Shrinking The Planet – One Ride At A Time

Posts tagged “ride report”

Spirit & Soul

Here you’ll find all sorts of things that Kim and I have found to enriches our riding experiences either on or off the bike.  We’re not talking about gear to use while your riding, but things you might enjoy while you are riding, or perhaps while you are taking a break from riding.

In any event, we hope that all of the things you’ll find listed in this section will be food for your riding brain, enriches your adventure soul and increases your riding pleasure.

We hope you enjoy.

Mike and Kim

July 18, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, books, music, photo, pictures, podcast, podcasts, Ride2Adventure, spirit and soul, Travel, Uncategorized, website | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Final Chapter)

Seward’s spectacular ocean beauty and sea life had left us slack jawed with amazement. It seemed that each time we went to a new location in Alaska, there was another gorgeous scene ready to unfold directly in front of us. But this day, there was another reason for our slack jaws and now droopy pouts. Today, we were to head back to Anchorage to end our Alaskan and Canadian Yukon adventure.

We had seen so much and met so many wonderful people, that we were indeed quite sad to be beginning the end of our journey. So with really heavy hearts and quite furrowed brows, we packed the bikes and headed northwest towards Anchorage. I can honestly say that the pace was purposely slow and the bike to bike communications between Kim and I were at an all time low; each of us lost in our thoughts and remembrances of the journey we had just experienced.

As we made our way to Anchorage, we took a meandering route to extend our time a bit more. The roads slowly and quietly hissed under our tires, interrupted only by the crunch of gravel and slight wobble of handlebars as we made our way over several sections of road under construction. Each time I was almost immediately returned to the hundreds of miles of gravel we had just covered. Soaring mountains capped with snow, glaciers creaking, groaning and calving new icebergs into a churning sea, wild animals roaming free and unafraid of man, soaring birds and amazing scenery could have conspired to effortlessly lift me from the bike and forever transform me from an itinerant observer to a permanent part of the landscape. I’d just become another part of what is the amazing natural life force that is Alaska. And if it had, I would have welcomed it.

But Alaska did not reach out and grab either Kim or me and we rolled into Anchorage late in the evening, very tired and each upset that our adventure was over. We’d get up leisurely in the morning, grab breakfast and ride over to the shipping agent. There we would unload our gear from the bikes and pack it in our suitcases for the plane ride home. We’d grab a cab back to the hotel and the following afternoon, catch a flight back to Boston and then drive home to NH. The agent would then crate the bikes up and send them home to NH.

The following morning dawned with decent weather and we walked to the Golden Corral near the hotel for breakfast. Believe it or not, Kim loves Golden Corral. Really! She had a hearty breakfast and I enjoyed seeing her enjoy it so that brightened the morning a bit. Well I thought to myself, that’s going to be the highlight of the day.

We walked back to the hotel and jumped on the bikes for the ride over to the shipping agent. We offloaded the bikes and took a few moments to take stock of our situation. Our two little trusty steeds had indeed done an excellent job and performed admirably. Kim’s Suzuki DR650 and my KTM 640A never missed a beat in over 2,400 miles of pavement and gravel riding. To be precise, they covered 2,430.1 miles with over 900 (almost 1,000) of that being on gravel. They hauled a pretty heavy load including the riders, their riding gear, survival equipment and camping equipment.

Not once did they sputter, stall or break down. They carried us through torrential rains, deep mud, asteroid sized gravel and did not so much as cough. The were filthy, covered in dust, mud, and the Denali and Dempster Highway’s calcium chloride.  If you are not familiar with it, calcium chloride, is sprayed on dirt roads as a dust preventative.  It is slippery as snot when wet and almost impossible to remove once dried. In fact, years later, there’s still traces of it on Kim’s DR’s exhaust.

Nonetheless, these two trusty machines carried on without complaint.  The least we could do was give them a quick wash before boxing them up for the long journey home.  So we did.  The cleansing process helped ameliorate some of my dour mood and washed away some of my angst.  The physical contact with the machine and the slow rubbing, scrubbing and rinsing that was necessary to remove only the top layers of grime was like a balm to my raw feelings of having to leave; and in some way, I got the feeling that the bikes felt better too.

Rinsed and ready for crating, we rode the bikes back to the agents and got a taxi to the hotel.  There we sat in the room wondering what to do with ourselves until the following afternoon.  It was not more than twenty minutes when the phone rang.  It was Tracy, the gent who sought us out in Dawson City and whose acquaintance we had made only as a result of a conversation we had with a couple we met in front of Mt. McKinley.

Tracy lived in Eagle River. a town just outside of Anchorage.  He knew we were headed out of town the following day, but wondered if we would like to go for a ride with him and his wife MaryLee today.  Damn!  We had just dropped the bikes off at the shipping agents and they were probably already well on their way to being crated I told him.  I think Tracy could hear the despair in my voice because he immediately said, “That’s not a problem, my brother Chuck has plenty of bikes and he can lend you both one!”

Well I don’t smile with my teeth showing much, but in this case Kim immediately knew something was up and asked what was making me smile so much.  I told her and almost immediately her expression matched mine.  Two Cheshire Cat grins coming right up!  We immediately jumped into the rental car and drove to Tracy’s house.  We got the nickel tour and headed over to his brother Chuck’s house.  He had a fine collection of bikes.  Chuck said, “Choose one.”  Yikes!  It was difficult to choose, but ultimately, I chose his R100RS PD and Kim chose his R/65GS.  They  were great machines.

Before we knew it we were off and riding as a group.  We rode through beautiful mountain scenery and some awesome horse country in the Matanuska Valley.  Then we headed over to Hatchers Pass where we took a brief ride into the pass but were forced to turn back due to poor road conditions.  We then headed over to a most unusual Alaskan farm.   What’s unusual about an Alaskan farm you may ask?  Well how about if the farm grows musk oxen?  They are indeed unusual creatures.  Raised for their fur which is very warm, they are quite large, sound like tigers when they vocalize and can be quite aggressive when provoked.  They were very interesting animals.

We spent an excellent day just wandering around Alaska and before we knew it, it was time to return the bikes to Chuck.  Little did we know it, but he had one more surprise waiting for us.  When he arrived he showed us his beautiful Ural sidecar rig and literally insisted that we take it for a ride.  Who were we to argue?  So we jumped on with me as the “driver” and Kim as the passenger.  It was a blast for me.  As for Kim, I don’t think she was as amused as I was.  I had never piloted a sidecar rig and with changes in power, the bike changed direction somewhat.  So as we made our way down the road, we also made away across the road.  While I had the huge grin, Kim had the worried, I hope I survive fake smile on.  But she is a trooper and came through with flying colors (and uninjured I might add).

More quickly that we could imagine, the riding day was over and we had to say goodbye to Tracy, MaryLee and Chuck.  They had made our last full day in Alaska a wonderful day instead of a downer.  We still cherish our friendship with Tracy and MaryLee to this day and even went on another trip with them which you’ll hear about in another article.  After many goodbyes, we got into the rental and drove back to the hotel to catch some sleep and get ready for the next day’s flight.

When the following morning dawned, we had reconciled ourselves to the fact that we were leaving Alaska.  We grabbed breakfast and Kim was once again in her glory at the Golden Corral.  Tracy and MaryLee knew that I was a pilot and mentioned that there was a seaplane base and an aircraft museum next to the airport that we could visit if we wanted to kill some time before our flight home.  So off we went and we watched seaplanes taking off and landing for a while.  While I have several “ratings”, I do not have a seaplane rating and watching them only increased my desire to get one.  Watching the bird get up on the sponsons and then break contact with the water was exciting as was watching them glide easily and smoothly onto the water’s surface, some more smoothly than others.

We then walked over to the museum and learned a bit about Alaskan aviation history and how much a role aviation plays in Alaska.  Not only did they have historic displays, they also had static displays of various aircraft from fully restored and flying to in need of restoration and in pieces.  It was all very interesting and a great way to spend the morning and early afternoon.

But before we knew it it was time to head to the international airport for the flight home.  We had spent the morning with small aircraft which do the day to day job of ferrying everyday Alaskans and their goods from point to point.  These aircraft are literally the lifeblood to many remote Alaskan communities.  It was similar to our small bikes on our journey.  They had carried us and our gear from point to point and provided us with the marvelous opportunity to observe some of Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.  We hope that someday we will be able to once again journey to Alaska and the Canadian Yukon and like Alaska’s small aircraft travel all over Alaska on our little motorcycles that can.

July 17, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, KTM, Motorcycle, off road, photo, product review, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Over The River And Through The Woods To Adventure Ride We Go

It was a lazy weekend day in more ways than one.  The temperature outside was warm and the sun was in and out of the clouds.  Not too sunny and hot and not too cold, it was just right.  I too was lazy in more ways than one.  It was about 10:30 AM and I was still in my sweats and a t-shirt padding around the house planning how I might round out the rest of the day doing nothing.

That plan however, was soon to go astray, to my good fortune.  For coming up the road, first softly but then more insistent was the sound of single cylinder motorcycles heading up our gravel road.  Hmmm…  I wondered.  Who was going to go play on the class four road at the end of my gravel road?  There were lots of downed trees and mud, it would be quite a challenge to run that I thought to myself.  But as I daydreamed about who might be taking on the challenge, the sound of the bikes became louder.  Not just louder as in closer as they passed my house, but louder as in they were coming up my gravel driveway.

It must be Fredo I thought, and as I scurried to the windows at the side of the house, I found it was indeed Fredo and another friend Joe.  Fredo on his KTM 250 XCF two stroke and Joe on his KTM 690E four stroke.  Awesome was my first thought.  So as I semi-ran down the stairs to greet them, my second thought was, I think I may be going for a ride today!  And ride we did.  It was great, I’ll tell you all about it shortly.

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But first let me tell you about Fredo.  If you’ve ever wanted a riding buddy, someone who you could ride with just to go out and have fun, it would be Fredo.  That definition doesn’t extend just to the riding times either.  On and off the bike, Fredo’s the kind of guy that just hanging with is a joy.  Always with a smile and something good to say about everyone, Fredo is the epitome of the guy you want as your friend.

Oh, and Fredo can ride, FAST.  Although he claims there are other guys much faster than him, Fredo is one speedy and accomplished muchacho.   For example, I was at the KTM shop where we both bring our bikes for service.  I was talking to one of the techs about how Fredo kicks my butt each time we ride in the woods and he quickly added, “Hey, I’m in my 30’s and I can’t keep up with him.”  Well dear reader, I’m here to tell you that I’m in my 50s and I can’t even stay near him when he’s on the gas.  The truth be told, when I’m quickly vanishing in his mirrors, he’s probably not really on the gas for him.  But he’d never say so.  Oh well…

But that brings me to the point of this little article.  I’ve been riding with Fredo for about 3 years or so now.  We’ve ridden some pretty cool terrain.  We’ve done wide gravel roads, we’ve done single track woods, we’ve done mud, water crossings, rutted hills, ridden in snow, over rocks, leaves, you name it we’ve ridden it.  In riding with Fredo, I’ve learned a lot.  More than I would have learned riding by myself in many, many years.

Sometimes, it hasn’t been very easy and frankly, I’ve fallen off quite a few times trying to keep up.  In fact, on this particular ride, I had my first inadvertent off trail excursion.  Coming down a hill with the speed up (for me) trying to stay with Fredo and Joe, I somehow managed to lose the front end and off the trail and into the woods I went.  It was one of those moments when you get religion real fast.  They say there are no atheists in foxholes, and I can now add another place.  There are no atheists on careening motorcycles headed off trail into the trees.

Luckily, I did not have communion with any trees and the only injury I received was a severe bruise to my already battered ego.  But once again Fredo came to my rescue.  Noting that I was not in sight, he turned right around and found me off trail in the woods.  He wouldn’t even let me ride out.  Noting that I was pretty winded, he basically took my bike away from me and hand manipulated it back onto the trail which was no easy feat since I had gone down an embankment several feet.

What all of this leads me to is to tell you that you need not go a long distance to get adventure in your riding.  The single track, woods riding, water crossings, mud, rutted hills, all the different and challenging terrain each present various forms of adventure.  Take advantage of it when and where you can.  This particular ride only lasted 3 or 4 hours but gave me a significant sense of adventure.  It will do the same for you if you let it.  Get out on some terrain that challenges you.  Make it a bit of work and learn some new skills.  You’ll be better off for it and with your new found skills, you’ll be able to conquer that kind of terrain when you go on that long “cross-country” adventure ride, or find yourself on terrain that you hadn’t expected.  Bring a friend along who hopefully has better skills and learn together.  It will be fun, you can count on it.

I would say you could ride with Fredo, but he already has enough of a challenge with me.

Ride2Adventure – Shrink the Planet, One Ride at a Time

July 9, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, KTM, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 10)

The captain moved the throttles full ahead and once again we were motoring towards our next destination, Aialik Glacier the largest glacier in Kenai fjords.  Unfortunately, we found that the ice was too thick in the bay to enter so we motored on towards the Holgate and the Surprise glaciers.  Along the way, we would be on the lookout for whales and if we found any, we would stop and observe them for a while.

It wasn’t long before we spotted our first pod of whales.  A small group of Humpback whales rolled and dived in front of us.  The captain pulled back the throttles and put the boat into idle.  We were now floating free and the whales seemed to enjoy the throbbing of the boat’s engines.  They slowly and easily swam over towards the boat and appeared to be as curious about us as we were about them.  Some swam right alongside the boat and rolled on their sides to view us as we leaned over the side of the boat to view them.

They seemed to revel in our wonderment of them.  They showed us gracefully sweeping and flowing tails that slowly rose and then glided below the surface.  Long white and barnacled pectoral fins slapped the water and rolled from side to side as they showed us their ribbed and streamlined undersides.  With slow dives they vanished from view and came back to us with blasts from their blow holes.  We watched their display for half an hour until they became bored with us and decided that something else was more interesting and they slowly swam away leaving us wanting more.

