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After reaching the top of Alaska I headed back to Texas by way of Oregon, Kansas City, and Arkansas. 29-Jul-08 Inspired by Mickey and the beautiful weather, I decided to ride all the way back to Fairbanks. That meant a ride of more than 500 miles in one day. Everything went well until I was only about 75 miles from Fairbanks then the sky opened and the rain poured. My headlights stopped working and my speedometer became erratic. By the time I arrived in Fairbanks Carl’s Jr. was closed and I returned to Billie’s Hostel and wimped out. I didn’t pitch my tent instead I took a nice warm bed in the hostel. 30-Jul-08 I stopped south of Cantwell and pitched my tent. It started raining during the night so I had to pack up my tent in the rain. Yuck! 31-Jul-08 I stopped a the Talkeetna Hostel. The sun was finally out so I dried out my tent. Holly runs a wonderful hostel so I stayed for a few days. 3-Aug-08 It was finally time to leave the comforts of the Telkeetna Hostel so I packed up and hit the road. Just as I was leaving, Matt, the BMW 1200GS rider I had met several time arrived. I went through Hatcher Pass and it was a wonderful ride. Especially on the down side where the road was paved, windy, and followed a river. I rode to Tok where I tried to track down the Tok Hostel. The woman at Visitor Information thought it was closed but, when I called the number, Mitchelle agreed to open it just for me. I chowed down on Fast Eddy’s ultimate nachos and met her at the hostel. It was chilly so I started a fire in the woodstove and spent a quiet night reading in a very warm place. 4-Aug-08 As I rode south of Tok toward Haines Junction the road work made the ride very difficult. It was raining and there were big, slippery rocks. When I arrived in Beaver Creek there was only one restaurant still operating. I guess the high gas prices have taken a toll on RV tourism. I’ve seen lots of closed and for sale signs along the way. After dinner, I decided to ride on a bit further. Then I had my “One in a million” event”. Just as I rode over Silver Creek my engine stopped. I coasted until I came to a stop in front of the Silver Creek Lodge and RV Camp. I pushed the bike about 50 yards to the pumps and tried adding some gas. It was worth a shot. But, no. Did I mention it was raining and cold. I asked the owner if there was someplace dry where I could work on the bike and Amanda directed me to a trailer where they parked the riding lawn mower. I got some help and pushed the Black Cherry in out of the rain. As a bonus there was a mattress in the back so I settled in and decided to get some rest and work on the problem in the morning. 5-Aug-08 I began by taking off the top rack, the seat, and the gas tank. I check the air filter…clean. I checked the spark plug. Hey, wait a tick, it was loose. On closer inspection, I noticed the metal arm was completely missing. No wonder the engine stopped. Problem solved! Except where do you get an NGK DPR8EA spark plug in the middle of no where. I called Beaver Creek but they didn’t have one. Then Amanda’s husband, Bob, walked up and said that he had a spare spark plug for his Honda ATV and that maybe it would work. Not only did it work, it was an exact replacement. I was on the road in an hour. Odds of stopping right in front of an inhabited place: 10,000:1. Odds of that place having the exact spark plug I needed: 10,000:1. Total odds: a million to one. 6-Aug-08 Feeling lucky I headed for Haines. The ride from Haines Junction to Haines was extraordinary. It was one of the best rides on the trip. The scenery was awesome and the road was good and curvy..and the sun was shining for a change. I was tired and happy when I pulled into the hostel in Haines. 7-Aug-08 The next morning I boarded the ferry for Prince Rupert. Just as we were loading, Matt pulled up. He discovered that this was the last space for a week and so he rode 700 miles to get there on time. I had planned to pitch a tent on the deck but there were plenty of chaise lounges available in the solarium and there was infrared heat. Almost all the bikers settled in there. 8-Aug-08 I enjoyed the scenery and the relaxation of being able to look around. I slept warm and woke up the next morning as we were going through the Wrangell narrows. In some places the channel was only 100 yards wide. I read, watched “Into the Wild” and napped. It was not raining and occasionally the sun peeked through. 9-Aug-08 The ferry arrived in Prince Rupert very early..5 am. Matt and I decided to ride together for a while. We rode together as far as Smithers. Matt needed to go faster than me so we said goodbye and off he went. As I was leaving Smithers, I put my feet on the highway pegs and they were loose. A nut was missing from the engine mount. I’d already gone several miles but I thought it would be a good idea to return to Smithers to look for the part. After trying several places, I found Eyecandy Custom Cycles. They gave me a nut but when Sam looked at my front wheel he said I should get it replaced. I said I thought I could limp it another thousand miles. When he offered me a slightly used tire at a great price, I took it. While Adrian put the tire on I chatted with Sara. I noticed that the little metal ears on the speedo washer were bent so I straightened them out and… viola…my speedometer worked again. I left feeling much better about my tire and my bike. Then the bottom fell out of the sky and it rained. And rained. Finally, I grabbed a motel room and tried to dry out. 10-Aug-08 It was still raining when I got up and it rained all day. I went about 300 miles hoping to out run the rain. But, it was still raining when I stopped for the night in Williams Lake. 11-Aug-08 The next morning the sun was shining and all was right with the world. I called Diana and told her I would be there on Wednesday. I rode down Highway 97 until it connected with TransCanada 1. That took me through the scenic Fraser River Valley. I stopped for the night in Hope. 12-Aug-08 There was quite a line up at the US border. It took about an hour to get across. I had little choice but to get on I-5 to go past Seattle. The traffic was bad even in the mid-afternoon. I was happy to get on the smaller roads and head toward the coast. I stayed at an RV park near Raymond. 