DaveR RTW 2009

What Made Me Do This? - Epilogue

2009-12-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

This blog documents the motorcycle trip I took Between May and September 2009. As you read this blog you may wonder where I got the idea to ride my motorcycle around the world. Anyone who knows me knows I have been riding motorcycle since the spring of 1970. Except for the four years I spent in the military, I have never been without a Harley-Davidson under me. I have motorcycle riding experience in North America, Europe, South America, Australia, and Africa.
In early 2007 my girlfriend Mary brought home a DVD movie called “The Long Way Around”. We watched it and liked it. After we watched all the episodes I said to Mary “you know I could do that”, and that’s where the idea was planted in my head. I asked Mary if she would support my attempt to ride around the world. She said she would, and in September 2007 I bought a 2007 Kawasaki KLR 650 to carry out the task. I requested a four month leave of absence from work and set my departure month as May 2009. After the initial meeting with work, a follow up meeting was held every six months until December 2009, when I received the official go ahead for my big adventure. At this point I made the final decision to go for it. I began to apply for letters of acceptance and visas for countries I was planning to visit. I researched and prepared my motorcycle for the trip and read three books about motorcycle travel around the world. The first was “The Long Way Around” by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman, the second was “Riding The Edge” by Dave Barr, and the third “Two Wheels Through Terror” by Glen Heggstad. Each of these books provided me with reference information which would help me through this trip. “The Long Way Around” provided me with route, border, and availability of services information in the Russian Federation. “Riding The Edge” assured me that starting out with an old motorcycle was not a good decision and no matter how difficult my days could be they would never be as difficult as they would be for a double amputee motorcycle rider. “Two Wheels Through Terror” gave me some insight into how I might survive should I be captured or taken hostage in a foreign country. January 2009 started out like any other new year, but it took a bad turn when I had my physical for the trip. The doctors discovered an illness which required immediate attention and literally put an end to my trip planning. I would not do any further trip planning until the middle of March 2009. Again I was faced with a difficult decision; whether to go or to bail out. I decided I would proceed again with my trip planning, since if my illness re-occurred later I would never get a second chance to ride around the world. From this point on I slept about 4 hours a night during the week due to handling affairs related to insurance, licenses, shipping, air fares, letters of acceptances into countries and visas. I felt very insecure about whether I would receive a Russian Visa and despite all the assurances that I would, I never really believed it until I had it in my hand. I was terrified of the “no” word. Once I had all my support people in place, copies of all the paperwork, and motorcycle loaded up, I was ready to leave on the adventure of a lifetime on 13 May 2009. My trip took me from Saint Paul, Minnesota, through Wisconsin, Upper and Lower Michigan into Toronto, Canada. I flew my motorcycle and myself from Toronto to London, England. I then rode my motorcycle to Dover, England and took the ferry to Dunkirk, France. From there I traveled thru France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Russia, through Siberia to Vladivostok in Eastern Russia. I traveled by ferry from Vladivostok to South Korea and then flew my motorcycle and myself from Seoul to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From there I rode to Seattle, Washington, USA. In Seattle I refreshed the motorcycle. I drove back to British Columbia, through the Yukon Territory and up to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. I then drove to Fairbanks, Alaska, north to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, then south to Anchorage, and east to Tok, Alaska. From there I drove down the Alaskan Highway to Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Edmonton, Alberta and Shelby, Montana, USA. From there I rode east through Grand Forks, North Dakota and home to Prior Lake, Minnesota.
I was asked many times, “did you feel vulnerable traveling by yourself”? Yes, but I would never intentionally expose myself to dangerous situations or perform unsafe acts with my motorcycle. I tried to be as non-confrontational as possible and drove as safe as possible because injuring myself was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. From the get-go, my philosophy about this whole trip was, “people are basically good all over the world” and I still stand by that. It seemed like anytime a situation developed where I would need help beyond my ability to communicate, a Good Samaritan emerged from somewhere and offered help. I cannot express my thanks enough to these people.
One perception I encountered throughout my trip, was that I was “a rich American”. This could seem to be the case, depending on whose eyes you were looking through. Although I funded my trip myself, in the USA my present job is Journeyman Machinist, which is a skilled blue collar job. After arriving home from my trip on a Saturday, I had to be back to work the next Monday. That’s not something a wealthy person would need to do.
I hope my blog will provide information and encouragement for people willing to live a dream or who just want to escape the daily routine of life. Before I watched “The Long Way Around” in 2007, I never would have considered circumnavigating the world. That video provided me with the inspiration to think large, build a motorcycle, plan every detail, draw on all my motorcycle riding experience, and undertake the adventure of a lifetime - my way.
David L. Reinhold

Aftermarket Equipment List

2009-12-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

Changes I made to my 2007 Kawasaki KLR 650

Aftermarket Equipment List
By Manufacture/Vendor

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Happy Trails Motorcycle Products
Happy-trail.com
Doohickey (Balancer Idler Lever and Spring Upgrade)
Rear Master Cylinder Guard
Aluminum Skid Plate
Pivot Peqz Mark 2
Engine Guard Highway Pegs
Coolant Reservoir – Radiator Guard Combination
Carburetor Vent Kit
Aluminum Top Box
T2 Top Plate
Oversized 320 mm Front Disk Rotor
L.E.D. Tail Light Conversion Kit
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Motorcycle Accessory Supply House
KLR650.com
IMS 6.6 Gallon Fuel Tank
Acerbis Locking Gas Cap
Air Filter Skins
Odyssey – No Maintenance Battery
Spare Brake and Clutch Levers
Maier Aluminum Brush Guards
Maier Faux Carbon Fiber Hand Guards
420 Progressive Fork Springs
420 Progressive Rear Shock
Mirror Vibration Isolators
Front and Rear Heavy Duty Inner Tubes
Axle Wrench
Spare Clutch and Speedometer Cables
Sub-Frame Upgrade Kit
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TPI Motorcycle Wholesalers
TPI@Comcast.Net
Stainless Steel Head Light Guard
Heavy Duty Head Light Harness
New Style European Light Switch
New Mirror and Choke Mount
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Totally Wired Cycles
Totally Wired Cycles.com
DSR – 15 Weather Proof ATO Fuse Upgrade Kit
DSR – 17 Weather Proof ATO Fan Fuse Upgrade Kit
Weather Proof Accessories ATO Fuse Kit
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Dual Star
Order: 1 – 800 – 466 – 7433
Tech: 1 – 425 – 776 – 7433
Billet Oil Filler Cap
Muffler Guard
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Eagle Manufacturing and Engineering
Mike@eagle-m-e.com
Mike Cowlishaw
Shark Fin - Rear Disk Rotor Guard
Billet Aluminum Rear Brake Mount
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Whitehorse Gear
Whitehorsepress.com
KLR 650 Clymer Service Manual
SAE Tank Bag Electrical Kit and Other Electrical Wiring
KLR 650 Big Foot Shift Lever
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Aerostich/Rider Wearhouse
Aerostich.com
Panel Mounted 12V Outlet
BMW Plugs & Sockets
Motofizz Thermo Clock
Moto Compass
Cycle Pump Air Compressor
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Big CEE Engineering
Chris Krok
bigcee@bigcee.com
Manual Petcock Conversion Kit
Mini Dash
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Touratech – USA
Touratech-USA.com
Zumo 450/550 Handlebar Mount Moveable Lock
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Jesse Luggage Systems
Jesseluggage.com
U.S. Distributor of Jesse Luggage Systems
Xplorer Moto, LLC
1-520-743-0638
info@xplorermoto.com
Kawasaki KLR 650
Odyssey II Saddle Bags
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Tires
2 each Front Tires
Bridgestone
Trail Wing TW – 301
3.00 – 21
Mileage before changing for each tire 10,000+ miles/16129+ kilometers
Quality of tire – rating 1 thru 10
9+
Excellent tread wear
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1 each Rear Tire
Bridgestone
Trail Wing TW – 302
4.60 – 17
Mileage/kilometers before changing the tire 1500 or less miles/2419 or less kilometers
Quality of tire – rating 1 thru 10
1
The tire threw the lugs off the tire casing (see the end of May Blog entries and pictures)
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2 each Rear Tires
Michelin
T63 Dual-Sport Knobby Tires
130/80 – 17 65S
Mileage before changing for each tire 8500/9500 miles/13710/15323 kilometers
Quality of tire – rating 1 thru 10
9
Excellent tread wear – If I would travel around the world again under
similar circumstances these would be the tires I would choose.
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1 each Rear Tire
Continental
65T Twin Duro
130/80 – 17
Mileage/kilometers before changing the tire 5000+ miles/8065+ kilometers
Quality of tire – rating 1 thru 10
9
Personally I didn’t want to buy this tire but I was out of options. It’s a soft tire
with a short life expectancy. I was told it should last 3500 miles/5645 kilometers.
That’s the distance from Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA to Anchorage, Alaska, USA.
I felt uncomfortable about taking a chance on getting back to Saint Paul, Minnesota
with this tire because it may wear out before I got home. I would then have to buy
yet another tire. That thought did not make me happy. When I arrived home the
tire still had enough tread on it to ride another 2000 miles/3226 kilometers.
For that reason I gave it a 9 rating.
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3 Manufactured Parts I Created for this 2007 Kawasaki KLR 650
1st part
The changes I made to this motorcycle are not that obvious at first glance. If you look
you’ll see a Happy Trails Motorcycle top box on the luggage rack. I removed the plastic
luggage rack/plate form and manufactured an aluminum one. It was way more involved
than I originally thought. Here is an example: all the drilled holes have to be drilled in at
6 degrees in order for it to mate up with the tapped holes in the side rails. That had me
scratching my head for a while. I then bolted the Happy Trails T2 aluminum plate to the
top of my new aluminum luggage rack. I now had to design method to attach the top
box to the T2 aluminum plate. I wanted it securely attached yet mounted on rubber vibration
isolators. I found rubber vibration isolators in an aftermarket Harley-Davidson catalog.
They were used to support the battery box on the 1960’s, 1970’s and early 1980’s Harleys.
I then created 2 rails with 4 counter bores per side about ½ inch deep. One rail per side
on the luggage rack. I then could screw in 8 vibration isolators and lock them in with a
lock nut. I drilled 8 bolt holes in the box to match the 8 vibration isolators. I bolted the
rails on to the top box and figured out the bolt hole locations I needed to bolt the rails
to the T2 aluminum top plate on the luggage rack. When I figured out the hole locations
to bolt the box down I added an extra hole so that I could slide the box forward 3 inches.
I thought that would be a nice feature if for some reason I needed it. You just never know.
All the fasteners used to mount this box are stainless steel to hold down the rusting in
lengthy wet and rainy conditions. I also added an SAE electrical outlet to the box to provide
electricity to charge my cell phone and laptop batteries.

