Alaska 2013

[jscgdunn]

Hi Ben,
Offer still open for a camp site if you come this way.  My place is at Bragg Creek just west of Calgary.

Jeff

[Firehawk068]

Love the reports, love the photos, but just where do you have to go over there to find a narrow road?
Noel

North Carolina has alot of narrow roads...........................But they DO have some of the best ones!

[Zwartie]

Sunday July 28: Dawson Creek, BC to Edmonton, AB – 590km. This is separation day. No worries, though, we'll get back together in a couple days. As we get ready to pack up and hit the road we chat for a bit with our neighbors in the site beside us. Turns out the CB500 is a '72 and the owner's name is Clement who is from France. When he rolled in last night I thought he had no idea what he was doing on this beat-up looking old machine. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong (no surprise). He knows bikes alright as he used to work at a bike shop back in France. He bought the bike in Quebec and is on his way to Alaska. We told him about some of the roads and what to expect and said that he has to ride the Top of the World Highway. The rear tire was toast so he had a spare strapped to the back and changed it right there at his campsite this morning. He told Jack that he doesn't exceed 80 km/h on the CB – I'm sure it could go faster but the way the brakes look it was likely more an issue of slowing down than speeding up. Once again I thought I was doing something real special by riding a 21 year old bike to Alaska only to be outdone by someone on a 41 year old machine – sigh. The K1200LT was owned by Larry from Indiana who was also on his way up to Alaska but he didn't seem quite as keen on riding the gravel "highways".
Once we were packed up we hit the road and headed to Grand Prairie where we stopped for fuel and breakfast. This was the point where I said goodbye to Jack and Albert...for now. One of my objectives on this trip was to visit a good friend of mine in Edmonton. Albert and Jack continued on toward Jasper / Banff and the plan was to meet up again the following day in Calgary. The ride from Grand Prairie to Edmonton is relatively flat and straight (reminds me of Southwestern Ontario) and there were pockets of cold rain along the way – again, thanks for the heated vest! I made a quick stop in Whitecourt and called Rob to let him know where I was. He said he would ride toward me as I rode toward Edmonton and when we met up he would lead me to his place. Rob has a Ducati Multistrada 1100 – an '07 or '08 model. I followed Rob along the back roads to his house and got to spend some quality time with his wife Miai and their 7-month old son Robbie Jin. Rob and I have known each other for at least 25 years and back in '91 we rode our Honda V45 Sabres from Ontario to Calgary and back. Looking back it was quite a feat as we rode about 7,000 km without current-day "necessities" such as GPS, two-way communicators or MP3 players – how did we do it? Time to reminisce about the "good 'ol days".  After a great Korean dinner, a couple beers and a soak in the hot tub it was time to retire for the night.

Albert doing his morning exercise


Chatting with the neighbors. There is a camaraderie among motorcyclists that you just don't find with minivan drivers – go figure


Clement (modern-day Ted Simon?) changing the tire on his bike


Rob leading me to his place in Edmonton – nice bike!

[Zwartie]

Monday July 29: Edmonton, AB to Calgary, AB – 300km. Nice to not have to get up at a specific time in the morning to hit the road. A bit of a break from what has been a fairly aggressive schedule and will continue to be after today as we are targeting to be back in London, ON by Saturday – a day early. After breakfast Rob asked if I would like to wash my bike at his place – absolutely! I really wanted to get the grime off the FJ so I could see her shine again. Since the rest of the ride home should be mostly tarmac it was also a good idea to clean the chain. I brought a grunge brush along and picked up some Dupont chain cleaner in Fairbanks. I've often told students in the motorcycle course that a clean bike is a happy bike and this adage was confirmed today. While cleaning the chain I noticed that one of the rear sprocket nuts was missing. The washer was still there but no nut. So we went to Canadian Tire to pick up a replacement. When I put the nut back on (along with blue Loctite) I checked the rest of them and all but one were just finger-tight. Yikes! After lunch I bid Rob, Miai and Robbie Jin farewell and headed off to my cousin Arnold's place in Calgary – about 3 hours away.
I got to Arnolds's place in time to hop in his SUV with him so we could ride into town and pick up his wife Sharon from work. About 6 weeks earlier Calgary and surrounding area was hit with the worst flooding in...ever and Arnold said that they were still pumping out some of the downtown buildings. Later that afternoon Jack and Albert showed up and we had a nice dinner together and a relaxing evening at their place just hanging out with them. I stayed at their place back in '91 as well and hold the record as the cousin from Ontario who's visited them the most times on a motorcycle – twice. I may have already had the record with one visit but I figured I needed to secure my place in the record book. We also had a really good laugh that evening when Jack overheard Sharon mention the name of a friend of theirs to Arnold and it turns out Jack roomed with this guy in University – and it turns out the guy owes Jack an antique radio that he was going to fix for him back in the late '70's and never returned. This is what we call Dutch bingo – you get a few people of Dutch descent together and even though they've never met it turns out they know the same people or are related to each other.

