Dan Diego 40 Posted July 5, 2014 Fellow travelers. We're all going to the same places. Liard Hot Springs today. 300 mile rides. Just perfect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 5, 2014 Short ride today through some stunning scenery. Only made it to Liard River Provincial Park, where we will camp net the hot springs. Only $24 for the both of us and that includes the campsite, hot springs and showers. There are several other motorcyclists who have been traveling along the same route. Looks like we're thinking the same. Temps were between 54 and 62 degrees. Felt chilly but nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vacman 0 Posted July 6, 2014 "It's a helinox chair, eh." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 6, 2014 Left Liard River and made Watson Lake in 2 hours. All sorts of bears -- mostly black -- and bison along the way. The other riders rolled in as we were fueling up. Going to take a look at the famous sign forest then head up the Campbell Highway--255 miles of unpacked heaven--on our way to Carmacks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikey777 44 Posted July 7, 2014 Now I really need a big bike too. Damn you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 8, 2014 There are 2 kinds of adventure, Danny boy; maybe 3. There's the routine, overused, "I got lost on the way to the supermarket" variety. Then there's high adventure, where you find yourself in unexpected circumstances and get out with some scars and unbelievable stories. So, what's the 3rd kind? Ah, that is what I'm gonna show you. Anyhow, we left Liard Hot Springs and made Watson Lake quickly. We ate some Chinese food and skipped the sign forest to get on the Campbell Highway. We were promised 355 miles of unimproved road, and that's what we got. We saw 7 bears in the first 40 miles then no other wildlife until we reached Carmacks. It was quite a ride, I'll tell you. We went into Ross River for gas--an 18-mile detour off the main road. Self Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 8, 2014 We play drinking games with our fellow travelers: Use a cliche to describe Canada, take a drink. Did you see the mountain over that lake? Spectacular. TAKE A DRINK! The wildlife alongside the road is just amazing. DRINK! I could play this game all day as the scenery is so amazingly beautiful. I KNOW, I KNOW... Today is a down day to prep and go over the bikes. I sure hope the good weather stays around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danrider 5 Posted July 9, 2014 We are both having a good time and I hope all of you on this forum get to experience a trip like this someday in your life Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 9, 2014 Made decent use of our down day. Dan washed his bike; I walked around town and saw the Robert Service cabin and Jack Lindon museum and went for a nice ride. Them we drank. Copious amounts of local brew. And who is shocked? Mañana is the Dempster. Wish us well... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kato 54 Posted July 9, 2014 this is inspiring keep it coming!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 10, 2014 Holy cow, what a ride! We made Eagle Plains, midway between Dawson City and Inuvik after some hard traveling. We departed at 10am under drizzly skies. The Dempster Highway was fine for the first 100 km or so and I thought the entire ride would be a cakewalk. That changed as the wet road turned slick then muddy. We had 12 miles of 2nd and 3rd gear fun through some soupy then thick mud. It never let up until we reached Eagle Plains. We had considered just riding all the way up today--arriving by 9pm or so--but that plan went out the window. Spoke with some riders who have been here since yesterday waiting out the weather. Their bikes are nice and shiny; ours are mud-caked and filthy (like our riding attire). We'll just see how it goes. Not a lot of traffic on the road thus far (230+ km) and only one bike passed us heading south. Word is that they air-vac'd a GS rider ahead of us. She had a tough time with the terrain and hit the ground hard. She was with two others. No other word. All is good. Riders in good spirits, bikes purring along. Dan is doing a bang up job leading the pace. We averaged 50+ MPH until we hit the mud. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 12, 2014 Returned to Dawson City from Inuvik yesterday. Nice ride. Did the entire 467 miles (4 million kill o meters?) To beat the rain. And we did. Saw some Stone Sheep and a moose up close. Update: Dang, just posted a novel and it was lost due to the spotty net service! The ride up was soupy, the loooooonnnnnng ride back was fine. We ended up riding all the way back, in one day, stopping only briefly for fuel, clam chowder and rest in Eagle Plains. Had a fine time interacting with locals in Inuvik. It was all mostly alcohol-related. Picture this: Local gal perched atop a tent and sleeping bag, sans helmet (or common sense) yelling, "Wheeeeee! Faster, faster! Oh, crap--the RCMP! Let me off!" And so it went. I spoke with some VStrom riders this morning who started for Inuvik but only made it to the Arctic Circle before turning back due to road conditions. It happens. Shooting for Tok and the "Top of the World" highway today, but who knows... