Onward Into the Fog...on a sidecar of course!

April 3, 2010 It's a sad day today....

2010-04-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

No new pics for this post, just a couple of old ones that have been laying around in the archives. Mac just sent an email telling me he's sold Olga today. I'm very sad to hear that as I liked Olga a lot even with her quirky Russian faults. Maybe her new owner will take her to more exotic places like Mac did. My own hack - still nameless after all this time unless "whatsherface" is acceptable - is currently in the care of the local Yamaha dealer who is attempting to chase down an oil leak. If they're successful I'll try for a ride to Inuvik in Canada's Northwest Territories later this coming summer (2010). Before that I've got a ride to TN via AZ on Red Dog Scooter, my latest fashion statement...

LL75

Mac on Olga somewhere in Alaska

Larry on whatsherface somewhere in Alaska

Thanks for following our blog everyone! We had a great ride.

Larry & Mac

Aug 11 - Epiblog 2 - Mac is alive & well but Olga's not a happy Ural

2008-08-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

Mac's finally arrived home in Iowa but only after several days of mishaps. Here are his emails and pics * of the final days.

------------------------------

Aug 9 - 10 - I left Columbia Falls at about 2 pm their time and had the bike delivered to the dealer in Spring Valley , Minn. and was home about 8 pm on the 10th. A trip of about 1550 miles and drove straight thru in 28 hours. Just wanted to get home.

It looks like I will be getting a new engine in my bike, all covered under warrenty.

In times of trouble there are a lot of very nice caring people out there and I met some of them. If they are reading this, Thank you very very much.

Mac
* This is my bikes last trailer ride.

Aug 9 - Headed out to Bob's and got about 10 miles when all hell broke loose and my engine froze up. I now knew what the noise was that I was hearing. Now what to do., it did make me feel a little better about hauling the bike out of Canada as it would have failed in another 10 miles there too.

Along came two wonderful people, Joe and Paula Forrest . They ride bikes and had a trailer. They went home and got it and Joe loaded it on and tied it down with my help. They had called and had a U-Haul saved for me at Columbia Falls.

* This is Joe Forrest getting my bike tied down. I do not know what I would have done with out them. Finer people you will not find. They would not take a cent for their trouble. Joe also used his straps to tie my bike in the U-Haul. I will be sending them back to him.

Aug 8 - Bob called the first thing and asked me to check the kill switch. The thought of the kill switch being turned off never entered my mind as the engine would turn over, the lights worked, etc. Much to my chagrin, the switch was turned off, I turned it on and the bike started right away. I no longer have an ego , it is laying in ashes. All bikes I know about , when the kill switch if turned off, all systems are dead. Not the Russians however, they do things differently.

I washed the bike and planned to take it to Bob's the following day to find out what the noise was that I was hearing and also to get a new rear tire.

After I got thru beating myself up, I slept well that night.

Aug 7 - Darryl's brother , Doug, to me and my bike to the US border and then on to the town of Eureka where I got a motel room.

I contacted the Ural dealer in Montana, Bob's Motorwerks at Roberts Montana. Bob was a great person to work with. We had several calls during the evening as I was trying to explain the noise I was hearing before the bike went dead. He had me checking some things but nothing worked.

Aug 6 - Today started out fine, I felt great and figured I would make the US border today. A distance of over 600 miles. I felt up for it after a good nights sleep. But little did I know what the day would bring. About 50 miles north of Radium hot springs my troubles began. I began to hear some scraping noises coming from the engine. I pulled over to see what I could find out. After checking the bike over I tried to start it and no go. No spark. I pulled a plug to see if I could see any spark and there was none.

Two women with kids stopped by and they said they would try to find someone to come out with a truck to pick me up. They said that if the driver needed a credit card no. they would give him theirs. What great people, I wish I had gotten their names.
After they had left, another person stopped by and also checked my bike out and then told me if the girls could not help me to give him a call on his cell phone and He had a buddy in Calgary that would come and get me. He, Paul Zedic, told me that they would not leave me stranded out there. He was talking about a distance of about 150 miles . As it turned out I didn't have to call him but it gave me a good feeling that I had help if I really needed it.

After getting me loaded we headed for Radium hot springs. Darryl, my Indian driver then loaded my up in his personal pickup and found me a motel for the evening. A really great person who did not want a tip but I talked him into it.
* Mt. Robson. quite a sight to see in front of you

* A picture of the ice fields south of Jasper

* I felt a little safer with a fence between us

* A picture of me patiently awaiting the truck

* Getting me loaded

* Darryl getting my bike tied down

* A nice little motel for the evening

Aug 5 - Today I rode from Ft Nelson to Prince George. A little over 500 miles and I was really tired at the end of the day

* The scenery made up for the long ride

Aug 4 - A little over 300 miles today, all told a very nice day

* More critters to ride around
* One of my favorite lakes, Muncho Lake
* Some of the obstacles on todays ride
* Our last campsite at Watson Lake. Larry and I said our goodbys and I rode to Ft. Nelson and got a motel room.

August 9th - Epilog (Epiblog?) Where the heck is Mac?

2008-08-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

I checked my email this morning and opened one from Joe dated 2 days ago and it goes like this:

"Boy, nice guy you are......Mac broke down in the middle of no where. Lost electrical power to the engine. Bottom line.......no spark. Had to get a truck and was hauled back to Eureka MT which is just across the border in MT. Don't have all the details but he has a truck rented to take him and the bike some where close to have it worked on. . Part will be flow in ASAP from Washington. Not sure how long he is going to be there......... Long story so he can fill you in when he gets home. Will keep you informed as the story unfolds........... Might just have to head that way myself...Think he was having a beer so its not all bad..........joe"

I'll post the news as soon as I have any, in the mean time there's hope as long as there's beer. The photo's of my good luck mascot which I found abandoned somewhere along the Whistler route. Mac was disgusted by the whole notion but hey, I made it home eh?

August 8th - The longest day, 500 miles but home again

2008-08-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

This day, my last, was to be the longest ride yet all the while with crossed fingers. The Aprilia has been complaining constantly, making very loud metallic noises accompanied by irregular lurches. The chain and both sprockets are worn badly and the upper idler roller is completely missing. Not good.

I broke camp early, said good bye to the kitty and joined the happy-off-to-work folks on I-5 south. Somewhere around Renton a McDonald's was calling my name plus Mr Fuel Gage began blinking so I stopped for my 2nd breakfast and tested my bulging credit card again. Both worked, I left a couple of pounds heavier and the bike ran smoothly. Making good time down the interstate it occurred to me I just might make it home today, in fact I might even make it to the family reunion east of Roseburg where Linda was staying. Then I recalled she had a full RV of giggly girls and two dogs so I'd likely end up doing the tent thing again. That tipped the scales and I popped off the freeway at Olympia and headed west for the longer coastal way home. This was a whole lot nicer riding than sustained freeway speeds of 65 mph and I wasn't in a hurry.

Along about the time I hit Elma, WA, the racket and jerking coming from the chain became too intense to ignore so I found the local auto parts place and bought a scissor jack and adjusted the chain. While there I got to talk to a couple of guys who do the local motocross thing, seems like bikers are always ready to talk wherever you go. The fact that my rig has an extra wheel didn't seem to matter to them, it only made it more interesting.

Continuing south I crossed that long bridge leading to Astoria and noticed the chain clatter had begun again in earnest, so I stopped to readjust it one more time. This was beginning to worry me but I really didn't have much of a choice other than to move on. My next chain adjustment was in the Tillamook Fred Meyer parking lot -I love those big chunks of asphalt! It was then that I found there was no more adjustment left and that whatever had been there was all used up. Leaving town on highway 101 I rode less than a mile when I realized to continue was to invite spending the night parked along the roadside, the noise was much louder after my last expert adjustment and I decided it would be best to head back to Tillamook and look for a mechanic. This, on a late Friday afternoon - 5:30pm - but I gave it a go. Knowing that in small towns everyone knows everyone I stopped at the first gas station and asked. The guy hanging out inside told me about a guy named Dan who ran a bicycle-motorcycle-TV-appliance-video rental shop "Just down the road a piece, ya can't miss it as long as you head straight at the intersection and don't go right or left." Damned if he wasn't telling the truth, I found the place and waited patiently while Dan the owner finished chatting it up with one of the locals. He must have figured I wasn't from around there and asked another guy to see if he could "answer my questions" Yep, I had questions alright. Turns out guy #2 is his main bike mechanic just heading for home, but he took a quick look at the beast and confirmed what I already knew with one exception - I'd over adjusted the chain and now it was running too tight. Dang it anyway, how dumb can I be? (We'll ignore the diesel fuel episode) With that said I whined around again so he agreed to open up the shop and do the adjustment himself, this time getting everything lined up correctly. Unlike the Indian guy in Vanderhoof, these folks work cheap but not for nothing so I was happy to drop $15 in their kitty. The mechanic told me not to worry, it would make it home without busting but I'd have to fix all that stuff very soon. Like tomorrow probably.

On my way again only with reduced noises coming from the chain I set out south towards Hebo, center of the known world... It was there that two things happened, almost simultaneously, it began to rain and it got dark. Neither one bother me but given the state of the bike's health I wasn't looking forward to dealing with it. I donned my funny red Santa raincoat and 3-fingered Spock gloves and went back at it. This was not ideal or fun riding, it was just sit-up-and-pay-attention and try not to get hit by a truck or run into a deer. It was so miserable and hard to see I shut the GPS off to reduce light glare. At this point I noticed the headlights were undulating in brightness as were the dash lights, an indicator of low battery power. Time to shut off the electric vest and hand grip warmers. That helped, the lights went back to normal and I was more than warm in the red Santa vinyl sweat suit.

Eventually I made it into Newport where I gassed up and hit the next door Burger King. The gas station attendant made the comment "I hope you don't have far to ride Buddy, this rain and fog is real nasty all along the coast." I told him that manly men like myself were conditioned to ride in crappola weather and not to worry. It was 8:00pm when I left the warmth of the Burger King.

Things didn't change a whole lot after that, I rode slow and moved over whenever cars came up behind me and that was about it. I made one last stop for gas in Reedsport where I entertained the guy in the booth by circling around all the pumps looking for one that didn't say Full Service. Turned out all of them said that and I explained to Mr Non-Smiling Attendant I didn't want to pay to have my windshield cleaned. Ha ha. Yuk yuk. Not funny dude, here, and he handed me the nozzle. I filled up, handed it back, he grimaced (no thank you from him) and walked off. For a brief moment I was annoyed but then I felt sorry for him having to pump gas for a living. What the hell, it's his problem not mine, so off to Bandon I rode. Yippee, got home at 11:23 pm with 8,250 miles logged on the old hack and tons of great memories of riding Alaska's infamous Dalton highway. Plus the Top of the World highway. Plus the Winter Harbour haul road. Dang! What's next?

August 7th - Back in the USA!

2008-08-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Lillooett was already baking as I left town early this morning. I had a brief continental breakfast at the Gold Panner Hotel, said goodbye to Jay and his wife and headed up the canyon on highway 99. The road is rough but the scenery is beautiful so I rode slow, stopping often for a last view of this mountainous area. A doe was standing so close to the road at one point I could have touched her nose when I rode by - at a very slow speed of course. Everything went pretty smooth until I reached the area south of Pemberton and there the road construction began in earnest. This lasted nearly all the way to Horseshoe Bay and was particularly bad in the area around Whistler. Like most things though, it eventually ended and I rode on to the border crossing at Blaine, WA where the waiting lines in both directions seemed unending. This seemed odd considering how short they were when Mac and I crossed over just a few weeks ago. When I finally got to the booth the girl asked the usual questions, checked my passport & bike license and sent me through.

The weather continued to be scorching hot so I watched for a campground sign as I rode down

I-5 towards Seattle. Just below Bellingham I saw a kid pushing his HD chopper so I pulled over to see what's up. His tank was bone dry he said so I donated a gallon or so to the cause. What a kid, he was sporting more facial hardware and tattoos than I've seen in quite awhile. All of that aside, he was grateful for the benzino and when his bike started I headed south again. My payback for being snotty to the old HD geezer in Dease Lake a few days ago. Mr. Nice Guy...