Showtime over, the captain again brought up the throttles and we were once again on our way towards the Holdgate glacier.   This boat had real power and we were moving with all due speed toward our destination.  A wide and churning white wake was left in our stead as we motored along.  Soon land and mountains came into view.  The mountains were snow and ice covered and before long, we started coming across small chunks of ice floating in the water.  They were of many different shapes and sizes called, from a foot or so to ten or so feet in diameter.  These smaller chunks of ice were affectionately known as “bergy bits”.

This could only mean that we were getting close to glaciers.  We didn’t have to wait much longer as a white wall of ice and snow known as the Holgate glacier came into view.  Far from smooth and stark white, it was a jagged, multi-colored sheet that seemed to have a life of its own.  It creaked, cracked and groaned.  Huge chunks fell and crashed off the sides creating gigantic splashes sending birds scurrying for cover and creating new icebergs or bergy bits.

As we got closer, a cold stiff wind blew directly off the glacier and straight at us.  It was bone chilling.  It was also continuous and steady causing us to bundle up if we wanted to stay outside and view the Glacier.  The wind seemed like a river of water flowing directly off the glacier  and that was exactly what it was.  It was the trapped super cooled air that literally flowed from the top of the glacier over the edge and down to the ocean, just like a waterfall.

Bundled up we stood at the boats rail while the captain maneuvered us around to get a better and closer look at the Holgate glacier.  Up close, we could see veins of different colors running through the glacier caused by the rocks and earth it had accumulated as it had scraped its way to the ocean’s edge.  There were also caverns and cracks of significant size, large enough for people to enter if they could walk on water.  It was truly an amazing force of nature.

Before we knew it, the captain told us over the loudspeaker that our time was up and we would have to head back to Seward.  He also said if he saw anything interesting we’d stop to take a look.  As he was turning the boat around, we rounded a part of the bay and lo and behold… there was another glacier.  Aptly named Surprise glacier it had gotten its name because it was only visible from certain angles such as the one we now had as we exited the bay.  It was not as mighty as the Holdgate glacier, but it was indeed exciting to be surprised by a glacier.  It was not something that one normally imagines could sneak up on them, but the Surprise glacier had done just that.    We roamed around the Surprise Glacier for about ten minutes and then the captain said we would be leaving for Seward again shortly.

Kim and I were getting cold and we headed back from the bow of the boat to the cabin to warm up.  Just as we were passing the pilot house, the captain who I had been chatting with earlier about my Kindle and our Alaskan adventure ride opened the door, said hello again and…

Asked me if I wanted to drive this 7,200 horse power twin engined 95 foot long boat back to Seward for a while.  Would I?  Would I?  Well hell yeah!  He then calmly told me that the power quadrant and thruster controls were all mine and to go for it.  He just said, “Don’t hit any of the big bergy bits, OK?”  Wahoo!!!   To say the least, I was thrilled.  And so it was for about twenty minutes of cruising back towards Seward.  But all good things must come to an end and in what seemed like just a few seconds, the captain asked for his ship back and I begrudgingly gave it back to him.

About 40 minutes later, we spotted more whales.  This time it was a pod of three Orcas.  It looked like two adults with an adolescent.  The merrily breached and blew their way along the ocean’s surface, moving fairly quickly and paying little attention to us or to the other boat that appeared to enjoy them as well.  It was great to see these wonderful creatures in their natural environment instead of in a captive setting.  The Orcas seemed to have a destination in mind and they had little time or interest in us so our time with them was quiet short.  They quickly were getting out of viewing range since it is illegal to chase the whales in Alaska.  But we were good with the time we had with them and this time we were heading back to Seward for real.

The remainder of the trip was a bit of a blur since we had enjoyed the day so much.  Before we knew it we were back at the dock and disembarking.  We were thrilled with the days events but a bit sad for it to be over.  The overwhelming feeling was one of thanks for having the means to go on such a wonderful adventure for we knew our time in Alaska was growing short.  Before we knew it, we would be heading back to New Hampshire.  But lucky for us, there were a few surprises to go and we’ll tell you about them in the final chapter.

July 4, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces – Final Chapter

We awoke in our small dark room to a steady soft rhythmic drumming on the roof of our rented cottage, the “Gold Miners Dream”.   Was it rain or the spirits of the gold miners of the past letting us know that they were still among us?  Perhaps a combination of both?  We brushed aside the curtains and found it was indeed raining again, the miners weren’t with us this time.  As the sky slowly grew lighter, it was time to get out of bed and pack the bike for the relatively long ride to Brier Island.

This ride would take us roughly two thirds the distance down the length of the Nova Scotia peninsula and across its width.  We’d also get a couple of ferry rides in before we ultimately made it to our destination, the Brier Island Lodge. But due to the rainy conditions, we’d have to work a bit to get there.

Because of the distance involved, we decided to put in a significant amount of highway miles, something we rarely do.  So on went the rain suits and as soon as we could hit the highway we were off and running.  Things were pretty mundane for the first three hours or so.  Just a moderate rain and some patchy fog here and there, but nothing special.  However, as we were riding down Route 103 we came across a couple of signs at the side of the road that said in capital letters; “ROAD FLOODED AHEAD” but no flag men, cruisers with flashing lights or other signs indicating a detour or any other significant hazard.

So we continued onward at about 30 MPH in a 100 KPH zone (62 MPH) waiting for the flooded highway.  Boy they weren’t kidding!  We found the area first as some large puddles so we slowed down to a crawl; it was a good thing.  As we slowly rode onward, the puddles turned into real water crossings.  Not inches deep but over a foot deep and getting deeper.

It was amazing to be on a four lane highway (two in each direction) creating a bow wave of water with the water covering two thirds of the front wheel.  Luckily, the deep flooding lasted only for about 500 yards and we were able to continue on.  We did have the highway to ourselves as we seemed to be the only ones on the road at the time.  Perhaps everyone else was smart enough to stay off the roads?  But we were due at Brier Island, and other than the flooding we experienced on Route 103, it was just a steady rain ride.

We ultimately reached Digby, Nova Scotia where we caught our first ferry.  While we were waiting for the ferry to depart, the rain slackened somewhat and I was able to snap a picture of Kim on her bike under the bridge of the ferry, aptly named Petit Princess.  The picture then was quite apropos, my petit princess on the deck of the Petit Princess.  Nice!

Unfortunately, the wind was up and the tide was going out.  Since the ferry ride was so short, there were no tie downs for the bikes and we just sat on them with outstretched legs and planted feet as the ferry’s engines spooled up to take us across the bay.  The ocean across to the next landing was very rough and as we chugged our way across, waves splashed over and across the bow.  Sheets of water flew above the rail while ocean spray rose from its remnants covering our Roadcrafter suits with salty water droplets.  It was another of nature’s reminders; she was still the boss when it came to man versus nature.

As the ferry lurched forward, we lurched in the opposite direction and strained to keep the bikes upright.  With every pitch and yaw of the ferry, we put in a counter input.  It was going to be a challenge just to keep the bikes upright for this crossing.  But that off road riding skill came in handy and we were able to keep the bikes upright for the first ferry journey.

The second ferry ride was much smoother and we made it onto Brier Island without much drama.  Since the island is so small, there’s not much riding to be had there, but it is a nice place to hang out and explore.  There are walking trails right from the lodge that you can take to the other side of the island as well as to the lighthouse on the island.

If you like to look for beach glass, it has the most remarkable beach glass beach we have ever had the opportunity to search.  Within a couple of hours, we had filled up a coffee can worth of quality beach glass and other beach baubles.  We found rusty gears, pottery, chains and other interesting brick-a-brack.

It was also fun to go for a walk through the downtown area.  On the day that we went, it was drizzling and foggy.  But it just gave the scene a bit of a soft, ethereal feel, like a soft cotton swaddling.  We were wrapped and comforted by the misty shroud.  Pictures we took had a soft fuzzy texture, the hard edges of day to day life erased by nature’s weather made cocoon.

While we were out and about, we found some sights to be enjoyed.  Some fishing boats nestled together in the fog, almost as to huddle closely together to share each others warmth, their brightly colored buoys hanging over their sides giving them each a different personality.  Then there were a stack of lobster pots, stacked as if waiting their turn to re-enter the sea and play their role in the cycle of nature.

Finally, there was evidence of mankind’s shortcomings.  As we walked back to the lodge, we passed a pickup truck.  Inside was a sign advertising its status for sale.  Unfortunately, the sign read, “House for Sale”.  Hmmm….

We walked back to the lodge and got a good nights rest.  When we awakened, the weather had cleared, but it was time to head home to NH.   Yes, our Trans Labrador and Atlantic Providences Adventure was truly coming to an end.  We grabbed a quick breakfast and took the two ferries back to Digby.  From there we headed to Yarmouth and caught the catamaran car ferry called The Cat.  A huge water jet ferry it could make the overnight crossing back to Portland, Maine in about 4 hours.  In so doing, it sent rooster tails of water 25 feet into the air.  It was an impressive sight, but it did indeed mark the end of this most excellent adventure.

Thanks so much for coming along on this ride.  We hope that you have enjoyed coming along with us and that we have inspired you to…

Shrink The Planet – One Ride At A Time

June 28, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, enduro, Motorcycle, Nova Scotia, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 8)

Before we could make it to Lunenburg, we had an intermediate stop in the small seaside town of Charlos Cove.  We were headed to a little inn called the Seawind Landing.  Right on the water with great places to beach walk as well as grassy lawns to sit and stare at the ocean it was a wonderful place to hang out.  To top it off, they had an excellent little restaurant with home cooked food and a nice wine selection.  This was definitely going to be our “high-end” stop for the trip.

Traveling over the very bumpy and sometimes grass filled roads, we made our way towards Charlos Cove.  The sky was bright blue with white puffy clouds seemingly racing us as we made our way to our destination.  Some were fairly low and as we made our way up and down ridges and hills, I could see their shadows as they floated and squirmed their way across the pavement.  They looked to be in a hurry to get somewhere but were relegated to moving in a straight lines.  Although they can fly, I wondered if they wished they could traverse the twisties with us instead of flying straight.  Were we clouds, it would a be a wonderful but tragic fate; to fly with the wind but be doomed to an unchangeable course set by it.

(By the way, if you click on any one of the pictures, a full size picture will open and you can then scroll through the entire gallery of pictures in full size in any direction.)

It was a long and bumpy ride, and by the time we reached our destination, we were pooped.  Saddlesore and tired, we were more than ready to get out of our gear and have a nice quiet dinner and grab some shuteye.  We unloaded our bags from the bikes and Kim normally quite resolute about long rides, said that the ride was so bumpy and filled with grass filled cracks, she’d almost have preferred to have ridden her dirt bike.

We were however, rewarded with a wonderful dinner, a room overlooking the ocean and a spectacular red sunset.  Thoroughly satiated, we hit the rack for a great night’s sleep and a lazy rest day.  We generally lay and sat about doing a bunch of nothing, reading, lounging in the Adirondack chairs in a grass covered field while taking in the sun and enjoying the day.  But it couldn’t last forever and around 2:00 in the afternoon clouds began to gather.  Shortly thereafter, the sky became grey and dark and a heavy rain shower began.

But it was just another beginning because it seemed like as suddenly as it had started, the skies began to clear and we were treated to a double rainbow and freshly scrubbed salty ocean air as the sun began to set.  In doing so, its light cast a warm golden glow upon a nearby island  and we sat and watched the end of a lazy perfect day.

The following morning we packed the bikes and headed towards Lunenburg for our actual destination, the Ovens Natural Park.  Owned by the Chapin family, (yes if you know of the singer Harry Chapin, it is indeed his family that owns the Ovens)  the Ovens is a combination campground (with rental cabins available), nature walk, sea cave exploring, and music wonderland.  Right on the ocean not far from Lunenburg, the Ovens allowed us to get to know a bit of Canadian life, enjoy the ocean, walk the beach and explore several caves that run right out to the ocean.

We took half a day walking the nature trails which wandered among the sea cliffs and led to the entrances of the sea caves.  There were beautiful views and paths that led directly into the caves for exploring.    The caves are called the Ovens, which is what they look from the outside from the sea; hence their name.

Around noon, we headed into Lunenburg and were lucky enough to arrive just in time for the arrival of a Canadian national icon, the Bluenose.  She was arriving into port with a full cannon salute and bagpipes piping.  A crowd was anxiously waiting on the dock for her arrival and many camera were raised to take photos of the Canadian icon returning to its home port.

We quickly parked the bikes and joined the crowd.   It was evident that there was a lot of pride in the Bluenose and it was great fun to be part of the crowd.  With the Canadian flag proudly flying from her middle mast she majestically glided into the dock to great fanfare.  Up close we could see that she was indeed a beautiful vessel, trim with sleek lines, a true portrait of the speedy racing ship that she was known and loved to be.

We took a few pictures of our own, chatted with a few people and decided to take a walk around Lunenburg to experience its sights and sounds.  Lunenburg is known to be a bit of an artists colony and it did not disappoint us one bit.  During its history, Lunenburg was a fishing town.  Although the fishing industry is no longer its main source of income, its heritage has not been forgotten.  As we walked down one of its main streets, we looked up at the street lamps and saw that they had been decorated with large, hand cut and hand painted metal fish of the Atlantic.  They were great.  Each light post had a different fish and they were in the fish’s actual colors.  It made us want to walk the length of the street just to see the different fish!

Wandering along the streets of Lunenburg, we were treated to many galleries, shops, restaurants and even a museum.  It was a grand afternoon of walking, visiting and just plain enjoying the sights, sounds and people.  But the sun was rapidly sinking and it was time to get back to the Ovens before dark.  We jumped back on the bikes and enjoyed a sea side setting sun ride back to our cabin.  It had been a great day and we were looking forward to tomorrow.  We had a fairly long ride to the tiny island off the coast Nova Scotia named Brier Island where we’ll take you in part 9.