2nd set of parts I created for this motorcycle
I’m still not sure how Jesse Luggage designed their rear signal light relocation bracket
or how it was to be attached to the motorcycle so I built my own. It took a little
head scratching but I finally came up with a bracket which bolted on to the saddle bag
mounting hardware. I used the original signal lights and extended the wiring and plugged
them back into the original sockets. When I finished they almost looked like the
manufacturer's original equipment.

3rd part
I relocated the license plate. I found some 1/16 thick sheet stainless steel and sawed out a 1 inch wide stripe about 12 inches long just in case I made a mistake. I took some rough measurements, bent up a bracket to fit over the hump on the end of the rear fender and sawed it off to length. I found a small sheet of 1/16 thick aluminum in the aluminum scrap bin and sawed out a backing platefor my license plate. I put wings on it to mount two license plate lights to keep everything legal. I drilled holes in the aluminum backing to match the drilled holes in the stainless steel fender bracket. I bolted the two together with stainless steel fasteners. It was still too flexible for me so I put another spacer between the backing plate and fender at the top. I centered it up at the top, drilled a hole and bolted it down. It was a nice firm backing plate to bolt a license plate to. I wired in the license plate lights and plugged them into the same socket the original license light plugged into. I then went to the Harley-Davidson dealer and
purchased a license plate reflector and double faced taped it to the old license plate
bracket and I was done. I later lost this reflector when I drove thru a pothole in Russia
which was 3 feet long X 2 feet wide and 6 inches deep. I thought I was going to crash
on that pothole. The old KLR drove right on thru it.

1st change
I added a storage tube in front of my front foot pegs.
The first time I saw this storage tube on a KLR 650 was up in Goose Bay, Labrador. I thought it
was a good idea and always remembered it. So when I was building this bike I thought I
would install one on it. I went back to the pictures I took of the guy and his motorcycle to
see how it was installed. I could also see what type of tube to purchase. The tube is black 4 inch
sewer pipe and I bought it down at the ACE hardware store. I bought 24 inches of it, a
cap and a screw on end. I later cut the tube so that it would be shorter than the width
of the foot peg hinge. That’s so if I crashed on the bike the end of the tube would not
be digging in to the road and possibly prevent it from being ripped off the bike. I sawed
the tube to length then glued the ends on and allowed it to cure. I fastened the tube
to foot peg and engine guard using hose clamps that also can be purchased at
the hardware store. I used some of the hose clamps to pull the tube back and others
to pull the tube down. That would keep it in the restraint state and prevent it from moving
around. I used it to store my spare inner tubes and my emergency gas siphoning hoses.
Something about my emergency gas siphoning hoses always brought up a lively conversation.

2nd change
I added screens in front of the Radiator and Coolant Reservoir
I specifically bought the Coolant Reservoir – Radiator Guard Combination from Happy Trails so I could stretch screens across the bars to protect the radiator from insects, flying mud
and stones. The aluminum window screen kept out the insects and slowed down the flying mud.
The ¼ square screen in back of the window screen slowed down the flying stones from
oncoming traffic before they would hit the radiator and do damage. Some of the semi-trucks
and car traffic I met would cause me to pull off to the side of the road, close my visor on my helmet, hold my breath and turn my face away from the flying stones. I held my breath so I didn’t have to breathe in the dust. The only disadvantage to these screens is the difficulty of cleaning the radiator with a low pressure hose or a squirt bottle. I cleaned my radiator daily when I was riding in extremely dusty conditions with a squirt bottle because no high or low pressure hoses were available. I have yet to regret having installed those screens.

13 September 2009 Back Home Again

2009-10-11T09:36:00.002-07:00

My job from here on out is Mary, finding out what my job status is???????????, paying bills and tying up loose ends involving my trip around the world. I will write some more about my motorcycle and websites I used to help me plan this around the world trip. But today I’m going to chew on AT&T.

12 September 2009, Home in Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA

2009-10-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

I didn’t exactly get out bed early and by the time I finished breakfast I knew I would be having a late start. I wanted to be home by 7:00 p.m. but by the way things were shaping up it would be closer to 9:00 p.m. Before I left we took a bunch of pictures of my brother and his wife and his son and grandchildren. A hundred million years ago his kids were standing around watching Uncle David leave. Now it’s his grandchildren standing around watching me leave. I said to myself "Where did the time go?" I shook hands good-bye and hugged Alverne. I told them I’d do a drive by and to wait and watch. I drove out of their yard and down the road about 500 yards/500 meters and turned around. I got my speed up to about 40 mph/65 kms and just before I passed their property line I stood up on my foot pegs. I turned and waved at them as I passed their driveway while they were standing in their garage. All too soon they were gone. I often wondered what they thought when they saw me standing up on my foot pegs and waving. Maybe someday I will find out. I drove into Grand Forks, North Dakota, filled up with gas and purchased a bottle of Cherry Pepsi. I sat around a bit, had a drink of my Pepsi and then got on I-29 south to Fargo, North Dakota. I drove into Fargo and picked up I-94 East to St. Paul/Minneapolis. I will never forget the time I drove thru Moorhead, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota on I-94 in three lanes of traffic. I was fast asleep. It wasn’t until my girlfriend Mary pulled up alongside me that I woke up. She asked me why I missed the I-29 exit to Grand Forks. I couldn’t give her an answer because I didn’t know where I was. I drove another twenty miles until I found a place where I could lay down and sleep. After a catnap I got my bearings and continued up to Grand Forks. Was Mary ever mad at me. I bet the Motorcycle Safety Foundation would love to hear that story. I have long known that when you’re tired or sluggish and you eat greasy or hard to digest food it will put you to sleep. And that’s what happened to me. We stopped and ate some ice cream and it shut me right down. I kind of got onto another subject from days gone by. Anyway, I filled up with gas again in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and the sun had disappeared. I was hoping that I wouldn’t run into rain on the way back to St. Paul/Minneapolis. It wasn’t long after I left Fergus Falls that I was back in the rain. I put on my rain suit and continued on. Just prior to Monticello, Minnesota the sun came out and provided a beautiful rainbow. I stopped and took a picture of it hoping it was a good omen. I stopped in Monticello, took off my rain suit and filled up with gas again. It was 7:00 p.m. and I had called Mary on Friday that I’d be home at 7:00 p.m. or earlier. I grabbed my cell phone to give her a call and it wouldn’t work. Now I’m mad. When I get home the first thing I’m going to do is give AT&T a piece of my mind. I arrived back in my neighborhood about 9:00 p.m. I drove the circle thru the neighborhood just because it seems like ages since I was here. I pulled into Mary’s driveway and beeped my horn that I was home. She came walking out of the house asking me why I was blowing my horn. I said to let you know I’m home. We hugged and smooched a bit. I told her I officially had to mark the time that I arrived home. I pulled out my SPOT and pushed the button saying I was at home ok, and the time was officially 9:10 p.m. I finally reached the end of the road and am a little road weary.

