure she'll want to wander through.
Nigh on to 2000 miles of Yukon and British Columbia lays between me and the U.S. Border... just haven't decided where I'll cross back over... I'm leaning toward my original thought which was over by Vancouver and into Washington... we'll see where the Open Road leads me...
Riding my Raider, on the Pacific Coast Highway... is still callin' to me... John Muir once said; "The mountains are calling to me, and I must go"... and I can hear that coastal road, calling to me...
But, that decision is days... and many miles if gorgeous country away from being made...
Today I'll just enjoy the short break in the rain I've got right now... and ride the road in front of me.
I cross the border tomorrow, back into Canada for a week or so... and the trouble of WiFi... I'll post if I can find it... and catch up when I cross back and have service again... if I can't
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian (somewhere on the Alaskan Highway)
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But... when it started raining east of Anchorage... and the weatherman just predicts the same for the foreseeable future... I chose to just keep on moving... there's always Next time... which is supposed to be, next year... with our rig...
*ALASKA*
***Mountains snow covered in August... Raging rivers (this is a small one) Bears, Salmon, Moose and
hundreds of miles of intimidating solitude***
This is one place that having the rig along... and day touring out with the Motorcycle would be about perfect... a hell of a lot easier to wait out the weather in my fiver... than, caged up for days in a three man tent... in the rain... wondering if you've been in one place long enough so that some sorry Yogi is starting to mistake your lil' butt for a snack!
So... I'm back in Tok, doin' laundry... I'll find a place to make camp for tonight, and then start working back down the Alcan in the morning... Technically, since I came out of Delta Junction, I'ver already started the southward trip.
I believe I'll pass on the Cassiar Hwy going down as well... fires had it closed several times coming up... I'd just as soon not deal with that! :o)
I'm not much concerned with the things I'm Not seeing this trip... there's so much up here... I ain't ever gonna see it all... so I just enjoy that which I am gettin'... and workin' to get a sense of the real beauty in the Country I am passing though... not just tally up a bunch of Place Names and Tourist Traps...
I've left Jasper and the Kenai for Heidi and I to do together... two Place Names I'm sure she'll want to wander through.
Nigh on to 2000 miles of Yukon and British Columbia lays between me and the U.S. Border... just haven't decided where I'll cross back over... I'm leaning toward my original thought which was over by Vancouver and into Washington... we'll see where the Open Road leads me...
Riding my Raider, on the Pacific Coast Highway... is still callin' to me... John Muir once said; "The mountains are calling to me, and I must go"... and I can hear that coastal road, calling to me...
But, that decision is days... and many miles if gorgeous country away from being made...
Today I'll just enjoy the short break in the rain I've got right now... and ride the road in front of me.
I cross the border tomorrow, back into Canada for a week or so... and the trouble of WiFi... I'll post if I can find it... and catch up when I cross back and have service again... if I can't
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian (somewhere on the Alaskan Highway)
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Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Some Folks Come to Alaska for the Scenery...
I'd show you some more good pics... but the rains falling on me for the last two and a half days have mostly kept me from gettin' much of anything worthwhile...
... here's what it looks like... almost packed up this morning... after a soothing night of rain, falling on the tent...
But... things lightened up a bit... nigh on to lunch time! :o)
Kind of hard to keep a good attitude under such conditions... ain't it? :o) ... well, actually it can be... I'm in about the best frame of mind of the trip... everywhere I've turned the last few days the weathers just thumped me... with only so much time... it puts a pressure on a guy to Make something happen... if he lets it.
So... know what i did?... took this picture...
... and then went and got a cup of good coffee, and sat under the ramada at the lil' mercantile in Denali, watching the drizzle fall... munching on a big Ol' muffin... and talking to my Daughter on the phone.
The thing is this... something that's been brought clear to me on this trip...
Like I said; Some folks ride up here for the scenery...
Some folks ride their Motorcycles up here hoping to see Moose and Bears... Others... come to see if the sheer stunning purity of this land... might have something that could teach a man a thing or two...
Now... a lot of bikers have a Billy Bad Ass attitude... an affliction I've struggled with for a goodly while... Well, I've come to realize that such a man who rides alone... is riding with a fool.
