Fairbanks & Bike Maintenance (July 28)

Today was the day we scheduled for some bike maintenance.  I needed a new rear tire, especially after it took a puncture on the Top of the World Hwy!  Additionally, I decided to get the oil and filter changed.   Scott needed both of his tires changed.  A bit about Adventure Cycle Works, which is run by 'Dan'.  He runs the business out of his garage (clean and fully functional) and comes highly recommended by the Adventure Riding Community (AdvRider.com, etc).  He is open 24/7, 7 days a week.  He is also way cheaper than the other service options (dealers) in Fairbanks...for both labor and tires.  I give him 5 stars!!!

We arrived around 9 am and IKRAN was on the lift in minutes.  About an hour and half later I had a new tire, oil/filter change, and chain service.  He also takes the time to check your brakes, clutch, etc.  Scott was next and an hour later he was done.

IKRAN in the air minutes after we arrive!

 

Some road tar that had wedged its way into the area around where the slip-on attaches to the midpipe, making removal a b***h.  If you happen to visit Dan, be prepared to hear some very colorful language...LOL!

New rear shoe going on!

 

IKRAN serviced and ready to attack The Dalton tomorrow morning!

 

The old 'shoe' with the plug

 

The plugged puncture spot

 

 

With the bikes shod with new tires, it was back to the dorms at the University.  Of course we rode back in the rain.  Aside from the price and convenience of the dorms, it was also nice being able to see the bikes from our rooms.

Later that evening we had dinner with Gretchen.  We had all worked together at Los Angeles Center Air Route Traffic Control Center and we're all now retired.  Gretchen was in Fairbanks, with her sister, to visit her nephew, who was stationed in Fairbanks, in the US Army.  Then it was back to the dorms for a good night's sleep, tomorrow is The Dalton...

Dawson City to Chicken to Tok to Fairbanks (July 25-27)

After spending a fun evening listening to and visiting with The Piano Man, it was time to hit the road the next morning.  This was the day we tackle The Top of the World Hwy or The TOW as it is affectionately called.  As we are getting gas, this guy and his best buddy pulled up.  You meet and see the funnest people on these trips!

After gassing up, it was off to catch another ferry ride.  This one, out of Dawson City, takes us to the beginning of The TOW.  187 miles of mostly dirt, through desolate highlands, finally into TOK, AK.

This ferry is free and doesn't hold a lot, this trip was just the big motorhome, a large van, and the two of us on our cycles.

The ride is short and you are not allowed to dismount.

This is a pic of the ferry we disembarked from, now reloading, and taking people to the Dawson City side.

As we rode away, I looked back to see the line of motorhomes waiting to cross from Dawson City.

The beginning of The TOW...

We met another rider, one of only three bikes we saw on the TOW.  And thank God we met up with the other two!!!

More of the TOW.  Top of the World is a fitting name.  The road seems to be on top of the world.  The views are endless.  We even saw a herd of caribou!

Then it happened...about midway, 90 miles either direction from any civilization, I get a flat tire.

My first flat tire on a motorcycle in about 40 years of riding!  There is no one around, I think I've popped the seal on a run in with a deep pot hole.  A motor home stops, we try his compressor, no luck.  We can not find a puncture, if it's the a blown bead, I'm in real trouble.  He doesn't want to leave us stranded, but there is nothing he can do.  He says he'll tell the border patrol when he gets there.  We can't just stay put, even though it will stay light until midnight, we can't risk doing nothing.  I decide to ride on the flat.  Can't just stay there.  I do about 6 miles at 8 mph.  It is brutal on me and the bike.  We stop for a break and two bikes come up over the hill towards us and I step out and flag them down.  

Here I am, with what I think is the last pic that will ever be taken of me.  Someday they will find my bike and bones, but then Tom and Claus ride in like knights in shining armour!

Wounded IKRAN...

Tom and Claus to he rescue!  Tom gives classed on Adventure Riding and sure enough he is able to located the problem.  While we all thought I was screwed with a popped bead seal, Tom found a puncture.  From there it was just a matter of plugging the puncture and using Tom's compressor to fill the tire.  My guardian angel was looking out for me this day.  Truth be told, while this could have turned out really bad, this is what makes a ride an adventure...when you take on a ride like this, there will be 'trying times' and in a sick sort of way, that's the fun of it...

We all rode together (safety concern) until the border and into Chicken, AK.  At this border crossing there are both Canadian and US agents.  The US agent told me that the motorhome guy did let him know of my dilemma, but the gentleman did not give him enough info to act on...other than somewhere out there was a stranded guy on a motorcycle.  Yikes!  