June 23, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, Nova Scotia, Overland, photo, pictures, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 7)

We awakened to falling rain and fog.  Our foggy heads cleared quickly, but the fog and rain outside refused to do the same.  We resigned ourselves to more riding in the rain and reduced visibility, but that is part of the adventure isn’t it.  We were more disappointed that we would be missing scenery along the way to the ferry at Port Aux Basques.    Unfortunately, we didn’t see much for most of the ride, but as we approached the ferry, the rain did stop and visibility did increase somewhat.

Although the weather obscured the traditional scenery, we were in for a treat when the ferry arrived in port.  Out of the fog, a giant ghostly shadow appeared.  Moving slowly, it glided silently towards us with a nearly imperceptible rocking motion.  We knew it was a ship, but we couldn’t clearly make out any detail.  As it approached, it blew its horn and there was no doubt it was a large vessel.  Then out of the gloom we made out the blue, white and gold of the MV Caribou.  Although it was a very large vessel more than 565 feet in length, her impressive form glided more like giant kayak across the calm harbor waters than a ferry capable of carrying 1,200 passengers, 370 cars and 77 trucks.

Just as we thought she would pull into the dock and tie up, she gave us a special treat.  What we hadn’t noticed was that the vehicles entered and disembarked from the rear of the ship.  The Caribou was headed straight into the dock, so how would she unload her cargo.  Ahhh….  A 270 degree turn would be necessary in the very narrow harbor.

So as easy as pie, the Captain of the Caribou turned his gigantic vessel around in the middle of the small harbor with very little clearance.  It was an awesome display of seamanship.  You want to see it?  Well, OK…..

After a successful docking, we were able to load the bikes onto the Caribou for the ride to Nova Scotia.  It was a smooth uneventful trip and before we knew it we were being discharged on the shores of Nova Scotia around midnight local time.  Of course it was raining again and finding our hotel was a bit of a chore, but find it we did and we dropped into the rack to sleep the sleep of the dead.

Viola!  We awoke to bright sunshine with only a few clouds dotting the sky.  What a wonderful change!  Having heard about the beauty of the Cabot Trail and the twisty roads that surrounded it, we made a beeline for the reportedly smooth pavement running along side the mountains and ocean.  We were not to be disappointed; not one iota.

On narrow, bumpy and mostly deserted roads, we passed many small towns which seemed to have one thing in common; wonderful people.  During our brief stops, or our overnight stays, it seemed that everywhere we went people greeted us and wanted to chat.  All the greetings were warm and welcoming, we often felt like lost relatives.  They wanted to know about us and they often told us much about their families and themselves.  This give and take is in our opinion what true adventure riding is all about.  We were really not all that far from home, but we were learning much from the folks we interacted with and I think we got a true feeling of what it was like to live in the Canadian Atlantic Provinces.

As welcome and comfortable as we were, we hightailed it towards Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail.  The blue skies, clear blue ocean and sinuous mountain roads beckoned to us.  As we rolled along the road that paralleled the bright blue ocean, we passed the tiny town of Wreck Cove and immediately the mountains which mark the beginning of the Cabot Trail became visible.

We could see the steep and twisting road immediately in front of us.  A sharp hairpin turn led to the steepest part of the road that clung to the side of the mountain as the ocean lay calmly hundreds of feet below.  There was only one thing left to do and it was to ride that road.  And ride it we did.  The road was steep enough at the beginning that we used first gear for the a significant portion of the climb.  It was a bit interesting to be riding this twisting road only a couple of feet from the guard rail that was the only barrier a several hundred foot drop to the ocean below.  But nonetheless, the view was spectacular.

As we crested the first ridge of the mountain, we lost sight of the ocean, but the pavement became very smooth and we were able to enjoy some twisties on a smooth surface.  We both hooted and hollered into our communicators and told each other how spectacular the riding was and  how much we were enjoying Nova Scotia.  Although we were enjoying the twisties, we did take the time to stop and enjoy some of the spectacular mountain views along the top of the mountain pass.

Later as we began our descent from the top of the mountain, we were treated to another set of twisties, this time even more exciting than at the beginning of the day.  Hairpins and decreasing radius turns awaited our eager throttle hands and wide open eyes.  But this wonderful steeply descending road presented us with a significant dilemma.  The problem was that the twisties were so technical that we dare not take our eyes off the road while navigating each corner.  So you say, why would that be a problem?  The problem was that just beyond that guard rail were the most amazing views of the north Atlantic you can imagine.  The bright blue sea met an equally dazzling ocean and where they met at the horizon, it was as if the two were merged into one.  The decision as to which to look at was mind rending.

But as we laughed to each other over our communicators, “someone has to do it,” we started down quickly scanning from road to sea, road to sea.  If you know anything about instrument flying, it was an exercise in scanning.  Don’t stare at anything, keep moving your eyes, soak it all in to your brain and make the correct control inputs.  It was a test, but a wonderful one at that.

As the road straightened out a bit, it still provided awesome views of the ocean and of itself as it undulated up an over little ridge crests alongside the sea.  To your left, green trees sprouted from the sheer mountain walls while to your right, the ocean vied for your attention.  It was an amazing test of willpower just to stay on the road.

The mesmerizing ride took away all realization of time for us and before we knew it, we had completed the Cabot Trail and were headed back inland across the peninsula towards Lunenburg.  A very lovely town with an artists flair, we were treated to more local sights and flavor.  We’ll take you there in Part 8.

June 20, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 6)

With significant regret we left our roadside whale watching motorized perches and rode on towards Blanc Sablon.  I was somewhat gloomy leaving such a sight, and the darkening weather matched my mood.  Overhead clouds were gathering and the skies brooded and darkened.  By the time we reached our hotel, a cold misty fog surrounded us.  We were looking forward to a nice warm room and a hot dinner.  We were able to accomplish both and fell into the rack for a good nights rest.

We awoke to overcast and heavy rain.  It seems like each time we visited Newfoundland it rained and it looked like this visit would be no different.  I dressed and we packed our bags for mounting on the bikes.  It was while I was mounting the bags on our bikes that an older gentleman approached and quietly watched for a while.  I clearly remember him.  He was wearing a clear raincoat and a yellow Gloucester fisherman’s hat.  I noticed he was wearing a Cessna belt buckle and he had the pilot’s wrinkles around his eyes from squinting into the sun.  Just by looking at him, I could tell that this man had had some adventures of his own.  Nearby, a tour bus idled its rough and slow diesel drone and he looked at it disdainfully.  He would then watch me packing in the rain with a look of longing and desire.  It truly appeared like he was ready to jump on and ride

After a while, he walked a bit closer and asked where we were headed and where we had come from.  I told him that we had ridden from our house in New Hampshire and we were headed to Newfoundland.  We chatted a bit about the trip so far and what the Trans Labrador Highway had been like.  While we stood there in the rain, he looked me in the eye and looked over to the bus he would later board and he said, “I wish I was traveling with you.”  You know what, if I’d had the space on the bike, I would have taken him along.  Pilots have to stick together you know.

Before we knew it we were in line for the ferry getting ready to ride churning grey misty seas.  Finally this signal was given and we rode our bikes aboard, tied them down and made our way to find some seating for the trip.  Even though the trip started in the morning, the entire ride was dark and rainy.  A few ghostly icebergs silently passed in the distance their silhouettes a grainy shadow against a backdrop of white-capped grey and green.  A few whale and dolphins passed, breaking the water’s surface, spouting  and seemingly pointing out the way.  It seemed that in no time, we had arrived in Newfoundland and it was time to disembark and start our Newfoundland part of the trip.

Unfortunately, for most of this journey through Newfoundland, poor weather surrounded us and we decided to make a beeline to our first destination near St. Anthony, the Glacier Manor Resort.  Now closed, it was a wonderful little place being built by a couple; John and Edna Simmonds using their own two hands.  Dinner was home cooked by Edna while John literally serenaded us on the guitar while we ate.  It was terrific.  We sat and chatted and discussed the US and Canada and before we knew it we had transitioned from acquaintances to family in the breadth of a few short hours.  Together with John and Edna, we’d been able to shrink the planet a little more on this trip.  Wonderful!

We went out for an early evening walk in an attempt to see some moose.  As the sun set, we came across a pair of very large great horned owls.  One flew off quickly and the other stayed for a while and watched us watching him.  We remained very quiet and did not make any quick movements or loud noises which might scare him off.  Finally he had had his fill of watching us and as he flew away.  But as he did, he left us a gift of one of his large feathers which we still have to this day.  It was if he were saying, thank you for not disturbing us.  For doing so, I leave you a part of me to remember us and Newfoundland by.

As the sky grew darker, we walked towards the more open fields and waited for the moose to come out.  They did not disappoint us.  They came out in fairly large numbers and quietly and calmly walked across open fields looking for some snacks.  We watched in amazement wondering how such large animals could move about so silently.  We watched for an hour or so and headed back to the resort for a good night’s rest.

Come the morning we made our way towards Newfoundland’s table top mountain National Park Gros Morne.  It was green and gorgeous.  Sheer walls of green with bare spots of rock shot straight up.  Not to points, but to vast flat table tops that stretched for miles.  Surrounded at the base by trees, as they rose, the mountains lost their leafy cover and instead were covered in huge patches of velvety green moss. The moss often undulated up the sides of the mountain giving the slope a wavy texture until reaching the table top.  They were extraordinary sights.

While we stared at the table topped mountains, we were also treated to ocean view stretches.  We rode alongside twisty two lane ocean roads with clouds racing perpendicular to our course.  Fresh air treated our senses with variety.  When the wind blew from the sea, it was sweetened with the brine of the deep.  When if came from the land, it was pungent with pine.  This ride had turned into a truly sensory delight.

We made a brief stop for lunch in a small town called Port Aux Choix.  It was a charming place and it was clear that we were in Canada.  One of the locals had hand carved a Viking statue and outfitted him full hockey gear including stick and shin guards.  Of course, because he was cool, he was also outfitted with some rather trendy shades.  Of course, we had to take a picture with him.

Continuing our southward ride, we made our way towards Rocky Harbor.  To get to there, we again found ourselves on narrow twisty mountain roads with mountain and ocean views.  At the higher elevations, snow was still on the ground and it was mid June!   Along the way we spotted moose grazing and running alongside the road during the day.  Beautiful to look at, but also an important reminder to be alert when rounding corners.

Rocky Harbor turned out to be another small town surrounded by mountains and the sea.  When we arrived they were having a local regatta, and the townspeople were out and about in all sorts of small craft  plying they way all over the harbor.  It was a day of community on the water.  We enjoyed the festivities for a while, but we really had to get going for our time was running short.  The following day we had to be in Port Aux Basques to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia.

Arriving at our little hotel, which consisted of several separate little cottages and a restaurant, we caught a quick dinner and turned in for the night.  Before we fell asleep the rain had begun to fall and tomorrow looked to be a damp ride to the ferry to Nova Scotia where we’ll take you in Part 7.

June 14, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, hockey, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, R2ADV, Ride2Adventure, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 9)

Wild animals, humans and motorcycles thoroughly mixed and mingled, it was time to make our way towards Seward.  On our way out of the wildlife park we came upon a rather wheezy looking caribou.  With  his head hanging low in an apparent weakened display of age and surrender, his impressive rack still was over the top of my head.  I stopped my bike beside him to take a picture and to give him the “oh you poor old boy” condolences when suddenly his head popped up.  He stiffened, snorted angrily and took a quick step towards me as to say “get lost or I’ll trample you into little pieces of Alaskan tundra.”  I was really started, nearly dropped my camera and almost fell off my bike.  OK then.  Note to self, old Alaskan caribou can still kick butt.  Give them a wide berth because they can be quite cranky.  Got it.  Oh, and luckily for me, Kim was behind me a fair bit and she saw nothing.  My dented male ego was to remain somewhat intact.

With that, we (actually I) expedited our exit from the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge and set course for our next stop, Seward.   We were quite psyched to be headed there because it is a seaport town and we had planned to go on a full day marine mammal/bird/glacier boat tour while we were there.  Continuing south and traveling along Turnagin Arm we were greeted with more ocean views and twisty roads.  The weather was good and in no time we made it to Seward and our hotel for the next couple of days.

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture.  Then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size.

Now the hotel was not much to write home about, but it did offer some surprises.  As we entered the hotel’s lobby, we were immediately surrounded.  Surrounded?  Yes, as in surrounded by wild animals.  Completing our entrance through the one person revolving door we were immediately confronted by two bears, a musk ox and caribou!  In the hotel lobby!  This just after my run-in with the cranky old caribou.  Further in, we found moose, arctic fox, mink and pheasant.  Ge’ez, didn’t we just leave the conservation center?

Well what really happened is that all these animals were indeed in the hotel lobby but they were stuffed.  Perhaps they had been cranky with someone else and then they paid the price?  Oh well, it was just strange seeing all these animals in a hotel lobby, it wasn’t like we were in a hunting lodge.  We quickly “headed” to our room to drop off our gear.  We opened the door there and found…  no stuffed animals.

We put our gear in the room and decided to walk around the town a bit and get some dinner.  We found some murals painted on the sides of buildings which had been painted by the locals.  They showed topics such as the settling of Seward and some were about native Alaskan culture.  They were pretty cool so we snapped a few pictures for memories.  Then we did the tourist thing for a while, checked out a few shops in town and finally settled in for the evening, because we had a full day boat tour with an early start in the morning.

The following morning dawned bright and mostly sunny with fairly calm seas.  It was going to be a good day for a boat tour.  Actually, the boat was more of a ship.  It was a 95 foot vessel with twin 3600 horsepower engines.  She could make well over 26 knots with a full capacity.  This was no little boat.  By the way, I know the vessel facts for reasons I’ll tell you about later.

To ensure we got good seating, we arrived early and plopped ourselves down in the cabin by the windows.  I was sitting there reading my Kindle which at the time was a fairly new device.  The Captain of the ship walked by and asked if I was in fact reading a Kindle and I replied that I was.  We chatted about it and I let him look at it.  It turned out that he wrote software in his spare time, and the e-ink technology was a hot topic so he wanted to see how it looked on the screen.  We chatted a bit more about Alaska and the motorcycle ride we were on which he thought was pretty cool.  Ultimately, he said he had to get back to work and we thought we wouldn’t see him again.  We were wrong.