I've been a self imposed Loner the greatest portion of my life... I've been alone... but never thought I was Lonely. Ya'll know what?... most of the guys that tell you that... and maybe gals too... are just spoutin' a bunch of Billy Bad Ass hooey... mostly just too scared to admit it...
I've heard it... and I've said it...
"I'm a Cowboy... I don't need anyone..."
"I can go it alone... I'm a tough lil' Rooster..."
"In fact... I'm happier alone..."
Yeah... and paper cuts don't hurt, Babe Ruth was a skinny lil' runt... and Marilyn Monroe was a virgin...
Alaska will teach you... if you let it... that you not only aren't better off alone... you ain't worth a rusty bucket... alone.
... and if you won't let it teach you?... It'll EAT YOU! :o) Don't believe me? just go lookin' 'round for that guy that tried to go it "alone" in an old bus up here a while back... ya'll ain't gonna find him...
I don't suppose you have to come all the way to Alaska to learn the lesson... there's plenty of country down south of here that can get through to you... if you learn to look past the trees and the rocks... the Bears and the Moose... and see what is REALLY here in this world...
The combination of Alaska and my Motorcycle, has been wonderful for me... even with the rain... maybe because of it?
Between the miles alone in my head, on the bike... riding through inspirational country... and scribbling in my journal, at night in my tent (light till well after 10pm you know!) I've come a long way... farther yet to go... but me and that Raider will get it done.
I don't know that it'll hold... but I did finally find some sun this afternoon... and set camp early enough to dry out some of my gear... I've made the turn, south and east at Fairbanks... and will be back in Tok, tomorrow evening...
I'd planned on spending a few more days at this end of my circle... but to be honest... I just don't have the gumption required to fight the rain... this much... in a tent and on a Motorcycle... Just getting Old I guess... and we all know... it ain't 'cause I'm missin' anyone! :o) yeah I know... paper cuts don't hurt...
Maybe the lessons I'm learning will help me capture some more beautiful pictures on my way back south... Unless the weather keeps pushing me... it's my intention to roll south a lil' slower than I came north...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
... here's what it looks like... almost packed up this morning... after a soothing night of rain, falling on the tent...
But... things lightened up a bit... nigh on to lunch time! :o)
Kind of hard to keep a good attitude under such conditions... ain't it? :o) ... well, actually it can be... I'm in about the best frame of mind of the trip... everywhere I've turned the last few days the weathers just thumped me... with only so much time... it puts a pressure on a guy to Make something happen... if he lets it.
So... know what i did?... took this picture...
... and then went and got a cup of good coffee, and sat under the ramada at the lil' mercantile in Denali, watching the drizzle fall... munching on a big Ol' muffin... and talking to my Daughter on the phone.
The thing is this... something that's been brought clear to me on this trip...
Like I said; Some folks ride up here for the scenery...
Some folks ride their Motorcycles up here hoping to see Moose and Bears... Others... come to see if the sheer stunning purity of this land... might have something that could teach a man a thing or two...
Now... a lot of bikers have a Billy Bad Ass attitude... an affliction I've struggled with for a goodly while... Well, I've come to realize that such a man who rides alone... is riding with a fool.
I've been a self imposed Loner the greatest portion of my life... I've been alone... but never thought I was Lonely. Ya'll know what?... most of the guys that tell you that... and maybe gals too... are just spoutin' a bunch of Billy Bad Ass hooey... mostly just too scared to admit it...
I've heard it... and I've said it...
"I'm a Cowboy... I don't need anyone..."
"I can go it alone... I'm a tough lil' Rooster..."
"In fact... I'm happier alone..."
Yeah... and paper cuts don't hurt, Babe Ruth was a skinny lil' runt... and Marilyn Monroe was a virgin...
Alaska will teach you... if you let it... that you not only aren't better off alone... you ain't worth a rusty bucket... alone.
... and if you won't let it teach you?... It'll EAT YOU! :o) Don't believe me? just go lookin' 'round for that guy that tried to go it "alone" in an old bus up here a while back... ya'll ain't gonna find him...
I don't suppose you have to come all the way to Alaska to learn the lesson... there's plenty of country down south of here that can get through to you... if you learn to look past the trees and the rocks... the Bears and the Moose... and see what is REALLY here in this world...
The combination of Alaska and my Motorcycle, has been wonderful for me... even with the rain... maybe because of it?