A clean bike is a happy bike! My FJ after a good washing and Rob's Multistrada – which is an '09, not an '07 or '08 as previously stated


Rob and Robbie Jin. Notice the motorcycle video on TV – now that's just good parenting!


The Alaska riders hanging out with my cousin Arnold

[Zwartie]

Tuesday July 30: Calgary, AB to Regina, SK – 760km. Another early start as we want to make some tracks today in an effort to get home by Saturday. Well, at least home for Jack and me. Albert still has to continue on to Halifax. We said goodbye to Arnold and Sharon, thanked them for their hospitality and hit the road...the extremely flat, straight road. It was the Trans-Canada Highway the whole way to Regina. Not exactly the most exciting part of the T-C but still there is something to enjoy and admire about the prairies. We rode through Medicine Hat, AB which is home to the world's largest (or tallest?) teepee and it got me to thinking that there are probably a lot of "world's largest..." in the prairies and many a town council or chamber of commerce has debated on what to build to bring tourists in if only to stop and look, buy a postcard or t-shirt and move on. We didn't even stop to buy the t-shirt, we just moved on.  We did appreciate that the speed limit on the T-C is 110 km/h, at least in Alberta and Saskatchewan. As we got closer to Moose Jaw we could see some ominous rain clouds off in the distance and it seemed inevitable that we would run right into them but that never happened. We stayed nicely behind or beside the rain and at times the road would be wet and there would be that unmistakable smell of rain but nothing ever materialized. I asked Jack and Albert what causes that smell that comes right before rain and they thought it might be ozone so of course I had to look it up on the Internet. Turns out the smell is called "petrichor" which is caused by bacteria such as geosmin and MIB being released into the air as the first rain hits the soil. Whoever thought going on a motorcycle trip could be so educational? We also went through a small area where it looked like there was snow on the ground but that turned out to be sodium sulphate – yay, more learning! By the end of the day we stopped at a campground on the east side of Regina. The girl at the office said we could set up our tents first and then come in and register. Turned out it was $25 per tent to camp which was one of the most expensive campgrounds we've been to so far. It seems as though there is no correlation between the price and quality of campground. This one was not the greatest but at least it was quiet and not too far off our route. While Jack was setting up his tent, a guy from an adjacent site started giving him free, unsolicited advice on how to set up a tent. Let's just say there was an herbal fragrance wafting from his site so Jack just nodded and smiled. You meet all kinds on the road!

Medicine Hat, AB – home of the world's largest teepee


It looked like an Armada of clouds covered the seemingly endless prairie landscape peppered with hay bales


Even the trains look longer in the prairies


Sometimes you see things that make you think of home. Let's just say that my wife leans a bit toward the organized side of things. This made me smile


A fitting sign for the area


Even in July it's the Great White North!


