Day 7
Liard Hot Springs to Haines Junction
Todays Mileage: 504
Total Mileage: 3275

Today we got up when we got up. We actually hit the road around 9:30 which is earlier than we expected. Our goal was to make it to Whitehorse and anything beyond that was a bonus. Right outside the campground we saw our first buffalo, then later down the road there was a bunch of them laying on the side of the road. I first saw them and was like “WTF? Are they dead?” then one looked at me. I guess they were napping after a hard morning of grazing.

We stopped at Watson Lake for food and a look at the signpost forest. You’ll have to take a look at the album at all the pictures. There are over 10,000 signs posted up there. I wandered around and took random shots and took a few that had references to friends. I’ll let you guys figure out which ones were what. I think I might have had my first Roadkill Burger. I’m not sure it was beef, or what, but it was pretty uh, gross. I took about three bites and couldn’t go on. Kevin was more manly and ate some beef dip sandwich and said “You shouldn’t look at you food so much”. He ended up chowing down a roadkill burger in Haines Junction later. Not much else happened today. It seems its always gusty and windy. Go visit the album to see more!

Off to Fairbanks tomorrow if all goes well.

Day 6
Dawson Creek to Liard Hot Springs
Todays Mileage: 476
Total Mileage: 2771

Today we experienced the long days for the first time. I awoke to the sunrise and thought “Oh, we gotta get moving”. I looked over at the clock and it said 3:30. As I write this its 12:25 AM on Thursday and its still twilight. It might get dark for an hour or so but the sun will be up in a couple of hours, haha. We embarked on the Alcan higway this morning. Milepost Marker 0 can be seen here on the right. We’ll finish this ride in Fairbanks Alaska

So, today we saw a couple moose, caribou, a beaver, a porcupine, a bunch of big horn sheep (the ones that look like Rams) and a Bigfoot! Ok, the bigfoot was on the TV, but we did see him. I was surprised at the number of different animals we saw today. We only got a chance to take a picture of the moose you see here. The rest either moved so fast, or were in a dangerous place to stop. The sheep were the wildest. They have no fear and I passed within feet of them. Apparently they like the salt on the road so they are the most dangerous to cars and especially motorcyclists.

While on the road we discovered that airplanes use the road as a runway. We didn’t have any first hand experience but we did find planes tied down in various places along the road Along this lake we found a 25 passenger plane tied down across from a lodge. By the way, this stretch of road was gorgeous. I had to stop to take a picture or two. I wish I had enough time to take out the good camera. Be sure to check out the pics from today as there are a few good ones of the rockies.

The weather has been terrific. We made it to Liard Hot Springs and spent about 4 hours soaking. Didn’t plan on taking that long but we did. I’m actually writing this past midnight in my swimming trunks. Since I picked up a new camp stove yesterday we were able to cook. I introduced Kevin to my Ghetto Mac! (for those of you who don’t know, its hot dogs cut up and mixed in with Mac and Cheese, Deelish!)

While hanging out in the hot springs we met some cool people. got surprised the the naked couple in the first pool. DOH! It was kinda cool to find out about others and what brought them to this place on their trip. Some cool guys coming down from Alaska gave us Cokes, we were dying for something sweet and things were closed already (It was past 11 PM, see this pic)

Tomorrow we should be able to take it easy. We’re gonna get up when we get up, and hit the road when we hit the road. The days are so long now there’s no need to put on a major rush. We have no cell or network coverage tonight so this will get posted after the fact. Still on the road and having a good time!

More pics can be found here: Flickr Alaska Album

Quesnel to Dawson Creek
Today’s mileage: 334
Total Trip Mileage: 2295

Today we diverged from the original plan of taking the shorter more scenic Cassier Highway. The first reason, is we decided that if we didn’t do the whole Alcan, that we’d regret it later. And the second reason was apparently there was a landslide and a mountain fell down on to the road west of Prince George before Terrance blocking our path. So, with that we changed direction and headed to Dawson Creek to Mile Post 1 of the Alcan Highway.

We broke camp pretty early today and got on the road. Our previous nights discovery that not all our camping gear was in order left us with dinner of random snacks and water. I bonked out pretty early, I think Kevin stayed up to perfect his pyromaniac talents.