Between the miles alone in my head, on the bike... riding through inspirational country... and scribbling in my journal, at night in my tent (light till well after 10pm you know!) I've come a long way... farther yet to go... but me and that Raider will get it done.
I don't know that it'll hold... but I did finally find some sun this afternoon... and set camp early enough to dry out some of my gear... I've made the turn, south and east at Fairbanks... and will be back in Tok, tomorrow evening...
I'd planned on spending a few more days at this end of my circle... but to be honest... I just don't have the gumption required to fight the rain... this much... in a tent and on a Motorcycle... Just getting Old I guess... and we all know... it ain't 'cause I'm missin' anyone! :o) yeah I know... paper cuts don't hurt...
Maybe the lessons I'm learning will help me capture some more beautiful pictures on my way back south... Unless the weather keeps pushing me... it's my intention to roll south a lil' slower than I came north...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
From Fine Old Vintage Motorcycles to New Tires in the Alaskan North
Was just climbing on the Raider in Tok, AK, to make the ride down the Glenn Highway to Anchorage to get my new tires... and this Ol' Indian scooter rolled in.
This Ol' Motorcycle rolled out of the assembly plant in... 1936! ... and it just rolled up the Alaskan Highway... from California! Outside of a "Little hard starting"... its' rider claimed no difficulty along the road... How's that for a Touring Motorcycle? Awesome!
He noticed and admired my fuel bottles, and how I'm carryin' 'em. You can see his plastic fuel can strapped kinda rough, on the tail of his bike.
I've got four MSR fuel bottles from REI. They give me just a sliver over an extra gallon of fuel... for those times a fella might Miscalculate where he's at... and how far it is to the next place Fuel is at!...
... so far... I've only needed a part of these bottles, once... oops! I carry 'em in the outside pockets of my ruck, that sits strapped to the tail rack.
That back tire is just starting to get thin... but this pic was taken down near Dawson Creek... and though it's still not in Bad shape... it's unlikely the front tire would go back down the Alcan... and it's just not worth it to me... to risk a thin tire on either end... when you're a hundred miles from the beginning of nowhere! :o)
I got here too late today to get the new rubber... so I'll be sitting there come 9 tomorrow morning when they open the doors...
Had an awful pretty ride down this morning...
There's a couple of things I'm finding on this trip... one is an old thing with a lot of people... the uncomfortable feeling you get... when you get back into some of these Shining Mountains... and you don't have cell... or Internet service... arrrrgggghhh! You get this lil' twinge of panic...
Like the damn sky is gonna cave in if you can't Check on things...
It's a double edged sword for me... first... it's how I'm carving out a significant part of my living... so I have to give that part proper respect... I have to write and post my scribblings... it's what I'm doin' for my beans these days... but... if a guy ain't careful... he can get so hung up on those electronic distractions... he loses sight of what he's here about in the first place!
So... I find myself having to be real deliberate. Consciously doing my writing in its' proper time and place... and giving what I'm here for... its' proper, dedicated time... a lesson I've got to keep reminding myself of...
The second thing is the country itself... Kind of like the Big Sky country of Montana... only on steroids.
Everything here... somehow seems, bigger. It's an idea that's been growing for a few days... and it hit me as I rolled past that glacier today.
The mountains, the rivers... even the more open flat country all just resonate this sensation of being heavier, more massive... the distances seem to magnify everything... I thought of the same sort of view... down home in Arizona... running along through some mountain valley... and then how it looks here...
Alaska is like Arizona or any other part of the Lower 48... only 3X :o)
If being made to feel for sure and for certain, truly insignificant, is something you can't deal very well with... it'd be best to pick a different location for a long trip... it's common to hear locals comment that; "Your NOT the top of the food chain up here!" :o)
It goes back one more time to what Lloyd says... Life is a Matter of balance... just wish I wasn't so damned un-balanced!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
I'll tell you... I won't say I don't give a thought to it... layin' in my tent at night... but I sleep well, knowing I've picked my camp carefully... With plenty of Other very Large, tasty travellers... surrounding my site! :o) ... to distract any errant Yogis that might could wander through of an evening.