We could smell the rain but never caught up to it

[Zwartie]

Wednesday July 31: Regina, SK to Lake of the Woods, MN – 830km. Another great day to make tracks. The plan is to meet up with Bruce somewhere in Michigan on Thursday evening so we need to get some serious km's in today. It's another sun-shiny day in the prairies. Given the choice, I would always prefer to ride into the sun in the morning as opposed to the end of the day when we're all getting tired and looking for a campground. We made it into Manitoba and once we got to the Winnipeg area headed southeast toward the US border. Following the GPS directions took us through a bit of gravel road but after the likes of the Top of the World Highway this seemed like an Interstate. Jack and I were having a discussion about the bikes at some point in the journey and I had commented that he and his GS were still in the the honeymoon phase whereas my FJ and I are going through a couples retreat, trying to reignite that spark in our relationship. I had been playing the dialogue in my mind. Me: "You never told me you enjoyed gravel roads so much!" FJ: "Well, you never bothered to ask, now did you?" Just when you think you know someone...
The border crossing into Minnesota was small with no real signs alerting us that we were anywhere near the border until a mile or two before we hit it. There were no vehicles ahead of us so Jack went first to the only customs official on duty. He seemed to be chatting with her for a bit longer than usual. Albert and I removed our helmets while we waited. I mentioned to him that friends would ask how the border crossing was and we would say that we had to wait about 20 minutes. "Oh, was there a lineup of cars?" "No, it was just Jack." Albert was next and the customs official immediately knew his name and asked him a number of questions. Turns out Jack asked her to give Albert a hard time. Fortunately she had a good sense of humor – You would never even think about doing something like that at the Port Huron border unless you're looking for a free prostate exam.
Our stop for the night was at the Lake of the Woods Campground which is just off the Rainy River and south of the actual Lake of the Woods, MN. When we checked in at the campground office there were a few locals sitting at a table. They asked where we were from and where we've been and when we mentioned Alaska they looked at us like we were from another planet. They made the usual comments that our butts must be sore from all the riding. I guess it just seems hard for some people to get their heads wrapped around this sort of thing. The Lake of the Woods region looks like a fisherman's paradise. It looked like the kind of setting where they would have filmed "Grumpy Old Men". I thought I could hear Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau exchange greetings: "Moron", "Putz".  We had a great dinner at Ballard's Restaurant and Fishing Resort and then called it a night.

Riding into the Manitoba morning sun


Not a curve to be found in Manitoba either!


A quick stop after riding on a gravel road in Manitoba


Welcome to Minnesota!


Jack calling home from the deck of Ballard's Restaurant near Lake of the Woods, MN


A nice view of the water just after sunset...yes, we are finally south enough to see the sun set!

[FJ MCC VII]

Man, what a great trip!

[Zwartie]

Thursday August 1: Lake of the Woods, MN to Marquette, MI – 770km. Feeling a little blue today. Another great day of riding was promised, but it felt bitter-sweet – hard to believe that this little (or not so little) adventure was coming to close, and getting anxious to get home and see our loved ones again. This is one of those riding days when you seem to spend more time looking in your mirror, figuratively speaking. I thought back to an observation that Jack had made about my FJ earlier in the trip. For those who don't know, my bike is somewhat...modified, to say the least. I've been a fan of the mighty FJ since it first came out as the FJ1100 in 1984 and '85 and throughout its product life as the FJ1200 from '86 to '93. Back in 1994 I bought my first FJ, an '86 that was mostly stock and it was a faithful companion until 2005 when I "upgraded" my then 19 year old machine to a "new" 13 year old  '92 FJ1200. I was looking for something that was just a touch more touring friendly, with a taller windscreen and the '92 seemed to fit the bill nicely. I've test ridden many other bikes over the years and there have been some nice candidates along the way but none fits me as well as the FJ. Call me predictable. I guess I just know what I like. I've also worked for the same company for over 20 years, been with my wife for almost just as long and been a die-hard Rush fan since sometime in the '80's. Hmm, maybe there's a pattern here. Anyway, as I mentioned before, my FJ has a laundry list of "upgrades" and/or add-ons to it such as the engine, clutch, brakes, exhaust, rear wheel and swing-arm, suspension, and that's not even the half of it. Jack said that his uncle once spoke of an axe that he's owned for years: "It's my favorite axe. I've only replaced the handle 5 times and the head 3 times". A great analogy for the FJ – my favorite axe. It makes me wonder if I were to ride a completely stock FJ today if I would be as enamored by it. Who am I kidding, of course I would – it would just be another project in the works! If I'm getting at anything it's that the FJ was the only bike for this Far Journey...for me at least.
Today's ride took us through two states, 1 time zone (the last one) and just south of what may be the greatest of the Great Lakes, at least the most Superior of them. By the time this trip is done for Albert he will have ridden past or at least near all of the Great Lakes. That's an accomplishment that most North Americans can't even boast! During one of our fuel stops in in Michigan, Albert noticed that his front tire felt softer than it should and verified that it was leaking at the valve stem. Fortunately it was the valve itself and he was able to get a replacement at an auto shop across the road in just a few minutes. If that's the closest anyone's come to a flat tire on this trip then I say we've beaten the odds. By the end of the day or beginning of the evening we ended up at a campground in Marquette, MI and met up with our lost brother Bruce who rode up from London, ON on his brand new machine. After the misadventures with his MotoGuzzi which we have nicknamed the MotoKaputzi, it was time for him to upgrade to something more reliable – A 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere, and a blue one at that.