11 September 2009, Arvilla, North Dakota, USA

2009-10-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

I got up late and ate breakfast with my brother and sister-in-law. They wanted to hear the highlights of my trip. I then went out and checked over my motorcycle and clothes. I wanted to make sure my clothes were drying out for the ride back to Minnesota. I adjusted the chain and oiled it. When I got my tools out to adjust the chain I found my saddle bag had leaked again. I checked the other side, and it had also leaked. That was no surprise with the amount of rain I rode through the night before. I took all my tools out and dried them. By 5:00 p.m. most everything was dried out and could be put back. I loaded my bike with everything except the clothes I would wear the next day. During our conversations we figured out that the rain I was caught in Thursday night was the same weather front that I drove through the last three days on the Alaskan Highway. It was a slow moving weather front that was moving south and east. When I drove straight south to Shelby, Montana I drove out of it. When I left Shelby driving east on Hwy 2 I drove back into it. How lucky can a person get? That night Alverne prepared supper and their two sons came to visit. Steven and his fiancée from Fargo, North Dakota and Joe, his wife Lori and their two children from the Arvilla area. We talked about diss, dat and the udder ding and my around the world experiences till they left. It was great to see those guys. The reality that my around the world trip was one day from being over was increasingly on my mind. My thoughts were turning to the home front and what my work situation is or is not. The last words I heard was work is slow. We closed the night with some television.

10 September 2009, Arvilla, North Dakota, USA

2009-10-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

I didn’t set any records for getting out of bed today but I was back on the road by 10:00 a.m. this morning. It was about par for the course. I was going to be driving East on Hwy 2 across Montana into North Dakota. I was hoping to make it to my brother’s place in Arvilla, North Dakota sometime today. It will probably be very late. Rough figuring the mileage, it was over 700 miles. I got about 10 miles down the road and I felt something hit my foot. I looked down and realized my aerosol can of chain lubricant just fell off my bike. I stopped and turned around. I drove back to where I thought the can fell off the motorcycle. I drove slowly down the shoulder of the road looking in the ditch for any signs of a white spray can. I didn’t see anything in the east bound ditch so I turned around checked the west bound ditch. It wasn’t long before I spotted what looked like a white aerosol can. I stopped my bike and went to investigate. Sure enough it was my chain oil can. It had a few dents in the top and the bottom but the spray nozzle was intact. I bent down to pick it up and saw a small pinhole leak in a seam that was dented. Well, that was a new can of chain oil that just went down the toilet. I just paid $16 dollars for it and used it twice. That sure didn’t make me very happy. I turned my bike around and took off. I had a long way to go before I reached my brother’s place. I reached Williston, North Dakota sometime around 6:00 p.m. Earlier I had to drive thru a rather lengthy stretch of road construction. They actually didn’t recommend motorcycles drive this road construction and to find an alternate route. I drove it and it wasn’t that bad. It was very dusty with wind blowing. I made it through ok. I gassed up in Williston and cleaned all my lights because I will be driving in hours of darkness. By the time I finished cleaning my visor and lights it was dark. I drove out of town and continued driving East on Hwy 2. Sometime around Stanley, North Dakota the lightening was getting closer and closer. I stopped in another truck stop and put on my rain suit and boots. I figured if I put on my rain suit I’d get lucky and it wouldn’t rain. Well that was just wishful thinking. It started raining sometime before Minot, North Dakota and continued to rain the rest of the night. I stopped somewhere after Minot to fill up with gas. It was a Cenex gas station that was closed with pre-pay pumps. I prepaid at the pump and checked the valve in the gas cap to make sure it was venting. I just filled my gas tank with gasohol which seems to make my vent in my gas cap sticky and not vent. I continued east on Hwy 2 and the rain started coming down harder. I had to slow down to 40 mph/64 kph in order to see. I could only see the width of one lane and about 30yds/30 meters ahead of me. When the lines on the highway disappeared I had no idea where I was on the road. I continually watched for reflectors, guard rails and lines on the road to keep me on the highway. Those last 150 miles/240 kilometers were a tough ride. It required 100% concentration on the highway. Somewhere in that 150 miles/240 kilometers Matilda drowned out. She shut off and turned black. My heart sank again knowing she might be gone forever. Probably the last 50 miles/80 kilometers I had to go to the bathroom. I sat there hoping a rest area would show up. You would be surprised how something like that won’t let you fall asleep. I was really tired and my eyes wanted to snap shut. I couldn’t because it would be seconds and I’d be in the ditch. Having to go to the bathroom helped keep me awake. Something else I had to be ever vigilant about was traffic. I was only driving 40 mph/64 kph the traffic that passed me usually was going 60/70 mph/96/115 kph. If I saw them coming in my rear view mirror I would turn on one of my signals to let them know I was there and traveling rather slow. Hopefully I wouldn’t get rear ended. Just when I thought I could wait no longer to go to the bathroom a rest area came into view. With all the glare on my visor I missed my left turn and drove up the wrong side of the road till I found the West bound entrance to the rest area. I pulled in and parked by the nearest sidewalk into the rest rooms. An SUV was parked two spaces away and when they saw me they left. I don’t know why, just more mysteries. I shut my bike off and dropped my hand off the handbars. It instantly filled my left glove full of water again. That put me in a foul mood instantly. I put down both of my kick stands and headed into the restroom. I used the electric hand drier to warm my hands and dry out my wet glove. I probably worked at drying out my glove for 15 minutes before I headed back out to my motorcycle. I started my bike…………..guess what…………Matilda was back. Hurray my day just got brighter. I let my motorcycle warm up until the fan kicked in and then left. I took Hwy 18 south to Larimore, North Dakota. I was in no rush as I was only 10/15 miles/16/25 kilometers from my brother’s house. I drove into Larimore and then turned left on Hwy 4 or 17th Avenue to Arvilla, North Dakota. I pulled into the yard and the whole house was dark. I blew my horn three or four times hoping to wake them up. No luck…………It was still raining………..I got off my bike and went and knock on the door. Alverne comes to door and lets me in. She’s backed her car out of the garage so I can put my motorcycle in. I look up and here’s my brother standing in the doorway. He said I was a little late. I asked him "How late am I?" He said it was 4:30 in the morning. My how time flies when you’re having fun. They said they waited up until 1:00 a.m. for me to show up and then went to bed. They always laugh when I show up because it’s either raining or snowing. Again they were right on the money. I believe it was their kids who first said that when Uncle David comes to visit it is always raining or snowing. I undressed and hung all my wet clothes up to dry in the garage. We talked some and then went to bed. I was tired.

9 September 2009, Shelby, Montana USA

2009-10-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Edmonton, Alberta, through Leduc, Alberta to Shelby, Montana………Lots of flat land with small towns and grain elevators. It was wheat growing country in the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains. It was a blustery day blowing me around on my motorcycle. The wind was strong enough to blow me out of one lane into another. I had to be careful not to get blown into oncoming traffic. As I drove through the wheat fields you could see oil derricks and smell the crude oil. It was sunny when I got up and it stayed sunny all day. You have no idea how great it was to feel the warmth of the sun after days of cold and rain. I also forgot to say how nice it was to be able to see out of my visor with no fog and to be able to breathe inside my helmet and not fog up the visor. I was running cross winds and head winds which maxed out the power out on my KLR 650. I could barely pass a slow truck or car. Flags were flying straight out and the grass in the ditches was almost laying flat on the ground. I was passing a semi-truck and was stopped by wind coming around the nose or front of the truck. He finally let off the gas so I could break through the wall of wind he was pushing. I made it through the border ok. I was only asked to take off my helmet so they could see if I was the person in the passport. It took me longer to put my passport back in my shirt than it did to get thru customs and immigration. While I was stashing my passport away several women customs and immigration officers were going through a late model Corvette. They were opening all the bags and compartments looking for contraband. I left before they finished. I stopped in Sweet Grass to exchange my Canadian currency for U.S. dollars at the duty free store and purchased a large chocolate bar. It cost me $6.25. I stashed it in my bags and ate it later. I took several pictures by the Montana sign and then departed for Shelby. I arrived about 7:00 p.m. I got myself something to eat, gassed up and found a hotel for $45 a night. It was as good or better than some of the $100/$200 dollar hotels I paid for on the Dalton Highway in Alaska. I put on a lot of miles/kilometers today and I really needed to adjust my chain and oil it. It was the first thing I attended to after paying for my room. I was in the process of adjusting my chain when a police officer pulled into the hotel with his police cruiser. I had to move my motorcycle because I was directly in front of his parking spot. Come to find out he also owned a red KLR 650 just like mine. We talked about changes I made to mine, small things he could change to improve his bike and about my experiences as I traveled around the world. He helped me put my bike on the center stand so I could spin the rear wheel while I oiled it and then left. I finished with my bike, put it in a parking spot, covered it and spent the rest of the night in my room.