At the border crossing from Canada into the USA

The old, very casual, US border 'office'...after 9/11 I think they built the new, more modern building for the US guys.  In the 'old' days the US border guy would be up there BBQing, come down and have a short conversation with you, then back to his BBQ.  Not anymore.

After we crossed this is the view going into the USA.  There must have been a bunch of surplus monies somewhere, because for whatever reason, there are 13 miles of pavement into the US, then back to gravel.  Guess they needed that 13 miles.

Arrival Chicken, AK...eclectic little village with gas, a bar, and souvenir shop.  It was at this point that Tom and Claus figured my tire was going to hold as they departed ahead of us.

Claus, Scott, myself, and Tom in Chicken, AK

The Chicken Saloon

 

Cafe

And souvenir shop.  They also offer free camping behind the shops.  The rain once again started up and we hit the road towards TOK

We saw this moose and her litle one in the lake.  At this point we've seen 6 moose and zero bears

Arrived safe and sound in TOK, located the much acclaimed Eagle Claw Motorcycle Campground, and sett up camp...and another gourmet meal

We are getting used to these chili dogs!  After a day like today it was a feast, topped of with our favorite Alaskan Ale!

Relaxing campside...

Then of course it began to rain and it was off the the shelter of the tents.  Here's the comfort of my Nemo Losi 2 Person 3 Season tent.  Purchased new for this trip, as it was much smaller and lighter, than the 4 season 4 person tent, I had used for last year's trip.

It's surprising how comforting and relaxing it is listening to the beating of rain on a tent, but it is, and I got a great night's sleep.  In the morning we were off to Fairbanks, but on the way we stopped off at The North Pole to deliver our Christmas 'wish lists' to Santa

Santa's House

Mural and tilework on the side of Santa's House

Cool pics...

The map below shows the ground we've covered since leaving Scott's place in Idaho.  I think he's got about 2700 miles on the clock and I'm a bit over 4000.  Wednesday we assault The Dalton or more apptly named, The Haul Road, for the trucks that are constantly traveling the road to Prudhoe Bay and the oil fields.  The road is the second of the two roads that were on our 'to do' list.  The first being the TOW.  The Dalton is a dangerous trek north.  We will only be going to The Arctic Circle, located at Coldfoot.  Because we do not want to make this a round trip in one day affair, we will travel a bit further past Coldfoot, to Wiseman, where we have a cabin reserved on Wednesday night.  Roundtrip it is somewhere around 500 miles.  We will return to Fairbanks on Thursday, then make our way south to the Kenai Pennisnsula.

As of this writing, we are holed up in the dormitories, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  While school is out for the summer, they rent out the dorm rooms for cheap.  It's a great set up with access to food, shower facilities, free laundry, and wifi.  

As I am typing this, Scott has come into my room and advised me he has spoken to a rider who just got back from 'doing' The Dalton.  He started in a group of 10 riders, 8 turned back, he saw two motorcycle wrecks, one guy airlifted out.

To be continued...

Burns Lake to Watson Lake to Whitehorse to Dawson City (July 21-24)

We left Burns Lake in the rain and it would stay with us for the better part of three days.  Our destination is Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK

Riding in the rain isn't too bad as long as it's not a torrential downpour and the wind is not moving you side to side.  The KLIM gear I purchased last year is specifically made for these adverse types of conditions.  Three days worth of steady rain and not one drop of moisture inside my gear.

Here's a pic of one of the glaciers we saw on the final run into Stewart...

The scenery is beautiful, even in the rain...

This is Bear Glacier just outside Stewart

We made it.  Stewart, BC.  Just next door is Hyder, AK.  This is also the start of the Alaskan Hwy into Yukon, BC.  

As mentioned, Hyder, AK is next door and we made our first foray into Alaska.  

This is the border crossing, where you are only checked coming back into Canada.  There are no US border personnel at this border.

Once into Hyder, AK we set out to find The Salmon Glacier, this is some of the scenery along the way...

Amazing views!

This is Salmon Glacier.  The view can be found about 23 miles up a dirt road and worth the trip!

For the ride up the dirt road I off-loaded the top box and side panniers.  Bike is way lighter and so much more fun to ride, especially in the dirt!

Here's The Salmon Glacier posing with me ;-)

Once the sightseeing was done, we stopped at The Glacier Inn to be 'Hyderized'.