The boat departed on time and we headed out to sea.  Almost immediately we saw sea otters lolling about in the harbor, some lying on their backs sunning themselves while others rolled lazily like tops to help aerate their fur to aid in insulation.   They were as cute as you hear about and can imagine.  Clear of the harbor, the Captain laid on the power and 45 minutes later we arrived at two islands, one of which was a Steller Sea Lion rookery.  We laid up appropriately close and we could see the females with their cubs sunning themselves while the very large bull males made themselves know with loud vocalizations.  Every once in a while, there would be a bit of a dust up between the sea lions over space, but all in all, they seemed quite happy to lie in the sun and take an occasional dip in the water.   We watched for a half hour or so and it was time to move on.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at two more islands, the Beehive Islands which were appropriately named because of their shape and one other thing.  The were bird rookeries for many species birds and they flew and swooped all around the islands making them seem like beehives inhabited by bees.  As we got closer to the islands, it became apparent that the islands were crammed with birds.  It looked like every tiny ledge, crevice and crack had a nesting bird or its partner sitting or standing on it. The walls to the island were quite sheer, so they’d stand or sit on very narrow precipices to be used as nesting areas.  There was very little free space by the time the birds had found all the spots they wanted to use.  It was quite amazing.

We watched the birds wheel and soar in the air around and above the island.  Had there been air traffic control, it would have been a controller’s worst nightmare!  But they all seemed to be able to navigate and fly without crashing into each other.  We humans aren’t so lucky.

After about thirty minutes of watching the birds act like bees it was time to find some whales and check out some glaciers.  Both of which we found and saw in abundance.  We’ll tell you about them and the little secret in Part 10.

June 2, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, Travel, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 5)

The ferry Sir Robert Bond effortlessly cruised up the bay so as to deliver us on time and early in the morning in Cartwright.  The short overnight cruise had been uneventful and we slept heavily until the morning arrival announcement awakened us.  Offloading was a cinch and we found ourselves deposited in Cartwright hungry and in need of fuel.  First things first,  we immediately made…  breakfast the priority.

Not being a very large town, not too far from the ferry dock we found a small diner where the locals were busy getting ready for the day.  We joined them, munched down some good local fare and inquired about obtaining fuel.  They told us the only gas station in town would open around 8:30 and it was now 7:30.  Kim and I looked at each other and decided that with the extra fuel I was carrying we would head on towards Port Hope Simpson where fuel was available and where we planned to stay for the night.

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture and then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size.

We meandered along the TLH enjoying ourselves and the scenery, just soaking everything in.  It was decent weather, we were in no particular rush and in fuel saving mode.  We’d been traveling a couple of hours.  Cruising along, I looked into my rearview mirror and saw a dust cloud and two headlights coming our way at a high rate of speed.  They weren’t spaced evenly so it wasn’t a car or truck.  As I stopped to see what was coming, my guess was confirmed.  It was our friends Roy and Jeff from the ferry.  They had waited for the gas station to open and were high tailing it to try to make the ferry at Blanc Sablon.  They had covered in one hour what we had in two.  They were moving!

We chatted briefly and they decided to get going so they didn’t miss the ferry at Blanc Sablon.  We wished them well and their bikes and their dust cloud soon vanished in the distance.  Their bikes having disappeared over the horizon, it was time for us to make our own headway towards Port Hope Simpson to get the fuel we needed and obtain respite from the black flies which had recently made themselves known in full force.  In fact, for one photo stop, Kim refused to open her faceshield lest she immediately be swarmed by the nasty little critters.  She was right, it was better to keep moving.

After some beautiful riding and some very abbreviated photo stops, we arrived in Port Hope Simpson and found the General Store that also sold fuel.  To our surprise, we found some familiar faces.  Yes indeed, it was our friends Roy and Jeff from the ferry once again.  It seemed that the power was out in town and therefore, the fuel pumps were not working.  We chatted and walked into the General Store to find out if they knew when the power might come back on.

The clerk there told us not to worry, that the power should come back on in an hour or so.  She told us that this always happened when the guys down at the saw mill turned up the power without calling first and it trips off the breaker.  That puts that part of the town out of power until the circuit could be reset.  So we waited around for about an hour and sure as the sun rises the power came back on and we were able to fill all our bikes.

Unfortunately for Roy and Jeff, they were now truly under a time deadline and they REALLY had to make a beeline for Blanc Sablon if they wanted to make the ferry before it left the dock.  (We found out later that they did make it but only by a matter of minutes.)

Fully fueled, we headed to the only accommodations in town and settled in.  We were sitting in our room relaxing when the phone rang.  Kim and I simultaneously looked at each other with bewildered looks.  Who would be calling us in a little tiny hotel in Port Hope Simpson in northern Labrador?  I walked over to the phone and picked it up wondering who might be on the other end.

A unfamilar voice said “Mike”?  Yes, I replied warily.  The voice on the other end said, “Hi, it’s Dave Noel.  We’ve been corresponding on the Ride The Rock forum and I thought I’d come over and say hi.”  I was shocked but really pleased.  Dave and I had been chatting on the excellent Ride The Rock forum (you can find the link on our links page) when I was planning the TLH ride and Dave had been following my postings on ADVRider.com (you can also find their link on our links page)  He took it upon himself to ride over 25 miles on gravel from his home town Mary’s Harbor, just to say hello to someone he had never met.  In what other community would that kind of hospitality be shown?  I was amazed and pleased to no end.  I met Dave in the “lobby” and we went back to our room for a chat and we decided that the three of us would ride together tomorrow for a while.  We would meet at Dave’s house and ride from there.

The following morning we easily found Dave’s house and met his family, his wife and two sons.  Soon we were on the TLH headed towards Red Bay.  The trip had been cool, and along the way we found how cool it had been.  It was mid June and we found large patches of… SNOW!  More than enough to make snowballs and enough for Dave to try to sneak in a couple of sneaky snowball attacks!  However, I am pleased to report that he was unable to connect any either of these New Hampshire natives.

As we approached Red Bay we stopped for a couple of pictures.  We were on an elevated portion of the TLH with a partial view of Red Bay.  In the distance we could see the bay and I could see white specs in the water.  I was somewhat speechless.  I told Kim to look closely behind her and look in the bay.  Did she see what I saw?  Were there really icebergs in the bay?  Now we were really excited because neither of us had ever seen icebergs in person.  Dave humored us and we descended into Red Bay.

As we approached, it became clear that the specs were indeed icebergs and they were majestic.  Sparkling white and huge, they floated silently in the bay.  We did not sense any motion, but they floated there like barren white islands of various shapes and sizes, daring you to describe them.  Some were gigantic, towering monoliths of ice, jutting out of the water.  It amazed us to think that fully two thirds of the berg lay under water.  Others were smaller and flatter, still white almost silver in color, again defying description.

We stopped at a small restaurant in town and had lunch with Dave.  He needed to get home so we wished him the best and thanked him for taking the time to come and meet us and share this journey with us.  We remain friends to this day.

After we said our goodbyes, we rode closer to the bay to gain the best view of the icebergs and yet another magical thing happened.  As I was sitting on my KTM staring, I noticed a spray of water in front of the iceberg.  Then another, and still another.  My mouth dropped agape.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There from the side of the road, right in front of me, were several icebergs and in front and around the icebergs were several pods of Humpback whales feeding!  They were breeching and if I listened carefully, I could even hear them blowing.  It was a spectacular sight.  One that I will probably never experience again.  There must have been more than 100 whales feeding.

As I sat beside the road, a local came out of his house and said, “Pretty good show huh?”  They were here all day yesterday and today.”  I was dumbfounded.  All I could mumble was, “Yes, it’s a great show, I am so happy to be here to enjoy it.”  So everyone, I was lucky enough to have my little point and shoot camera with me which had a video mode.  Because it’s a little point and shoot the video isn’t excellent, but I think it’s worthwhile.  Therefore, I am indeed pleased to share with you the best whale watch I’ve ever been on, (including those on boats hehe) that was taken from the side of the road on my KTM motorcycle.  You can find it here:

We sat there for an hour watching and listening to the whales.  It was an amazing experience.  Words just can’t describe it, it’s one of things that you just have to experience for yourself.  We could have watched for hours, but we too had an appointment with the ferry at Blanc Sablon and it was time for us to make our way there.  So with significant regret, we mounted up again and made our way towards our next stop at Blanc Sablon and the ferry to Newfoundland where we’ll take you in Part 6

May 21, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 4)

We awoke to light drizzle but with an increasing outlook for sun.  We were headed for Goose Bay, but we’d have an intermediate stop in Red Bay and it was to be an exciting experience, one that we’d not soon forget.  We left our combination hotel, restaurant, supermarket, high school building and packed the bikes.  Soon we were off the paved roads of the town of Churchill Falls and back out on the gravel of the Trans Labrador Highway.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, so did our spirits as the clouds parted and the temperatures rose.  Today was going to be a truly nice ride and we were about to reach one of our milestone places, Goose Bay.  From Goose Bay, we were going to take the ferry to Cartwright and the final run through Labrador to Blanc Sablon where we’d take another ferry to Newfoundland.  Goose Bay was to be , the beginning of another adventure in our adventure.  We were psyched!

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture and then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size.

During the day’s trip, the gravel was to transform many times.  We were had been impressed with the overall condition of the TLH, the stories we’d heard of how dangerous it was for bikes hadn’t seemed to be true.   Caution was indeed necessary as was demonstrated by Kim’s get off outside of Labrador City.  But overall, the gravel had been fairly uniform and other than the hazards presented by the road graders, the road condition had been pretty good.

Today however, was a day of road and sky transformations.  It seemed that the road condition changed with the sky.  The clearer the sky became, the deeper and looser the gravel became.  Later in the day as it began to cloud up again, the road firmed up and became almost like pavement.  It was truly strange.  But enough about the road conditions.  We were headed for Goose Bay!

We traveled over and between verdant forests.  Many shades of green contrasting on the same hill or mountainside.  It was an irregular patchwork of greens, a pattern chosen by nature into a decoration of magical proportions.  All the while, we swooped and dived between the mountains on a path of stone and sand.  It was a symphony of nature and music for my ears was unnecessary because the music of nature before my eyes played in my head as I rode.

Time passed very quickly even though by this time we were in and out of rain showers.  Before we knew it we made it to the greeting sign for Goose Bay and Happy Valley.  It had stopped raining for the moment and it gave us the opportunity to take some pictures in front of the sign as evidence that we had made it.  Someone had left a marker of their achievement as well and built a rock man figure to the left of the sign letting all others know that people they had been there previously. and now so had we.

Shortly thereafter, it started to rain again and we headed to our hotel for a day and a half layover since the ferry would not be leaving until then.  We parked the bikes and unpacked the gear we needed in the rain.  Once in our room we dried off and warmed up.  It had become quite chilly by this point and the warmth of the hotel was greatly appreciated.  Now all we needed was a hot dinner.  Luckily for us, there was a small restaurant right next to the hotel and we headed on over.

They were serving a buffet and we passed a gentleman in the line.  I guess we look like “bikers” because he asked are you the two on the bikes?  We told him that indeed we were.  He said that he noticed our New Hampshire license plates and remarked that we had ridden a long way from home.  We told him we enjoyed the ride, especially over the TLH and that we were now headed to the end at Blanc Sablon and the ferry to Newfoundland, then on to Nova Scotia.  He said he was very interested in our trip and asked if he could join us for dinner to chat about it.  Of course we said yes and we had a terrific dinner discussing where we had been and were going on this trip and about adventure riding in general.  In return, he told us about himself and his family.  He was the local pastor in Goose Bay and had travelled there from Quebec a few years earlier.  His flock was growing and he was enjoying being in Labrador where he said could be a part of a community where people were like family.   After dinner, we wished him well and we returned to our hotel room feeling like we had become a bit part of the Goose Bay community, we learned about them and they about us.  It was a nice feeling.

The following day, I did a little preventative maintenance on the bikes and we did a little looking around Goose Bay.  But late in the afternoon, it was time to head to the ferry terminal to pick up the ferry to Cartwright where we continue our journey to the end of the TLH in Blanc Sablon, Quebec.  Little did we know that this part of the trip was to become very, very special.

We arrived at the terminal fairly early and found ourselves one of the few vehicles in the lot.  Parked at the pier was our ride to Cartwright, the Sir Robert Bond, our ferry.  She was a sturdy looking vessel and we were somewhat impatient to get on board, tie down the bikes and get underway for Cartwright.  It was to be an overnight trip and we had rented a berth so we could arrive fresh and rested to start the beginning of the end of our TLH ride.

Loading time came and was orchestrated very well.  It was an easy process and we were supplied with tie downs for the bikes.  Faster than we thought possible, we were on board and ready to depart. We walked around the Bond looking for some dinner and they did have a cafeteria.  Well, it was a cafeteria, and the food quality merited the name cafeteria food, but it was food and we were hungry.  Fed, we were ready to hit the sack and we adjourned to our berth for a good night’s rest.  Along the way, we met a couple of other riders, from all places, Massachusetts, the state right next to New Hampshire.  They too had been riding the TLH albeit at a much higher rate of speed.  They were really zooming and had covered much more ground in much less time than we had.  We had a good time joking around and having fun with them.  In fact, so much fun that I guess we drew a complaint from someone and a member of the crew staff asked us to keep the noise down.  Ooops!

Our partying done, now it was time to hit the rack.  The last of the TLH lay in front of us in the morning and well tell you about this and the very special happenings (the pictures will knock your socks off!) in Part 5.

May 18, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 8)

We hated to admit it, but it was in fact time to leave McCarthy.  Time had passed so quickly, I was really somewhat upset to be leaving such a beautiful place.  Kim as ever, was taking all in stride and had already packed our gear in plastic bags and was patiently awaiting the van to pick us up and drop us off at the foot bridge so we could walk the last quarter mile or so to our bikes to re-pack our gear.   I truly was going to miss the Root glacier and the amazing sights and story of incredible perseverance of all those who had toiled at the Kennicott mine.  But I knew there was more to come for us in Valdez and Seward, perhaps even better, and those thoughts buoyed my spirit as we prepared to leave this absolutely amazing place.