Spotting the sign for Wenberg State Park located 20 or so miles north of Seattle I chose it for my final night's camp out. The basic tent sites run $19.00 - sorry, no change for a twenty so I donated the extra buck to who knows who and settled in for the night. Next morning I awoke to the loudest snorer on the planet, honest to God I've never heard anyone pump air like that guy and eventually I heard his wife jab him (or whatever). He let out a bellow and a few snorts, then went back at it again. Clean living?

While eating breakfast I was visited by one of the local camp kitties begging for food. From the looks of her she wasn't missing very many but I'm a sucker for beggar cats so I fabbed a bowl out of aluminum foil and passed over the remainder of my milk. She drank down two rounds, then took a break mid-way on number three. Happy kitty.

August 6th - Onward into the inferno - Vanderhoof to Lillooet

2008-08-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't a clue why some days I ride less than 200 miles and others I ride off the end of the earth. Or so it seems any time I crack the 400 mile barrier. This means nothing to those who belong to the iron butt league but I ain't one of them so it's a big deal to me, especially on a hack that's cantankerous. Today was one of them.

I started out with a great breakfast at the adjoining restaurant, then enhanced it even more by commenting to one of the Harley guys parked next to me as to how shiny his bike was. He liked the attention I think.

At the local gas station the lady attendant told me she thought there used to be a bike shop a couple of blocks away so off I went in search of help for my floppy chain. It turned out there actually was a guy who fixes bikes, seems he rents space from the guy who operates a repair shop for cars & trucks. Unfortunately the bike guy only shows up when the mood strikes him and that's not often. There were at least a dozen bikes in various stages of disassembly cluttering up the place and from the looks of the dust layers on them I doubt the bike guy has been in for quite awhile. The mechanic guy turned out to be a gem, he's in his mid-70's and runs the shop just to keep busy. He told me straight off he doesn't work on bikes but I whined around in my usual grating nasal style about not having a jack and how simple a job it was, etc. Being a mechanic he couldn't help get interested in it and before you knew it, we had the bugger up in the air and adjusted. This whole procedure took maybe 15 minutes, 10 of which to locate his metric allens as he didn't want to use mine. After the bike was done we stood around swapping stories about guns and hunting, all of which were better told by him as mine pale in comparison. Humble as that may sound I've never even seen a grizzly let alone shot a silver tip when it was coming at me in a pissy mood. Did I mention he's an Indian? I didn't get the name of his tribe but he can shoot as many bears, deer, buffalo (his favorite) and so on, all without permits. Seems fair to me. When it was time to leave he wouldn't accept anything for payment but finally agreed to five bucks just to get rid of me.

I rode on for a couple more hours, then stopped to gas up at the no-name-station on the outskirts of Hixon. What do you call folks from Hixon you ask? (Sorry, couldn't help myself) Just to demonstrate my dexterity I sprayed gas all over the front of my jacket in a large enough volume that it soaked through. I screamed the usual curse words most of which were directed at the idiots who passed laws allowing innocents like myself to pump their own gas. Inside the store where you pay the lady in line behind me commented to the cashier that she could smell gas and maybe there was a leak? Ha ha. I explained it was me and she did a hasty embarrassed stage-left.

After that I smoked on down the highway, stopping at Wal-Mart (sorry Hon) and picked up some more chain oil & food bits. Also a McDonald's Quarter Pounder which seemed more like an 8th-pounder but what do I know. Maybe it's the metric thing?

I decided fairly late in the afternoon I would keep riding as stopping in a park or hotel would be wasted time so I kept at it. A couple of miles outside of Clinton I noticed a bike parked on the shoulder with no one around and a mile or so up the road there came the owner, trudging back in million-degree heat looking like heat stroke might be on it's way. I found a spot to turn around and scooted on back and offered him a ride on the now empty spare tire rack. He'd ran out of fuel and was sporting a 1-litre bottle full of gas so I waited while he got his bike started, then we both rode into town and gassed up. Grateful guy from California. His bike was shiny too. Maybe I'm just jealous? He wanted to take my picture so I took his just to keep things in balance.

I made it into Lillooet just before 7:00pm, checked into the Gold Panner, said hi to the owner Jay and his wife, hosed off and went to dinner at the Greek restaurant. Jay was there with his family and invited me to share their table which I did. The dinner was great as was the company, after which it was time to expire, I'm all out of steam for the day. "Camping" is definitely fun I'd say. And yes, I know one of the pics is out of focus. So what?

August 5th - Kitwanga first, then on to Vanderhoof - the geographical center of BC

2008-08-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Finally got hot weather today, so hot in fact I had to remove the last liners from my outfit. At first it seemed like a nice change but after roasting for a few miles it began to lose it's appeal. Starting out this morning everything not covered up was soaked with dew, probably coming off the nearby lake. I broke camp early and rode a few miles to warm up the chain, then stopped to oil it and wash out that pesky air filter. Boy when that thing gets dirty all hell breaks loose, the bike barely runs and the gas mileage goes to the red zone.

Riding down the Cassiar I saw three blackies, one of which would rival the big boy I saw yesterday. I always wonder how the bicycle riders deal with them...

I stopped for gas and a late breakfast at the village of Kitwanga where I met a couple of great ladies who cook all orders from scratch. Also got to chat it up with one of the old timers who's lived there forever. Lots of interesting stories about early life and logging in the area.

After that it was onward into the central inferno, not a lot of fun, had to stop several times just to drink some water and oil the chain again. Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can either buy a jack so I can adjust the bugger or locate a shop with frugal rates and have it done. At present it's slapping like the dickens and will surely bust if I don't do something about it.

Tonight I'm holed up in the North Country Inn where I stayed two years ago. Nice clean place, reasonable rates and a good restaurant next door. I washed off my personal road grime, had a good dinner and look forward to a clean bed. Did you know Vanderhoof is the geographical center of British Columbia? I didn't take any photos of this little town, not much to see so I'll just post the ones of Kitwanga. Zzzzzzzzz....zzzzzzzzzzzzz

August 4th - Parting company, Mac heads to Montana and I head south on the Cassiar

2008-08-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

It was an early morning start for both of us today, we said our goodbye's and each headed our separate way. Mac is going to Montana to meet up with a guy we met in Chicken who said he could help with his tire requirements and I'm back on the Cassiar highway. I stopped for breakfast at Sally's at Junction 37, my 3rd or 4th visit to this little roadside cafe. This time I decided to ask the gal who waits tables - all 3 of them - if she was Sally and she said "No, that's my husband's nickname." Somehow I'd guessed as much so she introduced us and I thanked him for fixing me great tasty meals whenever I'd passed through their way. She baked bread for 26 years and taught Sally how to do it so now it's his job. They've owned the cafe for 5 years and this coming winter will be the first one they'll be closed, time to go see the kids and hang out in warmer climes.

After leaving Sally's I rode on down the Cassiar passing Jade where I stopped to look at the tourist traps but declined to leave any of my tightly held cash. One can only use so many things in this life and Linda and I are pretty well topped off. (Sorry Honey, no jade for either of us...)

I gassed up several times today, added a reserve can at the Jade stop, then topped off at Dease Lake where I was approached by a skinny old geezer wearing a black leather Harley vest adorned with more silver hardware and doo-dads than I've ever seen in one place. His mission in life (outside of wearing all the HD doo-dads) was to advise me of the lack of fuel availability that I could expect to encounter as I headed south on the Cassiar. I thanked him for his advice but told him I'd passed that way before. He was overly concerned though and kept up his banter so I asked him if he'd ever heard of Deadhorse. "Nope" he said. Then I asked if he'd ever heard of Prudhoe Bay. "Nope" he said. Finally I asked him if he'd heard of the Arctic ocean and that rang his bell. "Yeah, Jesus, did you ride up there?" he asked... Dammit I love it when I connect with people.

I continued south and gassed up again at a little roadside camp of which I cannot recall the name and finally at Bell II where I also had a late lunch. There I met a guy and his wife who were moving from Fairbanks to Colorado. The guy couldn't believe I'd ridden the hack all the way to Deadhorse and survived. Uh... Seems he'd driven it once in a car and that was enough for him...can't say as I blame him, I doubt I'll do it again, it really raises hell with your equipment. One time though, it's worth it.

Just before arriving at Meziadin Provincial campground I spotted two blackies within a few miles of each other. The first was average size but the 2nd was huge, definitely not one I'd care to meet up close and personal. Fortunately neither one wanted anything to do with me or the hack so we all went our separate ways. The campground proved to be a great find, it's right on the lake and they have really nice sites. Gravel of course as that's the Canadian way and no water either as that's also the Canadian way. Eh? Eh? After arriving and getting my tent set up two of the guys next to me came over to chat and although neither ride bikes they were more than willing to point out the body English and lean requirements one must observe while riding, particularly relating to sidecars. Thanks guys. That's the Canadian way...eh?

August 3rd - Watson Lake campground

2008-08-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

Boy did we ever haul a-- today, for some reason we made really good time and arrived at Watson Lake in the late afternoon. Getting gas and refreshing our liquor supply took a lot longer than expected as the locals were busy buying Bud and cashing in their lottery/Keno tickets but eventually we got it done. The weather was nice so we headed out of town a few miles and set up camp at the local Watson Lake Provincial campground. No water but free firewood and at $12.00 it's still a bargain. Mac made another memorable fire after we had dinner, he cooked his usual gourmet noodles and I feasted on corned beef hash and fried eggs, just what my girlish figure needs. The long day's ride had us both pooped so we hung it up around 9:00pm. Mac took some pics of our camp and he'll send them when he gets home, in the mean time I took a couple of the sign village. I only stayed a few minutes as it's mind boggling.

August 2nd - Haines Junction - nearly as bad as the Haul road

2008-08-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

This will be short, we rode through nasty road construction projects today, one after another. Several bikes went down and we were grateful for our sidehacks. Strong cross winds nearly blew us off the road and by the time we arrived in Haines Junction we were both beat. We checked in at the Cozy Corner motel since camping out required too much effort and after brief dinners of snack food and noodles we called it a day. That would be great if it were true but the ding-dongs next door to us are hard at it doing laundry and banging on anything solid they can get their hands on so it doesn't look like we'll get much rest tonight. So be it.

August 1st - Back to Tok

2008-08-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Man oh man was it ever raining this morning. Yesterday we'd had our tires worked on and my beast developed a new nasty noise as a result. Not wanting to chance further issues on the road we decided Mac may as well head out and I'd stay in Fairbanks until my bike was fixed. We didn't know if it was serious or not but there was nothing to be gained by both of us hanging around. With that said we did our goodbyes and off he went while I headed back to the shop. Luck favored me this day as it turned out to be nothing more than three links in my chain were binding up and clattering to beat hell. We soaked them with all sorts of magic oils and eventually they broke free so I set out to Tok, only a couple of hours behind Mac. On the way I stopped for lunch at a place we'd visited on the way up and while there bought a stained glass sockeye salmon, my first and only souvenir. Mac and I ran into each other just as I arrived in Tok; he'd already registered at the same campground as before so I set up camp with him. For a change the weather favored us and we had a decent night of it.

July 31st - Fairbanks in the rain at the mercy of bike dealers

2008-08-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

We started our day at the local car wash attempting to dislodge the mud and grime from our bikes. The idea being that any bike shop would be more willing to work on them if they weren't covered in crud and we both needed tire changes. There aren't a whole bunch of bike shops in Fairbanks so we started with the Harley-BMW dealer. They were willing to fix Mac's tire as he had it off the bike and ready to look at. Mine was a different story as both tires needed to be replaced and I couldn't just take them off and hand them over. "Sorry but it's a liability issue" was what they said. Hmm.... that's what I'd call pure bullshit; I'd operated a service shop for years and liability doesn't have squat to do with it, they simply didn't want to work on an Aprilia. This was particularly aggravating since they're supposed to be a BMW dealer and my Aprilia is exactly the same as a bimmer, only the name plate differs. Aprilia built BMW's 650F model for years and that's what mine is by any other name. In any event they did me a true favor by recommending another shop across town who might do the deed. Turned out to be just fine, they not only did the tire swap, they also installed new rear brake pads and solved the noise problem coming from the undercarriage. I'm forever grateful to them.

July 30th - Wiseman to Fairbanks and the Great Diesel Fuel Disaster

2008-08-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Dang it anyway, I just realized I posted the diesel fuel disaster on the wrong day, it actually happened on the 30th when we rode from Wiseman (Coldfoot) to Fairbanks. Duh... Guess I must have been tired when I accessed the blog so I'll do a brief re-do of the events. One thing I've yet to figure out on this blog site is how to copy and paste text, it just doesn't look possible so if anyone reading this knows how please post a comment on how to do it. Thenkuvermuch...