So the rules of Hyderization...you can not sniff it or sip it, you must shoot it.  Break any of the rules and you must buy a round for the bar.

The shot is Everclear...when you are finished the bartender lights the glasses on fire.  You can see a purplish hue on the glass on the left, that's the flame.

Card issued to those who are successfully Hyderized

Back to the motel and this is our view around midnight...it stays light up here a long time!

A couple riders we met gifting us their Diamond Tooth Gerties 2015 Annual Pass.  These passes, to be used in Dawson City, had been gifted to them, and we will gift them to someone when we are done using them.  

The 2015 Diamond Tooth Gerties Pass

We left Stewart, BC bound for The Yukon.  Here are a couple pics of the sights on the way out.  A raging river of water running parallel to the road...

A snowfield just down from Bear Glacier...

Then after a few hours of riding in the rain...The Yukon!

Just over the border into Yukon we headed into Watson Lake, the sight of the Sign Post Forest.  This is pretty cool.  A homesick serviceman, who was stationed there in 1942, posted a sign of his hometown.  A single sign grew into a 'forest', as others began to post their signs, which morphed into license plates.  Below is a pic of me holding the license plate we put our names on and posted.  I was going to bring a old custom plate from Iowa off my 1969 Cougar (69Cougr), but I forgot it...duh.

Here's the plate we posted...

This is the serviceman who started it all...

His 'plate'...

50 years later the town of Watson Lake brought Carl and his wife back for a commemorative celebration.  The plate above is a replica of the original he placed in 1942.

Amazing to see what The Sign Forest has grown into!

Acres of plates and signs...

Who says 'one man can't make a difference'?

From Watson Lake it was onto Whitehorse...in the rain...all day.  So upon arriving, our room is not ready...no problem, we need a bier anyway...off to the bar.  I'd like to mention that Canadians in general are some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet.  Friendly waitress serving us our bier...

This is Marcello, from Salta, Argentina.  He is riding from the southern most city in the world, Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, AK on the Arctic Ocean!  WOW!!!  Had to buy him a bier!

After dropping our stuff off in the room it was now time to find some food.  We happened by The Klondike Rib & Salmon restaurant and had...you guessed it...BBQ ribs and salmon.  Delicious!

Here are Scott and I with Dona, the owner, and Kikki, our waitress.  Like I said, Canadians are friendly!

Then next morning is was off to Dawson City...you guessed it, in the rain.  On the way had to stop at The Braeburn Lodge, home of the Gigantic Cinnamon Roll...it did not disappoint!  

While we were there, I took this pic of a car being towed behind a motorhome.  We look as dirty.

Occasionally the rain would let up and you'd get views like this...

IKRAN doesn't look too bad.  You'd ride thru the dirt and mud, get uber dirty, then the rains would wash it away...

We arrived in Dawson City, set up camp, cooked another gourmet meal, then set off for town...

We had our passes for Diamond Tooth Gerties, but thought first we'd check out the saloon at The Downtown Hotel...

Inside the saloon, pretty normal, until the little man at the piano started playing...

Here's me with The Piano Man...

Hands don't look like a pianists hands...

So here's the story on The Piano Man...he was adopted, his new mother was a piano instructor, she must have taught him well because he ends up studying at The Royal Conservatory in Calgary, goes on to be a concert pianist in the Toronto Symphony, but grew tired of wearing tuxedos, shunned it all, and moved to a houseboat 11 miles south of Dawson City.  He became an eccentric recluse, but still loved to play the piano.  His sight grew bad, sixty some year old hands developed arthritis, and he had no piano.  The hotel offered him a spot playing 2 hours a night, 7 days a week.  There aren't many pianos in Dawson City, but the hotel/bar had one and he was excited to play.  Didn't care about the money.  He's stored over 800 songs in his head, needs no sheet music,  Scott and I never made it to Gertie's.  We stayed for the two hours listening to songs like 'The Music of the Night' from The Phantom, being played by a 60 something year old eccentric recluse, playing on a 92 year old piano, in a 150 year old Gold Rush bar.  His fingers are dirty, hands are aged, he is The Piano Man!

The pic below is The Piano Man after his performance, on his was to hitch hike back home.  I forgot to mention, to get from his houseboat, he takes a canoe across the river, then hitch hikes to the hotel.  Locals know him so pick him up to and from the hotel.  What a story!  This should be a movie!!!

I'm hoping this link will take you to my Facebook page, where I have a video of him playing.

https://www.facebook.com/dave.williams.5203/videos/10207294367708178/