This Ol' Motorcycle rolled out of the assembly plant in... 1936! ... and it just rolled up the Alaskan Highway... from California! Outside of a "Little hard starting"... its' rider claimed no difficulty along the road... How's that for a Touring Motorcycle? Awesome!
He noticed and admired my fuel bottles, and how I'm carryin' 'em. You can see his plastic fuel can strapped kinda rough, on the tail of his bike.
I've got four MSR fuel bottles from REI. They give me just a sliver over an extra gallon of fuel... for those times a fella might Miscalculate where he's at... and how far it is to the next place Fuel is at!...
... so far... I've only needed a part of these bottles, once... oops! I carry 'em in the outside pockets of my ruck, that sits strapped to the tail rack.
That back tire is just starting to get thin... but this pic was taken down near Dawson Creek... and though it's still not in Bad shape... it's unlikely the front tire would go back down the Alcan... and it's just not worth it to me... to risk a thin tire on either end... when you're a hundred miles from the beginning of nowhere! :o)
I got here too late today to get the new rubber... so I'll be sitting there come 9 tomorrow morning when they open the doors...
Had an awful pretty ride down this morning...
There's a couple of things I'm finding on this trip... one is an old thing with a lot of people... the uncomfortable feeling you get... when you get back into some of these Shining Mountains... and you don't have cell... or Internet service... arrrrgggghhh! You get this lil' twinge of panic...
Like the damn sky is gonna cave in if you can't Check on things...
It's a double edged sword for me... first... it's how I'm carving out a significant part of my living... so I have to give that part proper respect... I have to write and post my scribblings... it's what I'm doin' for my beans these days... but... if a guy ain't careful... he can get so hung up on those electronic distractions... he loses sight of what he's here about in the first place!
So... I find myself having to be real deliberate. Consciously doing my writing in its' proper time and place... and giving what I'm here for... its' proper, dedicated time... a lesson I've got to keep reminding myself of...
The second thing is the country itself... Kind of like the Big Sky country of Montana... only on steroids.
Everything here... somehow seems, bigger. It's an idea that's been growing for a few days... and it hit me as I rolled past that glacier today.
The mountains, the rivers... even the more open flat country all just resonate this sensation of being heavier, more massive... the distances seem to magnify everything... I thought of the same sort of view... down home in Arizona... running along through some mountain valley... and then how it looks here...
Alaska is like Arizona or any other part of the Lower 48... only 3X :o)
If being made to feel for sure and for certain, truly insignificant, is something you can't deal very well with... it'd be best to pick a different location for a long trip... it's common to hear locals comment that; "Your NOT the top of the food chain up here!" :o)
It goes back one more time to what Lloyd says... Life is a Matter of balance... just wish I wasn't so damned un-balanced!
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
I'll tell you... I won't say I don't give a thought to it... layin' in my tent at night... but I sleep well, knowing I've picked my camp carefully... With plenty of Other very Large, tasty travellers... surrounding my site! :o) ... to distract any errant Yogis that might could wander through of an evening.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Eating a Lil' Crow... on the Alaskan Highway...
***3rd 'catch up post... so check the previous! :o )***
Rolled into TOK at the top end of the Alaskan Highway last night... well... the last post or two... I might have said this road is no big difficulty...
yeah... right...
This Ol' Geezer pushed through 698 miles today from Watson Lake, Yukon Territory to Tok, Alaska on of a chunk of road that keeps the rep of the ALCAN as a "Bad" road goin.
'... more like a jeep trail somebody spread asphalt over... for the last 100 miles or so... Starting about Burwash Landing... and running till quite a few miles across the border...
Now... I wasn't riding a Goldwing with windshields and fairings... and drink holders... I was sittin' in the wind on a Naked Yamaha RoadStar Raider... and this weren't no roll down I-5... twist the throttle and go enterprise...
Ruts in the asphault... 4" deep and 6" wide, running with the road, across the road... and any way they want to... frost heaves... places the road just seemed to want to quit being a road... pavement breaks... pot holes and spots where they took out the pavement and replaced that section with gravel you just... Float across...
There's spots you can see the heave coming... so you stand up on the pegs a bit... only to have the seat come back up and whack your tail... as you settle back down... from the next hump... you didn't see... HooYa!
Yes sir... Liver quivering Squirrely is how I think of it... but then... I'm gettin' old an' wore out... so it could just be my imagination.