8 September 2009, Leduc, Alberta

2009-10-11T09:17:00.001-07:00

When I got up the day was cloudy but no rain. I was hopeful there would be no more rain. I filled up with gas and found three quarts of Shell Rotella 15w–40 sitting on the shelf at the gas station. I was extremely happy about this. I have been looking for it for days. I asked a guy filling his truck with diesel fuel if he knew of a garage that would allow me to change my oil. He recommended Marvin’s Mufflers and More, and provided the directions to get there. I drove to the garage and found Marvin at work. I inquired about changing my oil and told him I’m presently riding around the world. I asked if it would be possible to change my oil. He said yes, showed me where I could work and provided a drain pan. I offered to pay him for the convenience of letting me change my oil, and he said "no thanks". I told him I had all the tools, oil and oil filter to complete the job. All I need was a spot to work and a tank to empty my waste oil into. This doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you are presented a bill from a motorcycle dealership for changing oil, it costs you $100 dollars plus. Changing oil becomes a big deal. As I was wrapping up my oil changing, I helped Marvin and his men push a Jeep Cherokee into his garage and up on to a hoist. Damn, that thing pushed hard. By time it was up on the hoist everyone was huffing and puffing with their tongues hanging out. I don’t think we pushed it more than 30 yards/30 meters. I cleaned up my mess, dumped my drain oil, gave Marvin my blog address, took a picture of his business and himself for my blog and departed. He told me that during the summer months he does a lot of RV work. For those people driving RVs to Alaska and other northern parts of Canada, Dawson Creek British Columbia might be a good midpoint to stop to have your vehicle serviced. I departed for Edmonton, Alberta. It was cloudy all day and no rain. I took a few pictures by the Alberta boundary sign and was greeted by a friendly hound/dog. He got a few free pets and then I left. I arrived in Edmonton about 7:00 p.m. I was going to pick up Hwy 2 South according to AAA maps. The Hwy 2 I was looking for never appeared and before I knew it I was on the East side of Edmonton. I’m sure the road number changed so I stopped at a truck stop to get gas and to sort out where I was. Even Matilda couldn’t find it. While I was looking at my map a German-Canadian guy Emil walked over to talk to me. He was 71 years old. He told me if I wanted a good touring motorcycle I should buy a BMW. You know the boxer type with two cylinders. I told him I had a BMW 650cc and decided not to ride around the world with it because it was too high tech. I told him I preferred a low tech motorcycle I could work on if it required maintenance and that’s why I chose a 2007 Kawasaki. After I explained that to him, he wasn’t quite as outspoken about my choice of motorcycles. Especially since I rode it trouble-free for 18,000 miles/29032 Kilometers. He was generally amazed that I rode my Kawasaki around the world. We talked until 11:30 p.m. about Canada, the U.S., his perceived faults the U.S. has, which diesel engine is the best and WWII. He said it took 53 countries to subdue Germany and said Adolf Hitler made a huge mistake by pushing into Russia just prior to winter. The repercussions of that decision are still being felt today. Somewhere in the discussion he told me he and his son operate a gravel truck business, hence the reason he knows so much about diesel engines. They haul rocks from Montana to Edmonton because of their color. Apparently colored rocks are a highly sought after commodity in the Edmonton area. It’s a very lucrative business. You know I kind of liked this guy. He wasn’t afraid to walk up to a complete stranger in the dark and just start talking. He was kind of like the gravel trucks he and his son operated; rough and tumble on the outside but if you keep the windows closed, a pretty decent person on the inside. His swearing was a little off the mark but you still knew what he meant and how he felt about the subject. When he left to go home he drove back over by me with his new Dodge dually pickup. He rolled down the window and asked me to listen to the best Polka music ever. He told me the name of the band but I have long since forgotten it. He was right about the music. It was clear and crisp with the familiar Polka beat. I almost asked him if I could have the CD. It would have been a great souvenir from Edmonton. He left the truck stop for home with the familiar clatter of diesel engines around him. When he dies I hope there’s a gravel truck in heaven with a CAT or CUMMIN diesel engine in it waiting for him. He was very proud of his German heritage. Well, for whatever it was worth I didn’t know anymore where I was now as when I drove into the truck stop. I looked at my map and told Matilda to get me out of here. I typed “Leduc” into Matilda and she led me all the way to Leduc. I left the truck stop and arrived in Leduc 30 miles south of Edmonton, about 11:30 p.m. I stopped at the bottom of the exit ramp and checked Matilda’s list of available hotels and motels. I picked the nearest and cheapest hotel for the night. I found the hotel ok and while unpacking the motorcycle another guy came over and started talking. I didn’t get to bed till 1:00 a.m. Another day I didn’t get any work done on my blog.

7 September 2009, Dawson Creek, , Canada

2009-10-11T09:11:00.001-07:00

I checked the weather forecast for Fort Nelson to Dawson Creek. All it said was to expect a steady rain all day. I got up and looked outside and it was still raining like last night. I groaned and closed the door. Another day in the rain. I got dressed, packed my bags and my motorcycle cover. I put on my rain suit, started my bike and then loaded it. I came back into my room and put on all my riding gear. The last thing I did was wipe my hands dry, put on my riding gloves and then put on my rain gloves. I drove over to the gas station, filled up with gas and bought some food for breakfast. I also needed to purchase some Canadian money as I was about out. This gas station had an ATM but it didn’t like my debit card. I asked the girl behind the counter if another ATM was near. She said across the road there was another in a credit union. I drove over and this ATM liked my card. I purchased the money I needed and walked outside. Another motorcyclist walked up to me asking about the weather for today. I told him more rain. He was from Fairbanks, Alaska and was stuck in Fort Nelson because his older BMW 1976ish Boxer didn’t like the rain and wouldn’t run. He wanted to leave but couldn’t because of the rain. I left town and on the way out my motorcycle stalled. I quickly unscrewed the gas cap allowing the gas to start flowing again. The vent inside the gas cap was stuck again. It was then I realized that the rubber seal or vent in the gas cap did not like gasohol or gasoline with alcohol in it. I continued to tighten and loosen the cap until I came upon a deserted gas station where I could stop, remove my gloves out of the rain and break the rubber vent loose in the gas cap so the gas tank could breathe. Yes it’s still raining. I found a rag I could wipe the gas cap dry with and then reverse-sucked on it until the rubber diaphragm broke loose. I put the gas cap on and didn’t have a problem with it again that day. I continued on to Dawson Creek and once when I stopped for gas the gas station attendant allowed me to dry my glove on his heaters. They weren’t wet but they were damp and it was 40 degrees outside. In the process my hands warmed up. My hands at times were so cold I almost had to pry them off the throttle grip. On the outskirts of Dawson Creek I took some pictures of the "Welcome to Dawson Creek" sign and then continued into the city looking for a hotel to stay for the night. I drove downtown and took pictures of the “Zero Mile Marker” which is the start of the Alaska Highway. It was bloody windy and I thought for sure my bike would blow over by this marker. If you look at the flags in the pictures you will see they are horizontal to the ground. I then drove back out of town until I found a hotel where my motorcycle would be out of the wind. I was very afraid my motorcycle would be blown over. I found a hotel with a ground level room out of the wind where I could work on my motorcycle. I also asked the hotel staff if they could provide me a heater to warm my room because it was cold and damp. I also needed it to dry my clothes because I was soaking wet again just like the day before. They did and I turned it on to its maximum setting to warm the room. I then adjusted my chain on my motorcycle and oiled it. It was the first time in three days I oiled it because of the constant rain. It was dry and shiny from the lack of lubrication. I went inside after I finished with the motorcycle and hung up my wet motorcycle clothes. The rain tapered off when I entered the city and then started up again after I finished with my motorcycle. When I had all my clothes positioned for drying I left the room for a pizza place and ordered a pizza for supper. I came back to the room in the rain and went to bed for the night. I was going to work on my blog but was too tired.

