Southbound to nicer weather

July 27^th, 2026

Dawson Creek, British Columbia

Woke at 8:00am and did the usual routine of sit, shower, dress, and pack.

I then started to load the bike, again talking with the group staying in room next door about their upcoming ride northward.

Once I finished all the packing, I updated some maps on the phone to avoid issue from yesterday, and then plotted my route.

I decided I would fill my spare gas today as the distance is just on the edge of possible, and not too many fuel stations in the first half, so this will relieve any fuel anxiety and let me ride without having to constantly watch the range.

I got on the bike and rode down the street a few blocks to a station at the edge of town.  Finally, a nice modern station that you can pay at the pump with a nice canopy overhead to block the sun or rain and a full convenience store if you wanted it.

Once fueled and the spare bag filled and secured, we hit the road south.

The skies had been really dark with clouds this morning, so was expecting rain again.  But as I headed south, the overcast started to lighten up, not had dark as it has been north of town this morning.

No rain came and in time the clouds started to thin out as well.

I kept the speed low to conserve fuel, even with the spare I still cannot go too fast or might come up short.

Road was pretty empty first few hours, but then it got really busy, in both directions.

I stopped at rest area for a bit and thought about removing some of the gear, but while the skies had cleared, the temperature was still only in the low 60s, so gets cold at speed.

I kept going and we went over a few small passes, but things stayed nice, could even say the got better.  Skies cleared up and only white puffy clouds floating by (really fast, wind was blowing hard today), and the temps started to go up again.

I had not had anything to eat yet today, so I pulled off at a fuel stop with a store attached and bought a bag of chips and a drink.

I stood in the lot and ate and drank while I tried to decide if I should get fuel as well.  Decided to wait, want to see how close I can get this, right now its almost even with arriving on my last fumes. (So, I will fuel up before hand, but will get good idea of range).

I did remove the rain pants now though, they were starting to get a bit warm, and also trapping moisture inside like they do was going to get worse as the temperature rose.

Ended up hitting a big road works area, I was first car to come up on the flagman, and this was a pilot car setup, so sat and waited, and waited.  Finally, cars from other direction came, but there were probably 50-60 of them.  I was first in the line, so we finally got going and then the route took about 10 minutes to get through.

Once on the other side then everyone had to pass like crazy as driving the speed limit for a few miles was unacceptable.  I even pushed it a bit so I was not going as slow as before, and left plenty of space, but a few still took chances to get by.

I kept going till eventually reaching the town that I had targeted for a fuel stop if I could make it.  Stopped and filled the tank, but left the fuel in the spare for now.

I was now about 45 minutes away, and with enough fuel I could ignore the fuel conservation and ride a bit faster, I was getting passed way too often (Canadians seem to think the speed limit is 30kph over the posted limit at least, though a few US plated vehicles doing much the same).

I ran it up to the speed limit or a bit above, still getting passed, but not as much. 

Then soon as we were past the city and all the lights, we hit road works, and a huge hill.  And stuck behind a truck that could barely go 20mph.

Passed finally in a passing lane, and just made it past another slow truck, crested the hill and had to come to a stop for more road works and a 1-lane road.

Not a huge wait, and was only a ½ mile section, then we could hit the road again.

Eventually arrived on the edge of Dawson Creek, BC.  This would be my stop tonight, but before I looked for a place to stay, I had one stop to make.

At the highway junction in the middle of town is the Mile 0 marker for the Alaska Highway.

This was the point where the highway officially started and where construction began in the early 40s.

There is a big sign on the corner stating this, so I wanted to get a photo with the bike there.

Technically I ran the highway backwards.  I drove some of the road going to Alaska, but skipped a section as well.  Rode the rest of the Alaska part when I left Fairbanks.  Then from Whitehorse I rode the remaining sections I had not been on yet to get here.

So, the marker was more of finish line than a starting line for me.

I then checked around for some places to stay and found a few to check out on the road heading out of town that I would take tomorrow.

I went to one that looked okay online, but it was a hotel, and really prefer the motels as it is much easier to get gear in and out.  I had passed a motel on the way there, and it did not look bad, so rode back up to that place.

They had rooms, so decided to stay here.

It’s an older place, and while some updates have been done, some stuff is still a bit aged.

But the location is good, price was fair, and staff was nice.

I unloaded the bike and got it all inside the room.

