Today we used NO RAIN GEAR. Any day like that on a motorcycle trip is a good one. We left Ft Saint John after our free buffet breakfast. We ate like kings- (this was one of THOSE places). We gassed up and headed for Dawson Creek. Which was our planned destination last night. Going is slower then we figured on the Alaskan Highway.
We rode by a car wash and were unable to pass it up. The bikes didn't exactly get detailed but we knocked off most of the heavy stuff.
We didn't know it then, but the wash wouldn't last long.
A few hours into the day we passed by Chetwynd, BC. Mike said we had found a place for me (above). Below Mike found "his moose." We have seen just about every kind of critter up here except for moose. We looked hard for one. This one was carved out of wood.
Back on the road... stopped by more construction delays along Hwy 97. They were getting to be all too common.
After leaving Chetwynd, we figured we had plenty of gas until the next place. Trouble was the next place was more than 180 miles away. That took us by surprise because towns had been every 20-30 miles or so before that. We happened upon a construction worker who was on his way home for the weekend. He sold us a can of gas, which we split. That got us into Prince George. Where we ate lunch (at 5PM).
Of course we ran the Alaska Highway backwards and ended up at it's beginning. It felt sorta good to have that route in my rear view mirror. It was a tough ride in spots. Our bikes looked it too.
We rode by a car wash and were unable to pass it up. The bikes didn't exactly get detailed but we knocked off most of the heavy stuff.
We didn't know it then, but the wash wouldn't last long.
A few hours into the day we passed by Chetwynd, BC. Mike said we had found a place for me (above). Below Mike found "his moose." We have seen just about every kind of critter up here except for moose. We looked hard for one. This one was carved out of wood.
Back on the road... stopped by more construction delays along Hwy 97. They were getting to be all too common.
Many times we had to follow the pilot car at 10 kilometers (about 6 miles per hour). That was tough in the loose gravel. We would have been more stable at a slightly higher speed in that soft stuff. Especially going up hill.
After leaving Chetwynd, we figured we had plenty of gas until the next place. Trouble was the next place was more than 180 miles away. That took us by surprise because towns had been every 20-30 miles or so before that. We happened upon a construction worker who was on his way home for the weekend. He sold us a can of gas, which we split. That got us into Prince George. Where we ate lunch (at 5PM).
Here is a shot of some of the scenery along Hwy 97. Most of it is what we call a secondary road. The rest of it is third'n-dary (not as good as a secondary road). This was about 75 miles north of Prince George.
When we got to Prince George we had to go to the Harley store and get Tee shirts (the real reason for this trip, of course). While we were there we found this girl. She was wearing a fox tail (brown with a white tip), which you can see if you look closely. We felt this was just the thing for this blog today. She claimed to have ridden that thing from LA to Prince George. A looooooonnnnggggg ride on that thing. We think she may have fibbed a bit. She said her name was "Fox Tail Girl." OK... why not?
Our target was Whistler but the construction delays cost us several hours. We bagged it for the night at Quesnel. The last two days added up to make us about 318 miles short.
From here is it 581 miles to Gig Harbor. Barring anything (else) unforeseen, we should be home tomorrow night. I have worn my rear tire down to just about nothing. As of this evening, I have 2,460 miles on this trip and 40,974 miles on my bike.
When we got to Prince George we had to go to the Harley store and get Tee shirts (the real reason for this trip, of course). While we were there we found this girl. She was wearing a fox tail (brown with a white tip), which you can see if you look closely. We felt this was just the thing for this blog today. She claimed to have ridden that thing from LA to Prince George. A looooooonnnnggggg ride on that thing. We think she may have fibbed a bit. She said her name was "Fox Tail Girl." OK... why not?
Our target was Whistler but the construction delays cost us several hours. We bagged it for the night at Quesnel. The last two days added up to make us about 318 miles short.
From here is it 581 miles to Gig Harbor. Barring anything (else) unforeseen, we should be home tomorrow night. I have worn my rear tire down to just about nothing. As of this evening, I have 2,460 miles on this trip and 40,974 miles on my bike.