Let's see, I think the gas goes in here


Riding toward Lake Superior in Duluth, MN


Just had to take a picture of this Harley complete with American Flag and passenger in Elvis jumpsuit texting


Riding through the UP in the late afternoon. The shadows are getting longer


Our prodigal son has returned! OK, we met him on the way home


Another blue Yamaha next to my FJ. We just need one more to make it a rally!

[Zwartie]

Friday August 2: Marquette, MI to Linwood, MI – 540km. And then there were four. It sure would have been nice if Bruce could have joined us for the entire ride but that just wasn't in the cards. Got a feeling he may do the Alaska run next summer on what should be by then his tried and true blue Yamaha Super 10. I did offer to photo-shop him into the rest of the trip pictures. Today's ride took the four of us along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or the "U.P." as it's more commonly known. This is a part of Michigan that I've never seen before and it reminds me a bit of Northern Ontario. I guess the glaciers didn't know the difference. The locals here are known as "Yoopers".  This is not the Port Huron – Detroit Michigan that I am familiar with. I think this is the "Pure Michigan" that Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) talks about in those commercials on TV and the radio. The kind of place I need to return to investigate further with Kim and the boys and our tent trailer in tow. We crossed over the Mackinaw Bridge into the lower half of Michigan or what looks like the middle finger portion of the mitten. No offence taken. I believe Bruce made mention later in the day that a car was blown off the bridge back in the '80s. Had I known that beforehand I may have kept both hands on the grips instead of holding a camera and snapping photos every 10 seconds or so.
After the bridge we made a slight detour to the west and caught M-119 which is known as the tunnel of trees. It is pretty much exactly what the name implies, along with nice twists and turns as it winds along the Lake Michigan shoreline for about 30 km. Although it's officially a two-lane road, in reality it's only about a lane and a half wide with no shoulder to speak of so much care was taken, especially when entering the many blind curves. Still, what a road! About halfway along, I noticed a big white tent with a BMW logo on it just off the road in a parking area so we made a quick U-turn to check it out. Turned out to be a BMW demo ride put on by BMW of Grand Rapids, MI. So Jack got to get his fill of BMW love again. At least we got some free pens and side-stand plates! Once we got through the tunnel and into one of the local lakeshore towns the group got separated with Bruce and Albert up front and Jack and I a few km's behind them. No problems, though - using the miracle of the Scala Q3 Bluetooth unit and my cell phone I was able to call Bruce while we were riding and let him know where we were. We caught up with each other a while later at a gas station just off I75. It may be subtle but the group dynamic certainly changes when you go from 3 riders to 4. With 3 it just seems to be so much easier to keep the group together through traffic and intersections, fuel stops are a bit quicker and costs are even a bit lower as campgrounds seem more keen on letting 3 tents onto one site. There was really no need for the 2-way communication units with our group of 3 but when we went to 4 it almost seemed like a necessity. I'm sure this trip would have gone well with 4 of us but I think that may have been the maximum, at least for my comfort level. Any more than 4 and things may have had to be "planned" which as my good friend Paul reminds me from time to time, is not the "Cowboy Way".
Our last evening of camping was at the Linwood Beach Marina and Campground in Linwood, MI which is about 20 km north of Bay City, MI. Apparently Linwood is the Walleye Capital of the World or something along that line. Dinner was at the Village Inn in Linwood and wouldn't you know it, they were all out of Walleye! After a late dinner it was back to the campground for a couple beers and get out the laptops to copy photos and videos over from one portable hard drive to another so that we wouldn't have to email or ftp them to each other later on. Jack had something like 150 GB of video from his Go Pro camera. He only lives 15 minutes or so from my place so I'll stop by and copy them over some other time. Just one more sleep and then I'm home!

