June 5, 2010
Miles: 283
Total miles: 8,157

Wiseman, Alaska to Fairbanks, Alaska

Time on Road: 9 hrs

The morning after
Wiseman, Alaska

Today I really am going back to Fairbanks. It is not that long of a ride so there was no real hurry in getting out this morning. A little extra sleep this morning was good after yesterday's ride.

I took the Wiseman road back out to intersection with the Dalton and headed south for Fairbanks. First stop was 10 miles down the road at the truck stop in Coldfoot. The bike needed gas, clutch fluid checked and refilled and I needed breakfast as my two power bars from yesterday were really all used up. I got the gas, refilled the reservoir , did some more bike maintenance, a buffet breakfast for me and it was back on the road.

It was a relaxed pace heading south. Good road, good weather, and good scenery. Next planned stop was the Yukon River Camp for gas. A few miles before reaching the Yukon, I passed the Hot Spot Cafe. It is almost a written law that when doing the Dalton you must eat at the Hot Spot. I turned the bike around and went back to the Hot Spot. I had one of the best and biggest hamburgers that I have ever had. It was well worth the effort to turn around and make the stop.

Hot Spot Cafe
Best hamburger in Alaska

On down to the Yukon River Camp and fill up the bike with gas. Clutch was still holding out. I cross the Yukon River bridge and it is still just a great day for riding. About 60 from the end of the Dalton I see the clouds coming over the mountains in the distance. This is not a good sign so I pick up the pace. Maybe the rain will be slow moving up. Another 30 miles and the clouds are getting close and seem to be moving faster. I still have the Roller Coaster in front of me with the 14-18% grades. There is a leading edge to the front slightly to the west and that is the direction that I am heading in. Maybe I will be able to get around it and off the Dalton before getting into rain. A nice big sweeping curve to the left and now I am heading right into the middle of it. Rain is now very apparent. Down to 10 miles and the clouds are now over me with a little slight mist. Down to 5 miles and there is a light rain but the road is still not slick. Down to 3 miles and the rain increases and the road starts getting slick. I slide a little getting up and over the last hill and then it is the end of the Dalton and hard top again.

Yukon River Bridge
Yukon River Camp, Alaska

Another 90 miles in the rain and on payment and I am back in Fairbanks. I first stopped at Adventure Motorworks and had them to check out the clutch. The gasket in the slave cylinder had a crimp in it and was not holding. The dealership has closed about an hour earlier and this is Saturday afternoon so they will not reopen until Tuesday morning. Dan at Adventure Motorworks was not able to get the gasket to seal. Also his efforts to find a substitute gasket was not successful. I will just have to wait until tomorrow and see how things turn out.

I was given a ride back to the dorm at UAF and it appears that I may be here for a while.

June 6, 2010
Miles: 0
Total miles: 8,157

Fairbanks, Alaska

I got settled in the dorm last night but my reservation was for tonight so today I had to change rooms which meant that I had to check out and then check back in.

Looks like I am going to have plenty of time to work on my ride report to include uploading some pictures. I am not expecting to get the gasket before Tuesday at the earliest. It may be Wednesday or Thursday before I can get back on the road.

June 7, 2010
Miles: 0
Total miles: 8,157

Fairbanks, Alaska

Today was just sit around and wait for the gasket to come in. No transportation. No place really to go. Boring Day.

June 8, 2010
Miles: 0
Total miles: 8,157

Fairbanks, Alaska

Bike is repaired and seems to be running good. Bags are packed and I hopefully will be leaving in the morning.

The way it stands now the adventure part of my trip is now over. I will be planning the route for my ride back home dependent on weather conditions. If weather allows I am still planning on making a trip into Hyder, AK. However, from now on it is just getting back home by the most direct route. My daily mileage will pick up and there will be fewer fun roads.

I will still post some updates on my way home, but most days are just going to be travel days. Maybe another trip through the Ice Fields Parkway.

June 9, 2010
Miles: 606
Total miles: 8,763

Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon

Time on Road: 12 hrs 30 min

I left Fairbanks this morning around 5:30 local time. The weather was cloudy with some drizzle and light rain at times.