Sooner than we knew it, we were back at the foot bridge carrying all our gear back to our bikes to commence our re-packing activities and hit the road for the day and to head for Valdez.  After about half an hour, we were ready to move on and we headed back out on the 60 miles of gravel back towards the pavement from whence we had come.  It was a faster an easier ride than the previous one since we had already ridden the route but still an enjoyable and exciting jaunt.

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture and then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size.

As we approached the pavement, the weather started to deteriorate and we began to experience the first rain of the day.  Rain had become one of our friends during this trip and it was no big deal as we motored on happily and the temperature continued to drop.  Further into the ride towards Valdez, we started to climb which helped the temperatures to drop even more.  The wind began to pick up significantly and the temperature began to plummet.  Snowflakes started to fly as they were ripped from the not too distant clouds just above us.  They roiled above us and we could see them being swept up the side of the mountains but being halted at the summit by some other competing wind.  The sun began to fade and the weather was truly beginning to get nasty.

I radioed to Kim over the communicators to stop so we could add some layers and check our maps for location and distance to Valdez.  We stopped to check our map and found that we were almost right in front of the Worthington glacier.  It rolled down the side of the mountain in extending two icy fingers in a “V” for victory having made its way across and over the top of the mountain ending right next to the road we were on.  It was impressive!  It had made it across the mountain where the clouds had been unable to.

After checking our maps, we found that we were not that far away and if the snow didn’t pick up, we could probably make it into Valdez in a couple of hours or less.   After taking a few pictures of the Worthington glacier  we were off again and headed to Valdez in the snow and rain.   As we neared Valdez, the clouds continued to lower and we were concerned that we may hit some really difficult weather and intense snow.  But as we entered a canyon, several blue holes opened overhead and the sun burst through in bright flashes.  So there was hope to make it to Valdez and there was a sun above! Great!

The road began to twist and turn surrounded with high jagged rock canyon walls covered in greenery.  If the weather were better, this road would have been the kind boy racers would enjoy quite a bit.  But as nature would have it, there was another show to be viewed that would slow us down.  Under a blue hole, in the sunlight, a cascade of white water crashed down from above.  Bouncing from prominence to prominence, the water cascaded in a flash of white and a veil of misty fog.  We had to stop to take it all in.  In fact, while we were there, several folks were similarly effected and chose to stop as well.  It was a feast for the eyes; a delicious sight.

After a few photos it was back onto the bikes and only a short jaunt to Valdez.  The rain picked up again, but was an on and off affair for the two days while we visited.  So in the on and off rain, we decided that it would be a good idea to visit Valdez and meet some of the locals and find out a little about the city.

We took the time to visit Valdez’s two museums full of information about the history, establishment and people of Valdez, as well as Good Friday earthquake and tsunami that wiped out most of the city in 1964.   We saw a specimen of the extremely rare Alaskan Furry Koho salmon.  It was encased in a glass enclosed case so you couldn’t pet it, or eat it.  Those Alaskans, they protect their rare species carefully.

We later met the curator of the museum who gave us the opportunity to have our picture taken with an Authentic Alaskan hunting rifle saying that “everything is bigger in Alaska”.  Shortly thereafter he came out with a 7 foot long rifle that you will see in the pictures here.  Quite a guy that curator.

Did you know that Valdez claims to be Alaska’s snow capital?  We had a chance to check some of their snow removal equipment and if it’s an indicator of the snow they get, we don’t doubt them.  Snow machines 15 1/2 foot tall with 5 1/2 tall augers tell of a need to move a lot of snow; and there are several of them.  When the auger of the machine is taller than my wife, you know its a big machine.

We also saw several examples of the symbol of our country flying around the harbor.  Bald eagles are plentiful in the area and they can be seen quite regularly in Valdez.  It was great to see them and they are just as majestic as you would think they are.

After two days of rain in Valdez, it was time to move on to Seward.  By this time, the weather looked to be clearing a bit and we were anxious to be moving in some sun.  We planned a full days ride with a couple of stops along the way.  The first stop was to be in Girdwood at the Alyeska Tramway, a ski area that has a view of Turnagain Arm.  Girdwood is also known for the Girdwood festival which has Alaskan artists, exotic foods and entertainers from all over Alaska.  The ride was once again beautiful with curving roads alongside the ocean and mountains.  The views were spectacular as the harbor was as placid as a mill pond and it reflected the surrounding mountains.  It was a wonderful sight.

We parked at Alyeska and took the tram to the top.  It was even more spectacular.  From a white snow covered perch, you were witness to an amazing view of Turnagain harbor stretched out in front you.  As if by some magical plan, a parasailer floated silently by us and down to the valley floor below.  The water of the harbor was blue and sparkled in the sun, reflecting the surrounding mountains.  It was perfect.

Again, we could have stayed forever, but we had to make Seward in one day, so we hopped back on the tram and headed down the mountain and got back on the bikes.  Not too far from Alyeska, we spied a sign that pointed us to the Wildlife Conservation Center.  Kim enjoys seeing “wild” animals so we set our course for the Center.  It turned out that it was a drive through center where people drive through with their cars to see the animals.  We were on bikes.  Hmmm…. do we really want to be in a wild animal center on bikes?  Can I really accelerate that hard on a fully loaded adventure bike?  Do I really like wild animals that much?

Never fear we were told, all the “dangerous” animals were fenced in.  So we paid our fee and visited with bison, elk, moose, musk ox, caribou, and supposedly bears which we never saw (although we saw the pelvis of some poor departed animal in their enclosure).   Do you know that a musk ox makes a sound that sounds like a lion’s/tiger’s growl.  I’m here to tell you that I heard it up close, and it does and it’s impressive.  All in all, it turned out to be a good experience with the opportunity to get pretty close to the animals and see their behaviors.  It was money well spent.

Time was indeed fleeting and we needed to get to Seward.  So we said our goodbyes to the animals and hightailed it the rest of the way to Seward in clearing and brightening weather.  When we got to our hotel, little did we realize that we would once again be surrounded by wild animals.  We’ll tell you more in Part 9.

May 14, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, Travel, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 3)

In a misty drizzle just outside of Fermont, we rounded one of the corners beyond a railroad crossing.  A road grader had recently passed and left a rather high gravel and dirt berm near the middle of the road.  It has also apparently stopped there and made a slight turn because it had left a small pile of gravel and dirt a couple of feet to the right of the high berm.  It wasn’t that big but that was part of the problem.  It was difficult to see and it was also solid since it was filled with gravel.  Soft enough to dig into but not soft enough to plow through. 

I was about 100 yards ahead of Kim on my bigger KTM 950 and saw it in time to take evasive action.  I don’t know why I didn’t signal her or tell her about the berm on the communicator.  I guess I just figured she would see it.  Dummy!  Well she was on her smaller BMW F650 single and she hit it fairly dead center causing her to fall off and pile drive the big toe of her right foot into the gravel of the roadway.  It also knocked off one of her panniers and tweaked the pannier frame and lock.

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture and then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size. 

 

I turned around and Kim was more concerned about the bike than herself.  She said her foot was a bit sore but was more concerned about how we would get her pannier closed, locked and back on her bike.  (It turns out that Kim had actually broken her toe and rode the remainder of the trip with the second bone in her big toe split in two, almost down the center.  I told you she’s pretty intrepid!) I had good tools and with a few tie wraps, a couple of temporary bolts, a bit of bending with pliers and smacking with rocks, we were ready to go again.   Of course, the rain had to pick up and we pressed on in the rain and gathering darkness towards Labrador City for a rest and to get some appropriate bolts to fix Kim’s panniers.

When we arrived in Labrador City, it was fairly late; almost 9:00 PM.  We hadn’t had any dinner and we were wet, cold, tired and hungry.  The restaurant was already closed and we asked about nearby places to eat.  It turned out there weren’t any open within walking distance, but the hotel folks graciously opened the bar area to us and got us some hot soup and a sandwich which we gratefully accepted.  What nice people!

The following morning, it was still raining and raining with abandon.  We went in search of hardware for Kim’s panniers and were given directions to a small store in town.   They unfortunately did not have what we were looking for and we were standing in the parking lot trying to figure out our next move when a somewhat familiar voice said, “Hi you two, what are you doing here?  We looked over and there was the woman who we had met while we were in a small hotel in Baie Comeau.  We had chatted a bit and she had said she and her family lived in Labrador City and they were returning in the process of there when we met them at the hotel.  Now here she was at this chance meeting!  We told her of our predicament and she said she could help us out and led us to a hardware store that did indeed have the parts we needed to fix Kim’s bike.  We thanked her and before we could get her full name and address, she was off.  The kindness of people is amazing.

With Kim’s bike repaired, it was only a short ride on pavement until we got back onto the gravel of the TLH.  “Civilization” quickly faded as the gravel grew deeper and the trees grew thicker, taller and greener.  We were headed to Churchill Falls and we were really into some isolated country.  It was gorgeous, but it was indeed immense.  Mountains surrounded us in many shades of green.  Light green and dark greens literally covering the mountains like a patchwork quilt of  trees randomly distributed over and around the mountain sides.  Once off the mountains, large plains could often be seen, sometimes populated with thriving green trees or sometimes with the dead trees that had expired in forest fires or been killed by flooding.  And as we traveled on, not a glimpse of man made civilization was to be found.  Not a sign, telephone pole, street light or manhole cover.  It was wilderness and it was amazing. 

After traveling for a few hours we decided to stop for a snack of a powerbar, some nuts and water.  By stopping, the presence of the wide open wilderness became even more omnipresent.  It was overcast and no breeze blew.  It was very quiet.  The road and surrounding terrain was flat and we cold see it disappear around a wooded corner in the distance.  Nearby, a large sand berm approximately 10 feet tall offered a better vantage point to view the surroundings so I climbed it to look around.  With the view from that berm, I could see even farther into the open and vast space around me, bracketed by verdant mountains.  It was beautiful and scary at the same time.  I looked down from the berm to see Kim standing 20 yards away and she looked miniscule framed by the surroundings.  It was a surreal moment, one where you feel like you are only a very, very small part of the earth.

Wake up! I told myself there’s a lot more of Labrador to travel so I disengaged my mind from the scene and climbed down from the berm.  We needed to get to Churchill Falls before dark and we still had plenty of miles to go.  After what seemed like many hours in the wilderness, we arrived in Churchill Falls and the beginning of paved road again.  Churchill Falls was built exclusively as a town to service the nearby hydroelectric dam.  It is a small self sufficient town complete with hotel, high school, supermarket, and restaurant but all are in the same building.  When you have to be self sufficient this far out, there’s little credit given to waste.  So if you are going to build a large public complex, you may as well build them all together at the same time and that’s exactly what the folks in Churchill Falls did.  Bravo.

We did get to experience a bit of what the locals must have to do all the time.  When we went looking for food in town, the restaurant was closed because they didn’t have a chef.  But we were told that the local bar had food.  So we went there but they were a bit low on supplies as well.  Kim ended up having fried cod chunks and water, and since I don’t like seafood, I ended up with mozzarella sticks and beer as a 100% nutritionally complete dinner.

The following morning we got up early for our ride to Goose Bay and the first major ferry ride of the trip.  We’ll tell you more about that in Part 4.

May 8, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, KTM, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 7)

As we had seemingly been waiting for all day, we finally came to the fork in the road where we left the pavement and hit the gravel for the sixty mile jaunt to McCarthy. Almost immediately we began a fairly significant climb on a loose gravel surface road with no guard rail. It was quite a way down to the water below, but we were by this time quite use to the feeling of riding mountainous gravel roads with no guard rails. We continued further into the road and civilization quickly started to vanish. The road became a single two track that had us wondering for a while whether we had actually made the correct turn to McCarthy. Grass grew three inches high from between the two well defined wheel tracks and the trees closed in to only a few feet from the sides of the tracks. The road was beginning to look more like a trail than a road.

Hmmm… After about 20 minutes of this type of riding I began to wonder whether we were indeed on the correct road. But shortly thereafter, the road began to widen and some beautiful vistas became evident. Below us glowing a bright silver in the late day sun was what/who we would find out was the Copper River. She was wide and wonderful, carving large sweeping swaths between the mountains, sometimes running fast with white water, and other times merely dawdling along. She was full of life and effortlessly showed her power while letting her magnificence be known. She was breathtaking and she knew it.

Onward we rode and signs of civilization made themselves known in short spurts along the way. A few houses huddled here and there, out in this wilderness among the towering trees, mountains and bright blue sky. However as we continued deeper into the forest, we came to recognize that to live here you must be sturdy and self sufficient. Here, the laws of nature come first and are in control, not the laws promulgated by man. Winters with double digit sub-zero temperatures and snow measured in feet not inches are not for the weak of body or mind.

Nearly two hours after leaving the pavement, we came to the parking lot (yes, parking lot!) for the place we would be staying for the next few days; the Kennicott Glacier Lodge. We had found this place nearly by accident on the web and when we found what it was near, we decided we had to visit. But here’s the deal, you can’t ride or drive there yourself (without permission from them which is almost never granted). You must take a foot bridge across a section of the Copper River to a waiting van that will drive you the last couple of miles to the lodge. In all honesty, there are other means to get there, but the natives keep that to themselves and it’s only fair to leave it that way for them.

So what’s so good about the Kennicott Glacier Lodge you ask? Well despite great accommodations in the middle of the Wrangell-Elias mountain range, it’s located directly beside the Root Glacier and a short walk from the Kennicott Mine which is now a National Park maintained in a state of arrested decay by the National Park Service. As such, it looks like an abandoned mine that it is, but it is not being permitted to decay any more than it has to date. Therefore, you can visit and experience some of what the miners life was like and what conditions they dealt with 100 or so years ago.

