The 2008 trip to Alaska was a mix of some really awesome scenery, hanging out with friends, and some really frustrating bike problems.
Day 1 put us just shy of Radium Hotsprings in Canada. A really cool place that we really only saw one gas station of but if you stop by with a little more time be sure to ask for Jimmy (doesn't seem to be respected by a few of the locals but a truly nice guy). I tended to my badly blistered pinky fingers, a big thumbs down for my "cold-n-dangerous" heated gloves, while Sean guzzled the hot chocolate.
Day 2 was a killer day riding through Banff and Jasper national parks. That has to be the prettiest stretch of highway in North America. The 15k high peaks going on for miles, emerald rivers, massive glaciers, and roadside wildlife make it a must see. That night we ended up in between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson at a very welcomed campsite after a long ride in the dark and a couple detours down logging roads trying to find somewhere to camp.
Day 3 put as at Teslin Lake after a frustrating day of bike problems. In Fort Nelson my kickstand broke off dumping my 500 lb. bike onto the ground with my reserve tank absolutely full. Jake and Sean were yukking it up inside the A&W after I had declined a good burger and rootbeer. Instead I was in the gas station parking lot herniating myself trying to pick my bike off the dirt. Later that day Sean broke his "lifetime" drive belt after only 14k miles. After all three of us pushed his bike back onto the road from the foot deep mosquito forest Sean had rolled it into we used an amazing velcro strap to tow Sean's bike to the closest campground about 6 miles away. I rode into Teslin to find a big allen wrench we forgot to pack so we could put on the spare belt and get back on the road. Luckily an extremely nice Harley rider had one on hand and was more than happy to loan it to us for the evening. That night we decided our shot at the Arctic Ocean was looking a little dubious as our confidence in our bikes was quite low at that point.
Day 4 we woke up and decided to head for Skagway to visit Jake's sister Jenny and in high hopes for a helicopter ride. The ride to Skagway was absolutely jaw dropping and unfortunately we were foolish enough to think it would be just as good weather on the ride out so we neglected taking many pictures.- damn!
Skagway was awesome. Jenny negotiated a helicopter ride for us with her boyfriend John. All three of us were trying pretty hard not to act like little kids on Christmas morning so John wouldn't think we were a bunch of sissies. Thanks John, sorry about your Jeep bumper I tagged with my bike on the way out– doh!
If you're ever anywhere scenic and someone is offering a helicopter tour don't pass it up. I'd highly recommend a visit to Skagway for that reason alone.
The next day we put in a good ride back up to the Alaskan Highway from Skagway, unfortunately in the clouds for the first hundred miles, and eventually stopping in Liard River Hotsprings. On the way we stopped at a great little roadside restaurant on the Alaskan Highway called "Wolf It Down" in Watson Lake. A great little place with awesome food and good service. That night Sean tried to convince us to camp in a garbage filled tweakers hollow where some inebriated locals wandered over to say hello and the camp manager warned us to light a fire to keep the resident bear away. Somehow I wasn't convinced that a little fire was going to keep a bear away if we were sleeping next to a pile of garbage. I insisted on checking out the Liard hotsprings campsites even though the gates were locked up an hour before we arrived. As luck would have it the camp manager was driving around to wrastle up some hooligans just as we strode in and offered up the day use bowery for free. Best campsite the whole trip and when we woke up we enjoyed a nice soak in the hot springs.
The next morning the bike gremlins struck again in Fort Nelson. After fueling up and releasing the clutch to get moving, my bike went nowhere. Looking down revealed the cause of the no-go, another broken "lifetime" drivebelt. After several hours on the phone I managed to get the Harley Dealership in Grand Prairie to take a belt off of a floor model and ship it up to me 6 hours away. They charged me $300 labor for a job that takes a whole 20 minutes behind a gas station with travel tools and it took 2 days to get it to me. Finding out that not a single shop west of Montreal carries a spare drive belt for Buells "adventure" tourer made us all quite grateful that we hadn't chosen to hit the haul road a few day earlier. What was a really boring two days in the one street town of Fort Nelson could have been a week or more if that belt would have gave it up on the haul road.
Once the bike was back in forward motion operation we made it home in just a couple days, well Sean did anyway. I had to have my wife pick me up in Pocatello ID about 130 miles from home because my back tire was down to the radials and I just wasn't interested in going for it since I was shooting sparks already.
An awesome trip really. Next time I think I'll be riding something German instead of "Made in China".
Welcome to my blog!
My intention is to make this blog a mixture of album, movie, event, and gear (not always audio) recommendations. I'm not much of a writer really so don't expect anything too original or deep on this page. I'll be throwing some photos of interest to Zu junkies from time to time as well.
Music:
Album: Speak for Yourself
Artist: Imogen Heap
GK turned me on to this album and It's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Imogen's style is reminiscent of many of the female artists that serenaded me from just outside the high school parking lot, such as Sinead O'Connor, Hope Sandoval, and Bjork. This album is a great mix of killer vocals, electronica, and classical instruments tied together by a musician who does it all.
Take some time to check out her myspace page and read her wikipedia page for a little background–something Mr. Sean Casey has given me an appreciation for.
Movie:
Title: Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
One of my favorites. It's disturbing, political, and full of killer cinematography. Not a good flick for setting the mood but great for getting your brain out of the "get more stuff" rut.
Event:
A day in the dirt for some of the Zu crew and friends. Sad to say this was back in 2006 and these days have been few and far between.