13-Aug-08 The next morning I headed down US 101 and crossed the Astoria bridge over the Columbia River. I had a big adventure taking a “shortcut”. I ended up on some very small roads and wound my way through the Coast Range and ended up seeing some very small Oregon Towns like Wilamina, Pedee, and Kings Valley. It was good to see my family again. 14-20 Aug-08 I spent a week relaxing and maintaining my stuff. I cleaned off the Alaskan “permadirt” from my bike and my riding clothes. I visited my favorite hardware store. Robnett’s Hardware has the best selection of fasteners anywhere and I got hardware to replace all of the nuts and bolts that shook loose in Alaska. I visited the Rainshed to buy Velcro, clips and other stuff to improve the organization of my gear. I was able to get an intermittent wireless connection so I planned my route to Kansas City. I was able to map a route with only 5 miles of Interstate. It rained almost constantly during my visit which is unusual for this time of the year in Western Oregon. I guess I’ll have to head further south to see the sun. It took hours before the sky cleared somewhere around La Pine, Oregon. I enjoyed riding through a part of Oregon I’ve never seen. I stopped for dinner and camped in the city park in Cedarville, California. 21-Aug-08 I cut across the northeast corner of California and spent the rest of the day riding through Nevada. I stopped for a soft drink in Gerlach, Nevada. It’s the closest town to the Burning Man Festival. I spent most of the rest of the day riding on Highway 50. They call it the loneliest highway in the country and I’m inclined to agree. It travels through big valleys and then climbs through winding mountain passes with only a few towns along the way. I rode 389 miles and it was dark by the time I arrived in Ely, Nevada so I found a cheap hotel room. 22-Aug-08 The ride continued on Highway 50 into Utah. I passed huge alkali flats until I finally moved into cattle country. I took Highway 191 from Price to Duchesne, Utah where I stayed the night behind the café where I had some great Mexican food. Highway 191 is a wonderful winding road that goes through deep canyons and over the top of a mountain pass. A great motorcycle road. I fell a little short of my goal today but with a late start and the time change to Mountain time, it got dark earlier than I expected. 23-Aug-08 I enjoyed the ride across Colorado. Highway 18 begins near Steamboat Springs and goes all the way to the border with Nebraska. My favorite part of the road was through the mountains. It got pretty dull after Fort Collins. After a long day’s ride of 421 miles, I stayed at a park in the National Grasslands. 24-Aug-08 I spent most of the day on Highway 36 and ended up in Oberlin, Kansas. The nice people at C&H Powerline put me up again. 25-Aug-08 It was a fairly easy ride into Kansas City. I was happy to see my sister and her husband John. 26-Aug-5-Sep-08 I relaxed at my sister’s house and went with them to a reunion of John’s family. 6-Sep-08 On my way to Dallas, I stopped to visit my niece, Ali and her husband, Dave. They have a beautiful new baby named Kate and a new house since my last visit. I added a webcam to Ali’s computer so Grandma can see the kids. 7-Sep-08 The next night I stayed with my cousin, John. I enjoyed chatting with him about optical networking and Robyn cooked up a delicious meal. 8-9-Sep-08 I visited my father. I really enjoy seeing him and even at 94 he can have a lively discussion though his short term memory is spotty. 10-22-Sep-08 I stayed with David and Carol, two of my oldest and best friends. During that time their son Travis and I went to help Erik with his boat the Angantyr. Hurricane Ike grounded it high and dry at the Houston Yacht Club. Erik’s boat is ok but needs to be refloated and repainted. I estimate about 70% of the other boats were totally lost or damaged beyond repair. Angantyr’s steel hull made a big difference. Originally I had planned to help Erik with some cosmetic repair work but that will have to wait until it’s floating again. It’s a little hard to work on a boat permanently heeled at 35 degrees. 23-Sep-08 I headed south to Austin. I stayed with Mart and Joel. 26-30Sep-08 I left Austin avoiding the Interstate. I stopped for some barbecued brisket in Lockhart, Texas and thoroughly enjoyed riding the back roads to Edinburg. I visited my niece, Virginia, and met her husband Rick and their new baby, Spencer. The kid has a great smile. They’re both professors at University of Texas, Pan America. Rick collects classic cars. I cleaned up Blackcherry. Rick had every automotive cleaner in the book so the motorcycle looks great. It was like cooking in the kitchen of a master chef. I ordered a rear tire to replace the tire I got in Fairbanks and changed the oil in preparation for Mexico. I also purchased liability insurance for Mexico. |
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