Anyway, onward to the day after our run down from Deadhorse to Wiseman. This was not our best day.

Imagine if you will what happens when a person of advancing years is yakking it up with someone else while at the same time attempting to refuel his bike... Moreover imagine that same said person has two choices of fuel to be dispensed from the same pump albeit from identical blue hoses but with different nozzels, one green for diesel and the other black for benzino (gasoline, eh?) Yakkety yak yak yak... Moving right along inquiring minds might pose the question "Just how far might an Aprilia go when presented with a full tank of #2 diesel? 5 miles perhaps?" Yesiree, 5 miles to be exact. After that it's kaput, d-e-d, the end. In a previous blog entry I went to great lengths to be clever about this entire incident and then in the true spirit of things posted it to the wrong date. After discovering the error of this I've decided enough damage has already been done and admission to this ridiculous blunder will no doubt provide adequate entertainment by itself. In short we spent several hours removing and draining the fuel tank, cleaning the spark plug, returning to Coldfoot to refuel and sell the remaining 5 gallons of diesel stored in my back-up fuel cans before finally getting back on the road.

ONWARD we said and so we did. For several hours in fact. Unfortunately while leaving the Yukon river camp restaurant I heard an ominous grinding clunking scary-as-hell noise coming from the undercarriage. Mac had already left a few minutes earlier so I stopped to see wuz up. It turned out that the chain was clogged with mud and debris from our latest slog through the local water hazard so I hosed it down with chain spray. That seemed to help but after riding a few miles it became noisier and I stopped to adjust the chain slack. Nope, not possible without a jack and guess who had the only one? Not me. Deciding the only course of action left was to ride on at greatly reduced speed I set out and after a few miles spotted Mac on his way back looking for me. We jacked the damn thing up, adjusted out the excess slack and once more set out for Fairbanks. We arrived in Fairbanks at 12:30am only to discover the liquor stores close at midnight, a very inhospitable ordinance if I may say so. Cruising around after midnight covered with mud and looking for a motel isn't the easiest thing to accomplish but we located one desperate enough to accept us (Motel 8) and we were in for the night. Mac's brain had apparently gone into superwarp mode as he decided he needed to do laundry while mine opted for gin & tonics. I admit there are times when my superior intellect shines through.

PS - The photo of me draining the diesel may appear as some bodily function. It is not that.

July 29th - Deadhorse to Wiseman - Larry turns 200 today!

2008-07-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Larry you old geezer!

Early today we took the tour of the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. This was supposed to include getting off the bus for a short walk to the Arctic ocean wherein Mac would place his big toe and the icebergs would likely melt for miles around . Unfortunately for those who paid dearly for this tour the operators were not able to fulfill their end of the bargain and instead took us on a tour of oil rigs, gas plants, large equipment storage lots and other equally interesting items, not unlike a tour of 1950's Soviet technology museums. Yippee. Goodbye $38.

Thus began our southern return trip down the Haul road to Wiseman, a small hamlet located just north of Coldfoot. Rain was beginning to fall as we left the tour bus and mounted our filthy beasts. Being experienced in such matters I duded up in my flashy red outfit which Mac refers to as the Santa outfit. This from a man who wears rain pants with duct tape holding the legs on. Hmm...

Heading south it wasn't long before the weather turned really nasty, rain in torrents with cross-winds which turned the pot-holes into mini tire busters capable of dislodging the most firmly affixed items on your bike. This was no lightweight affair, it was serious stuff requiring constant vigilance to stay on the road and as we later agreed, not a helluva lot of fun. The run from Deadhorse to Wiseman was around 230 miles taking us over the Antigun pass again only this time in dense fog, rain, and more mud than you can imagine. Somewhere around mid-way I had to pee so I selected a carefully chosen spot and pulled over. Being garbed in multiple layers of zippered and Velcro secured rain gear meant having to do the boogie-woogie dance for several minutes while getting, er, uh, unleashed? Naturally as these things always go as soon as I was about finished Mac appears through the driving rain storm. This isn't any problem as he thinks I'm funny as hell to watch when I'm trying to get back into my gear. How delicate he is. Then up comes the German couple we'd met at Marion Creek campground a few days ago, soaking wet and covered with mud on their way north. Evidently Germans are accustomed to funny older men attempting to restore their dignity and little laughter was spent. Probably had something to do with the storm. Immediately on their tail arrived another guy on his BMW adventure thingy all dressed up in proper BMW adventure clothing, also heading north. We told them to avoid the tour and which hotel had the best food, etc., and off they went never to be seen again. I finished re-costuming and we rode off into the grime again. Camaraderie is everything...

We arrived at Wiseman late afternoon and thanks to Mac we located a great little cabin at the Boreal Lodge, a mom & pop operation with very reasonable rates. I'd stopped at the one before it and thought we were out of luck due to the no vacancy sign posted but Mac knew there were at least 3 places according to the Milepost book he'd brought along. At least the first one had some cool sled doggies so it made a nice stop. At the Boreal Lodge there was a nice community kitchen where we ate a dinner comprised of food we'd pilfered from the Prudhoe Bay Hotel, then crashed early in order to make a clean break in the morning. Rising early we used the water hose provided and washed off a lot of the mud we'd accumulated the previous day, then headed into Coldfoot for a great breakfast. On the way out we took pics of the old trading post plus Mac spotted a moose with her yearling calf standing in the river.

Our brief stay at Wiseman was a good one, the people who operate it had left their teen age son in charge and he's one of the nicest kids you'll ever meet. Polite, respectful, not given to laughing at older people, that sort of thing. We settled in and enjoyed ourselves. In short we got blitzed.

July 28th - Hanging out in Deadhorse

2008-07-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

We were so beat yesterday we figured it would be best to rest up for a day before heading south so that's what we did. Besides the food is so good we didn't want to leave just yet. Bad news and good news this morning, Mac's back tire went flat overnight so he had to change it out with his next-best spare. He's getting pretty good at that so maybe this one will hold on for awhile. My luck was better as I found my missing cell phone rolled up in my tent. I'd had a similar incident happen a few days ago so I guess whenever I can't find something that's the first place I should look.

After our morning adventures we headed out to find the general store and post office. We ran into a guy who told us how to find it - no signs of course - and his directions proved invaluable, we'd have never found it otherwise. Mac bought a couple of T-shirts and I satisfied my personal needs with bumper stickers, now mounted on the sidecar. They're the variety that peel your paint off if you try to remove them so I figure they'll stay there until it's time for a paint job.

We've signed up for a 2-hour tour of the oil fields at 08:00am in the morning after which we'll start our return ride south. Mac is going to head east when we reach Fairbanks on a route that will take him to Montana and then on towards Iowa. I'll head south to Delta Junction and after that my choice of directions will likely depend on weather conditions. Linda's younger brother Dan works up here and he stopped by for a visit this evening. He said the overall weather is turning cold earlier this year and there are reports of snow in the hills around Anchorage so maybe it's time to head for warmer climes... No matter how you slice it, Bandon is a couple of weeks away at the normal pace for my sidecar and there's still lots to see.

July 27th - Deadhorse at Last!

2008-07-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Dang, the Haul Road is one heck of a ride! After breakfast in Coldfoot we met a couple of Russian guys who'd just returned from Deadhorse. They were pulling a trailer made out of a 55 gallon oil drum behind one of their Harley's, definitely a fashion statement. They said they made the ride in 5 hours so we figured it would take us at least 7 or so and that proved to be a good guess.

The ride itself was fairly uneventful if you consider 247 miles of potholes as such. We stopped several times to rest and once to fuel up using our spare cans. Mac liked the Antigun pass the best, said it went on forever. We arrived in Deadhorse late in the afternoon, tired and beat but without any serious bike problems. The Prudhoe Bay Hotel turned out to be great, $180 per night for the 2 of us but including all meals and a free laundry room. The food is great, prime rib being on the evening meal our first night. We stuffed ourselves and crashed early. What else is there to say? We made it!

July 26th - Coldfoot!

2008-07-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

It's only been a couple of days since we rode from Fairbanks to Coldfoot but it seems like a week ago. Maybe it's the rain and mud but it's definitely something mind boggling. Our stay in Fairbanks turned out to be nicer than we expected in spite of the high-priced grubby hotel. I think it was due to the nice staff who treated us courteously and made us feel at home. In any event we headed out early, stopping at a new McDonald's for breakfast. That's always a welcome change from the over-priced independent places and the food quality is consistent.

Moving on we rode several miles out of town before stopping for gas and an opportunity for me to get into my red rain suit. I really hated to do it as it seems whenever I do it immediately clears up and it becomes a sweat-shop. Of course that's what happened again...

The ride to Coldfoot took us past Linvenfoot, the beginning of the Haul Road. Mud, potholes, washboards; all contributed to bone-jarring riding that threatened to tear the sidecars off our bikes. At one point I hit a pothole large enough to launch my spare tire and both gas jugs. The spare is cabled onto the luggage rack but jugs went off into space, landing on the gravel but not busting open, a testimony to durability of the plastic they're made of.

We stopped for a few minutes at Finger Mountain and then on to Old Man, now for sale and where Mac and Joe stayed eleven years ago. It looks exactly like the pics in travel books but has a sense of desertion about it. A little further on passed over the Arctic Circle and stopped for pics and to make blood donations to the local mosquito population. Several gallons lighter we headed north again, arriving in Coldfoot late in the day. Pricing out the hotel rooms at the $179 per night convinced us to go camping at the Marion Creek BLM park 5 miles further on. The Golden Age Passport made it more attractive at $4.00 per night. Even with the new bear-in-the-area warning signs... Mac built his best ever fire and it was still going at 4:00am in spite of the torrential rain that set in around 10:00pm and continued for most of the night. He'd asked me a couple of days back if my tent was really waterproof and this night it proved to be so, I slept dry and warm. In the morning after breaking camp we rode back to Coldfoot for breakfast and then it was back on the road to Deadhorse.

July 25th - Tok to Fairbanks

2008-07-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

We've been hearing rumors the past couple of days about traffic being turned back from Deadhorse for security reasons. This would really screw things up as neither of us wants to ride the haul road only to be turned back 20 miles short of our goal. For one thing we wouldn't be able to carry enough fuel for that, we've been counting on refueling at Deadhorse. Mac has been to the Arctic Circle post before and if we can't go to Deadhorse we'll ride at least that far. With that in mind we rode from Tok to Fairbanks today. Not much in the way of photo ops, just a nice leisurely ride in weather that has turned from morning rain showers to uncomfortably warm.

We stopped at the North Pole visitors center to see what they might stir up in the way of motels and they sent us here, another nameless old place situated under the flight path to the airport and adjacent to a dirt road leading to the local Harley Davidson dealer. Imagine if you will what that's like, planes buzzing on final approach while beer-bellies rap up and down the dirt road on their hogs. Tomorrow we're out of here no matter where it takes us.... Mac's new rear tire that he had installed in Bellingham is kaput at 2000 miles so he's changed it out. My tires are holding up so far so I'm going to leave them alone, at least for now. Both bikes seem to be running OK although I ran out of gas at 112 miles today so it may be time to wash the air cleaner again. Lots of dust and dirt on these roads so maintenance requirements are much higher.

July 24th - Top of the World Highway & Chicken, AK

2008-07-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

This morning it wasn't raining so we were at it early, took another tour of Dawson City for photos, stopped for rolls and coffee, gassed up for a mere $7.59 per gallon, then took the ferry ride over the river to the beginning of the Top of the World Highway. The ferry ride was interesting, I was placed at the very front of it and one of the biggest trucks was parked next to me, around 6" clearance. It took two of us to jockey the bike around so I could ride off. As I was heading up the ramp I noticed a fox standing next to a dirt pile watching the ferry. I was able to snap a couple of pics before he took off.

Heading up the mountain was when we really got into the fog routine, visibility nearly nothing but at least there wasn't any other traffic. The road itself was mostly wet sandy mud with the usual pot holes. After a few miles and a lot of climbing we broke out of the fog into sunshine which we enjoyed for the rest of the ride.