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 12, 2014 Looks like another "down day" in Dawson City. We can't seem to escape this place, for one reason or another. Worse places to be, I suppose. We washed our bikes, laundry and ourselves. In that order. So we are now grabbing chow, sampling brews and planning on hitting Tok and as much of Alaska as we can take tomorrow. I want to add a shout out to Dan. There's a reason he's called Dan Rider as he can ride! The guy handled the Dempster--and any other route we've taken--with ease. The guy is the very best traveling partner a rider could hope for. Good dude, to be sure. For now, I give you a photo f of your humble and somewhat inebriated sojourners. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danrider 5 Posted July 13, 2014 I want to say if you ever get to ride the Dempster it is not for the timid or meek, Diego and I had our hands full. The Dempster threw mud, big gravel, rain, potholes that would make your teeth jam into the jawbone, and the wind was unreal at times. The wind was so bad that when Diego went to take a pic, it blew his bike over. Not kidding just ask him. Some hit the Dempster just right, but it made us both work for it. Some bike riders would turn around at the Arctic Circle and call it quits, not us we pressed on. Was it worth it? We earned it, and the mountains and the terrain we saw was beautiful. A once in a lifetime adventure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 13, 2014 Alleged bike drops = 2 Photos of said drops = 0 Confirmed dirt naps = 0 Dan is correct; that road made us work for every friggin' kilometer. The wind tried to forcefully remove me from my bike. The potholes were bone-jarring. The unexpected terrain changes were life-changing! Gravel "windrows" at 62 MPH will do that. I counted 12 types of terrain on the Dempster; from hard packed dirt, to gravel, to almost a paved shale surface. Add water and there were 5 additional road types. Think soupy and sticky mud. Not for the weak hearted. Highly recommended for you SDAR types. On a side note, we are past the 4,500-mile mark thus far. The Heidenau K60 Scout tires I installed in San Diego now have over 5,000 miles on them and are looking fairly new. I am confident that I can get another 5K miles out of them. I see no downside to these tires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 15, 2014 We are staying in the UA Fairbanks dorms just like millions of riders before us. We left Dawson City yesterday and rode the Top of the World/Taylor Highway over to Tok. It was raining in Dawson and we were warned by locals and every RVer within earshot NOT to be fools and risk the "Highway of Death" in the rain. On further questioning, none of the old fogies had actually driven the TOW, much less in the rain (yet every single one of them shared horror stories of friends and relatives who had crashed and/or died on the TOW). Upon hearing that we were indeed leaving immediately for said Road of Bones, all of them sadly looked away. Some callled us fools...and it sounded great in a french accent. The road was beautiful; lots of fine scenery and the road conditions were great. The little rain we did get kept the dust down and cleaned my bike. The border crossing at Poker Creek was uneventful. The CBPO who inspected us knew some of my friends from California. Small world... We completely bypassed Chicken; just wasn't feeling it. True story: I pulled up to a local. He said, "Before you even ask, it was named by a bunch of uneducated idiots." I said, "Uh, I wanted to know if there was a bar nearby..." He laughed and added, "Sorry, I get tired of telling tourists how the tow was named." Now, about that bar.... We found Thompson's Eagle Claw campground (http://www.thompsonseaglesclaw.com/) and Vanessa came out to greet us with a smile. We spoke with the fellow riders (4 other groups) then ran into town for chow at Fast Eddy's then some take-home liquor in the form of Basil Hayden bourbon. We were up till past midnight talking bikes and routes and all things Canada/ Alaska. Dan changed his oil in the campground's well-equipped---and free---garage while I adjusted the chain. We left Tok in excellent weathrr anf stopped alongbthe Richardson Highway (The Old Rich) to snap some fine photos of Denali. Only the very top was obscured by clouds. We arrived to Fairbanks in low 50's , high winds, road construction and drizzle. If conditioms would've been better, I would've stopped in at North Pole. Looked like a cool little town, 15 miles from Fairbanks. We found the dorms, flirted with the college gals, grabbed rooms, soaked in the showers, availed ourselves of the free laundry facilities and rode off to find Thai sans helmets. Props to Dan...the guy is a total trooper and a riding machine! I couldn't ask for a better traveling partner in a ride of this magnitude. So much more boring stuff to follow. Stay tuned if you can bear it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted July 15, 2014 Welcome Back to the States! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danrider 5 Posted July 15, 2014 It is a lot easier on your wallet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 516 Posted July 16, 2014 You gonna ride the Denali Hwy....mostly dirt....you must do it ! Well worth it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Diego 40 Posted July 16, 2014 We missed that, Randy. Passed it a little while ago but pushed on to Anchorage. The weather was windy, cold and grey until just past Denali. Then the pavement dried out, the rain stopped, the wind died down and the speed increased. We're both doing well. Will post some photos of Dan in his Genuine BMW Motard rain slicker (AKA: The bright banana.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted July 16, 2014 So far, so awesome! Keep it on two wheels... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