The weather today was great. We thought we’d get rained on but it was beautiful the whole day. Almost like a nice day in San Diego. Road conditions were great and we got to see the fellow on the right along the way. We didn’t get too close and I couldn’t whip out the SLR to take a pic so its not the best picture we’ve taken. Since our camp stove crapped out last night I picked up a really small compact one from Coastal Mountain Outfitters. Pretty cool place, alot like REI. Originally we ran around to a couple of places but eventually ended up back where we started and bought a stove from them.

Today was pretty laid back, mostly cause I thought we had an additional day. Tomorrow we’re gonna go through about 470 miles and try to get to Liard Hot Springs. I think in general I under estimated how much energy and effort it would take to ride that many miles in a short period of time.

Other than that, there are more pictures uploaded. I have a feeling we won’t be back on the network again until we hit Fairbanks this weekend.

Still on the adventure!

Seattle to Quesnel
Total Miles Today: 536
Total Trip Miles: 1961

Today we kinda lolly-gagged getting out of the hotel and on the road. We didn’t actually hit the road until about 10:30 or so. After heading north for a while on the 5 we took the 542 (I think) to the border. Crossing the border was pretty uneventful other than answering oh 8 questions about guns.

The border agent asked “Are you carrying any weapons?”
I said “Just bear spray”.
She asks “Does it say Bear Spray on it?”
I reply “Yes, it says Bear Spray right on the can”.
“Do you have any pepper spray?” she asks.
I reply “No, no pepper spray” thinking I had already answered this.
Then she asks “How many handguns do you have on you?”
“None, I don’t have any guns on me”.
“But you own a handguns right?” she queries.
“Yes, I own several, but they are back home.” I answer puzzled.
“So if I open your bags up here I wont’ find one of them or any ammunition?”
“No” I reply seriously.

I mean really, how many times do you have to ask the same question? I thought the implication that I own handguns was funny. Just funny and quite odd really.

This was the last of our ‘power-riding’ days and we covered quite a bit of miles. We’re camping outside of Quesnel Canada tonight. Ate two Clif mojo bars, some beef jerky, and part of a freeze dried ice cream bar for dinner. Kevin’s cooking plans fell through as his camp stove failed to work. He did try to get me to eat some juevos rancheros that required reconstitution with water. I passed (I greatly dislike eggs). The campground is nice, and right on either a lake or a river. I think a lake. The mosquitos jumped us almost immediately. We got the tent setup and a fire going (turns out Kevin is a closet pyromaniac. As I’m typing this he’s trying to figure out if he can booby trap some fuel additive to set itself off on the fire. Kevin’s words “It was mildly flamable”)

Most notable today was the incredible scenery changes. At first we were in the foothills then rode through the rockies. Incredibly spectacular with waterfalls coming off the mountains and snow on many of the mountains. Not long after that we ended up in a high desert with scrub and no trees. It reminded me alot of the desert outside of San Diego. But you knew you weren’t there cause the people at the gas stations talk like the McKenzie brothers, eh. I haven’t mastered what the order of paying and pumping is. We’ve made three gas stops today and all three I hosed something up each time. The last stop we made Kevin had thought he paid, but when I went in to pay the cashier said “You know your buddy didn’t pay?” So I paid for both, haha

Kevin got a couple of pics today. Does this Spidi gear make me look fat?

Anyway wrapping up for tonight. Downloading the pictures from the memory cards. Its about 10:40 and the sun has finally gone down. And its getting cold fast.

Total Mileage Today: 536
Total Trip Mileage: 1486

We didn’t do much, well any touristy stuff today. We were behind from yesterday so our main goal was to get caught back up and we did a pretty good job. We started out in Crescent City CA and wound up about 20 miles north of Seattle. We passed through Grant’s Pass, Eugene, Portland, and Seattle along the way. The most interesting thing that happened today was our discovery that we had got bad gasoline from the Don’s Gas Station. Kevin hadn’t filled up yesterday because he was afraid we’d get bad gas, then, we ended up getting bad gas anyway. Both of our bikes have been running rough all day. Unfortunately we’ll probably have problems with the bikes for the next few days until we get all the water out.

Some thing funny to note today. For the last two days I’ve been freezing my ass off. Today, while checking into the Hotel 6 (That super high class motel, more on that later) I realized that my vents were unzipped (which I didn’t even know I had, haha).

