US/Canada Travel Log Sumary 2008

US/Canada Travel Log Summary for 2008

Well after wiping out both the bike and rider in the Yukon, what can happen to top this list? Having your personal equipment stolen from the hospital could just make your day. Seems that the gear that was MEDEVACED from Mayo to Whitehorse, Yukon got legs. It’s too bad that this had to happen, but at least someone out there is enjoying the gear.


Itinerary
Picking up the bike in Long Beach, California in transit from Sydney, Australia and with 2hrs sleep from an over night flight from Hawaii causes the body to question the “common sense factor” of traveling. Bike put together and with a full tank of petrol it was off to Nevada. Crossing the dessert in the middle of the day, dumb….. From Nevada crossing over to Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and finally Alaska.

By the time I had crossed back into the Yukon heading east, my travels had just gone over the 10,000 mile mark and the odometer had crossed the 65,000 mile indicator. I did not do any bush camping on this trip; all of my stops were in places indicating a RV camp site or a state or national park. So it was hot showers just about every night and questionable on fresh clothes…..


Good
A Special Thanks to the nurses at the Mayo Health Clinic, Yukon for their help; the road crew and medic getting me to Mayo; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for retrieving my personal gear from the wreck site; the doctor and ER staff at Whitehorse General Hospital; Swedish Hospital and staff for repairing the Grey Nomad and finally the flight nurse and MEDEVAC crew of Airlift Northwest. Some how some where I will find a way to thank these people for their kindness and that extra effort that made my MEDEVAC a lot more enjoyable. Now, who stole my socks….?

Not once on this trip did I incur the wrath of anyone. Maybe just traveling by yourself and wearing the blond toupee convinced everyone that this guy is harmless. Being back out on the open road again with every mile before you another adventure, how anyone can say that they been there before and nothing is learned. Just meeting people from all walks of life, the ability to converse with them, learn their desires and why they are part of the nomad’s way of life. Everyone has a story and if you can learn to listen, their lives become a part of yours.
Having never lived in the US per say as an adult, the diversity and beauty of the North America is undoubtedly beyond what I could have ever imagined. My goal for the next few years will be to transverse as many National Parks and Wildlife Refuges as possible.
Okay, enough of my rumblings.

Motorcycle shops: If you ever get a chance to pass through Columbia, Missouri, please stop at M.C. Cycle. They are good, efficient and provide a forum for a good level of BS.

Camp sites: KOA site at Goodland, Kansas; RV camping ground in McBride, British Columbia and Tetsa River Outfitters (bakery!!), just north of Fort Nelson, British Columbia.

Of all of the National Parks that I went through, the Grand Tetons’ has to be one of the most photogenic. The wild flowers where out in all of their glory and the weather was perfect. Glacier NP for its raw beauty and the Road to the Sun.

Bad
Camp Sites: As much as I hate to say it, but the bulk of KOA sites were not laid out with the camper in mine. In stead of having the loo’s and wash rooms central to the site, it seems that the majority of the washrooms were next to or adjacent to the check in office. The only ones benefitting from this was the site managers. The worst site had to be the RV (KOA) camp grounds of Fort Nelson. The city land fill would have been preferable.

Motorcycle Shops: The Outpost, Fairbanks, Alaska for incompetence, attitude and just poor service all around. Next would be the BMW shop in Las Vegas for poor workmanship, stripping bolts when reassembling and hoping this faux pas would not be found out until I was many miles down the road.

The MEDEVAC insurance company. For total lack of concern on getting me to a hospital. More concerned on the bottom line of cost and the amount of BS that they could generate to justify their position.


Road construction from Haines Junction to Tok, Alaska. I believe that they have been working on this section of the road for the last 200 years, but I could be wrong.

Petrol prices; believe me, you are not going to find a sympathetic ear on my part. As anyone knows, the rest of the world has been paying these 4-6 dollars prices, if not higher, for years. And another item that shows just how far the US is behind the curve is the metric system. Someone some where has to extract thy head out of the sand and realize that there is a world out there besides ourselves. Don’t be surprised if within the next 5-10 years, the only export product that we will have is our military.

Motorcycle: F650GS 2005 65,000 miles (104,000K)
Repairs:
Las Vegas, Nevada- Brake fluid chg and valve adjustment. Swing arm, shock bearings greased, clutch cable replaced, spark plugs.

Salt Lake, Utah– Changed out coolant, coolant hoses and seat recovered.

Columbia, Missouri – Gas filter changed, windscreen replaced, oil/filter chg, chain & front/rear sprockets chg, air filter chg.

Fairbanks, Alaska- brake pads replaced and front and rear tyres.


Tools:
Bead breaker, tyre irons, front/back tyre tubes, air compressor, tool bag, assorted metric nuts and bolts, short handle metric wrenches ( 7-13mm), sockets, BMW spare parts, coolant/oil/lubricant, assorted nylon ties, rubber mallet,

Clothing:
Dri-rider jacket (OZ), BMW Rallye-Pro trousers, rain gear, SIDI water proof boots (talk about smell!),
Noland helmet, summer/winter gloves, bacalvar, ear plugs

Accessories:
4 Season 2 man tent, sleeping bag, air mattress and pillow, 6 (1 litre) fuel bottles, 2 (1 litre) water bottles, clothes pins, washing up liquid, paper towels, head lamp, AM/FM radio, Zip lock bags, chair,
Sandals, sneakers, 1 long sleeve shirt, 3 t-shirts, 3 pair of shorts, 1 pr of trousers, 1 log sleeve rash guard, 4 sets of socks(never washed), towel, toilet kit

Navigation:
Garmin GPS 60Cx with 2 gig storage card and North America City Navigator software installed.
Road maps were acquired through CAA/AAA


Cameras and accessories:
Canon 20D SLR digital camera. Canon G5 Point and Shoot and SmartDisk 40 gig hard drive.

Emergency Equipment:
1. Verizon cell phone
2. EPIRB with GPS (emergency satellite beacon)
3. MEDEVAC flight insurance
4. CAA/AAA road side and recovery assistance
5. USAA auto insurance
6. First aid kit

Reference Reading
1. Frank Clifford, The Backbone of the World (Portrait of the West along the Continental Divide

2 James Galvin, The Meadow

3. Dan O’Neill A land gone lonesome (an inland voyage along the Yukon River)

4. National Audubon Society
Familiar Flowers of North America (west)