Leaving Fairbanks the terrain flattens outs then crosses 2-3 mountain ridges. One of the first things that I noticed was the increase in traffic. Caravans of RVs and campers were heading north. There were more bikes also. About half of them were baggers, tourers, and cruisers. The other half were Adv bikes. The traffic had increased around 10 times in volume from the time that we came north.

I saw one large bull moose and later another smaller moose along the side of the road. Both of them disappeared before I could get a picture.

The mountains started to increase again as I neared the border, the rain stopped and the sun made its appearance. When I got to the border I stopped, turned off the bike, and was in the process of getting my passport out of my pocket. The border guard asked me about four questions then waived me on. The passport was still in my pocket. I never showed her any ID at all. Never had a crossing quite that easy.

Alcan Highway
Alaska

The further into Yukon I got the larger the snow capped mountains were. The rest of the day was uneventful. Just cruising through the mountains and enjoying the view and weather. Finally stopped in Whitehorse, YT for the night. Now I have to determine my destination for tomorrow. Weather report shows a lot of rain to the south.

June 10, 2010
Miles: 600
Total miles: 9,363

Whitehorse, Yukon to Ft Nelson, British Columbia

Time on Road: 17 hrs

This morning started off as the typical riding day. There was plenty of sunshine, good roads, good temperature, plenty of mountains, sweepers, and fantastic scenery,

I had not gone too far down the road before I came upon the first moose of the day, There was a large bull moose beside the road. Before I could get the camera out of the bag he had disappeared into the woods. Shortly thereafter there was a smaller moose on the other side of the road which also did the same disappearing act.

I was planning on taking Hwy 37 south to Hyder. I stopped at the gas station at the turn off and was told that there had been a lot of heavy rain today and the dirt section were now very muddy and the road was in bad condition. Back to the Alcan.

After going through Watson Lake I was back on the “animal road”. 6-7 bears, another moose, 2 Big Horn sheep, 6 caribou, and 40-50 Wood Buffalo.

Wood Bison Herd
Alcan Highway, Yukon

First Black Bear of the day
Alcan Highway, Yukon

Mamma bear and two cubs going back into the woods.
Alcan Highway, Yukon

As I was passing a truck on the side of the road I noticed a guy standing beside the truck with a camera. As I passed the truck I noticed a small grizzly bear in front of the truck. As soon as I could I made a u-turn and headed back up the hill. As I finished the u-turn I saw the grizzly chase the guy back into the truck. The bear then went back to eating whatever it is bears eat on the side of the road. I was trying to get a picture but the grizzly kept his head down and was facing away from me.

I went back up the road, passed the bear and then made another u-turn stopping about 100 feet up from the bear. About this time the truck left and went on down the road. A large truck came by and startled the bear. The grizzly looked up at me then went back to eating. I slowly let the bike roll down the hill until I was about 50-60 feet away from the grizzly. Trying to get a better picture of the grizzly I was looking through the view-finder of the camera when I saw him in a bluff charge coming straight up the side of the road. He broke off about 30 feet from me then went up the bank to my right. I got the picture just as the was breaking the charge.

Young Grizzly
Alcan Highway, Yukon

Later in the afternoon there were a lot of showers around but I was managing to dodge them. About the time that I got to Moncho Lake my luck ran out. For about the next 200 miles I was riding in hard rain, except for the last 15 miles when the sun came out and it quit raining, and for about 30 miles when it was sleeting and the ground had turned white.

I finally made it into Ft Nelson after a long day and have quit for the night. I am planning a short day tomorrow so that I can do some bike maintenance.

June 11, 2010
Miles: 366
Total miles: 9,729

Ft Nelson, British Columbia to Grande Prairie, Alberta

Time on Road: 7 hrs 45 min

There is not a lot to report today. Just another typical travel day. Perfect riding weather, plenty of sunshine with no rain or wind, mountains, lots of sweepers. It's torture I say! Torture. Oh well, if I were not doing it I guess someone else would have too. Might as well be me.

Made it a short day today and stopped in Grand Prairie. My intent for tomorrow is to get through the Icefields Parkway.