Chicken was not at all as I expected it to be, the buildings are mostly newer and cater to tourists like ourselves. Prices we're not that bad and we had a great lunch at one of the cafes. We both bought T-shirts at the main store where we met a couple of guys from Montana, one of whom was riding a sidecar. He was knocked over to run into 2 other hacks in Chicken so we declared it a convention. On the way out of town I stopped off at the post office to buy stamps for post cards and that done, we headed straight for TOK where we set up camp for the night. Several other riders showed up and we had fun swapping tales about the various roads we'd ridden. It started to drizzle about bedtime but it only lasted a short while and by morning everything had dried out.

July 23rd - Along the Yukon River to Dawson City

2008-07-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

What the heck is it with all this rain? We started out dry with sunshine but before the end of the day encountered another monsoon. Bummer. At least my new red rain suit proved it's merit, I stayed dry and warm so I guess that's a good deal.

Mac and I have developed a riding system that seems to work well, neither one of us waits around for the other once we've started out for the day. We more or less establish where we expect to end up and if by chance we get separated we at least know where to head at the end of the day. Sometimes we ride together but more often than not we ride at our own pace and wave to the other guy as we pass one another. Usually at a rest stop taking pics, etc.

Today was no different, we both found places for pics along the Yukon river and later on I spotted a motor home from Oregon, the very same model as ours so I turned the bike around and went back to chat with them. I couldn't believe it as I pulled up, they were sporting a license plate bracket with our own dealer's name on it, Porter's RV in Coos Bay. The owner was outside for a stretch and we talked about how small the world is sometimes. He and his wife live in a tiny berg by the name of Powers which is fairly close to where we live. In fact his wife knows where our house is as they have friends who live close by.

There is plenty of road construction going on everywhere which is normal for both Canada and the US when it comes to the northern areas. I was at one long enough to take a few pics, then went on to buy gas from the most indifferent Shell gas lady I've ever met. Actually I can't claim to have met her as she was on the phone the whole time chatting it up with her friend. Totally ignored me but managed to run my Master Card through the machine and collect the gas money. No hello, thank you, good bye, nada, just take the money and keep on yakking. Damnit I hate being ignored by sales people but that seems to be fairly common in these parts. Probably due to the "captive audience" approach to marketing, take it or leave it. After that I drifted over to the adjoining restaurant where I was treated like royalty by the operators. Go figure. Mac arrived just as I was finishing up breakfast so I waited and we headed up the Yukon together.

We continued on our ride to Dawson City where we holed up in another motel, this one much nicer and operated by people who seem to care about you. It's clean and warm and dry, etc. and outside it's on or off again raining. Before landing here we took the tour of down town Dawson via the quaint dirt streets, then decided it would be best to get out of the core area as some of the folks wandering around looked more than a little scruffy. Neither of us took any pics of the old buildings as it was raining so maybe tomorrow we'll do a couple on our way out of town.

Tomorrow it's on to the Top of the World Highway and Chicken, one of my personal goals.

July 22nd - Up the Yuk-freakin-kon...

2008-07-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

As Mac himself most recently declared it, it's the Yu-Freakin-Kon... We began the day at 05:30am by breaking camp and heading for Mukluk Annie's (aka Anny Frank's Pooty Hall according to Mac) While there we met a couple from Olympia, WA who thought our hacks were particularly cool which tends to make one wonder about people from Olympia.

As this was just another day in living on the road it only seemed natural that the heating controller for Mac's electric jacket went kaput. Being of sound mind he pretended that it meant nothing to him and said he could control the heat by plugging and unplugging it as needed. I witnessed this while riding behind him and nearly drove off the road laughing. Hopefully he'll find an easier solution soon.

Arriving at White Horse we checked into the tourist information office and garnered some info on where to exchange Yankee dollars into Canadian. Turned out to be enlightening as they charged $2.50 for the privilege and discounted our bucks by 5%. Helluvadeal, eh? Eh? Eh? Ha ha .... Those Canadians, ha ha...

After that it was on to Linda's favorite store Wal-Mart where we scored bungee cords and shoe-goo for Mac and a bright red 2-piece rain suit for myself. Seems my zillion dollar Rev'It costume isn't really waterproof so it was time for a new act. I gave it a ten-mile test ride and then stopped long enough to cut the hood off. Not too neat but functional as the bunched up hood was pressing my gourd forward and giving me a neck ache.

Further down the road we stopped at one of the local points of interest - a log cabin thingy way station where we took pics, then proceeded onward to the township of Carmacks (where as a point of general interest Mac claims his uncle was a car dealer) and we decided to spend the night. If memory serves me right this may have been the place where Chuck Connors starred in the film Motel Hell...

At this point I must apologize to our regular readers ( if such exist ) as we truly need to go to dinner, or have a lie-down, etc., plus we're laughing way too hard to continue.

9:00pm - Just came back from dinner at the "hotel" dining room... to quote Mac, "Worst dinner, worst price, worst service...did I forget something?" At least the pizza I had was good and I think his dinner was too but the humongous person who "waited" on us had the worst attitude we've encountered thus far. Being a particularly petty person I thanked her (him? just spotted the chest hairs) graciously and paid the bill without tipping. My revenge is tomorrow he/she will still be stuck waiting tables in this burg-from-hell and we'll be down the road having a good time. Mac was unable to exert this particular form of vengeance as he doesn't tip anyway.

More tamale...or whenever we encounter another wifi...

PS - Thanks for the picture of me Mac...

July 21st - Up the slimy muddy Cassiar highway...

2008-07-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

Raining again this morning, seems like we're getting our share of it but it also seems we're getting used to it. For openers one of us (the ding-dong...me) locked us out of our room so we had to wait until 7:30am to get back in and finish loading our stuff. Fortunately the gal from Florida (she and her husband have been following us) let us back into the lobby so we could drink coffee while we waited for the manager to open up. It would have been great if the restaurant had been open but evidently Monday isn't a high priority so the curse of darkness was upon them.

Finished packing we set off in the rain heading up the Cassiar's longest remaining portion of mud & gravel. Our goal was to reach Teslin Lake campground which we did. Via the usual road construction stops, one at which we ran into the Florida couple again, etc. (They promised to email pics..Where are they?) On the way we also stopped to photo a big honkin mama moose, then had brunch at Sally's. Mac is still salivating over that one and I can't say as I blame him, they serve hot fresh baked bread that's to die for.

Without much else going on Mac decided to entertain us with a cracked windsceen. (I noticed it so I loaned him my Leatherman special edition tool to fix it with) Anyhow, he drilled a couple of holes in it which as we all know will prevent the cracks from getting worse and off we went, once more on the yellow brick road to OZ. (Teslin)

BTW, Mac informed me that Joe O'Connor totally whimped out when he faced the challenge of the Teslin potato grater bridge a few years back. Just thought I'd throw that in as Joe is following this blog. :)

We arrived at the campground around 5:00pm after a 300 mile ride, more than enough for two old geezer riders. The sun was shining, there was free firewood, and just enough wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay. We set up camp and Mac demonstrated his cooking finesse by whipping up a gourmet meal of Top Ramen noodles. I settled for canned salmon on crackers with cheese-food and a reasonable number of GT's. We stayed up very late, around 11:00pm talking, mostly about how odd it was that it was still daylight at that time. I think Mac is easily entertained...

July 20th - Rain rain all the way from Hyder, AK to Dease Lake, BC!

2008-07-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Freakin rain all day, got soaked, got cold, saw 2 bears, 1 glacier, Mac's turn signal busted plus he lost one of his summer gloves. Arrived at Northway Motor Inn at Dease Lake around 5:00pm, took time to unload & eat dinner at the local highway robber restaurant, then back to the room to dry out the "waterproof" riding outfits. Not a bad ride but sure was cold most of the time. Did you know Mac doesn't believe in tipping? What a frugal guy he is. ( Notice I didn't say cheap?) Anyway we went to Hyder Alaska first thing in the morning, took way too many pics, then onto the road north, bump, bump, bumpety bump... Stopped for lunch at Bell 2 where we discovered the busted turn signal. A guy hauling a trailer came up and asked Mac if that was a real Ural? Like someone would make a fake one? Jesus, what planet does he live on anyway? At least he gave Mac his duc tape to fix the damn thing with. Maybe it's not real duc tape, maybe it's a copy? FYI, the Cassiar Highway is mostly paved now so all the folks from Woss can take a run up here. We met most of the paving crew at the Northway and I mentioned that all of California would soon be arriving... That's it, it's pouring outside, time for a toddy. Over and out. Oops, almost forgot...life is good.

July 19th - Onward into the Fog...Stewart, BC

2008-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

What a crappy day this turned out to be. Woke up to the patter of rain on the tent so I knew it was not going to be fun. We packed up and hit the road, stopped for breakfast at a Chinese place, then rode on. Before long we emerged from the rain and things got better; at one of the rest stops we ran into the couple from Florida who've been photographing us out on the road. They're driving the same route as us for the next day or so and said they'd email pics.

Things were going smooth enough until just before the turn off at Meziadin to Stewart when the Aprilia began acting up. This time it was a sudden shudder followed by immediate recovery. It felt like I'd hit something or the engine had stopped and then started again. This happened several times in the next few miles and when we stopped for a photo op I mentioned it to Mac as a heads-up. Just after Bear Glacier I'd pulled over for a photo and waved Mac to go ahead and I'd catch up. Wrong. Wrongo wrongo.... I started after him, rode for 100 yards and the fire went out, this time it was electrical. Finding a wide spot on the shoulder I pulled over and began the tedious process of removing all the gear. Buried down under the saddle was the main fuse block and sure enough, the 20 amp main fuse was gone. I had 2 spares and elected to sacrifice one just in case the original had simply worn out - they can be like light bulbs in that regard. After repacking the rig I set off again and this time made it for 200 yards when it went south. Back to square one, I replaced it and this time decided on a strategy to limp on the Stewart. I'd run the bike up to 25-30 mph and then shut it off and coast for 30 seconds. This seemed to be working and there were lots of hills to coast down. I made it for a few miles before fuse #3 blew. Pulling off again I installed a spare 15-amp which I hoped might get me the rest of the way. Then the Calvary arrived, Mac had already ridden to Hyder and then noticing I was MIA decided to retrace our route. He arrived just as I was ready for attempt # 3 so I explained how much fun I was having and he was going to ride behind while I limped on to Stewart. This lasted about 1/4 mile. Luckily I'd brought a tow strap along so we hauled the beast into the service station in Stewart to see if they could help. Before doing so we'd discussed what the most likely response would be when we mentioned an Italian bike with a Russian sidecar.... In this we were dead accurate, in fact we probably could have lip-synced the guy's comments. Anyway, he had fuses for sale and I bought 2 packs, then went at it to see what could be found. I got lucky and located a broken fuse holder that had allowed one of the fuses with it's metal feet to flop around touching various electrical posts on a random basis. This was an easy fix and once done the bike fired right up and after a fairly aggressive test ride through some muddy potholes it seems to be OK. Fingers crossed....

We checked into the King Edward Hotel where all the bikers stay and holed up for the night. Not right away; there was the mandatory trip to the liquor store and then dinner but you get the picture. Our collective moods were on an upswing and things are looking better. We met several guys on adventure type bikes just returning from the same ride we're going on so we got the latest info on roads, etc. Sounds like fun. Tomorrow we're going to ride back to Hyder for pics - Mac's camera battery went flat when he was there today - and after that it's back on the road. This is fun.

July 18th - Moricetown Tribal Reservation

2008-07-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

Up and at'em early today, we were just leaving when I spotted Mac's Milepost laying on the hood of a pickup outside our room. The night before we'd been talking to some people and one of us left it outside when it was bedtime. (surely not Mac?) Interesting thing about the Milepost when it's outside overnight and it rains... I could be wrong but I suspect the publishers engage in another industry, possibly involving those peat pots sold at garden shops everywhere. Anyway it had increased in volume by about 1000% and for next day or so spent most of it's time in front of campfires drying out. This morning it rained like the dickens continuing off and on for most of the day but we were dressed for it so on we went.

Our route took us north to Vanderhoof where we stopped for breakfast. Several people stopped by our table to ask about the bikes and our trip. This seems to happen fairly regularly wherever we stop, sidecars are always of interest to everyone.