Good thing that Raider is more nimble than I am... it got me through that 100 mile or so stretch...though... I don't want to repeat it today... and knowing that in a couple... I must ! :o)
Today... I'll ride down from TOK to Anchorage... to get a pair of tires the bike needs... for the return run...
Met some guys yesterday, that shipped their bikes to Anchorage... and are riding down... I know some that do the opposite... ride up and ship it home. Me? glutton for punishment I guess... gonna ride that sucker... both ways...
So...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Rolled into TOK at the top end of the Alaskan Highway last night... well... the last post or two... I might have said this road is no big difficulty...
yeah... right...
This Ol' Geezer pushed through 698 miles today from Watson Lake, Yukon Territory to Tok, Alaska on of a chunk of road that keeps the rep of the ALCAN as a "Bad" road goin.
'... more like a jeep trail somebody spread asphalt over... for the last 100 miles or so... Starting about Burwash Landing... and running till quite a few miles across the border...
Now... I wasn't riding a Goldwing with windshields and fairings... and drink holders... I was sittin' in the wind on a Naked Yamaha RoadStar Raider... and this weren't no roll down I-5... twist the throttle and go enterprise...
Ruts in the asphault... 4" deep and 6" wide, running with the road, across the road... and any way they want to... frost heaves... places the road just seemed to want to quit being a road... pavement breaks... pot holes and spots where they took out the pavement and replaced that section with gravel you just... Float across...
There's spots you can see the heave coming... so you stand up on the pegs a bit... only to have the seat come back up and whack your tail... as you settle back down... from the next hump... you didn't see... HooYa!
Yes sir... Liver quivering Squirrely is how I think of it... but then... I'm gettin' old an' wore out... so it could just be my imagination.
Good thing that Raider is more nimble than I am... it got me through that 100 mile or so stretch...though... I don't want to repeat it today... and knowing that in a couple... I must ! :o)
Today... I'll ride down from TOK to Anchorage... to get a pair of tires the bike needs... for the return run...
Met some guys yesterday, that shipped their bikes to Anchorage... and are riding down... I know some that do the opposite... ride up and ship it home. Me? glutton for punishment I guess... gonna ride that sucker... both ways...
So...
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
Ruminations and Scenes from the Seat of a Yamaha Raider on the Alaskan Highway
There's plenty of places you'll find pictures of all the classic tourist stops along the Alcan. I'm not gonna beat that Ol' horse too much here... I'll just try and publish little bits that caught my eye.
and that... in bits... is the best way to "Focus" on this road... the ALCAN is just too freaking huge... staying fixated on the big picture is just guaranteed to overwhelm and intimidate you. Try to just focus on one lil' part, and then move on to the next... one bite at a time. You'll get another of those "More Harmonious outcomes"! :o)
There are those that say riding the Alaskan Highway is a trip of monotony... Huh?... I don't get it... That's like saying that sitting on a park bench while a thousand of the most gorgeous women on earth parade by in tiny lil' bikinis...is monotonous! That'd be a tough job to deal with huh? :o)
One thing I can say is... this road teaches you to admire the small pleasures... like the sun coming out after 200 miles and more of steady rain... with your rain gear leaking! :o) I promise... when that first ray of sunshine hits your cold wet kiester... you grin.
A comment 'bout the "Bad Road" the ALCAN is supposed to be... So far, I'm sitting in my tent outside of Watson Lake in the Yukon territory, all the gas 'bout this bein' a "Tough" or a bad road... is a bunch of hooey... probably cranked out by people wanting ever'body to know just how much of a Billy Bad Ass they are... It's no rougher than a hell of a lot of roads south of the Canadian Border. ***I may have spoke too soon... keep watching for an update! :o)
The only thing I've found tough at all, so far, especially for a Motorcycle Rider... are the distances, and range between fuel stops. But mostly the simple endurance required to cover those distances, through all conditions... sitting with your Knees in the wind.
It ain't an armchair trip on a bike... but it's, so far... not the killer it's been built up to be... though... I've only had two days of rain so far... So my Billy Bad Ass... ain't been exercised much yet...
Which brings us to that Billy Bad Ass part...