Finally, we stopped at the motel 6 tonight and that was an adventure in itself. First room had wet carpet and smelled of mold, second room was super smokey even though it was supposed to be non-smoking. Third room worked out fortunately. Oh! And apparently you can’t pump your own gas in Oregon. Anyway, I babble. We’re off to Canada tomorrow.

Berkeley to Crescent City
Total Miles Today: 410
Total Trip Miles: 830

We got to eat breakfast with my family today at “All You Knead” and it was damn good! It was the first time I had visited my baby niece, and my brother for that fact (I know, lamo)
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After leaving San Fran we rode up the 101. I had never gone further north than Novato before and I have to say its a pretty ride. On the right is a picture of the the redwoods. I’m not sure if they are giant, but they are pretty damn big! The ride on the 101 is mostly inland taking you through the Redwood National Park. Some places you feel like you’re riding a speeder bike on Endor (I know, geeky) Something of interest is one of the big differences between Kevin and I’s bikes. Kevin, has the new BMW R1200GS Adventure. One of the key features of the Adventure is its massive 9.1 Gallon gas tank. Very awesome for those long trips. I only have a 5.2 gallon tank, so generally I have to fill up twice for everyone of his. Just before taking the picture with the trees I had filled up, but Kevin knowing his super tanker had longer range ate his gross Cliff shots (They are like jello, but really gross). Well, about 150 miles later we found ourselves on an uphill turn with Kevin’s bike out of gas!!!! He pulled over into some slime and was having a hard time getting out of there with no power. I pulled up behind him, tried to put my side stand down and found that the bike will just fall over at that angle. As I’m trying to figure out how to keep my bike from going over, and watching Kevin struggle with his. The CHP shows up…..

The CHP came up and asked me “Are you broken down?” I said, “No, but my friend ran out of gas. Can you give a pull on my handlebars to straighten me up?” He said “Uh no, why don’t you turn around and park over there and I’ll help your friend” Haha, I don’t think he realized that I was kinda stuck, so, I just took a few breathes and heaved the bike back up onto its center of balance, got it turned around and back to a flat spot. Kevin put some gas in his tank which got him like a mile. I then ran to the gas station with a fuel cannister and tried to get some gas. We learned three things today:

Don’t use a small funnel to fill a small fuel bottle with a gas pump

Have a small hose for a fuel syphon

Kevin needs to fill up at any gas stop I make

Link to the Continuing Photo’s from the trip

Los Angeles to Berkeley
Total Miles Today: 420

Today we got some pictures when we started off (Well, Karen got us some pictures) but were so excited about getting on the road we totally forgot to take any follow on pictures. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure I make a few stops and take pictures along the way. Overall today was a good ride. No major issues. My radio flaked out at one point but then fixed itself. The wind in the inland valleys was pretty bad. Basically we’d be at about a 10 degree lean trying to keep up right. Definitely kept us on our toes when we’d pass oncoming trucks or bridges. Kevin planned the route for today and it turned out to be pretty awesome. We went north on the 101 to the 154 back to the 101 and to the 25 through Hollister. I wasn’t too impressed with hollister, but then I didn’t get to see too much of the town.
My wrist is about the only thing that bothered me through the day. Kevin’s ass and head are bothering him. He thinks he’s permanently dented his head from the pressure points on his helmet. If you ask him, he’ll let you touch touch it to verify, his head that is.

Tonight we are staying with some of Kevin’s friends, which is much mo’ better than staying in a hotel. We went to Barney’s Burgers in Berkeley for dinner. Its claimed to be the best burgers in town. I thought they were pretty good, and on top of that gave our host the most impressive case of the ass I’ve heard/smelt in a long time. Much to the chagrin of our hostess(hehe). Tomorrow we head over to San Francisco and have breakfast with my family before heading north to Crescent City and hopefully Grant’s Pass.

I’m officially on vacation now! After a nice send off at the house by Alison (She’s like the super photography genious) and a few pictures as I was leaving, I dropped by Rob and Jen’s house for some shirts and another hat. (He already gave me two). Had some nice dinner and hit the road from there. The ride up to LA was well, boring. But that’s ok. Tomorrow we head out on the real beginning of our trip!

The bike is all packed. Just have to load up the camera, cell phone, and my ass! Kevin and I went on a ’shake down’ ride last weekend. All went well.

I think I’m ready to roll!

So, trying out this offline editor to see if it will work well for the trip!