Afterwards we rode through Burns Lake andSmithers, stopping for the night at the Moricetown's Tribal Campground. When we arrived there was a sign on the office door that said pick out a spot and someone will be around later to collect the fee. Sound familiar? We settled on a spot that included water and electric hookup, neither of which we used. A couple of hours after we'd set up camp a lady tribal member showed up with her student trainee and informed us we were in a spot for RV's, not tents. I explained why we were there and offered to move or pay the full price or leave, whichever she felt best about. This seemed to puzzle her as no one was arguing so after several minutes of rattling on about our being in an RV spot for the 100th time she elected to let us stay but we had to pay the difference. Duh? And the difference? $1.75. I forked it over and that was the end of it. We met two groups of campers next to us, a couple from Olympia, WA, and a local family from Houston, BC just down the road. The guy from Houston gave us several samples of his smoked salmon and I gave him a bag of dried apples from our Bandon trees, a somewhat lop-sided trade but it was all I had.

Mac made a great fire which we sat around consuming more alcohol than we had business and divulging all our family secrets so now we know all there is to know about everyone. Dang...

July 17th - The road to Prince George

2008-07-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today started out nice and sunny, too warm to wear a jacket so I stuck with my gnarly least offensive T-shirt figuring it would stay hot. Wrong. Ten miles down the road it was time to pull over and gear up. It also seemed like a good time for us to devise a plan to use in case we got separated again. Proved to be worthwhile as that's just what happened later in the day.

In the mean time we enjoyed fair weather riding at our own paces, stopping for pics or just to gawk at the nature stuff. At one point I passed Mac heading north as I rode south to take a shot of a log cabin I'd passed earlier. We waved and I caught up with him a couple of miles down the road taking his own pics. This pretty much describes the rest of our day, not much exciting happened except for two minor events. The first occurred when a black bear started across the road in front of Mac and he had to stand his bike on it's nose to avoid hitting him. Fortunately the bear changed his mind and reversed course back into the woods leaving Mac with a temporarily enlarged heart but none for the worse. Later in the day after we'd hooked up again we were traveling north at a fair clip when two identical monster semi trucks appeared in front of us, one of them in my lane and coming like a bat out of hell. I figured this was not going well and made a rapid stage right onto the shoulder accompanied with maximum 3-wheel brakes. The errant truck-driver-boy-racer dodged his rig back into the lane he was supposed to be in and blasted pass at a speed too high to appreciate the one-digit wave extended to him. Life on the road...

In between the bear and truck episodes the weather turned super nasty and we experienced extreme rain, enough to soak my gear through. Luckily it only lasted for a few miles and then it was on and off at intervals diminishing as we rode further north. Arriving at Prince George around 5:00pm we stopped at the visitor's information center where they located a motel for us. It turned out to be a neat deal as we met four other people traveling like ourselves; two guys just finishing up their bike trip to the haul road and the Top of the World highway. The other two were a recently retired couple driving from Virginia and meandering seeing the sights. Everyone had something to tell and between us we managed to waste enough time that the restaurant we were going to have dinner at closed and we ended up at the DQ across the street. Yummy.

Not many pictures today, just a couple of the restaurant where we ate a late breakfast, the cabin shot and Mac screaming out of a short right-hand twist tunnel. Wot fun.

July 16th - On the road at last - Highway 99 to Lillooet

2008-07-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Off we went bright & early this morning, stopped at Ihop again and this time we all ate sensibly, even Mac. Joe left us at the exit leading to the Ural shop as they were going to install a new front tire on his BMW.

The border crossing went easy, just had to confess to possession of Counter Assault pepper spray and no, we're not carrying weapons or tobacco. What is it with these Canadians and tobacco anyway? I guess we looked harmless enough so they passed us through, Mac first and then me. I didn't watch to see which way he went and when it was my turn I erred slightly and ended up wandering around aimlessly in the parking lot from hell. I expect the border guards found this amusing but I finally found my way out via the construction corridor where I found Mac patiently waiting.

We'd decided earlier that Mac should lead as I'm still getting used to riding with someone and he seemed to know where he was going. For awhile that is, then he pulled over and asked if I had any idea where we were. That was just the beginning. We eventually became so totally lost wandering around in the megatropolis of Surrey that we had to gas up again. It was around that point we decided I should lead as my GPS provides more details. Not particularly more accurate, just more. On the third lap around the same industrial neighborhood we stopped to look at a real map. This attracted the attention of a Hindu gentleman sporting a cell phone in his ear which he held there continuously. Not once did he speak into it, just held it there. He and his assistant were very insistent that we accept their help in finding our way out and in between rapid-fire questions about Mac's new Ural they pointed us in the general direction we should go. We left with many thanks and rode for nearly a mile before becoming lost again. I asked Mac what his take was on the Hindu guy and the cell phone and his answer was clear and simple: "He probably doesn't want to miss any calls..."

Eventually we made it out of the maze and onto Highway 1 leading to Horseshoe Bay where we'd planned to be all the time. There was soon a minor mishap though, traffic was snarled and ugly and in the process of it all we got separated. After 20 miles or so of not seeing Mac I pulled off the road and waited for him to catch up. I have a slightly lower than average tolerance for waiting and after 10 agonizing minutes I figured he was not coming or had found an alternate route north, or maybe had headed back to Iowa. Moving on towards Horseshoe Bay I came upon one of those ominous signs that advise you to gas up as there are no more stations for the next umpty-ump kilometers. Not wanting to dig my spare can out standing next to the freeway I opted for the last-chance gas stop and paid the brutal highway robber rate. Once finished I rejoined the herd on 99 and bumped along through more of the on-going construction zone heading north. By this time I fully expected to never hear from Mac again as it had been well over an hour since I'd last saw him. To make matters worse he wasn't carrying a cell phone (frugal man, eh?) and there was no set plan for a place to meet if by chance we became separated. Smooth thinking guys. Imagine my surprise when I rounded a curve in the construction zone and there he was, parked on the shoulder patiently waiting for me. Dang, what luck.

We yakked it up for a few minutes, then got back on the road heading north past Whistler, up through the mountains stopping on occasion for photo ops and finally arriving at Lillooet. It had been hot as hell all the way and the further north we rode the hotter it got, which was our deciding factor for checking into the Gold Panner Hotel. I'd stayed there two years back and liked it a lot, the owner Jay and his wife operate a first class hotel plus it has air conditioning, free WIFI, and a nice continental breakfast. Jay lets bikers park right in front of the entrance which makes for a more secure feeling although Lillooet itself feels very safe so it probably doesn't matter where you park. To make things even better there's a great Greek restaurant and a liquor store within a couple of blocks. Always nice to have your priorities satisfied, eh? If you ever have occasion to visit Lillooet I'd highly recommend the Gold Panner.

We'll do better at keeping track of each other tomorrow.

July 15th - A day of reckoning...no lie...true...true

2008-07-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Every dog has his day and today was a 3-dog day. Well maybe 2-dogs? I got up at 05:00am and the other two twinks got up long afterwards. Wotta couple of lazy people, absolutely zero class. As I write this Mac is trying to peek over the back of the laptop to see what I'm doing. I told him I'm writing all sorts of unkind things about him as he's been making fun of my feet. I'll hold off for a bit until I have something really good on him.

Aanyway, after a fast cup of camp coffee off we went at a ridiculous hour to meet up with the Ural dealer who would do the 5000 k service on Mac's Russian beast. Three weeks seems like a reasonable time for that amount of mileage, eh? On the way to the shop we stopped at the local IHop for our morning fat fix wherein Mac ordered a number big enough to feed three people. Shy he is not. Not even. Joe and I sort of ambled out the door...

We arrived at the Ural place 30 minutes early so we had time to off load all the stuff on my bike as I was hoping they might be able to figure out what was causing the fuel problems. Mark Watson, one of the two owners showed up right on time and let us in, making a pot of fresh coffee for us. Nothing like being made to feel welcome!

Mac's bike was first priority so while they started on it we pulled the air filter of the Aprilia and discovered it was as clogged as could be, probably from the super dusty trip up the haul road to Winter Harbour. We called around and located a shop in town by the name of Cycle Therapy who might be able to help out. The owner Tim just happened to own an Aprilia Caponard, the big brother to my Pegaso and was willing to work in a fast repair of the bad filter. True to his word, we followed the GPS over to his place and he replaced the clogged filter works with a foam/oil media that could be washed out as needed. He also provided a spare spark plug just in case and we were on our way back to the Ural shop.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching Mark perform at his best as he completed the 5000k service. Mac and Joe had wrestled with a faulty spare time/rim issue on the way to Bellingham which turned out to be an out-of-round unit. The issue was resolved with the gratis replacement of a new unit and Mac added two new tires to the mix.

Mark Watson and Stephen McBee are two of the nicest most accomodating guys you could want to know and we're totally grateful for the quality service they gave us today. Our thanks go out to them and Tim at Cycle Therapy for their help and support on our Alaska ride. We're now ready for the real start of the journey, both bikes are fully serviced and should be reliable as can be. Joe's not going with us to AK but may ride along with us for awhile, then he'll head back to Omac, WA and other places of interest for the next several days, then back to Iowa.

Our day ended back at the KOA camp where we consumed huge quantities of memory-making nourishments (aka booze) and Joe performed his KOA dance routine complete with yellow plastic bag-on-the-head. Other campers tended to avoid this particular production. Tomorrow we leave early and know not when we'll be back on line, soon we hope.

July 14th - We're all here at the KOA camp in beautiful Bumsteer, WA!

2008-07-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

There's a definite advantage to arriving at the campground first, you get to choose the site most likely to satisfy so that's what I did. On the way, just for grins I let my GPS attempt to find the place and as we sailed by the correct off-ramp I figured someone in Garmin-land must have been out to lunch when that particular mapping data was loaded. I had several hours to kill before Mac & Joe arrived so I let it do it's wandering routine for 30 miles at which point it decided to do a u-turn and go back to square one. Knowing there was a faster way I rode back via the correct route and arrived at the KOA all the while listening to the GPS lady yell her head off. I sort of like her in a mysterious way, she reminds me of someone, most likely one of those ladies I've purchased houses for in my past life. Anyway I picked out a site big enough to hold our bikes and gear and not long after that the guys arrived. The tents are set up and laundry is being done after which we'll head out to the local barbecue joint for some manly food and maybe another beer or two.

There were plenty of stories to swap about our misadventures up till now, Mac's rear tire went south with only two thousand miles on it and the spare rim combo won't quite fit on the back of the bike. Not a good deal but at least they were able to pull the new tire off the spare rim and mount it on the regular one, thereby getting back on the road. Tomorrow he'll see if the Ural dealer can do anything about making it fit properly. My Aprilia's fuel dilemma continues, the engine stops dead at the most inopportune moments with little warning. Fortunately it starts right up again so I haven't a clue what's causing it. What the heck, maybe it's not fuel related at all? I still think it is as this morning I filled up and the last 80 miles required 3.5 gallons of precious fossil fuel. The Ural dealer says he'll take a look at it tomorrow and maybe figure something out. Weird Italian bike dragging a Russian sidecar... good luck.

July 13th - Nuts 'N Bolts

2008-07-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

No peekshurs today mon, jus messin aroun wi' da hack... today was one of those maintenance days, had to do a few repairs on the rig, replaced some missing nuts and bolts due to the ride up the Winter Harbour haul road. The guys in the local auto parts store fixed me up with what I needed plus I bought some rubbing compound and wax. Both the hack and bike looked terrible so I power washed them and of course after that they needed more TLC. All in all they're not so bad although they'll never look like new again. The haul road in AK will probably do them both in but that's what they're all about eh? No trailer queens in my world, just working rigs.

News Flash: 7:15pm Sunday: Mac just called, he and Joe are about 250 miles out and will be at the KOA around 2:30pm tomorrow. Presuming the Italian beast behaves we'll meet up there, and maybe if I arrive early I'll get the best tent site? Film at eleven...

July 12th - Ferry to Vancouver - Yikes, the freakin bike is croaking!

2008-07-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Today I figured it would be smart to head to the KOA campground where I'll be meeting Mac. I wanted to get there early and spend some time cleaning up the bike, maybe send some email as all KOA's have WIFI now, eh?

The ferry ride over was nice, lots of sunshine and time for a doze in the lounge. Unfortunately the Aprilia has decided it's unhappy about this entire traveling thing and dies whenever it chooses. Usually in front of large trucks or in the middle of off-ramps sans shoulders to park on. It has something to do with the fuel feed, maybe crap in the tank (who knows how bad some of the gas has been) or maybe the filter is plugged. Doesn't matter, it has to be fixed or the trip is kaput. I called the Ural dealer where Mac's going to have his bike serviced and he's willing to have a look at it at the same time. Got my fingers crossed on that one.