By this time in the trip we've gotten pretty proficient at tearing down and packing up our gear


Bruce looking good on his blue Super 10!


The four travelers reunited!


Bruce in front of me and Albert in my mirror on the Mackinaw Bridge


Those twisty road signs just make me smile


Leading the pack through the tunnel of trees


Bruce and Albert looking sad – either because it's our last night or because we just found out they're out of Walleye

[Zwartie]

Saturday August 3 Linwood, MI to London, ON – 330km. This is the final stretch, at least for three of us. Today we tear down our tents for the last time and head home. Jack's wife already made arrangements for the two of them to go to a B&B for the weekend as it is a long weekend in Canada or at least in Ontario so Jack wants to be home at a reasonable time. Compared to some of the 800+ km days we've ridden, today is going to feel like a ride to the corner store. We've gotten pretty adept at the whole setup/teardown the tent and gear routine by now so we're on the road in good time. The plan is to ride to Port Huron, stop for a late breakfast and then head home. From Linwood we hit I75 and headed south toward Flint, MI. Flint is one of those cities that's been hit hard by the mass exodus of the automotive industry from Detroit and they have the highways to prove it. Concrete slabs with chunks missing in just the right places. You know the road is in rough shape when it makes you wish you were back on the gravel of the Dalton Highway. The rest of the ride to Port Huron was accompanied by the usual thump-thump rhythm of I69 expansion joints. I really don't like the interstate highways in Michigan, in case you didn't know. We had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Port Huron which was an added bonus because I really wanted Albert to experience it. I remember the first time I went to a CB, maybe 20 years ago or so and thought that it had such a nice quaint, old-fashioned feel to it. Of course it didn't take long to realize that every CB is exactly the same as the last. Not in the same way as McDonald's or other chain restaurants, but in more of a Twilight Zone kind of way.  I'm sure we had the same waitress as the CB I went to in Kansas a few years back. But hey, at least the food is good! A quick fuel stop and short chat with the Canadian Border agent and we were back in Canada! I love visiting the US but there is always a small sigh of relief every time I get back to the Great White North. We rode from Sarnia to Strathroy on the 402, a road riddled with OPP (police) and nearly as straight as the mid-western plains, but at least no more thump-thump! We stopped at the end of the exit to Hickory Drive, just outside Strathroy for a few hearty hugs before Jack and Bruce peeled off for London. Albert and I continued on to Strath for a visit with my parents. It was a nice way to book-end the trip. This was also the point at which Albert and I would part ways – he was heading north to visit another cousin of his who was camping with his family at a Provincial Park and I pointed my front wheel home.  Thirty days and sixteen thousand, three hundred and thirty six kilometers later and I'm back in my driveway! Home Sweet Home! And what a homecoming it was – Kim and the boys were there waiting for me with a nice banner on the garage door and balloons by the front door. This trip has been an amazing experience that I will never forget but that being said, I don't think I've ever been so glad to be home.

Time to tear down camp for the last time...


My transportation and home for the past 30 days


Coming down the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron, MI to Sarnia, ON


Jack and Bruce heading home...


A nice Dutch welcome at my parent's place. Seems like we were just here a month ago!


Albert waves goodbye as he heads north and I'm about to turn east


What a great welcome!


16,336.2 km – that's 10,150.8 miles!


The three reasons I came back home


The trusty steed back in the stable after a Far Journey. Well done Blue Bunny, well done!

[Firehawk068]

I'm sad to see your trip end........................

How's your back tire look? What tires do you have on there?
Did you ever have to use your spare gas can that you strapped on there?

You are truly an inspiration, and I'm looking forward to my next cross-country adventure..............

[Arnie]

Great story, sounds like it was a great trip.
Thanks for including all of us on your ride.
Where are you planning to go next time? :-)

Arnie

[The General]

Great story, sounds like it was a great trip.
Thanks for including all of us on your ride.
Where are you planning to go next time? :-)

Arnie

+1