6 September 2009, Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

2009-10-11T09:08:00.001-07:00

I got up looked out the window and it wasn’t raining. It looked like a promising day. I grabbed my bags and went to load my bike. I no more than touched the cover on my motorcycle and it started raining. I loaded everything and left. The last time I stayed at this hotel was on the way up to the Northwest Territories. Yes, I stayed in the very same room. It’s the motel where my gas cap wouldn’t vent and it took me four hours to sort this problem out. I won’t forget that little memory. I thought my Alaskan trip was over. As I drove to Watson Lake my decision to stay the night at Teslin proved to be a wise decision. It was a winding road with fog when you drove thru the higher elevations. I stopped in Watson Lake to fuel up and eat breakfast. I met a guy traveling from Georgia to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on a Honda Gold Wing. I’d say it might have been a 2007 model. I filled him in on the availability of gas, hotels and price of things. He was really surprised when I told him I have been traveling since the 13th of May and had traveled around the world. He couldn’t believe I rode my Kawasaki. I get a lot of reactions like that. Anyway, I left for the Sign Post Forest to take pictures. This area is where people hang all kinds of signs i.e. country, state, hometown, license plates, family names from when they drove the Alaskan Hwy. Since 1986 when I first saw it, it has grown at least three or four times larger. It’s huge. I’d say it’s almost a half an acre in size. There are signs from everywhere, all parts of the world. Before I left I met this British guy riding to Prudhoe Bay. I also filled him in on the details of the Dalton Highway. When he finishes with that he is riding down to the tip of South America and if he has any money left he’s going to ride from Cape Town, South Africa to Egypt and then back to Great Britain. What a great guy. He’s living proof people in this world are always moving around and looking. He also told me he rode through Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia last year. He then flew his bike to Vancouver, British Columbia and left it with friends. Then this year he came back and picked it up and continued his journey to Alaska and then to South America. He also had a Horizons Unlimited sticker hanging on his motorcycle. It is a popular website for people seeking travel information and help from other motorcycle riders who’ve been there and done that. I left him saying, “Safe journeys, my friend” and departed for Fort Nelson. The rain never seems to go away. The farther south I travel the more rain and fog there is. As I drove through the Muncho Lake area, the rain continued into the higher elevations and included fog. As I worked my way through the pass the rain changed to sleet and then to snow. Several vehicles pulled over and the girls got out to take pictures in the snow. The snowflakes were about the size of a quarter or 25 cent piece (dollars). My helmet visor was of no help because it was fogged up and covered with snow. My glasses were the only eye protection I had and I had to wipe the snow off of them about every 30 seconds so I could see. I probably drove 10 or 20 Mph/16 or 32 Kph through all of this. Once I was back into the lower elevations it was back into the rain and fog. Twice during the day there were buffalo/bison standing on the road. I passed them cautiously. I also saw a caribou standing in the road. He looked at me and walked off. I arrived in Fort Nelson about 8:00 p.m. with hardly a drop of daylight left and soaked to the skin. I pulled into the first hotel I saw and wasn’t too fussy about the price. I got off my bike and left it running. I wanted it to warm up before I shut it off. It had rained all day with hardly a hint of warmth showing on the heat gauge. Even with the radiator taped off (Polish Thermostat) so no air could pass through it, the engine ran cold. Just the rain and the road spray kept the engine cool. I got off my bike, dropped my hands to my side and my left glove instantly filled with water. I was a little ticked off about that. I immediately raised my left hand about shoulder height and removed my glove. I then lowered my hand and let the rest of the water drain out of my rain suit sleeve. I think a coffee cup of water drained out. How my rain suit arm fills with water like that I don’t know. My Aerostitch jacket didn’t allow any of that water to soak into any of the clothing I had on inside the sleeve. I walked into the motel looking like a drowned rat again. The Philippino girl working behind the registration counter had to provide a towel for me to wipe my hands before I could fill out the registration form. I was dripping wet. She gave me the key and told me if I need a dryer to dry my clothes one was available. I went to my room and removed my rain suit only to see that my red Aero Stitch riding suit was soaking wet on the outside. I immediately started looking for the furnace thermostat and turned it up as high as it would go. I went back outside and moved my motorcycle up to my door and unloaded my bags. I didn’t open any of the boxes because I didn’t want any rain in them. So I wouldn’t be working on my blog tonight. By the time I had my cover over the bike the room furnace was blowing hot air and warming everything up. I strung a bungee cord between the furnace grill work and a post in the room and hung all my riding clothing up to dry. I also placed my helmet, shoes and boots in front of the furnace to dry out. My helmet smells like a wet dog when all the padding gets wet around my face. So I dried that out too. I then crawled into bed with the television on and warmed up. It took about two hours before the room was so hot that I had to get out from under the covers and sleep on top of all the bedding. I woke up again sometime around 1:00 a.m. and checked my clothes to see if they had dried out. Everything was dry. I left everything as it was until I got up in the morning.

5 September 2009, Teslin, British Columbia, Canada

2009-10-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

My goal for today is Watson Lake. It would be great if I could make it. I got up, looked out the window and it was raining. I slept in until 8:00 a.m. because I stayed up working on my blog too long last night. I packed up my bags and carried them to the bike. I went to remove my bike cover and it started raining and that pretty much was the day. Rain and more rain. I couldn’t do much sightseeing because of the rain and the fog. The guy that ran the hotel and restaurant kind of had a lot of responsibility. He registered the guests, cleaned the rooms, did the cooking and was the waiter. I suspect it was late in the season and tourist season was winding down. Most of these hotels are seasonal and by September most of the staff is laid off or leave for their winter jobs somewhere. I didn’t make it to Watson Lake. I stopped in Teslin for the night. It was 7:00 p.m. and I was two or three hours north of it. I think common sense came into play here even though I really would have like to have been there. I unloaded my bags from the bike, took them into the room, hung up my riding clothes to dry, brushed my one tooth and went to bed.

4 September 2009, Beaver Creek, British Columbia, Canada

2009-10-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Suzan leaves early for work and Dave wanted to leave by 7:00 a.m. for his cabin. So I left sometime before 7:00 a.m. and stopped in Palmer, Alaska for breakfast and gas. I also put on my rainsuit because of the cold. I saw frost in Palmer and fog in the mountains. I was hoping I wouldn’t have a repeat of the fogging problem I had when I drove down from Fairbanks to Anchorage. I drove the Glenn Highway (Highway 1) to Tok and picked up the Alaskan Highway heading south to the Canadian Border. I started running into sprinkles about half way to the Canadian border. I stopped and put on my boots and rain gloves when I saw the rain was going to last a while. I was growling under my breath again about the cold and the rain. I always seem to encounter it in the mountains. I took several pictures at the Alaskan/Canadian Border and a car drove up with two retired couples from Indiana. They offered to take my picture by the Alaska border sign. They must have read my mind and then I took their pictures. Everyone left happy with their pictures. I then continued to Beaver Creek and rented a hotel room for the night. I took a shower and then started working on this blog. It’s now past 1:00 a.m. and I want to ride 620 miles/1000 kilometers tomorrow. I wonder how that’s going to work out. It’s time for bed and it will be a short night.

3 September 2009, Anchorage, Alaska

2009-10-11T08:57:00.001-07:00

I got up late about 10:00 a.m. and started loading up my motorcycle. I was to meet my sister at Wayland Baptist University and then go out for dinner. I finally was all loaded, checked to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind, and departed. I swear Matilda took me the longest way to get to the University. I bet I drove 12 or 14 miles before I arrived. I walked in the door a few minutes before 12:00 p.m. My sister took me up to meet the Dean of the University and a few of her other colleagues and instructors. It was nice to meet them all. We then went out to eat and walked through a park near the University. She prayed that I’d have a safe trip back to Saint Paul, Minnesota and I departed. I rode around a little bit looking for a parts store to buy some oil for my motorcycle. I’d like to find another three quarts of Shell Rotella 15w–40. It’s my favorite oil for my motorcycle; it's heavy duty diesel oil. I didn’t have any luck. I called up my Air Force friend and asked him if I could come over for a visit and he said sure. I also asked him where I could buy chain oil. He gave me an address for a Suzuki dealership and I drove over there and picked up two cans. I waited around some because it was still early and then drove to his home in Eagle River. When I arrived both Dave and Suzan were in the garage talking. I haven’t seen these folks and their son since my last trip to Alaska in the summer of 1995. So there’s been a lot of water over the dam and everyone got older. We talked about my travels, Air Force, diss, dat and udder ding till a little after 9:00 p.m. and we had few good laughs. We all went to bed early because they had plans for Labor Day Weekend.

2 September 2009, Anchorage, Alaska

2009-10-11T08:55:00.001-07:00

I got up sometime around 7:00 a.m. and installed the new tire on the rim. I thought for sure it was going to be a bear of a job being a new tire and all. I bet I had that tire on the rim in less than 30 minutes. The last new tire I installed on the rear wheel was tough. It really didn’t want to go on. It took a lot of convincing to get it on. Cleaning up the mess took longer than installing the tire. I just caught my sister leaving for the gym and asked her to drop me off at The Motorcycle Shop so I could get my tire balanced. I wanted to get there early so they would balance my tire while I waited. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and the shop opened up at 10:00 p.m. They started balancing it about 10:05 a.m. and I had it back by 10:30 a.m. I paid the service manager and thank him for his prompt and speedy service. He also gave me about a 50% break on the price of balancing my tire after he found out that I had traveled around the world. I was very grateful for that. I re-installed my rear tire, oiled my chain and cleaned the place up some. I asked my sister to wash all my clothes and I got ready for supper. John and Doreen invited all their children and some of their extended family over to their house to meet me. I was a small time celebrity for 15 minutes. We talked about my travels and looked at some pictures. I answered all or most of the questions presented to me. People started leaving for home about 9:00 p.m. and continued to do so until about 11:00 p.m. Mack repaired the WiFi on my Panasonic Note Book. He just became my fourth hero. He saved me from having to send it back to Panasonic for warranty work when I get home. I said all my goodbyes to everybody because when I get up tomorrow everyone will be in school or at work. I showed Doreen and a couple of her daughters how to eat chocolate cake by putting it in a bowl and pouring milk over the top of it. They had never seen that before. They then proceeded to tell me about some of the unusual dishes they have seen over the years like popcorn in milk. I can’t say it’s crazy, but I've never heard of that. What a great time I had with these folks and their family. I want to thank John for allowing me to work on my motorcycle and use his tools. I needed that new tire because the old one would have lasted only until the end of the Alaskan Highway. Then I’d have to find new one and pay to someone to mount and install it. I usually develop a foul mood in those kinds of situations. Off to bed.