This afternoon I stopped at the Burlington KOA thinking I'd stay there till Mac arrives but holy cow what a dump the last tent site is! At $39 per day plus tax, no water, no table, just trash and weeds, I don't think so. Off to Days Inn I went, only $79 per day including all the amenities. No contest. I wonder what Mac will think when he arrives? Footnote: There is a God, ran out of gin a day or two back and discovered Yukon Jack is very tasty with Tonic water.

July 11th - Back down the Haul road, Telegraph Cove & WFP logging

2008-07-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Heading south today, fixed the digital display bracket with electrical tape and hope it holds for awhile.

Met some people in Port Hardy, two weird guys hanging around the bike and one nice gal who rides a Honda Shadow. She suggested stopping at Telegraph Cove to see the local sites so I did. Big WFP log operation and some touristy stuff for boaters. I ended the day at Elk Falls above Campbell River again, nice provincial park for $15 per night. Wish they had showers though...pheww

July 10th - Port Hardy & the Holberg Haul Road to Winter Harbour - Bears & The Jesus Soul Tree

2008-07-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Port Hardy's a little like Bandon, touristy stuff, fishing charters, etc., nice place to visit for awhile but time to move on. I'd decided to check out Winter Harbour, population 22 way out on the western tip of the island. You can either fly in or take the unpaved "road" that leads to Holberg and from there it's the haul road to Winter Harbour.

Setting out early the first genuine point of interest was the "Jesus Soul Tree" located a few miles west of Port Hardy. It's been there for years and people keep piling old shoes & boots on it, some brave souls have climbed to the top to nail logging boots onto it. Damnedest thing I've seen on this trip so far.

I saw several black bears on the way to Holberg, a couple of them even posed for pics. There was also an interesting public safety sign involving a very large tree and a smashed car. You get the picture. In Holberg I gassed up at the local gas lady's place - sign says closed but just knock and she'll come out. After that I had lunch at the Ibis Pub where I met a number of locals who advised me on the haul road and which route was best to take. A lady at the timber company office gave me a map and more advice about the best road to take, not the one the guys in the pub recommended. I decided to go with the guys and take my chances with the logging rigs.

The timber company maintains the haul road and though they allow public use of it they advise against it as the logging rigs are huge and take up the entire road. They weren't lying... The first one I met up with was the biggest rig I'd seen up close and personal. I moved the bike over till the hack was riding in the bushes and he just barely squeezed by. When I looked straight up I could see his top logs over my head, about 12 ft up. Very cozy. The drivers and tenders were all friendly though and gave me lots of thumbs ups for the rig.

The haul road raised hell with the bike & sidecar, I lost several nuts & bolts and the mounting bracket I'd made for the digital meter display went south. Electric tape provided a temporary fix for that, the hardware will have to wait till I can find the local True Value.

Arriving in Winter Harbour I located the one and only municipal park, right on the water and complete with free firewood and no admission. I was the only one there so I had my pick of the sites, mosquitoes and crows no extra charge. There were several sea otters eating shell fish just off shore and several Bald Eagles flying around. I heard the fishing was good and several float planes came and went while I was there. No other bikers, probably for a good reason. The haul road...

Day 9 - July 9th Discovering Woss, The Wonders of Nimpkish Bridge, and Sleeping Indoors!

2008-07-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Ah the thrill of travel on 3 wheels, sunlight on your face, freezing freaking wind cutting through every pore in your body, what more could one ask for? Boy oh boy am I ever grateful for those wondrous inventions, heated electrical clothing. Without them I'd have been one cold dog today and probably wouldn't have had the great ride that I did.

Still heading north, I wanted to make it to Port Hardy today. The signs said it was 220 and I figured if I rode in a sprightly manner I'd make it. I'd only been riding a few miles when the first view point popped up, the biggest sawmill I'd ever seen, with an ominous name, Western Division of Catalyst... Oohhh... scary, eh? Eh? Shortly beyond that another item, The Ripple Rock Mystery. It remains a mystery to me as after taking the photo I moved on without reading the info. Hmm.. As it turned out I had plenty of time for stops to gawk at every little item of interest, including a self-guided complete tour of Woss, the township I'd most like to spend more time in. One store (I think) including the gas pump with two nozzles of which one is duc-taped shut. Indian artifacts. Games of chance. Soda pop. Driving through town brought lots of friendly waves and nods from locals, including old folks and little kids. I expect it's one of those places where you either work for the local mill or you're retired, not much else is offered. From what I could tell everyone, and I mean everyone heats their houses with wood. With few exceptions all of the older houses were most likely provided by the mill, years ago before the invention of manufactured homes. Newer homes appeared to be of that later type and most all were neat and tidy. I think I like the people of Woss.

Heading north again I paused at the Nimpkish bridge where I investigated the dense fauna. There not being an available loo as they call it up here I reverted to stepping behind the tree. Only then did I notice the well worn path that created a very low tunnel through the general area of my repose. Just about bear size I'd say. I found this interesting as only a few miles prior I'd seen a sign warning of the fines that would be imposed on anyone guilty of feeding bears. Exactly who I wonder, would feed a bear? Other than your friendly local zoo keeper. Not me, that's for darn sure so I did a stage left post haste and hauled out of the woods. I attempted to take a photo of said tunnel but poor lighting and unsteady camera holding was enough to over-ride even Canon's image stabilization feature. So be it.

Arriving in Port Hardy under cloudy ominous skies with more than a hint of impending precipitation and accompanying cold front I decided it was time for a bit of self-indulgence. Namely the Quarter Deck Inn & Marina, complete with indoor plumbing and hot shower. The hack is tucked up nicely right next to the front entrance where staff can keep an eye on it while other guests believe its part of the quaint decor. How fun. Also on the list of pampering I treated myself to a non Top Ramen dinner at the Quarter Deck Lounge. Ugh. It's back to Top Ramen for me, I could buy 400 packs of TR for the cost of that yucky dinner.

But the staff is nice, very friendly and most accommodating and the room is a real room with a real bed you don't have to assemble and a potty where you don't have to take Deet along. All told a nice way to end the day.

Day 8 - July 8 Elk Falls Campground & the Fuel Reserve Test

2008-07-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

Beautiful sunny day today, headed north towards Campbell River and whatever camp ground I could snag. On the way I'd stopped to photo more of the Strait of Georgia when a nice lady volunteered to take my pic. Nice gal. But she must have adjusted the image size setting on the camera as the rest of the day's pics turned out smallish. Thenkuvermuch...

Courtenay sounded interesting and since I needed to buy a few basic food necessities, ie, MORE TONIC WATER, I headed into that town to see what I could find. Right smack dab in the middle of town was a small mom and pop grocery store complete with parking lot and all so I homed in on it, knowing for certain they'd have exactly what I wanted. Turns out the outside phone booth located at the corner of their store just happens to be appointment headquarters for the local lady of the early afternoon. She was busy-busy making arrangements on the telly when I walked past her, then she sprinted over to a drive-through van, then back to the telly for more calls. Maybe her rates didn't suit the guy in the van? Anyway when I came out she was just hanging up and as I passed she gave me her warmest warm "Hi" lick-lick and I gave her my most many man's grunt/grimace and continued on to the hack. Linda's face looming ever so large everywhere I looked. Not smiling eiher. She strode (wiggled? slithered?) past me and I snapped a hurried pic of her departing posterior, clad in what I'd at first taken to be the shortest hot pants I'd seen in years. Wrong old timer, it was a skirt. Almost. Woo Hoo...

I think it was after that I saw the Old Barn Market and stopped for milk & eggs & bananas, all real manly food items designed to enhance your vigor. Or maybe that's what potasium is for? Anyhoo, I've been amazed at how well milk keeps without refrigeration. Eggs too for that matter. And Spam, well I sort of expected Spam to have a half-life measuring in weeks if not months when exposed to the elements.

Moving right along, once beyond Courtenay and way out in the sticks the fuel reserve light came on. Feeling brave I figured I could make it to the next town on reserve so I lead-footed it on per normal. Funny thing about the Aprilia, when you fill the tank if you don't turn the fuel petcock to the reserve position it doesn't fill the reserve, just the main tank. Which is exactly what I'd done on the previous filling. So be it, out of benzino I was, about 30 miles short of anticipated reserve time. No biggy I thought, I had plenty of fuel on board in the form of two 2.5 gal plastic cans plus a one-litre bottle left over from my last trip, unopened no less. What the heck, I'll use the small bottle as there's a town not far up the road so I did. And true to form it took me just about to it. Just about. Minus about a block or so, and around the corner so the petrol place was not yet in sight. Unpack the trunk again, out comes the can, in goes the gas, repack the trunk, fire it all back up, ride around the corner and there it is, Canada's finest Shell station just waiting. Wot fun, and hot as hell all the time.

After all the entertainment and reserve gas drill exercise I paddled around the city of Campbell River aka Sailboat City taking in the local sights before pulling over to check out the map to see where I was. I guess I must look harmless enough as 3 nice ladies approached to see if they could help. Not the early afternoon working type, these were genuine nice ladies. I resisted the urge to ask if they'd push me to the nearest gas station but it did seem like it might have been fun. Anyway they sent me off in the general direction of Elk Falls and I only had to stop 2 more times for more help. The first was a guy loading groceries in his car who waved his arm randomly and said it's that way, indicating somewhere between north and west in varying degrees. OK, I can do that I thought and I did for another 1/2 mile, then rolled into a small parking lot and asked another guy who as it turned out knew exactly where it was. Unfortunately I don't understand Russian or Polish or whatever the heck he was speaking so I thanked him and continued in the general north or west direction as before. Finally I stopped and tried the GPS, which earlier hadn't a clue but now by some miracle had recovered it's mapping memory so off I went. 15 miles west and sort of northerly I arrived.

Check-in procedure was similar to the last time, a sign at the entrance said pick a spot and someone will be by to collect the money. OK. I did that, choosing a nice site with a sign at the front that said "first come, first served". Finders keepers, eh? Now given my prior experience I questioned the wisdom of setting up shop before getting the official camp guard's blessing but I did it anyway. Right on cue just as I finished setting up the cot and sleeping bag Mr Entertainment 3 sites over goes ballistic with his boom box featuring the latest rave noise or ho rap or whatever the hell they call it now. All sorts of interesting thoughts crossed my mind about how to deal with him when along comes the camp guard, another nice young kid making the world of camping a more enjoyable experience by collecting the fees. I mentioned to him I was thinking about testing my virgin can of Counter Assault spray on Mr Entertainment as I'd neglected to bring my 9mm. Oddly enough, at exactly that moment someone beat me to it as the noise stopped dead and not another sound was heard for the rest of the night. Meanwhile the camp guard kid was becoming very interested in my Counter Assault which I assured him was as harmless as toothpaste and for him not to worry, I was just being a fussy old geezer who'd missed his nap. He understood, I expect I reminded him of his grandfather and he moved along without further comment. Nice kid. Time for a lie down.

Day 7 - July 7th - Vancouver Island Goldstream Provincial Park

2008-07-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my last report I started the day at 04:30am so I made it onto the road very early today. Stopped to see Point Whitney Tidelands park, then onto Discovery Bay for another historic moment. Saw a beautiful bald eagle hovering over the highway coming into Port Angeles, not something I've seen often.

There was a long wait for the next ferry to Victoria so I went to brunch with a couple from southern CA, she's a school principal and he's a college professor. I didn't ask their names or where they worked...duh... Oh well. Met a couple of other neat people, all Harley riders maxed to the bone. I asked them what all the noise was about and never got a response beyond a sheepish grin or shrugged shoulders. Probing farther than I probably should have I suggested it might have something to do with "look at me?" but again, nada so I let it drop.

Going through customs was a glide on the ice compared to last time, no search required, no smart-ass beady eyed power mad jerk-off on duty, just a polite young kid doing his thing. Probably his first day on the job. He checked out my Counter Assault bear spray, asked how much it cost, gave it his approval and sent me on my way. Dang. Must be losing my touch.