So it was at this awesome place that we decided to give our bikes a rest and take some time to soak in what the Wrangell-Elias mountain ranges had to give us. One day we took a flightseeing tour and flew over numerous glaciers. Words really can’t express their beauty. They are truly something that defies description so you must make it an absolute to visit a glacier in person during your lifetime.

A glacier’s amazing attributes make it one of the wonders of the world. A slow moving dynamo, a glacier is an unstoppable force, one that the earth itself cannot stop. Able to render solid rock from the walls of a mountain and carve new pathways, they possess incredible beauty often glowing so brightly that they are difficult to look at. When you do gaze upon them you may find them to be solid white or silver, striped, or brown/grey, completely covered with the rock and gravel they have scoured from the mountains as they have slowly journeyed past.

It was therefore an even greater treat to walk upon the Root Glacier for a 4 hour guided trek, where we found the glaciers not only to be beautiful, but alive. As we approached, the scene was a bit lunar like as the surface was grey and rocky with the murrain that the glacier had removed as it traveled along the mountain’s sides.  However, as we made it to the top, the surface glinted and gleamed under our crampons as we walked up the side. As we crested the first peak of the glacier and investigated its surface, we saw that it indeed had the attributes of a living being. There were streams that twisted and turned, ponds of bright blue and dark azure, deep crevices and soaring ridges, all located on the body of this single glacier and all viewable during this short hike. Amazing. We stopped for a short lunch from a ridge overlooking a bright blue pond and sooner than we knew it, it was time to leave. Having been on the glacier only 4 hours, we felt cheated but at the same time honored to have witnessed its power and beauty so close and at such a personal level.

Next, we toured the Kennicott mine. Again we witnessed amazing sights but on a more human and personal level. This mine was one of the largest copper producers in the world. But producing the copper took a gigantic toll on the men who extracted the copper from the mine. The mine was truly in the wilderness and as such Kennicott had to be totally self sufficient. Rail brought in supplies and took out product, but that was about it.

You were on your own and needed to work hard to make a living. Your bunk was supplied by the company and it was a hot bunk. When you were not sleeping in it, someone else was. You worked in the mines or in the factory that separated the copper from the ore and you did it 7 days a week. The temperatures we in the double digits negatives and the heat supplied was not for the workers but to keep the machinery working. It was the lucky worker who was stationed next to the heaters that heated the machinery. If you were far from those heaters, you got the temperature the environment gave you. As we said earlier, this land required stout people.

Before we knew it, it was time to leave McCarthy and the Kennicott mine area, get back on the bikes and continue our Alaskan adventure. In the morning we would once again wait for the van beside the Root Glacier and be taken back to the foot bridge so we could make our way towards Seward where we will take you in Part 8.

May 6, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, photo, pictures, Travel, Uncategorized, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 2)

Having snaked our way up the side of Manic 5 we were underway for real on our TLH adventure.  It had been a beautiful ride so far, but it had been an all pavement ride up to this point and we were really looking forward to a bit more challenging terrain to ride.  We were about to experience some and find out what the TLH had in store for us.

As we made our way northward, the rain decreased in intensity and the low clouds began to lift a bit.  We were able to see a bit more of our surroundings and enjoy the very green forests that encroached from all directions.  The rain could do little to dampen our spirits as we soldiered on deeper into the forests of Labrador.  Yes, we were really heading into the wilderness and we were loving it.  The gravel road undulated and swooped up and down, sometimes with fairly steep grades.  The gravel varied from hard packed to loose and piled, so we had to stay alert, but it was not hugely difficult riding.  In fact, the rain was doing us somewhat of a favor and keeping the dust to zero.

After about two hours on the road and not a single car coming from the other direction, we were really in riding nirvana.  All this to ourselves, lush green surrounded us, the grey misty skies embraced us and softened all the features to a gauzy dreamlike condition.  If you could ride a motorcycle and enter a trance at the same time, now would be the time to do it, it was just that peaceful.   Just when we thought that we were the last two people on earth (or at least in Labrador) as we crested a hill, we were reminded that we were still surrounded by “civilization” no matter how isolated we thought we were.

To the right side of the road atop an orange pole stood tall, thin, blazing red beacon with unlit yellow and green lights.  It stood there silently with another square little box counting down the minutes and seconds as if it were waiting for something big to happen.  Could this really be?  A traffic signal in the middle of nowhere on the TLH?  Indeed it was and it was the first of its kind seen by this city boy.  It was a time controlled traffic signal and it was waiting for us and telling us to wait until it counted down to zero.  But it was quite strange.  Ahead we could only see sodden gravel road and varying shades of green trees, for what appeared to be a half mile.  We still didn’t know what it was doing there but we waited somewhat impatiently for the countdown to end and the light to turn green.

In fact, it took so long that a car pulled up beside us and turned off its engine to wait as well.  It’s occupants rolled down their windows and offered us some of the nuts they were munching on and we chatted a few minutes about our trip and where were from and where we were headed.  They told us that up ahead, we would find some construction where the road would narrow to a single lane and that’s why we were being held, so that traffic coming the other way would have time to pass the construction and pass us.  After the allotted time had passed we would be free to go and the folks on the other end would have to wait until we had passed by the timing of the traffic signal.  When the light finally turned green, we wished our new friends well and let them go first since we were in no rush to get anywhere and they were headed for Labrador City, quite a distance away.

One of the “highlights” of the trip was to pass through the vanished town of Gagnon, Quebec.   Gagnon provided us with one of the most eerie feelings we’ve ever had.  Gagnon was founded by the Québec Cartier Mining Company to mine iron ore at Jeannine Lake. Construction of the pilot plant began in the winter of 1957.  By August of that year, the plant had processed a thousand tons of ore. On January 28, 1960, the town was incorporated as Ville de Gagnon and named after Onésime Gagnon, the first Minister of Mining in Quebec. Thereafter it grew rapidly to 1300 inhabitants and by the end of that year, Gagnon had more than 4000 residents. It had an airport, churches, schools, a town hall, an arena, a hospital, and a large commercial centre, despite being isolated and only accessible by aircraft

In 1974, mining began at Fire Lake, some 80 kilometres (50 mi) north-east.  By the mid-1980s however, the mine was no longer turning a profit and the mines were closed.  More startlingly, the town fully was fully dismantled in 1985. All buildings and nearly all of the streets were demolished.  The town’s main street is all that remains and it became part of Route 389 two years after the town’s closure.  Eerily, that section of road retains a boulevard configuration, complete with a median, sidewalks, and sewers, despite being deep in the wilderness, hundreds of kilometres from the nearest active community,  It was  a very strange and unsettling feeling having traveled many miles on damp gravel to arrive at a paved section of road, complete with dividers and sidewalks, and see nothing around you but brush and trees.  You could only stare and wonder, “What happened to all the people who used to live here and where are they now?”

We stopped for a brief time but needed to move on since we had planned a fairly long day and had planned to bed down in were bedding down in Labrador City.  As we headed further north, towards Fermont, the mining town that led to the closure of Gagnon, the road began a set of twists and turns and multiple rail crossings.  Despite the fact that you are many miles from any large city, there are plenty of trains traversing these tracks and you must be very careful at the crossings to ensure that there is not a train coming.  While we completed this section in a single day, three separate trains passed by us.

Another hazard of the TLH is the “dreaded” road grader.  Traveling at low speeds, the transit the TLH for hundreds of miles evening out potholes and adding a slight crown to the road to assist in drainage.  While this is excellent for the four wheeled variety of vehicles, it can lead to more difficult riding for the two wheel variety.  The graders often leave an in or two of soft mixed soil in their wake as well as very significant mixed gravel berms that can make negotiating the road quite difficult.  The graders have gained a significant notoriety among the two wheeled adventure riding community and although their wake is not generally deadly, it can bite the unsuspecting if you turn your back on them as we’ll find out in Part 3.

April 29, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Transiting The Trans Labrador Highway & Canadian Atlantic Provinces (Part 1)

As native New England adventure riders, we were looking for a ride that would be a bit more off the beaten track but doable within the 2 weeks we had off.  Something that was not your garden style ride, but something more.  We wondered where we could ride that would take us off the pavement and into the wilderness a bit, but still put us in touch with some different local flavors.  Something that we were not used to and would be new, interesting and exciting.  After thinking about it for a while, we thought we had come up with the only conclusion possible for us.  The Trans Labrador Highway (aka the TLH)!  At the time, a little traveled gravel road known for its changing conditions, pea sized gravel, significant distances between towns and nice people in them.  Then we thought, while we were at it, we may as well visit Newfoundland and Nova Scotia!

Done!  The deal had been struck, we would leave in the middle of June and head generally northeast up through Quebec, into Labrador, to Goose Bay, where the TLH ended, hop a ferry to Cartwright, get back on the TLH and ride to Blanc Sablon (actually in Quebec) hop another ferry to Newfoundland, ride south down the west coast of Newfoundland and once again jump on another ferry to Nova Scotia, ride the length of Nova Scotia and then board one last ferry to Maine and ride back to New Hampshire.  What a great trip!

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The machines for this trip were a KTM 950 Adventure for me and a BMW F650GS for Kim.  Although we planned to stay in hotels or B&Bs each night, we loaded them up with some extra supplies and gear in case of breakdown along the TLH.  We had emergency food, water and shelter and fuel just in case, and we were still loaded within reason.

So off we went on a bright and sunny afternoon headed towards Magog, Quebec.  Once reaching the Canadian border, signs in both English and French reminded us that we were indeed in the French speaking province of Quebec.  Ahh…  a different culture flavor to enjoy.  As the day wore on, the skies turned a bit more ominous, but luckily for us, we made it to our first stop completely dry and were able to enjoy a nice French Canadian dinner.   Yum!  We hit the rack fairly early in hopes of getting an early start the following morning.  We hoped that the good weather we had encountered all day would continue into the next.  However, we were not so lucky this time and the skies decided to open, shedding their grey and misty burden upon the surrounding green landscape.  On went our rain gear and we made our way north.  All morning we encountered rain and wind, but by the time we had made it to La Malbaie, the rain had stopped and the sun occasionally peeked out between thick layers of heavy grey clouds.

We continued on in increasing sun and drying roads.  By the time we had made it to Baie Comeau it was downright sunny.  A few miles later and we were ready to board our first ferry of the trip, a very short jaunt across a river but the only way across it.  There was a short backup of cars and trucks and everyone was patiently waiting their turn.  While waiting, we chatted with several people who wanted to know about the bikes and where we were headed.  When we told them we were about to traverse the Trans Labrador Highway, many were impressed, some wished they were coming along and all were very friendly.

In the increasing sun, we passed our first of several large dams that would mark our progress along the TLH.  All of these dams are named with the precursor name “Manic” short for the Manicouagan reservoir that feeds the dams managed by Quebec Hydro.  These dams are very important powering large portions of eastern Canada as well as the Eastern United States.    We did a bit of the tourist thing and stopped for a few pictures at Manic 2 and Manic 5.  All of the Manic dams are impressive structures, the most impressive being Manic 5 where the gravel of the TLH begins.  We had hoped to take a tour of the inner workings of the Manic 5 (more formally known as the Daniel – Johnson dam), but we were two days early for the start of the tour season, so we missed out.

By the time we reached Manic 5 and the Energy Hotel where we would stay for the night, we were pretty tired so we unloaded our gear and piled it into our converted mobile home room.  We walked past several other converted mobile home units and into the small cafeteria for some dinner.  We noted that all of this was created not for the tourist trade, but to put up traveling workers who service Manic 5.  As we sat and ate our cafeteria food, we looked around and noticed that we were the aliens, the outsiders.  The real  inhabitants of this place were the workers who kept the beast which was Manic 5 alive, fed and healthy.  We were merely outsiders, observers, not doers involved in keeping this mammoth beast alive which in turn made so many other people’s lives easier and literally, full of light.  It made me feel small.  However, in little over an hour, we had finished our meal and we walked back to our room in gathering darkness and mounting drizzle.

As morning came, it was raining and raining hard.  But the TLH called and we were anxious to be under way and start the beginning fo the gravel portion of our adventure.  We loaded up our bikes and made our way over the last short portion of pavement.  Prior to arriving on the gravel, you weave your way past several corners as Manic 5 looms in front of you.  Several giant arches equally spaced with a single giant arch in the middle face you looking like tressels to a giant bridge.  As you get closer, the immensity of the structure strikes you, this beast is large and it is powerful.  Its size and power become more evident as you ride the road that climbs beside its concrete face.

Suddenly the road turns to gravel and it is steep.  You make your way up the road and as you make it to the top on this new to you gravel surface, you can look down and see that you have climbed over 700 feet from whence you started.  This dam is indeed spectacular.  We stopped for a few pictures and began our TLH adventure in earnest.  We’ll tell you more about our journey in Part 2.

April 22, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, enduro, KTM, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 6)

We enjoyed being in Dawson City so much that time was vanquished much more quickly than the setting of the sun in Dawson’s 21 hours of daylight.  Suddenly it was time to leave this wonderful place.  With quite a bit of disappointment, we the loaded the bikes and headed for the ferry and back up the mountain to the US border via the Top of the World Highway.

The trip to the border was fairly easy going with great scenery, good gravel and bright sun.  We did unfortunately encounter some people in motorhomes who were driving recklessly.  Very slow up the steep grades they would not let you pass and when you finally did pass, they would come down the steep grades very fast at the risk of burning out their brakes and tailgate until the next upward grade.  Other than the motorhome issue, you couldn’t ask for a much nicer trip to the border.  Once there, we were greeted by the residents of the town of Poker Creek Alaska, population 2.  The residents?  The two border guards that live at the house on the border while the highway is open.  They were very friendly and even assisted us with the motorhomes we had encountered on the highway.  The let us through very quickly and determined that the motorhomes merited a much more significant inspection.  Ahhh… payback.  Thank you guys!

Past the border we headed back toward Chicken and made a stop at the Chicken Creek Cafe for lunch again.  We met a few travelers while there and discussed off road riding and our journey so far.  Many expressed a desire to ride with us or make the journey on two wheels instead of four, so they too could enjoy the adventure as we had been doing.  They all said… “Someday.”  We were so glad that we had made “someday” arrive for us.