1 September 2009, Anchorage, Alaska

2009-10-11T08:52:00.001-07:00

I got up about 10:00 a.m. and looked out the window. Bless my soul, it was raining again. I packed up everything and loaded my bike. The last thing I did was put on my rainsuit. I gave Stephanie a 10 ruble coin and told her to tell her mother I left to go see my sister Kathy in Anchorage. On the way I stopped to see or leave a note for a long time Air Force friend. He wasn’t home so I left the note. He and I met going through a military school and have kept in touch ever since. Since he wasn’t home I got back on the road to Wayland Baptist University. When I arrived my sister had already left for another meeting off campus. She left a message at the reception desk to call her so we could set up a rendezvous point. I called and we decided to meet at the bank where her son is employed. I arrived at 4:00 p.m. and met with the both of them. Her son has grown quite tall since I last saw him. I believe he may even be taller than me. Anyway, he presently works as a loan officer for the bank. He also is an avid motocross motorcycle rider so I asked him where I could purchase a new rear tire for my motorcycle. He found a tire that I would like at (The Motorcycle Shop) a Kawasaki/BMW Dealer in Anchorage. I said my goodbyes to my nephew and my sister and I departed for the Kawasaki/BMW Dealer. I found a tire that would work for me and set up an appointment of sorts to have it either balanced or installed in the morning. We left the dealership and deposited my motorcycle at my sister’s place. Then we left looking for food and decided pizza was on the menu. We ate, did some shopping and then went back to my sister’s place. My sister dished up some of the rocky road ice cream for John, myself and her. We ate it while we worked on our select projects. John was re-assembling a washing machine. I removed the rear wheel from my motorcycle and then removed the tire from the rim. By that time it was 11:30 p.m. We all headed to bed. Before I went to bed I polished off the rest of the ice cream. I was a shameless pig.

31 August 2009, Palmer, Alaska

2009-10-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

I got up and everyone was gone. Today I had to replace the sprockets and chain on my motorcycle. The front sprocket was down to about a quarter of the original sprocket tooth. I would never make it home this way. The chain was stretching two turns of the adjusting nut a day. The normal adjustment was maybe ¼ of a turn in three to four days. So everything was junk. Get this: I carried the replacement sprockets and chains with me thinking that if I broke the chain or needed to replace the sprockets I could do it alongside the road because I had all the necessary tools. I removed the guard that covers the front sprocket, undid the lock securing the nut holding the front sprocket on and went to find the socket to loosen it. I didn’t have a socket large enough to fit the nut. The largest socket I had was 24mm and I needed a 27mm socket. I said to myself now don’t I have egg on my face. Imagine what a pickle I would have been in if I had needed it in Russia. I had to put a “smooth move, slick”, on myself. I left the guard off and took a quick trip to the nearest parts store to purchase a 27mm socket. Luck was with me because the first store I stopped at had the socket. It took me about five hours to remove, clean, replace the sprockets, install the chain and adjust it with full weight of my load on it. I went into town looking for a place to change my oil and after being turned down by three motorcycle shops I changed it out at Linda’s home. Everyone’s biggest fear was I was going to spill all the oil over their pavement and make a huge mess. I would always just smile and leave. Later that night we ate supper and then had ice cream. I called my sister and made arrangements to see her the next day at her job. I went to bed.

30 August 2009, Palmer, Alaska

2009-10-11T08:48:00.001-07:00

I got up at 3:00 a.m. and looked out the window. The pavement outside the window was dry. I went back to bed and got up at 7:30 a.m. I looked out the window and it was raining again. I worked on my blog a bit hoping the rain would stop. No chance, so I loaded up and left Fairbanks. I drove the George Parks Hwy South (Highway 3) to Anchorage. The rain continued into the mountains with fog. I had to slow down to 40 mph/64 kms in order to see. The fog was so thick I turned on one of my signal lights so I wouldn’t be rear ended by a car or truck. Once my visor fogged up it wouldn’t clear and neither would my glasses. I pulled my glasses down so I could see over the top of them. That’s how I drove through all the fog. It was very difficult to see. The fog mostly was on the tops or peaks of the mountains. So in the valleys I could see out of my glasses and when I drove over the higher elevations my glasses would fog up. The temperature was so cold my visor never did clear up. The rain also found its way through my rainsuit and into my red riding suit. So I got to sit in wet pants the rest of the day. It’s like wearing a wet diaper. Once I passed through the mountains and was in Cantwell on more level ground the temperature warmed up and the sun eventually came out. I pretty much dried out except for the seat of my pants. I drove through Wasilla and then into Palmer. I was going to be staying with my brother’s family. I never met his children so it will be interesting to see them. I met Linda at the front gate of the Alaska State Fairgrounds and she guided me to their home. It was great to meet these relatives. The last time I saw any of them was in July 1986. We spent most of the night talking about family history and ourselves.

29 August 2009, Fairbanks, Alaska

2009-09-27T08:12:00.001-07:00

I woke up and looked out the window. The sun was shining. It was going to be a good day. I got up and went out to my bike. I poured the two gallons of spare gas into the tank. I filled it up so wouldn’t need to purchase any gas. I went inside and filled up a garbage can with water so I could wash off some of the heavy sand and mud off my top box and re-attached my two gas containers. I then washed off the seat and the tops of the saddle bags. I loaded my bike, got into my riding gear, took some pictures and departed. I crossed the Yukon River and took a few more pictures. I had 120 miles/193 kilometers to drive to get to Fairbanks. It will be an easy day’s drive. First thing I notice are mountaintops covered in clouds or fog. This was the case until I came to the end of the Dalton Highway. I was in and out of fog the entire time. The road was muddy from the rain yesterday and with the fog it was slow going. Down in the valleys it was clear and as soon as you went over a mountain you were in the fog. Again I had to drive with my visor up and no glasses. Anytime I met a semi-truck or a car I would stop and turn my face away from them so as not to get hit in the face with a rock or get my face covered in mud and sand. I eventually got to the end of the Dalton Hwy and drove my bike into the ditch in front of the sign. A guy was sitting in his vehicle alongside the road. I asked him if he would take my picture. He said yes. He took five or six pictures and after thanking him, he left. I took a few more pictures of the sign and some close-ups of the different stickers on the sign from different people from around the world. I noticed some graffiti on the sign so I added some myself. I wrote DaveR 2009. The sign was damp so it didn’t stick so well. From here on it was a straight shot into Fairbanks. As I drove by the gas station where they gave me the wrong gas information I thought about stopping in and telling the woman where gas was available on the Dalton Highway, but I didn’t want to spend the time so I drove on by. When I arrived in Fairbanks I immediately headed to the Kawasaki Dealer and purchased a lock for my drive sprocket on my motorcycle. I then asked the parts guys where a car wash was. They told me and I went there and washed my bike. It cost me eight dollars. It was the first car wash I was ever in that used only dollar coins to operate. My bike was reasonably clean, and I left for the Harley-Davidson dealer to buy a t-shirt. Mission accomplished. I adjusted and oiled the chain on my bike. A gentleman walked up and started asking questions about my motorcycle. He asked if the Harley dealer fixed my motorcycle ok. I said my motorcycle was ok and didn’t need any repairs. We talked about his travels on motorcycles through the years and I told him of my travels around the world. He seemed genuinely interested so I gave him my blog address to read about my travels. I left the Harley shop looking for some food. I found a Kentucky Fried Chicken and then went to the AT&T store and had them check my cell phone out. It didn’t work in Alaska. It worked in Canada but not Alaska. The lady took the battery out and put it back in. Then she powered it up and shut it down twice. The bloody thing worked. I called Mary just to say hi and tell her where I am. It worked and I was happy. I then had them check my air card and had them change it from the world plan to the Continental U.S.A. plan, a significant cost reduction. I then found a hotel for the night and made some phone calls up here in Alaska.