There were massive traffic jams through Victoria so I didn't stop for any pics, figured I'd never get back in line if I did. The temp was hot as hell and the bike's cooling fan ran non-stop. I'd forgotten to remove the thermal liner from my riding pants so I did the hot-seat boogaloo all the way through town. Once out on the open highway things cooled down and I made straight for Goldstream Provincial Park. I'd stayed there once before in 1972 on my old green Yamaha XS-1, the very same beastie parked in the garage at home.

No one was on duty at the main gate, just a small sign that said pick a spot and some one will be by later to collect the fee so I did. Just as I finished setting up a young park ranger pulled up and informed me I was camped a few feet off where I was supposed to be and I had to move my tent. Bummer. At least it's easy to do as once set up it's a free-standing tent so all I needed to do was pull the pegs and carry it to the approved spot 8 feet away. Onto the gravel bed with all the pointy little rocks. That's why I have the big honkin orange hammer, eh? Bed time was early due to the longish day, nothing going on that I couldn't pass up so I packed it in. Oblivious to the ten thousand screaming little kiddies running amuck. Zzzzz....zzzzzzzz.....

Day 6 - July 6th - Portland to Dosewallips State Park - WA

2008-07-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Every morning it seems I've had to say a sad goodby to someone, this time it was to Turbo and Camilla, both whom lay whining while I loaded up the hack. What a couple of cry babies they are. Had to stop at Fred Meyers on the way out of town to replace the mysterious missing deoderant and hair goo, then hopped on I-84 - I-5 north and cranked up to warp one. The bike ran great and I didn't bother to stop until the exit for Olympia, gassed up and headed west to Shelton. On the way I spotted a couple of bovine art pieces across the way from Mud Bay so I snapped a couple of pics. Then it was on to Shelton, took a few minutes to tour down town, not much required, tidy little place, lots of flowers & stuff for the curio challenged. Along Hoods Canal I noticed tons of left over 4th of July fireworks crap deposited there by thoughtful folks celebrating. Yipeee... Eventually I located Dosewallips State Park where Linda and I spent the first night in our Rialta way back when so I dialed in a spot for the night. The nearest neighbors were a couple from Olympia, Greg and Ginny, both nice people who shared their fresh clams and local wine. We spent lots of time telling sea stories which seemed to improve as the evening progressed. Greg said he was getting up at 4:30am to set out his crab pots so I set my mental alarm clock and hopped out of the tent spot on. No Greg anywhere. After breakfast - spam, greasy fried eggs, potatoes, & coffee still no Greg. Finally when I was packed up and heading out he emerged, sleepy looking and somewhat sheepish but game for another day. Bye Greg, bye Ginny.

Day 5 - July 5th Oregon City lazing about

2008-07-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to do absolutely nada. Well maybe for awhile at least. As it turned out I decided to do a small load of laundry after a manly breakfast of fried eggs - 3, totally FRIED, and the rest of my first can of Spam. Fresh brewed coffee too, and today I got it right, it was actually palatable. Mmm... Not quite enough holding power though so I finished off last night's leftover pizza topped off with a handful of salt licorice from Bandon. Now I have heartburn.

I decided to let Turbo and Camilla, the resident yellow and black labs out for some play time, then took a few pics of Mac & Randi's digs. What a piece of paradise this is, they're two people who've worked hard and are now enjoying the fruits of their labor. Or maybe they won the lotto and just never mentioned it to me?

Mac has an ongoing love affair raising Koi and his Koi pond would make most swimming pool owners green with jealousy. Some of his stock are very old fish, at least as fish years go. Don't ask, Marilyn told me but I filed it away in the remotest region of my brain cells where it is preserved for eternity. Or I'll wake up at 2:00am wondering what sort of dream made me think of Koi's ages?

Randi's interests take in llamas and Alpacas plus sheep. I have to admit they make interesting pets but I tend to favor Turbo and Camilla. Maybe it's because they don't snort at me. Better breath too.

Sometime today I may ride into town to replace the hair gel and deodorant I seem to have lost. How is that possible? Anyway it's not as expensive as the Bolle's and I don't have to visit the local factory outlet mall.

Day 4 - July 4th - Independance Day! Oregon City, OR

2008-07-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

I said sad goodbyes to Tom & Robin this morning and headed north on 101 to the turnoff onto 26 east. Weather was a bit on the damp side, occasional showers but no big deal. The run from the coast inland to Portland takes you through some of the prettiest forests you can imagine, the stuff that tourists remember most.

Along the way I came upon the burned out remains of Oney's, once one of the more popular tourist stops between Portland and the coast. Sadly it appears someone decided to torch the place and so ended fond memories for thousands of travelers. There's a reward poster on the fence so maybe someone will end up paying for their misdeeds.

Arriving in Portland I stopped for lunch at my favorite place, Burger King and topped off my cholesterol tank for the morning. Figuring it would be prudent to find a place to pitch the tent early I called my former racquetball partner and long-time friend Marilyn for help. Our mutual friends Randi & Mac were up in the San Juans sailing over the holiday and I usually stay at their place when in the Portland area. Marilyn, keeper of the keys arranged to meet me there and let me in.

On the way I stopped by the falls at Oregon City and naturally nothings changed, still as interesting as ever only nowadays there are white-water boats full of tourists bobbing around taking pictures. When I was little I regarded the Willamette river as my grandpa's river; he had a small boat dock and ran a couple of hundred crawfish traps. We lived close to the river in Wilsonville and each year it would come to visit us....never quite reaching our house but that was just luck, it had flooded that same area many times.

Once unpacked and out of my riding gear we went to dinner at Bugatti's in Oregon City where great food and friendly service are their benchmarks. Afterwards we headed back to Randi & Mac's where Marilyn put a call through to them on the sailboat. Mac was kind enough (and a risk-taker as well) to provide me with the pass code to his wireless network so I could work on this blog. Just one more reason why I like these guys so much, they're absolutely the best. If you ever read this, thanks Mac & Randi!

Day 3 - July 3rd Backtracking to Cannon Beach

2008-07-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was hook up with friends along the way. Tom Huntington and I had worked together in the mid-sixties but after he moved to the coast we'd lost track of one another. We'd recently made contact and since he's living in Cannon Beach, south of Astoria I decided to head back down for a visit. And maybe camp out in his yard if I was lucky? The 4th of July isn't the best time to travel without reservations...

Once there I met his very lovely S/O Robin and their two sweet Corgi's. Robin was more than gracious when I called to see if my room was ready, said yes, get yourself down here now. Think about it, there she was trying to get ready for a trip to Portland on the 4th, had to make a salad for 26 people to take, her daughter and son-in-law were on their way for an over-night stay (with their two dogs!) and I just casually ring up and ask if my room is ready. What a great gal. They put me up in their guest cottage which truly beats the heck out of yard camping. Unless you're 10-years old maybe.

Tom and I spent hours catching up on ancient memories while consuming proportional amounts of alcoholic memory stimulants. Then we woofed down a truly great pizza procured in a Seaside pizzeria. There was a fringe benefit to the pizza run, I'd told Tom the ha-ha-ha story of my Bolle's so he took me to the local factory outlet mall where I procured two more pairs of sunglasses.

One of Tom & Robin's interests lie in funky art and they've collected tons of it over the years; it makes a visit with them a truly memorable experience. Oh yeah, I mentioned Robin's daughter and son-in-law brought their two dogs? One of them is a super sweet pug and the other is a 2-year old English bulldog named Emma. When they arrived Emma came at me like a freight train, nearly knocking me over followed up with lots of snorts and kisses. What is it about me and those silly bullies?

Day 2 - July 2 Fort Stevens State Park (Astoria)

2008-07-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Nice ride today, mild weather w/mist but no rain. Stopped along the Siletz river to look for the house used in the film Sometimes A Great Notion. It's still there, looks like a million bucks (I doubt you could touch it for several times that)

After that I took pics in Depot Bay of a building I once thought of buying. Decided against it as the Highway Dept was screwing around with things and it looked like they might be at it for years. It's still an art gallery and the highway issues were evidently resolved. Depot Bay has the shortest channel leading into their harbor and it was calm as could be. The last time I saw it there was a nasty storm cooking and the boats were struggling to make it in.

Next stop was to eyeball the sea lions and birds north of the world famous Sea Lion Caves. Mist was enveloping the lighthouse off in the distance, very nostalgic scene.

Moving on I paused to shoot a long distance pic of the big G on the mountain side above Garibaldi. When finished I rode on but realized in 1/4 mile I'd left my new Bolle sunglasses on top of the hack, a very bad habit. Sure enough they were gone and I rode back to the turn off, scanning the road side. Nada. So I did it again. Still nothing. Parked the rig and walked along 101 in full costume looking for them. Not fun, RevIt makes neat riding outfits but they're not worth a damn for hiking. Anyway I found them, or what was left of them. $130 gone. Plus the photo of the big G turned out fuzzy. Dang. Double Dang.

Feeling especially brilliant I saddled up and headed for Fort Stevens State Park just outside of Warrenton (Astoria). Nice young park ranger type lady set me up with a great RV campsite as the last tent space went to the guys ahead of me. At $22 it turned out to be a better deal as it had an electrical hook up and I was able to recharge all the battery thingies. After a gourmet dinner of Nally's Chili and a couple of G&T's I assumed the horizontal position for the rest of the evening. What a social dullard I am when traveling....

Day 1 - July 1 Bandon to Beverly Beach

2008-07-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

This morning was cool & a bit on the drizzly side when I left, not at all like our usual first of July weather. Hoping it wasn't shades of things to come I set out, loaded to the gizzard with more stuff than I'd probably need for an African safari. Mac wouldn't be leaving Iowa for a few more days so I have plenty of time to meander and take photos. I figured if I made 150 miles per day that would be more than enough to make our rendevous in Bellingham, WA on the 14th.

Leaving Bandon I shot some pics of the marsh lands and Bullards bridge on the north end of town, then left highway 101 at the Charleston cuttoff to ride the twisty backroad. This isn't a heck of a lot of fun on a hack, at least not like riding the Ducati but it's away from the traffic and very scenic. I reached Charleston mid-morning and stopped at Chuck's Seafood where I often go to buy fresh fish. There I picked up a couple of small cans of smoked salmon for Mac, then toured around the dock area taking pics of the local fleet.

Back on 101 I headed to Reedsport, Florence and the Oregon Dunes National Park where thousands of quads and dune buggies gather every year. Passing through Newport I decided to stop for the day at Beverly Beach State Park. The last time I camped there was years ago but nothing has changed, it's still one of the best campgrounds around. I scored a nice clean tent site for $17 and settled in for my first manly meal of Top Ramen sloshed down with a nice warm G&T. Yummy. There were around 1000 little kids in the area, most of them in the tent site next to mine. Yippee...

It's here! - Email from Mac Friday 6/27/08

2008-06-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of yesterday.

My buddy(Joe O'Connor) gave me a ride up to pick up my bike. Being a friend he stayed with me during the day and then followed me on the ride back home to make sure there was no trouble.

We arrived at the dealers at 3PM, which is the time the male partner of the dealership is there. He was quite surprised to see us as he thought we were coming up today. Needless to say the bike was not ready to pick up. I told him I was there to ride it home so if he would get it ready to go I would ride it home and we could finish up with the little goodie installations on Sat when I come back for the 500Km check.

In the spirit of good dealership he told me to go have some coffee and come back later. Joe and I did as he asked and when we returned he was still working on it. He apparently made up his mind that he was going to to get it completely done.

To make a long story short he got everything done that I wanted except for the deep oil sump and extended oil pump. We will fix that Sat when I am up there for the 500Km check.

Now as the saying goes, here is the rest of the story. We finally got away from the dealership at 6:30 PM and arrived home at 11:30 PM. The back way I came home was 233Km and we made 4 stops so I not only learned a little bit about riding a hack I also checked out the lighting. All I got to say is I am very glad I read as much as I did on how to ride one, the first time I decelerated rapidly got my attention. Glad there was no one coming in the oncoming lane.

I finally got it thru my thick head that you need to slow down for a right corner and then slowly speed up thru the curve. On the left corner you need to slow down while taking the curve.

YES, all is well, but the banked curves to the left still get my attention, it feels like I am going to tip over to the left. Also the first couple of times I stopped I put my left foot down. I finally got used to that, now I can just see me riding my FJR and stop and fall over.

Now I got to get busy today, license, insurance, etc. Then tomorrow get up about 5 am and head north.

Man, I am having a lot of fun, who said retirement is boring.