One of the travellers asked us which of the bikes was better and I remarked that they were both good bikes  He said he thought the KTM was probably the better bike because it had glasses.  I wasn’t sure what he meant until I turned around and looked at the headlights of my KTM and then I saw what he meant.  The lens covers on the KTM did indeed look like glasses!  (see pictures).  Very dirty glasses, but glasses nonetheless.

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On the way out of Chicken, we stopped to see Chicken’s own dredge, the Pedro dredge.  It was being restored and was smaller in size than dredge #4 in Dawson, but you could get much closer to the Pedro dredge.  We walked around and took a few pictures and once again we were reminded of the toiling that took place over a hundred years ago in search of gold.

After the pictures, it was time to get moving again so we could get to our hotel for the night at Tok.  As we had  related earlier, for us Tok did not represent anything special so it merely became a waypoint and a disembarkation point for our next stop at McCarthy, Alaska.  McCarthy had special allure to us for numerous reasons.  First, while we were researching this trip, we found the Kennicott Glacier Lodge which is located directly beside the Root Glacier that we intended to walk and which was only a short hike from the old McCarthy Copper Mine which we also intended to tour.

Having found the Kennicott Glacier Lodge with all the surrounding areas of interest, we excitedly called to make reservations.  We told them we would be arriving on motorcycles and the assistant suddenly became very concerned.  Did we know that they were located at the end of a 60 mile gravel road?  Why yes, yes we did, and that was precisely one of the reasons we had decided to come and visit them.  With a bit of hesitation, the attendant booked us and were all set to go to McCarthy.  We couldn’t wait to get there.

After a few hours sleep in Tok, we tried to get an early start but we ran into two separate mechanical problems.  First, one of the pannier bolts had broken on the KTM and the bolt was broken off inside the mount.  Damn!  There was no way for me to get the broken bolt out of the mount myself.  The first thing to do was to totally unpack the bike.  Then find a shop where I  could get an extractor to remove the bolt.  Ultimately I found an ATV shop where I spent several hours disassembling the pannier mounts so we could get at the mount to extract the broken bolt.  Once we had extracted the bolt, I reassembled the pannier mounts and headed back to the hotel.  By this time it had started raining.  Nice.  It was a short ride to the hotel where Kim was patiently waiting.  We rushed through loading the bikes quickly as time was wasting.

I fired up and jumped on my bike and immediately knew something was wrong.  The bike felt all mushy and it felt like I was riding on iron rollers.  It was immediately clear what the problem was.  I had a rear tire flat.  Damn!  Again!  But the tire still had enough air to get back to the ATV shop without ruining the tire.  Once there, we checked the tube and found no punctures.  Now what?  Believe it or not, it was just that the valve core was loose.  Double damn!  But it was an easy fix and another short ride later I was back at the hotel and packed for the ride to McCarthy.

As we made our way to McCarthy first on paved roads to the Kennicott mine with its rich history as the biggest copper deposit ever discovered, our anticipation and excitement grew as did the sight of the Wrangell – St. Elias mountain range and the glaciers it held.  There were beautiful vistas filled with mountains and trees and nothing else.  They continued to grow and grow as we approached, but forward motion did not seem to exist.  We knew we were traveling at around 50 mph, but the size of the Great Land and the distance to the mountain ranges nullified any feeling of forward progress.  We felt suspended in time and space.  Although we were moving, the landscape and the surroundings really didn’t change other than to witness the increasing size of the mountains in front of us gradually got closer.  Mountains changed from smallish bumps to taller peaks and finally to towering monoliths directly in front of our eyes.

By 5:30 PM we arrived at the turnoff of the pavement to the beginning of the gravel to get to Kennicott.  We’ll take you there in Part 7.

April 19, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, KTM, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 5)

As we had feared, our time in Dawson was quickly nearing its end.  We had originally planned to ride the length of the Dempster Highway to Inuvik.  But as our time waned, we knew we could not accommodate such a journey.  Yet we were still determined to see more of the surrounding area and at the very least take a brief ride onto the famous Demptster Highway.   It was an easy pavement ride to the Dempster in bright sunshine and our spirits rose even further just as did the fluffy clouds in the sparkling azure Alaskan sky.    When we did reach the Dempster it was in marvelous condition.  We had heard horror stories about how treacherous it could be with any amount of rain but we were indeed lucky as the road was hard and smooth and fairly dust free.  If it weren’t for the spectacular scenery, in its present condition, the road was literally a gravel high speed highway.  But we were in no rush and the sights were far to beautiful to speed by without taking notice.

So we dawdled along admiring the towering mountains often covered with beautiful green trees of differing varieties and greenery too vast to describe.  Although they were often very green, sometimes they were barren in places and the inner core of the mountain could be seen.  Hard stone of differing colors, greys, pinks and blues appearing like the bones and sinew of the mountain made itself known .  Without trying to, the underlayments told the story of the mountain’s life.  Soft green trees and greenery supporting all manners of life existed at the surface, while just below, cold stone lay dormant holding the living above its head.  Truly, “The Great Land” is a master showman; showing you how amazing the interlocking puzzle of nature is.  Everything is connected.  Everything.

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We rode about 60 miles up the Dempster and stopped to have a lunch by the side of the road.  For some reason, our bag lunch tasted even better than usual in the beautiful surroundings.  So after munching down a sandwich, some nuts and an oreo cookie or two, we decided it was time to turn back to Dawson.  It was very strange, but travelling in the opposite direction was like taking another trip.  It looked like different scenery.  Were we sleeping on the way north?  It was fantastic, a two way treat of a ride.  We couldn’t explain it.  The mountains were beautiful, the rivers that ran beside the road had a different character, everything seemed new.  I felt like I was a kid at a carnival just getting off a ride and heading to the next.  It was that kind of excitement.  I was a bit drunk on it.  I was having more fun than I could remember in a long time and my inner kid had just emerged.  What a feeling.

At one particular point we decided we just had to have a picture.  So we pulled off to the side of the road near a small stream in front of a mountain.  I got a pretty nice shot of the bikes with the mountain in the background.  Then Kim said she wanted a picture with me in it.  So off I went to get into the picture.  We wear intercoms so we can talk to each other on the bikes and while Kim was lining up the shot, I asked her through the intercom “Kim, are you sure the bike’s mirror isn’t in front of my face?”   “No, it’s ok” came the speedy reply and she took the picture.

Another thing Kim likes to do is take a series of pictures of closer and closer zooms, and this series was no different.  So as she focused for the second picture, I still thought my face might be covered by the bike’s mirror.  “Are you sure that the mirror isn’t blocking my face?”  “Yes, I’m sure”, came the reply and “click” went the camera.  Finally, it was time for the third and final shot and I really thought the mirror was in the way of my face.  Kim, really, are you sure the mirror is not blocking my face?”  The only answer was the “click” of the camera.

So when we reviewed the results of this little picture taking opportunity, this was the result.

 

 Love is indeed blind.

As we finished up the picture taking, another rider was riding his way north on a BMW F650GS towards Inuvik, our original destination.

He stopped and we chatted about where he was headed and said that he was indeed headed to Inuvik which was about 400 miles away.  I asked him if he had any extra fuel and he said that he did not.  When I asked him when he had last filled up he said he wasn’t sure.  Kim and I were astounded.  Here we were in the Canadian Yukon, in significant bear country and this gentleman absolutely didn’t have enough fuel to get himself to Inuvik and he may not have had enough to get himself to the next town at Eagle Plains over 100 miles away.  Since the bike I was riding carried 7 gallons of fuel I offered to give him some fuel.  Luckily, he accepted and I was able to give him over 3 gallons of gas!  That being the case, it would have been problematic for that gent to reach Eagle Plains.  Boy were we glad we had this chance meeting.

So feeling we had done our good deed for the day we headed back to Dawson City for dinner.  We had promised ourselves a nice dinner at one of the premier restaurants in town.  Oh boy was it nice.  The presentation was marvelous and the taste wonderful.  It was a splendid way to top off a beautiful day of riding.  After dinner, we did a bit of walking around town to drink in all that Dawson City represented.  With sunrises around 3:30 in the morning and sunset around 1:00, there was a lot of sun for the day.  I for one, did not miss the night and could have stayed up for what seemed forever during our stay in the Dawson City area.

As great as Dawson City is, there’s even more to be seen as we head back southeasterly towards McCarthy, Alaska which we’ll tell you about in Part 6.

April 16, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, rallye, Travel, Uncategorized, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 3)

We left the Tangle River Inn and made our way easterly towards Tok.  We were in and out of rain showers and frankly our arrival was a bit anti-climatic.  Tok is a decent sized town, but is not all that distinctive.  Perhaps what made Tok distinctive was the Westmark hotel which contained a slew of busses carrying cruise ship passengers headed for another point of embarkation.  All those people jammed together and they really weren’t seeing the real Alaska and its people.  What a shame.

We stayed only overnight and headed out first thing in the morning north-easterly towards Eagle, year round population 180.  We knew that the trip to Eagle was a dead end cut off by the Yukon river, and that we would have to re-trace our tracks, but we thought that the surrounding roads and terrain looked pretty interesting so the trip was worthwhile.  There were mountains and gravel roads to ride and 180 people to me so that seemed like fun!

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Shortly after hitting the road the rain began.  Nothing ridiculous, but on and off showers as we made our way along the paved portion of our day’s trip.  Sooner than we knew it, we were on the gravel and making good time.  And then the skies opened up.  It was as if one of Alaska’s glaciers had burst and let loose the millions of gallons of ice melt water that had been contained for years.  Visibility dropped to near zero and the temperature dropped as quickly as the falling rain.  There was little else to do but stop and put on rain gear.  While we unpacked our gear from our bikes, a ten wheeled dump truck traveling in the opposite direction stopped and the driver rolled down the window.

He had news.  Just ahead, he said, they were repairing the road and laying gravel down. Big gravel, in 1 and 2 inch chunks, about 2 inches deep.  Not to worry though, the gravel was only about a 3 mile stretch.  “Marvelous, just marvelous”, I thought.  Then he said that the gravel wasn’t the real issue.  They were laying the gravel because the road had turned to mud and they were dumping the gravel on top to make the road surface hard enough for travel.  “Wonderful, just wonderful”, I thought.  Not to worry though, the mud was only a mile long though.  “Crap”, I thought.

Oh well, we came for some adventure and adventure we were going to get.  So on we went, slowly making our way through the pouring rain on asteroid size chunks of gravel and sloppy mud.  But when all was said and done, we made it through with flying colors with Kim riding the gauntlet like a knight who’d won many a match with nary a slip.  She did indeed pull off a spectacular ride.

For all this testing, we were greeted by the über small town of Chicken (its real name is Chicken Creek).  It is said that it Chicken was so named because the settlers found that the surrounding countryside was full of Ptarmigan.  However, no-one could spell Ptarmigan, so they decided to name it Chicken.

While passing through Chicken, we stopped at its epicenter, the Chicken Creek Cafe and the Chicken Creek Saloon.  In a strip of attached wooden buildings, they served home cooked food and bottled liquor.  The food was excellent especially considering there is no running water at all.  They hand pump all their water for cooking and cleaning and there are no flush rest rooms.  If you need to use the facilities the outhouse is out the front door to your right.

But by the time we finished our meals, we were well rested and the rain has stopped to a drizzle.  Ahh…  It was time to make our way to Eagle and get a good night’s sleep.  When we arrived at Eagle it was getting late and we checked in and headed to the only restaurant in town which was right on the Yukon river.  It was a good meal and only made us more sleepy.

The following morning we had some time to meet our innkeeper and talk about life in Eagle and what ever else she could think of.  It turns out that she was not a native of Eagle but had been a school teacher in Wisconsin.  She had developed a pen pal relationship with a man who told her he lived in a small town in Alaska called Eagle.  After about a year, he invited her to come out and visit him, she did and found that his home had no running water and no central heat.  But she fell in love with Alaska and ultimately the man and never returned to Wisconsin.

We stayed only one day in Eagle and in the late morning headed towards Canada and the Yukon Territory town of Dawson City.  We had an appointment to attend ADV’s Dust to Dawson event.  ADVers from all over the world would be in attendance and we were looking forward to meeting other adventure riders from various corners of the planet.

Back we rode over the same gravel road from whence we had come and just before getting to Chicken, we made the turn to make our way to the Canadian border and ultimately onto the Top Of The World Highway.  Approaching and crossing the border was pretty anti-climatic.  The Canadian border is in the town of Little Gold Creek.  Its residents?  The border guards that live at the house at the border crossing and no-one else.  While there, they asked appropriate questions and sent us on our way.

Then we were off and traveling the Top Of The World Highway.  The views were great, but for some reason we were not awed.  The road surface changed back and forth from gravel and pavement which made the ride a bit interesting, but for some reason, there were an abundance of motorhomes and vehicles with trailers on the road despite being fairly in a fairly isolated area.  It became a bit frustrating as the motorhomes were very slow going up the very big hills we encountered and very fast coming down sometimes traveling uncomfortably close to Kim as she descended the hills.

But after about an hour we started a gradual descent and approached the town of Dawson City.  Coming down some of the final hills, we came to a clearing and could catch a glimpse of the city we were about to visit.  We could see the town center and it was painted in bright, lively colors that beckoned to us from the valley below.  The Yukon river continued its lazy flow in front of us, for now cutting us off from the delightful little town.  But we were only a couple of miles and a free ferry ride away from 3 days of fun in Dawson which we’ll tell you about in Part 4.

April 12, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, enduro, KTM, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Sometimes Adventure Is Not So Far Away

As we crested a hill in nearby Dunbarton, NH, we spotted a police cruiser on the opposite side of the road in perfect position to nab passing speeders.  Damn, was he first thought that crossed my mind as I looked at my speedometer to find that I wasn’t speeding and that I needn’t worry.  But it was enough adrenaline to make me slow down considerably and look more closely at the police cruiser that we were now slowly approaching.