I'm 3000 miles into this trip... Many, many more to go... and I've learned a few things already... boy... you'd think that after all these years... a 58 year old cowboy biker broken down Ol' soldier, wouldn't have too much left to learn, 'bout life and his ownself would you? Maybe I shouldn't... but I am... just a slow learner I guess. :o) but learnin' I am...
...but that'll have to wait for another post...
and last for today... a bad day for one poor fella... along the ALCAN Highway...
What you're lookin' at here is the tail end of a Blue Tike... sittin' down in the Bar ditch... and its' driver, laying on the ground... lookin' under it. See that skid mark in the gravel? Just missing that big hole, tree and some other rocks an' debris?
He was comin' at us... a truck in front of me... when he just veered across in front of the truck leading me... and into the ditch. Good thing he veered left... and not right... there just weren't Anything to hit on the other side...nothin' over on that side but a whole lot of air! :o)
Seems a stabilizer on the axle broke... with the trike goin' pretty much out of control as a result... that Ol' country boy was dang sure lucky that the only thing bad that happened... other than a very broken trike... was a very ruined pair of shorts! :o) my guess is... something didn't get inspected quite enough... or... maybe was built a trifle too light?... I don't know the first thing 'bout trikes... but havin' the thing run out of control like that... well... it just don't seem right to me.
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
and that... in bits... is the best way to "Focus" on this road... the ALCAN is just too freaking huge... staying fixated on the big picture is just guaranteed to overwhelm and intimidate you. Try to just focus on one lil' part, and then move on to the next... one bite at a time. You'll get another of those "More Harmonious outcomes"! :o)
There are those that say riding the Alaskan Highway is a trip of monotony... Huh?... I don't get it... That's like saying that sitting on a park bench while a thousand of the most gorgeous women on earth parade by in tiny lil' bikinis...is monotonous! That'd be a tough job to deal with huh? :o)
One thing I can say is... this road teaches you to admire the small pleasures... like the sun coming out after 200 miles and more of steady rain... with your rain gear leaking! :o) I promise... when that first ray of sunshine hits your cold wet kiester... you grin.
A comment 'bout the "Bad Road" the ALCAN is supposed to be... So far, I'm sitting in my tent outside of Watson Lake in the Yukon territory, all the gas 'bout this bein' a "Tough" or a bad road... is a bunch of hooey... probably cranked out by people wanting ever'body to know just how much of a Billy Bad Ass they are... It's no rougher than a hell of a lot of roads south of the Canadian Border. ***I may have spoke too soon... keep watching for an update! :o)
The only thing I've found tough at all, so far, especially for a Motorcycle Rider... are the distances, and range between fuel stops. But mostly the simple endurance required to cover those distances, through all conditions... sitting with your Knees in the wind.
It ain't an armchair trip on a bike... but it's, so far... not the killer it's been built up to be... though... I've only had two days of rain so far... So my Billy Bad Ass... ain't been exercised much yet...
Which brings us to that Billy Bad Ass part...
I'm 3000 miles into this trip... Many, many more to go... and I've learned a few things already... boy... you'd think that after all these years... a 58 year old cowboy biker broken down Ol' soldier, wouldn't have too much left to learn, 'bout life and his ownself would you? Maybe I shouldn't... but I am... just a slow learner I guess. :o) but learnin' I am...
...but that'll have to wait for another post...
and last for today... a bad day for one poor fella... along the ALCAN Highway...
What you're lookin' at here is the tail end of a Blue Tike... sittin' down in the Bar ditch... and its' driver, laying on the ground... lookin' under it. See that skid mark in the gravel? Just missing that big hole, tree and some other rocks an' debris?
He was comin' at us... a truck in front of me... when he just veered across in front of the truck leading me... and into the ditch. Good thing he veered left... and not right... there just weren't Anything to hit on the other side...nothin' over on that side but a whole lot of air! :o)
Seems a stabilizer on the axle broke... with the trike goin' pretty much out of control as a result... that Ol' country boy was dang sure lucky that the only thing bad that happened... other than a very broken trike... was a very ruined pair of shorts! :o) my guess is... something didn't get inspected quite enough... or... maybe was built a trifle too light?... I don't know the first thing 'bout trikes... but havin' the thing run out of control like that... well... it just don't seem right to me.
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking
Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share... Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your... Great Motorcycle Roads
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