Mac

P.S. I love my Ural

Dana's Bucket List

2008-06-23T14:57:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago - Saturday morning, June 22nd to be exact - I'd gone for a ride to Charleston with riding buddy Chuck Bruce. Nothing special, just one of those get-out-of-the-house things, the sun was shining and the chores could wait. We arrived back in Bandon a few hours later and while I stopped for gas Chuck headed over to the local grocery store. Chuck rides a really nice Yamaha Star and since he's pretty cool looking a lady approached him and asked if he knew anyone with a sidecar.

Chuck has one but it's at his other place in Medford, OR so he told her he knew someone local who has one. Turns out she has a sister who has always wanted a ride in one and its on her bucket list. I'm going to presume you readers know what a bucket list is...? No? Me neither, I guess I'll have to watch the movie. Anyway Chuck told her he'd give me a call and see if I'd give her sis a ride in the Sputnik. He did, I said sure, called her and set up a time & place for 10:00 am today. Should be a piece of cake I thought. Right, a piece of cake. That was last night and I entered their address into my Garmin GPS so it would be a no-brainer finding their place.

Today dawned bright & early, no rain albeit on the cloudy side and I hit the road around 9:30 am. Everything was running smooth as can be until just south of Bandon when the fire went out. Kaput. Nada. The end. Figuring I'd forgotten to turn the gas on I coasted over to the side of the road and checked. It was on and the odometer showed a measly 41 miles on the tank. Still not trusting things I turned the tank onto the reserve position, hit the go-button and after a sputter or two the thumper came back to life. A short stop at the local Chevron to top off the tank required a mere 1.4 gallons. Now what? What the heck, time was running short and I had to get going or I'd be late. Whatever caused the shut down mysteriously went away for the rest of the day, and hopefully forever. Very weird.

With the morning catastrophic failure drill out of the way I was on the road again with 10 minutes to spare. I must subconsciously require a bit of drama in my life as I discovered I'd left the note containing the ladies address and telephone number at home. That wouldn't be a big deal as long as the GPS made good on it's promise and not let me get lost, eh? Right LL. Hoo boy. Hustling north on US 101 the Garmin suddenly informed me I should be heading south. Huh? OK, no argument from me, a sharp U-turn and around I went. Those of you familiar with Garmin's products know how pissy the GPS lady gets when you're "OFF ROUTE, RECALCULATING!" Seems there was more than one approach to the address I wanted and somehow mid-way the spy-in-the-sky had an attitude adjustment. Heading south I followed her new instructions exactly and soon arrived at the chosen destination. Only it wasn't the right place, much to my chagrin and the general amusement of the little old lady whose house I was at. Ha ha Garmin, what a joker you are. Ha ha.

Back on 101 heading north again, this time flying by the seat of my pants I located the right road and cruised up it a mile or so, thinking anyone expecting an old guy on a hack would probably be outside waving their arms frantically. No one. Nada. Nyet. Back down I went. Back up I went. On the third pass Dana caught sight of me and did the arm waving thing and I arrived, only 15 minutes late. With introductions over and a nice bag of fresh-baked home made cookies stowed carefully in my tank bag we were ready to set off.

Heading north we swung off 101 through Bullard's Beach State Park following the road west alongside the Coquille River out to the Bandon Lighthouse. There we stopped for photos and a look around, then rode south on 101 into Bandon's Old Town district and a stop at the Bandon Coffee Cafe. Dana's sister Dawn followed us in her car, taking photos of the sights and the two people in the sidecar, much to the curiosity of the tourists. After coffee it was time for a bit more riding, this time south on 101 for a few miles and then it was time to say goodbye to new found friends. Not a bad way to spend the morning.

So many tents, so little time... Mac's veritable quandry

2008-06-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

As it happens it's June 22nd and we're still in the pre-launch period of our ride to Alaska. Delivery of Mac's new Ural Patrol remains on hold for a few more days till the flood waters of the mid-west go away. In the mean time he is weighing the advantages of one of his two tents over the other before deciding which to take. Some of his issues have to do with whether or not they'll stand up to high winds and are absolutely waterproof.

These are valid concerns for some folks, usually the ones who scale Mt Everest, etc. I am not of that ilk; it is my feeling that tents need only be impervious to darkness followed by daylight. For issues beyond that there lays a solution adequately provided for by an industry most commonly referred to as the "hospitality trade", i.e. Motel Six, etc.

Moreover you will note in the accompanying photographs that the second of his tents is outfitted in what may only be described as lavender and white livery... This in itself might bring cause for traveling companions of a true manly man's nature to move closer to the fire. His other tent up for consideration is a more traditional shade of green, easily acceptable in any manly man's company yet unlikely to strike fear in the hearts of curious bears. It may be noted there exists little or no data as to bears color preferences and whether or not they share the same tastes in designer fabrics as do riders of Ural motorcycles. Perhaps "taste" becomes the relevant term here with bears providing the deciding factor?

Larry's quest for the perfect helmet

2008-06-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Among the many things I've been looking for to outfit this trip is a new helmet. My old tried and true Shoei Syncrotec "flip-up" has become rather long in tooth so I've been searching for a replacement.

The Shoei is going to be difficult to match; it's been one of the best selling flip-ups for years due to it's high quality. I have no real complaints about it other than it's a bit noisy and when it rains really hard water finds it's way through the vents. Not much but enough to annoy.

Aside from those design issues it's showing quite a number of scars and dings from being dropped and hit with flying objects, all of which can weaken a helmet's structural integrity. Of course Shoei offers a replacement model, their new Multitec, toted by some as being the best flip-up available. This comes with a matching price so I decided to see what else might be out there.

Several weeks back I located an Airoh TR-1 on the Seattle Craig's List. This is an Italian helmet not available in the US and one I'd read several reviews on. It sounded pretty neat as it has a built-in sun screen that slides up into the top of the helmet, no need to keep swapping sunglasses on and off, just lower the screen. It also has a super wide eye port that expands your peripheral vision quite a bit, something that's really important when making lane changes. All of this is great stuff, plus, if you really want to be cool the front chin bar is removable and you have an open face jet-style helmet. That's the good part.

On the negative side there are no controls for the front air vents, they're open all the time and that would be a very bad thing when the temperature drops or during heavy rain. After wearing it on rides of a couple hundred miles I decided this would be an OK helmet for summer but not what I'd take to Alaska. The hunt continues...

Next on my list was HJC's Sy-Max II, their latest release of a flip-up style helmet. The decision to try this one was made solely on reviews I'd read, all of which gave high marks to it. The price was half of the Shoei so I ordered one through New Enough, a Texas firm. I've done lots of business with them mainly because of their prompt service and their no questions asked return policy; they're very good people to deal with. The helmet arrived promptly and within ten minutes I knew this wasn't the one for me either. The fit along the lower side of my face was so tight there was no way I could accept it. To make matters worse the sun shield caused wavy distortion along the lower edge, a definite deal breaker. So, off it went, back to New Enough without ever having gone for a ride with it. Bummer...

At this point I've read so many helmet reviews my eyes are bugged out, it seems the only satisfactory replacement for my Syncrotec would be a new Multitec. Given what I've read about it I'm not sure if I'd gain that much so I'm thinking I may just keep my old one a while longer. Could it be I'm also having an attack of frugality?

BTW, the photo is my old bucket taken on my first trip to Alaska. I took the pic to show how many bugs could accumulate in 15 minutes... It gets pretty gnarly up there.

Planning 101 - Burlington, WA - KOA campground

2008-06-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

Email from Mac Re. our first camp. This sounds good to me, can't wait!

-------------------------

Sun 6/15/08 1:12 PM

Fired up my camp stove for the first time today, just to make sure it works. Made a foam pocket to carry the propane cylinders in. Just as soon not have them rattling around. Might go BOOM.

Got a carry bag for the stove which fits great. Working on getting a couple of water proof containers that I can put on top of the ice in my cooler to hold any goodies that I don't want to get wet. The beer below I think will be ok, hey, it won't last long enough for the cans to get rusty.

I really need to get my hands on the bike because I need to get some measurements of the tub as I want to get a couple of water proof containers to carry clothes and cooking stuff. I'm talking about "BIG" containers that just barely fit in the tub. I plan on putting my cooler on the seat.

After the rain early this morning, this has turned out to be a beautiful day. The dealer is not open until Tuesday and I am really hoping that he will have it ready by Thursday, but that probably depends on how much work he has to do just to clean up his shop.

Dang, I am getting antsy,

Mac

P.S. I figure a good place for us to meet would be the KOA campground at Burlington. I plan on being there two nights. The first night I arrive and then have my bike worked on at the dealer, near by, the next day and then stay the second night. Then we can leave from there. Dang, if I only knew the dates.

The Bikes - Mac's ride

2008-06-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Mac's ride is a 2008 Russian Ural Patrol. This model comes from the factory with a sidecar set up, ready to roll.

Bike specs - the factory stuff

750 cc engine, horizontally opposed twin cylinders, originally a knock-off of a 30's era BMW airhead. Many new improvements have been made to the original 650 cc lump, ignition updated, fuel system, etc., but still very much like a vintage BMW in appearance.
Current models feature disc brakes up front and drums on the rear.
The tranny is a 4-speed and gearing is configured to provide comfortable cruising speeds of around 55-60 mph, plenty for touring and exploring back roads over any type of terrain.
The really good part is the selectable sidecar drive - 2wd - and reverse too, both features ensure that Ural Patrol pilots can go nearly anywhere.
It's not always easy to find accurate information on Urals but the most common guess on horsepower puts it somewhere in the mid-40s, adequate for tooling around but probably not the best choice for Interstate freeway travel.
Fuel consumption runs around 32-35 mpg at normal cruising speeds. At least that's what I've been told... I think...

Farkles - Dealer installed

2 Powerlets, one for heated clothing and one for the GPS.
Clear windshield
Leg Guards
Army green fuel canister
Camo tire cover

Farkles - Mac installed

Camo bike cover
Repair Manual
Heated gloves

The Bikes - Larry's ride

2008-06-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Larry's ride is a 2000 Italian Aprilia Pegaso equipped with a 1995 Russian Sputnik sidecar

Phew...!

Hot dang!

Bike specs -the factory stuff

Powered by a 651 cc single cylinder water cooled Rotax engine made in Austria. It features 5 radial valves, double overhead cams, 2 Mikuni carbs, and dual exhaust, all of which produces a modest 53 horsepower and delivers 50+ mpg. The gearbox is a 5-speed and disc brakes are all around. With the addition of the sidecar and subsequent loads fuel economy drops to around 35 mpg. It's just a big ol' thumper... I love it

Bike Farkles

Dauntless sub-frame - This is what the Sputnik hangs on
Heated grips & heated vest with digital controls - No sense in being cold. Not me anyway. Hey, we're going to Alaska, not Albuquerque
Garmin 2610 GPS - Manly men don't ask for directions
Corbin seat - lowers my fandango a couple of inches closer to the ground
AirHawk inflatable seat pad - just in case the Cobin begins to freeze... also helps fend off monkey butt
Scottoiler automatic chain oiler system - Because I'm lazy and don't like to oil yucky chains
GenMar handle bar risers - no neck cricks for me by cricky
Talon Alarm system - it'll put yer ear out. It did mine. Huh?
Digital 5-function voltmeter thingy - this farkle actually has a black ice detector on it... no need to watch the road ever
The Hornet Electronic Deer Avoidance System - I'll buy damn near anything... how embarrassing

Sidecar specs - the factory stuff

Steel tub with clamshell entry, tonneau cover, locking trunk not really big enough for a body but handy just the same, really goofy looking windscreen that blew off somewhere along I-5 on the way home from Dauntless Motors, big ol' skinny tire with cable operated drum brake just like on my high school '35 Ford, all built to the highest standards of Russian quality. Yessiree..

Sidecar Farkles - Beyond Nikita's wildest dreams

Replacement BMW wheel with disc brake
Adjustable Windscreen - home made as I'm a frugal person. Cheap too.
Custom Tilting Luggage rack & Spare Tire Carrier

Mac patiently awaiting the big ride...

2008-06-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

So it snows occasionally in Robins, so what? Wot? Izzat a Mercur in my garage you ask? Who wants to know?

Larry patiently awaiting the big ride...

2008-06-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday the 13th.... an auspicious occasion and one fitting to begin this blog.