It was a Dunbarton cruiser all right, but upon closer inspection, it was a 1970s era Chevrolet Chevelle cruiser, with two bubblegum blue lights on the roof and an old bee hive siren on the hood.  In addition it had an old style whip antenna attached to the side of its rear fender.  So as Kim and I slowly rode by, I knew that something was up.

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Curiosity was eating at me.  What’s a 70s era cruiser doing on the side of the road running radar?  They say that curiosity killed the cat, so I guess that I’m lucky that I’m not a cat.  About a mile down the road, I signaled for Kim to stop and turn around so we could go get another look at that old cruiser.  We reversed course and as we approached we could see that there wasn’t anyone in the cruiser.  So naturally, I signaled Kim to stop.

We turned off our engines and both got off our bikes.  It was a 70s era cruiser all right and it was in perfect shape.  In fact, it was gorgeous, it had been fully restored and I was impressed.  As we walked around the cruiser admiring its restoration a gentleman walked out of the driveway of the house from which the cruiser had been parked.  His name was Len and he had restored the cruiser himself.

Len told us that he like to restore different kinds of vehicles and invited us to see the other ones he had restored.  So as we walked past his high hedges into his front yard, we saw his large oversized garage with a sign that read “Toy Box Garage” in whimsical lettering.  As we walked inside, we were in for a treat!

Not only did Len have restored vehicles including old Packards, 1 1/2 ton Army trucks, jeeps, 1930s era farm trucks, an aluminum engined Oldsmobile and tractors, but he also had the most amazing collection of gas station paraphernalia including pumps, signs, you name it, he had it.  It was a thing of beauty.

It turns out Len had retired and he restored old vehicles as a hobby.  He now donates his time and his vehicles for town events to surrounding towns for parades etc.  He and his wife Beth both helped out as much as they could and are well known in their communities for donating their time and energy for free.

Before we could leave, Len gave us some parting gifts from his vast stock of paraphernalia he had collected over the years.  He invited us to come back any time and to bring our friends.  So when we had a world traveller come and visit us on his BMW from Australia, we could not think of a better local place to bring him.  Once again, Len rolled out the red carpet and our newly minted Australian friend left with gifts from Len and Beth of expired Massachusetts and New Hampshire license plates that he could take back to Australia and tell his friends about.

So not to far from our home, less than 20 miles in fact, our short adventure ride enabled us to find and share our friendship with Len and Beth with our new Australian friend Geoff.  Through this sharing, on a brief 20 mile ride, we shrunk the planet a little more for a person that came from half way around the Earth.  What more could anyone ask from adventure riding.

Ride2Adventure – Shrink The Planet One Ride At A Time

April 4, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, dual sport, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, restoration, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Alaska – Gravel, Grandeur & Goofy Grins (Part 2)

As we said earlier, we stopped at the McKinley View Lodge where we were in for a special treat.  After a brief lunch we learned a bit about the history of the lodge and its progenitor, Mary Carey.  Mary was one of the first female pilots to fly an aircraft over Mt. McKinley and she also built the lodge with some of the tools and heavy equipment you see in the slideshow.   Google Mary for she was a very interesting woman.

But we were in for a more interesting treat when as we were leaving, we struck up a conversation with a couple who noticed our NH plates on our bikes.  After telling them about our journey and where we were headed, they asked if we would mind if they shared our email address with one of their friends who also motorcycled around the area.  Of course we agreed and we were on our way.

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We continued our way towards Cantwell in a dreary overcast, hoping that the cloud cover would lift a bit so we could see Mt. McKinley in all its glory, but persistent rain showers pestered us as we moved north.  Although at times the clouds did appear to break a bit, they never fully opened and we did not get to see McKinley.  But as the day progressed, it did brighten and we were treated to some breathtaking scenery.

When we rolled into Cantwell, it had pretty much cleared.  It had been a long day of riding and we were pretty tired.  We checked in to a small off the road hotel and asked them for a place to eat.  It turned out that the closest place was called “The Perch” and was about 15 miles away.  So we jumped back on the bikes for another ride which turned out to be quite beautiful and to top it off, the dinner was quite awesome as well.

After a long and sumptuous dinner, we lazily headed back to the hotel for a night’s rest before we headed out across the Denali Highway in the morning.  I must say that I was concerned that it would a potholed, RV clogged, gravel disaster, but as we started out westerly on the Denali the following morning, it became quite clear that I needn’t have worried.

The “highway” was indeed gravel for all but 24 of its 135 miles, but it was nearly free of any traffic.  As we rode along, we really could have used clamps to keep our hanging jaws shut as we were awed by one after another beautiful view or scene.  Mountains rose from vast plains covered in spruce.  The air was so clear you could see that the trees went on miles and miles until they reached the soaring mountains covered in snow.

Glaciers slid down the sides of several mountains leaving ice falls which glinted in the bright and sometimes almost harsh sunlight.  The whites of the snow and ice at times became silver and almost clear as the refractory fire of the light bounced and reflected off the many facets of the mountains’ faces.  Each time we thought we could not be more awed, we were indeed even more floored at the visual treats we encountered.  It is difficult to explain the beauty of it all.  In fact, we were stopping so much, we were in danger of having to stop and camp on the side of the highway if we didn’t get moving.

So with great difficulty, we soldiered on without stopping.  After about 5 hours of stopping and starting on the road, we came upon the only place on the highway that serves food.  We had seen only two or three vehicles the entire time we were on the highway, but as we pulled into the parking lot of the Gracious House and the Home Style Cooking Cafe we found where they all were.  The dirt parking lot was packed and there was not a single seat in the house.  Not one.  We waited about 20 minutes and not a single seat opened.  We then broke the code and decided that our lunch would consist of almonds, cashews, power bars and water, served on a bluff overlooking mountains and glaciers.

Boy did we make the right decision.  It was a stellar 20 minutes of relaxation and communing.  Few words were said between us while we munched on our meager lunch and soaked in all the surrounding elements would give us.  It was 20 minutes or so that neither of us will ever forget.   Soon it was time to get back on the road if we were going to get to our destination for the evening, the Tangle River Inn in Paxson.

We loaded up our gear and got back on the road, the scenery birthing a tranquility that I’d not previously known.  We had been riding about an hour on a section of the highway that had been built up about four feet off the tundra.  Steep embankments rolled off each side of the road into a thick green underbrush.  I was just motoring along at about 45 miles per hour when suddenly from my right, a gigantic blackish blur darted out from the underbrush and ran up the embankment from in front of me.  It was very large and it was moving fast, but then suddenly a second smaller brownish blur followed immediately behind the big black blur.

The only thing I could do was nail the brakes and try to avoid hitting the blurs.  Then it dawned on me.  As we were packing our gear, the agents that we used to ship Kim’s bike warned us that it was moose calving season and the moose were plentiful and wherever you might see a moose, there might be a calf with it.  Well surer than heck, I’d just found my first two moose in Alaska.  I managed to get my heavily loaded bike stopped about 10 feet short of and behind the adult female moose and the calf which was running with her.  They both continued running across the road and down the opposite embankment.

It just so happened that we were approaching a small river at the time.  I reached into the sleeve of my Stich to grab my point and shoot camera, but by the time I got it out of my sleeve, they had already dived into the river and gotten to the other side.  By the time I could focus, they were in the brush and gone.  I was so happy and sad at the same time.  I had missed hitting the moose and avoided injury, but I had missed an awesome camera shot.

Moose avoided we only had about 40 miles to go to get to our destination.  When we arrived, we found that the accommodations were less than stellar.  But once again, in keeping with the Alaskan tradition, the food was home cooked and amazing and there was plenty of it.  For dessert, there was spectacular scenery from our room with lake and mountain views.  Well satiated after dinner, we took a few pictures outside battling our first real difficult encounter with Alaskan mosquitos, but it was well worth it.  Tomorrow morning, we would head back onto the pavement towards Tok and ultimately the Canadian Yukon as you’ll see in Part 3.

April 4, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, KTM, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Arai XD4 vs XD3 Helmet

With the new Arai XD4 recently released and my trusty Arai XD3 now having four years of hard labor under its visor, it is time for a replacement.  One thing Kim and I won’t skimp on is a quality helmet.  So I’ve ordered a new XD4 and we’ll shortly have a review and report on how it stacks up against the old XD3.  With a significant price increase, we sure do hope it’s a lot better!

Arai XD4

There’s still a bit of snow around these parts of NH and VT, so we may be a bit delayed in writing the report, but this is an adventure riding website so how can we delay for too long?  What kind of journalistic integrity would that reflect, eh?  So stay tuned and we’ll be reporting in shortly…

UPDATE:  We will be out for a full day of cold weather riding tomorrow (Saturday April 7) so I will have my first impressions of the XD4 vs. the XD3 posted by Sunday.  Stay tuned!

April 2, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, Motorcycle, MOVIES, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When Opportunity Knocks…. Slam The Door?

Let me start off by saying I love KTM motorcycles.  The little Austrian brand that builds high quality, very sporty, enduro motorcycles capable of covering all matter of terrain.  Actually, you might even say I am a KTM fanatic.  But sometimes, even if you are a fanatic, you have to call out your “hero” and tell them like it is.  Well, I’ve had something on my chest for the last seven years and it’s time I got it off.  So here goes…

If you saw the motorcycle adventure movie “The Long Way Round” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman, you have to ask yourself, “What was KTM thinking when they refused to give two actors three motorcycles in return for the world wide movie promotion of their motorcycle brand as they ride their way around the world on a charity mission?  Could a better opportunity presented itself to KTM on a platter?

So let’s boil this all down shall we?  Two actors, one of whom is literally known throughout the world as the planet hopping, Jedi master Obi Wan Kenobi, along with a lesser known actor who provides comic relief, want to go on an around the world trip using your less than well known brand of motorcycle.  They will also be making stops along the way, helping children while using your bike.   In addition, to help them along during their journey, they will have some help.  Not one or two people, but an entire support team.  The support team will have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, a doctor, satellite communications and several other people with the ability to make border crossings happen via influential people.  Hmmm….  does that sound like an opportunity for failure to you?  KTM apparently thought so.

Oh, and don’t forget…  The whole journey is going to be made into a movie!  The kind of movie where the reality can be changed “a little”.  In movies, through the magic of film making, things happen that might not happen in real life.  Can an actor play a “Jedi Master” who reports to a two foot green creature who is even a more powerful “Jedi Master”?  In movies they can.  Can an alien land in a spaceship that looks like a Christmas tree, befriend a little boy and make his bicycle fly?  In movies they can.  Can an ogre make friends with a talking donkey and marry a princess?  In movies they can.  Can a KTM make an around the world trip with two actors and an entire support crew?  According to KTM management at the time, apparently not; not even in a MOVIE!   Jeesh!

By the time the Long Way Round movie was in production, KTM had already won 4 straight Dakar rallies, one of the most gruelling tests of man and machine on the planet.  Thereafter, KTM would continue its winning streak with an additional 7 Dakar wins in a row, a true testament to the KTM marque and the ability of its machines (as well as the men who rode them of course).  So why would KTM balk at giving up 3 bikes which would more than likely have been the far better choice for the trip as Charlie Boorman had suggested?  Could it be that they took the word of a single “consultant” and just outright refused on one person’s viewpoint?  How shortsighted and terrible.

After the Long Way Round movie and its successor Long Way Down screened, sales of BMW adventure motorcycles skyrocketed.  Even though the big GS’s were oversized and heavy, had breakdowns and were difficult to handle when the conditions got rough, many people just want to be like Ewan and Charlie and latched on to the BMW adventure bandwagon.  BMW must send Ewan and Charlie flowers every time the sales of the GS’s climb and I for one wouldn’t blame them.  They’ve created a marketing phenomenon with adventure motorcyclists.  Just mention the Long Way Round or The Long Way Down and people think BMW.  Congratulations BMW.

As for you KTM  well, I hope you’ve learned your lesson.  You make excellent machines that win gruelling races and competitions.  But in North America, almost no-one knows about you.   You’ve got to come up with a way to get people to know you and let them find out how excellent your machines are.  Maybe you ought to call Charlie and tell him you’re very sorry for the error.  You have new KTM 990s just waiting for him at his garage with panniers etc. ready to go.  Call Ewan and tell him that anyone can do the long way round easterly, it’s time to do it westerly and no highways allowed.  Period.  And while you’re at it, show off some of those sexy KTM accessories and even some of those non-KTM accessories so people know they are out there too.  They’ll only make people want your machines more.

KTM, I’ll always love your machines but the group of us here in the US can’t keep the flame alive by ourselves.  You have to help.  When opportunity knocks, don’t slam the door.  Please.   Charlie and Ewan already have too many flowers from BMW.

April 2, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, KTM, Motorcycle, MOVIES, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Falling Off Sucks

Falling off sucks.  Yes it does.  The bruises, the scratches, the potential injury, to say nothing of the embarrassment, falling off sucks.  Or does it? If we step back and examine our falls (I’ve had plenty), what caused them?  Was it my inattention?  My lack of ability?  Impassable terrain?  Equipment failure or lack of the appropriate equipment?  Something else?

As you can tell, there are lots of reasons we fall off.  But if we step back and analyze our falls, are they all bad things?  Did we learn something from them?  Did we learn that we need to pay attention at all times or that we need to lay off the front brake in low adhesion situations?  Did it make you think that you need more practice and drive you to go out and do so?  Did it make you think a second time before attempting that muddy track on smooth tires when there was a different way around?

Well then, perhaps falling off really doesn’t suck.  Perhaps it’s something you can use as a tool when it happens.  You can use these experiences to learn and improve.  It’s a bit humbling perhaps, but if you take away a learning experience from the fall, you’ve come out ahead.  That’s the secret.  Just make sure that you walk away from that fall with new perspectives and new insights that will keep you from repeating that fall and others to come.

So…  after all, maybe falling off doesn’t suck.  Maybe it just stinks for a little while.

Ride2Adventure – Shrink The Planet One Ride At A Time

April 1, 2012 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, Adventure Rides, Alaska, dual sport, Motorcycle, off road, Overland, Travel, Uncategorized, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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