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North America - 2
 I
have just returned from China and am waiting for our new
Bar Seat and it should be here tomorrow (June 22) and I
can’t wait. While the seat on the BMW was an
improvement over the stock seat it was still hard and a
bit unforgiving.
We
talked with Bar and they wanted to know exactly what the
problems were with the current seat, where we were
bottoming out (pun intended), where it needed to be a
bit narrower, etc.
Maybe now we will be able to ride a bit longer with a
lot more comfort. A really big deal for us especially
since we are looking at about 7,200 miles just to get to
Prudhoe Bay. The new seat took a bit of getting used to
but now it is fine. We can ride longer and in greater
comfort than with the stock seat
  The
ride from Palm Bay to Key West was enjoyable once we hit
the Keys but the temperature and humidity kind of took
the edge off for me, that and the mossies. The truth is
that we have been riding the freeways and bypassing big
cities that the ride has become more of a chore than an
adventure or a tour. Both of us can’t wait until we hit
Alberta and start seeing some mountains and fewer
tourists with their big rig motor homes and oversized
trailers. In truth I don’t think that will happen but
we do look forward to rougher roads and rougher terrain.
New
Orleans was done just right. We arrived in the morning,
stopped at the Café du Monde and had our coffee and
beignets (sic) and were gone within the hour.
We
arrived in Memphis early and I decided that it was time
to get a new rear tire. That’s when I discovered the
tires on the bike were not available in North America!
It seems that 14” tires are not readily available
because American auto manufacturers have gone to 15”
rims. After a couple of calls to Heiner, I had a rear
tires shipped to AEROstich in Duluth and a complete set
sent to our son’s home in California. I figured that I
could have the tire changed somewhere before we entered
Alaska and that would be the end of it until we were in
California. One more problem solved. Not happy with
the reason but it was solved.
I
had decided to treat Janet to a special treat when we
hit Memphis—the Holiday Inn on Union St for a couple of
nights and a good rib dinner at the Rendezvous (we
didn’t really get a chance to celebrate our 43rd
wedding anniversary like we had planned so this was a
bit of a makeup for that).
I
had gone to the bar and was waiting for Janet to join me
when I struck up a conversation with Ray, a local
waiting for his wife. While talking, we were joined by
Carl from Key West who was on the last leg of a (mostly)
Harley charity run from Key West to Prudhoe Bay. That
is he and about 35-40 other riders, mostly law
enforcement guys with a couple of kids and the odd wife
or so.
The
general consensus was “Don’t go!” But the more they
talked about the difficulties they encountered the more
excited Janet and I became. Long stretches of rutted
dirt road, wilderness and even a bit of adventure.
Sounds a bit like Mongolia but more populated and a bit
more civilized. It turned out that about six bikes were
damaged to a point where they had to be trucked out and
the riders, so I heard later, had to fly out—expensive
trip. But then the wisdom of taking a Harley to Prudhoe
Bay still escapes me.
AEROstich in Duluth was, family excepted the best stop
in the States. Nothing but long distance bikers (many
getting ready to go to the BMW Rally just north of
Milwaukee, WI), good conversation and excellent
hospitality not to mention a lot of toys and gear that
can be touched, felt and tried before purchase.
At
dinner one evening Andy Goldfine, owner of AEROstich,
told us about plans to celebrate the company’s 25th
anniversary next August. If we are around, Janet and I
plan to go back to Duluth for the festivities.
And
then it was time to leave. North to Winnipeg and west
to Calgary. Checking my rear tire I decided to change
it because it was worn to a point that I was
uncomfortable with it. The Yellow pages gave me
Fountain Tire so off I went. At first they were a
little leery of changing tires on a bike but after I
explained to them about using car tires, they said,
“OK”. It was a bit late in the day so I made
arrangements to return first thing the following
morning.
The
young man who was assigned to work with me was a biker
himself. He was able to get the rear tier off and
change it and then he noticed some odd wear on the front
and sidecar tires. “Is there a tire size close to what
I have that will work?” He went off to check.
When
he came back he told me that he had found four 165/65
R14 tires that one of the other companies had in their
stock. The two were delivered and installed which means
that I have new rubber for the ride to Prudhoe Bay.
 One
treat we had while in Calgary was the opportunity to
visit with Cristin, a former teacher with Perfect
English who traveled a bit after she left Changchun and
who is now trying to get into school to study as an
X-Ray Technician. A really good visit.
We
had mountains and rushing rivers. In fact we had signed
up, at the urging of some new friends going to a family
reunion, for a raft trip down one of the rivers.
However, by the time we arrived at the starting point,
the river had swelled almost two feet from the previous
night and the grade 3 rapids had turned into grade 4.
The trip was cancelled. Some of us more adventuresome
guys, including me were willing to take the chance but
the owner said, No it’s just too dangerous. There was a
lot of wood that came down last night and you just can’t
see it when the river is this high.” A good decision
based on ten years experience on the river.
 We
were trying to schedule meeting up with Jensen Kino, a
fellow who worked with us at Perfect English and after
learning of his scheduled flight from Hawaii to San
Francisco, when he would have his bike and be on the
road we were able to select a meeting place. We chose
Kamloops, BC where we found a really cool camping area
at Paul Lake Provincial Park. It would mean that we
would have to wait for a few days but that was really OK
with us. In fact Jensen showed up with a 1986 Honda
Helix motor scooter a day early. After one last night
at Paul Lake we headed north to Jasper and Dawson Creek,
Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway.
 For
the most part the weather has been overcast and a bit
wet but we were able to keep a steady pace of between 90
and 100 kph. That is until we had just passed through
the little village of Teslin when Jensen’s scooter
failed. It seems that the automatic transmission lost a
belt and the housing cracked. I guess we both thought
that the Helix could withstand a continuous high speed
run. What was telling for me was the broken gasket
hanging limp from the housing. Not a good sign.
So
here we sit trying to decide if Jensen should look for
another bike between here and Whitehorse or if he should
return to the lower 48, buy a bike there and continue
east.
Apart from all the above, this has been the hardest time
I have had getting words on paper. The ride from Palm
Bay to Calgary was boring at best and frustrating for
the most part. I don’t often speak for Janet but we are
experiencing a tiredness that we haven’t felt before.
The fact that I am writing at all is more a testament to
the beauty and grandeur of northern BC and the southern
Yukon. Maybe we will get fully awake again in Alaska.
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