28 August 2009, Yukon River Camp, Alaska

2009-09-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Leaving Prudhoe Bay…………I hope it doesn’t rain or snow. I got up in the morning and it is a cloudy misting day. I loaded my bike and got into my rain gear for a long day of slugging it out on the Dalton Highway. Today must have been my payback for not getting caught in the rain coming up the Highway. Everything thing was wet. I drove through 40 miles of rough road, but it didn’t seem as bad as on the way up there. It was rough but not like yesterday. I drove fog along the way. That’s always bad because it fogs up the face shield on the helmet. Because it’s so cold the face shield won’t clear and your breath fogs the inside up. If I lifted the visor up, my glasses would fog up. I ended up driving with just my glasses so I could see. The problem without being able to see clearly is you end up in a lot of potholes. There’s a stretch of paved highway just before the Brooks Mountain Range that is full of assorted size potholes. These were the worst potholes because they were usually deeper than gravel potholes and had the potential to bend the rims on my bike because of the square, sharp corners on top of the holes. With the gravel holes you roll into them and roll out. The corners are rounded off, of course with a bounce. With the pavement potholes you fall into them and bang out of them. The shock level is determined by the depth and diameter of the hole. The farther you fall into them the larger the shock coming out. I made it through them ok. Yesterday driving through the Brooks Mountains was very scenic. Today the whole mountain range was covered with clouds and socked in. You couldn’t see a thing. I rode up through Atigun Pass without any problems. There was a light dusting of snow on the road except in the wheel tracks. I didn’t have a problem with ice. All the mountains in this area have white snow caps: very beautiful. I drove on out of the mountains feeling really fortunate not to have encountered actual snowfall. I continued driving wet roads and road construction. The wet roads covered my bike with sand and mud. Of course me too. I notice as I was driving my temperature gage was going up. I knew my radiator was clogged up with mud and sand. I was coming up on a highway maintenance shop and a guy was sticking his head out looking around. I pulled in there and asked him if he had a water hose I could use to clean out my radiator. He said he did and let me clean out my radiator. I also washed the mud off the rest of my bike. Oh, that bike had a lot of mud on it. I cleaned off the engine, radiator, saddle bags, top box, wheels, under the fenders and of course myself. From the waist down I was covered with mud. Of course we talked a lot about motorcycles and how he’d seen a lot of bikes coming back from Dead Horse on trucks; bent up, wrecked or the whoever’s just didn’t want to ride them back to Fairbanks. I washed my glasses, and helmet visor and put my Polish thermostat back on the radiator so the engine would warm up. I thanked the guy for letting me clean up my bike, shook his hand and left for Cold Foot and gasoline. The farther south I rode, the nicer the day was getting. When I arrived at Cold Foot it was a nice sunny day. All the tourists were excited about being this far north in all of the Alaskan beauty. I pumped my gas, ate a small snack I had in my packs, and headed out. I was planning to stay the night at the Yukon River Camp 120 miles south of Cold Foot. The farther south I drove the darker the skies were getting. I was about 60 miles/100 kilometers south of Cold Foot when it started raining. It continued to rain all the way to the Yukon River Camp. By the time I arrived the wheel tracks were rivers running down the hills, the potholes were full of water and the road was getting soft and squishy from the rain. I was really glad when the Yukon River Camp came into view. I was tired, it was getting dark and I couldn’t see all that well anymore in the low light or dusk. I hoped they had a room available or I would have had to sleep in the rain or camp out. I walked in the door dripping from the rain and asked if they had a room for the night. They did. I paid for it and was shown to it. I drove my bike to the rear of the hotel and unloaded it. I took in only my bags and covered my bike. The room was very cold because they had the windows open so I asked them to turn on the furnace to warm the place up. They did. I ate supper, bought some souvenirs took a shower and went to bed. I drove approximately 360 miles/580 kilometers today.

27 August 2009, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

2009-09-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

I got up and it was cold. My motorcycle cover had frost on it as did all the other vehicles around the hotel. I saw a grizzly bear, bull moose, musk ox and a caribou. There was snow in the mountain pass but not on the road. It didn’t snow or rain all day. The last 40 miles were full of potholes filled with water: just plain rough road. As it was a mostly sunny day, I took pictures around Prudhoe Bay and Dead horse. I also bought some souvenirs. I stayed in the Aurora Hotel a beautiful place. You had to wear blue booties or covers over your shoes so as not to track mud around the hotel and onto the rug. They provided three meals for the stay in the hotel. There were a lot of people curious about my trip up to Prudhoe Bay and the condition of the road.

26 August 2009, Cold Foot Alaska

2009-09-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

I got up, programmed Matilda for the James Dalton Highway (Hwy 11), loaded the bike, and drove to Fox on highway 2. I stopped at the gas station, oiled my chain, and filled up with gas. I had received bad gas information. I found out gas is provided in two locations. I got gas at Yukon River and in Cold Foot. I stayed the night in Cold Foot Hotel. $200 a night. I was miffed.

25 August 2009, Fairbanks, Alaska

2009-09-23T17:37:00.001-07:00

I got up about 8:00 a.m. because I worked on my blog half the night. I looked outside and it was another dreary day with no rain. I showered, packed my bags, loaded my motorcycle and adjusted the chain. I about fell over dead when I started my motorcycle. Matilda woke up like it was another day on the job! I checked all her functions and everything was working. Imagine that! Matilda is truly a mysterious woman. I then went and did a little souvenir shopping. I was hoping to buy a Harley-Davidson t-shirt. It was the end of the season and all they had left were smalls. I needed a medium to have it fit right. I walked around to a few other stores but found nothing of interest. I was in Dawson City in 1995 with my 1989 Harley-Davidson Softail Standard. Mostly all the roads were paved and pretty much looked like a small rural town. When I drove in from the Dempster Highway I didn’t really recognize anything. The city had a face lift. All the buildings were repaired, fixed up and painted to look like they were out of the early 1900’s. The only paint colors allowed were the colors used in that timeframe. The blacktop was removed from all the streets and left as dirt/gravel. Sidewalks were removed and replaced with boardwalks. If you ask the town people, they say the tourists really love the look. Of course they never fail to say it’s really dusty during the summer. The only building I recognized was Diamond Tooth Gerties. I went back to the hotel, ate breakfast and checked out. I went back to my room and put on all my riding gear. I rode around the city taking some pictures of different buildings and found the ferry landing. Then I oiled my chain, gassed up and got ready to leave. I was just driving out of town when I drove past two guys I waved at up on the Dempster Highway. I stopped and talked with them a while and got their take on driving the Dempster. They said they wanted to drive up to Inuvik but didn’t want to get caught in the rain. The only had street tires on their bikes and feared crashing if they were caught in the rain. So they only drove up to the Arctic Circle. One guy drove a BMW 650cc Dakar and the other had KTM 1000cc. Both motorcycles were dual purpose bikes. As we were talking the guy that took my picture at the Arctic Circle sign walked up and said hi. He was the French speaking Canadian. He said his photography is only a hobby and that he may sell six pictures a year, which is hardly enough to live on. He asked if he could get a group picture of us three and everyone agreed. We all had to get going so we shook hands and departed. I drove down to the ferry and waited a few minutes before driving on. I took a few pictures while on board, then I drove off and took a few more. I zipped up and started driving toward the Yukon and Alaska Boundary driving the Top of the World Highway (Hwy 5). It would have been more scenic if it hadn’t been raining. I arrived at the border and the Customs Agent came out and asked me if was carrying any guns, narcotics, or contraband etc. I said no and he asked for my passport. As I was digging for it I asked him if he had a roof I could stand under so when I unzipped everything wouldn’t get wet. He said no and that he also had to stand in the rain. He also mentioned yesterday it was raining harder than today, so stop complaining. He went and ran my passport, stamped it, gave it back and said I could go. I asked him if I could put myself back together under the roof of a nearby building. He said yes. I went and buttoned myself up out of the rain and left. It sure was bloody cold. As soon as I was a mile/2 kilometers from the border it stopped raining and the sun came out. I drove until I came to the small town of Chicken. I pulled in and headed for the restaurant. This four building town hasn’t changed much since 1995 when I was here last. I ordered a chili dog with American fries. It all was served in a plastic gold panning dish; a huge helping and I was hungry enough to eat it all and a piece of blueberry pie with ice cream on top of it. A tour bus came in with about 40 retired people looking for ice cream and pie. Marvin, a gentleman from Naperville, Illinois sat down with me and told me about their tour from Prince Rupert, up the coast on a ferry, then on a tour bus to the Yukon Territory, to Fairbanks, Alaska. The whole tour takes an airplane ride over the Arctic Circle and then flies out of Anchorage, Alaska to their homes. I was getting ready to leave and it started raining again. I was going to take pictures but couldn’t because of the rain. I was unhappy about this. So off into the rain I go and one mile/two kilometers down the road it stops and the sun comes out. I continue driving the Taylor Highway (Hwy 9) to the Alaskan Hwy. I then turn north to Tok where I got gas and then stopped again in Delta Junction, the end of the Alaskan Hwy. I took a picture of my motorcycle at the sign post and gassed up again. I drove the last 100 miles/161 kilometers in the dark which I don’t like to do but I wanted to get to Fairbanks, Alaska for the night. Matilda showed the way to the Alaskan Hotel where I stayed. The Asian lady running the hotel was kind of funny. I told her I lost my glove from my motorcycle at the front door and didn’t know where it was. So we both went outside to find it. It fell between the stairway and the building behind some bushes. She crawled under the stairs and retrieved it for me. Two ladies walking by asked her what she was doing under the stairs in the middle of the night. They told her it’s too late to be gardening. I got my motorcycle put up for the night and I crashed. It was after 11:00 p.m. and I was beat to death by the rain and the cold.

24 August 2009, Eagle Plains, Yukon Territor

2009-09-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

I slept in till 10:30 a.m. and then informed the receptionist I will stay another day. I then proceeded to start working on my blog. I worked on it all afternoon until 2 a.m. 25 August 2009. Tomorrow I have to work on my motorcycle rain or shine and leave the Yukon Territory and drive into Alaska.

