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

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Another day... another few hundred miles... Another Friend on the Open road

 ***ed note: posting a few posts tonight catching up now that I've got some internet access***

Friday was a fine day... Me and the Raider made the run from Kamloops to Prince George chasing a couple fellas named Mike and Brock... on a pair of Southern California Harleys.

Was a fun ride working our way up through the strings of traffic... crankin' the throttle when a big enough hole appeared to use...

I dropped off in Quesnel to meet Kerry, a commentor/reader of the blog... we took a quick lunch at the A&W in town and then headed north to his home in Prince George B.C.... Now that ride was a smile maker as well. Nice curves to lean around, beautiful country to lean through... and a fine bike to to it on... Sweet!

The only detraction from the day was the smoke... from Kamloops and almost to Quesnel the air was pretty thick with the evidence of three or four fires burning all around the area. Which eliminated any worthwhile photography...

I realized I'd been seeing that evidence of the fires as far south as Glacier...and just mistook it for haze from humiditiy... uh... guess not!

After knockin' back a couple of cool ones Kerry, and his lady Terry... set me up to Chinese for supper and offered their guest room... which I greatfully accepted... was the first night that red headed Yamaha Raider ever spent in a garage... that I'm aware of...

Poor Ol' Kerry didn't know what he was gettin' himself into though... we sat up till nigh on to midnight, yakkin' an' fixin' all the ills of this Ol'world...

Saturday morning, after a cup... or two... of good black coffee, while workin' over a few more of our "agitaions" with this ol' world...

I bid good bye to my fine Host, and put my Two Wheeled Sweetheart back on the Open Road... Bound ever Northward and the start of the actual Alaskan Highway at Mile "0" in Dawson Creek B.C.

Just up the road from Dawson Creek I made camp at the British Columbia Parks, Charlie Creek campground... a pretty lil' spot, don't you think?

Late in that day... I discovered a problem any travelers up this way, or most anywhere for that matter, need to keep an eye on... The Card readers in many of the fuel pumps are set to put a hold on an exceptional chunk of cash... until the transaction clears... I've discovered that can run from $75 to even $200!!!

The problem is, when you're riding a bike that you're refueling every 100 miles or so... that's a lot of $75 and more "HOLDS" ... not to mention the even larger ones, and it locks up your card pretty damn quick!... so... if You're riding this way... or pretty much any long ride I'd guess... and not using cash for fuel... you better keep an eye on how those "Holds" are being handled... could cause you some grief.

I'll be using cash for several days... until I can get those "HOLDS" cleared... what a pain!

I've been averaging a mite over 300 miles a day... need to push through more tomorrow... It's still a loooong way to Alaska...

Pretty country though... it just goes on and on... ranch after farm after mile on mile of uninhabited timber... some call that boring... I call it enough space to let a man's Soul... Breathe.

One thing I've found... it's a lonely ride, if you're not comfortable inside your own head, alone, for hours at a time.

I've started to wonderin' if the repairs I'd been planning on doin'... inside my own brain pan, as I cover these many miles, are gonna take as long as the ride? :o) ... It's been truly enjoyable the few times I've tyed on with other riders for a few miles... could be... the "repairs" I was wanting to do... are already having some good effect! :o) let's keep our fingers crossed... but don't go holdin' your breath...

Tomorrow... Sunday... Watson Lake would be a fine target... and would be the longest day of the ride, if
I made it that far...

I'm finding that the days and miles of this long Solo ride, seem to be falling into a routine; where my spirit slides from the Joy of riding a fine motorcycle through the absolutely maginificent country we're blessed to live in... through periods of meditation, memories, and sometimes unavoidable melancholy and sadness... to   return, at the end of the day... once my camp is set up, to a feeling something akin to serenity...

... All seasoned with a significant amount of plain' Ol' endurance... I've not been pushing hard, as some are... I just don't usually see the purpose... unless of course... they've got even less time than I do! But, I'm still twisting the throttle for several hours every day... with my knees in the wind! Not bad for an Ol' stove up Cowboy Biker.

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