23 August 2009, Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory

2009-09-21T14:12:00.001-07:00

My alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. Oh, this bed feels so good. It’s almost like a bed covered with memory foam. You just sink in and it feels so good. God, I've got to get going. I took a shower, packed up everything, loaded my bike, ate a continental breakfast, went upstairs to put on my riding gear and left town at 7:30 a.m. This is going to be a long tough ride. The driving force behind my early departure is that Monday the 24th is supposed to be a rainy day and I don’t want to ride the Dempster Hwy in the rain. I must keep moving. It was a beautiful sunny day when I left Inuvik. For some reason the road didn’t seem as threatening as when I came up. I pretty much rode 50/62 mph/80/100 kph, sometimes faster. The guys at Midnight Mechanical said that was pretty slow for the local people. What scared me the most was driving the loose gravel. It was like driving on marbles. I especially feared going into a curve with wash board covered in loose gravel. I didn’t feel I had the skill to control the bike as it tried to wash out from under me at that speed. In the straight-away driving the loose gravel and marbles weren’t so bad. I was hoping when I arrived at the MacKenzie River Ferry landing I wouldn’t have to wait more than 30 minutes. I got real lucky here. The Ferry "Louis Cardinal – Edmonton" was just arriving at the landing when I pulled up. A young couple from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory started talking to me at the landing. They told me they saw three grizzly bears eating alongside the road: the mother and two cubs. They also told me somebody dressed out a caribou and left all the blood in one of the campsites where they camped last night. They said they roped it off so no one would accidentally set up camp there, thus preventing them from having unexpected bears paying their tent a visit. The bears could probably smell the blood a mile away. I don’t know that but I wouldn’t be surprised. I drove onto the ferry and took a few pictures of it. The ferry provided a scraper with a sponge and squeegee to wash your vehicle windows if you wanted to during the river crossing. This ferry only operates during the summer months and it’s an ice crossing during the winter months. I took a few more pictures after I disembarked and then pressed on down the road. The next stop: Fort McPherson for gasoline. All the road construction that seemed difficult on the way up to Fort McPherson was just uneventful on the way back. I fueled up and it was back on the road to Eagle Plains, another 114 miles/183 kilometers. I waited about ten minutes for the ferry to cross the Peel River. That ferry only has two landings and follows a cable from one side of the river to the other. My next photo stop: the Northwest and Yukon Territories Border. A guy and his family were taking pictures at the sign so I asked him if he would take a picture of me. He did and I thanked him. Continuing on I will cross the Arctic Circle and then reach Eagle Plains. I filled up with gas and bought something to eat. I was getting extremely hungry. While I was eating, three young guys approached and wanted to know more about my motorcycle and what it was like to drive from Minnesota to Inuvik. I told them you just get on your motorcycle and ride it until you get where you want to stop. I asked them how long it takes to get to Dawson City from Eagle Plains. They said about four or five hours. That’s a 250 mile drive. It was now 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon. I jumped on my motorcycle and took off. I want to be off this road before sundown. Sometime after the first 50 miles/80 kilometers I started getting tired. I recognized the signs. I probably ate too much and it was making me sleepy. I pulled into a rest area, got off my bike and walked around probably for 15 minutes. I took some pictures of fire weed to show you all what fire weed looks like when it drops it petals/fauna. Then back on my bike for the remainder of the highway. Periodically I would stop along the way and take landscape pictures to show everyone what the Arctic looks like. Also up here the leaves are changing colors and it is Autumn. As the afternoon progressed, the sun disappeared and the sky turned gray. At the 150 mile/241 kilometer mark it started raining. I pulled into a rest area to put on my rain gloves. I already had my rainsuit on to keep me warm and the dust out of my red riding suit. Moments later the guy that took my picture at Yukon Territory sign pulled in behind me. One thing I failed to mention is that the dust created by the semi-trucks is unbelievable. I would need to pull over and let the dust clear before continuing on. I couldn’t see inside the cloud of dust. It was like you were in a sandstorm. Some of the drivers would slow down realizing how much dust they were creating. Others just kept barreling down the road. The rain started slowly and continued to get heavier. It last for about 70 miles/112 kilometers. I knew it wouldn’t last forever because I could see blue on the horizon. Two things happened while it was raining. First a semi–truck met me and covered me with flying brown mud. I had to wipe my helmet visor off to continue driving. It was a bath of mud water and mud. Then a car passed me and then pulled directly in front of me. Another mud bath until I slowed down, putting some distance between me and the car. I cursed the idiot in the car. I drove pretty much 40/45 mph/65/72 kph in the rain. Just before I was back on pavement again the sun came out. I had a whole new outlook on the day. I was happy and I was off the gravel. I pulled into the gas station at the end of the Dempster Hwy and saw a guy standing by his van. I asked him if he would take a picture of me by the Dempster Hwy sign. He said he would. I pulled up on the mound in front of the sign and he took three pictures. I think he was from England because he called me mate. I took a few more pictures of the bike because it was so muddy. I want to send a couple of them to Ken Landry to show him all his hard work went down the drain. Then I drove it down to the car wash, got some dollars, sprayed myself off and then sprayed off the bike until it was de-mudded. I poured the two gallons of gas into the tank. This gas station is also a hotel, RV park and campground. One of the people who works at the gas station has a trailer in the RV park with a dog. The dog was barking and barking and barking. The dog belonged to a woman who also lives in the trailer. They tried to shut the dog up. The dog wasn’t having any of it. Bark bark bark bark and on it went. I finally told the dog if you don’t stop you’re going to be in big trouble. He didn’t listen and kept up the barking. Finally someone from the hotel came out and talked to the guy in the trailer. He told him to shut the dog up because the customers were complaining. He was very mad. He was red in the face from the shoulders up. The departing words of the guy from the hotel were if the dog doesn’t shut up he will be dead in the morning, and he left steaming under the collar. I got out of there because I didn’t want to be any part of that. I drove into Dawson City looking for a hotel to stay in. I was driving around town and saw the same guy that took my picture by the Yukon Territory sign. I asked him where he was staying and what the price of a room was. He said in The Eldorado Hotel and the price was somewhere under $100. I checked it out and it looked good enough for me. I paid for my room, drove my bike over to it and unloaded it. It just started raining again. I ditched all my clothes and then went looking for some food. I stopped in at Diamond Tooth Gerties. They have a snack bar where I bought some pizza and water for supper. I watched the remainder of the show that was in progress and then went to bed.

22 August 2009, Inuvik, Northwest Territories

2009-09-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

I got up late because I was only 115 miles/186 kilometers from Inuvik. It wouldn’t take me that long get there. I packed my bike, adjusted the chain and left for Fort McPherson. I needed to oil my chain and get gas. I then left for Inuvik. 36 miles/58 kilometers up the road is the Mackenzie River which requires a ferry to cross. I probably waited 30 minutes for the ferry to arrive. It ferries everything to three different ports or landings and takes about an hour to make the entire round trip. I got off the ferry and continued up Hwy 5 80 miles/128 kilometers to Inuvik. The gravel stopped before I reached the airport and the road then turned to pavement, all the way in to the city. I stop by the Inuvik signs and took several pictures. I continued into the city to find a hotel. I stopped by the first hotel I saw called the Nova Hotel. I asked them the price of a room for the night: $90 plus tax etc. etc. I didn’t ask any further questions and purchased a room for the night. I moved in all my bags and then asked the receptionist few questions about where the gas station is, where I can buy oil and where I can change my oil. She made a few calls and I left the hotel at 5:00 p.m. to get these chores completed. I bought my gas and oil first and then went looking for a place called Midnight Mechanical. I followed the directions provided and found the place. She was right on the money with the directions. I pulled into the place and was feeling a little out of place because I’m a stranger. These three guys were talking guy stuff etc. I always hate to interrupt conversations like this because when you do I’ve seen it get real ugly real fast. It usually depends on whether the guys deem your interruption as rude behavior. These guys seemed cordial enough and wanted to talk some. I told them where I was from and that I had just traveled from Russia, South Korea to Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle, Washington, to Inuvik, NWT. In a nutshell I told them I traveled around the world on my Kawasaki 650 KLR. They seemed genuinely interested so I told them a few more stories. I asked if I could purchase a can of Coca-Cola. Tim said no, just help yourself out of the refrigerator. That was nice of him so I did. These guys then told me of all the horror stories of travelers off the Dempster Highway i.e. sliding into the ditch, car rollovers, just like driving on ice, sharp shale slashing tires etc. etc. They also told me that Inuvik is actually below sea level and all the dirt/mud is sediment from an ancient ocean or sea. When it gets wet it becomes sticky or gummy and when it gets on your vehicle its difficult to wash off. I think its used on the highway as a binder to hold road together. When it dries out it’s hard as a rock. I finally asked Tim Hunter, the owner of Midnight Mechanical if I could change my motorcycle oil at his automotive repair shop. He said yes and provided an oil pan and grease rags. All the rest of the tools, filter and oil I had. I set about changing my oil and Tim helped out his customers. I eventually completed my oil change and started my motorcycle. It ran fine. I packed up everything and I asked Tim if he’d mind if I took a picture of him for my blog. I also told him I’m always very appreciative of any help people give me. We took several pictures because the sun wasn’t working for me. He gave me a souvenir knife and three pens. I thanked him and gave him my blog address. I then asked if Inuvik had a car wash so I could clean my bike. He told me where one was and followed me to the Gas Stop to make sure I got there. I pulled into the car wash, paid for three minutes of wash time, then cleaned my radiator and the rest of the bike. That dust gets into everything. From there I went to the Mackenzie Hotel, ate supper and on the way back to the hotel I oiled my chain. I had my motorcycle ready to leave in the morning. When I got back to the room I repacked up my tent and sleeping bag so they were ready to leave in the morning. I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. I hope I can get out bed that early. I got to bed about 11:00 p.m.