Then I pulled out the tools from the pannier and was a bit annoyed to find everything wet and soggy.

The bike cover which I put away wet 2 days ago had leaked all over the inside.  I had thought the bag the cover goes in was somewhat water proof like the cover, but must not be.  Soaked out and everything was damp.  My repair manual now as warped pages, the roll of gorilla tape is no longer round, and the box for my spare chain is ready to fall apart.

Pulled everything out to let it all dry overnight, then found my tools to clan the fork seals.  Yeah, they are leaking pretty bad again.

Pulled up the dust covers, and using new shop towel cleaned up the oils, ran the seal cleaner through the seal 3 times on each side and cleaned the area and the dust cover well.   Will see how that goes on the ride tomorrow, otherwise might be having fork seals serviced (my next stop will be for 4 nights as I am hoping to get the bike in for a few things that need done).

I had so much oil on the towel now I just tossed it, no point in keeping it.  I will have to start putting the shock socks on when its raining, that seems to be where the worst of the dirt comes from.

I then secured the bike and put the cover on, mainly to allow it to dry out since it is warm and not raining here.

Next, I oiled the chain as it was dried out again from riding in the rain so much.

Once down, I changed out of the riding gear and then walked across the street to Busters Pizza and Donair for dinner.

Had a chicken donair and mozza sticks with a soda.  Good change of pace.

Then back to the room and called back home to get an update on one of my cats which had gone to the vet that morning for some small issues.  Nothing so far to worry about, but will know more in a few days when tests come back.

Then we got online to type up the blog and will probably update a few social things and maybe work on some video, but really tired today, so might call it a night.  I will have more time to work on videos at the next stop anyway.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Rain and fog over the mountains

July 26^th, 2026

Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Woke at 8:00am and sat around a bit till the body woke up with the mind.

Showered and got geared up.

Went outside and it was very misty, bike cover had a good layer of water on it, so another day that it gets put away wet.

Once I had it put away, I started to load the bike.  And the rain started as well.

Had to wear the rain gear to keep myself at least somewhat dry.

Once I had most of the stuff on the bike, I decided I was going to eat a big breakfast at the restaurant as there were not any places to eat along today route that I was aware of.

I checked out of the room and carried the rest of the gear into the restaurant and took a table.

Ordered food and waited quite a while, but finally arrived and I enjoyed a good meal.

Once done and paid, I went outside where the rain had stopped, but it was still spitting a bit here and there.

Put the final pieces on the bike and zipped up all the jackets and got on the bike.

I rode it down to the access road and around the other hotel next door to the fuel stop that was in front of another hotel.

Filled up and then setup all the navigation and got on the road.  I decided with the rain, I would not put the 360 camera on the bike today.

It started to rain lightly as I was leaving town, and lasted about 30 minutes.  Then it went back to the random sprinkle every so often.  Temperatures were around 50 when I started, but slowly went up to the upper 50s for a while.

I had to run about 150km before I could stop for fuel as I needed to make sure the remaining distance would work on a single tank from that stop.

I stopped for a few restroom breaks and a few photos.

During this stretch I saw another bear grazing for something in the grass on a hill along the road, and shortly after came across about 2 dozen bison doing the same right along the road sides.  Now I wish I had put the camera on.

I stopped later to piss, and put the camera on then.

Shortly after we saw more bison, and another bear, though not sure I got camera on in time.

I reached my fuel up point and shortly after found a station.

Odd little place, in the middle of nowhere.

You are not supposed to pump your own fuel, they have someone come out and do it, though in my case, the guy handed me the hose as he did not want to risk spilling on my bike.

Once full, I went inside to pay, the guy just radios how much fuel to the cashier inside.

They had a café here, but was still too early to have another meal, so will just get back on the road.

Not long after this the temperatures started to drop and clouds moved back in.  Then it started to sprinkle non-stop before it turned into a light rain.

We saw more bison on the road side, and twice came upon a young moose standing on the side of the road, but both times my approach, even slowing down, spooked them into the trees, but should have gotten them on camera.

Around this time, we started gaining elevation as we moved into the mountains more and had several small passes to go over. (3000-4000 feet).

I pulled off for a few videos at one point to show the hazy skies.  I was not sure if it was just low clouds or smoke.  There was a fire burning somewhere in the region, and I could smell something in the air, but was still never sure.

Stopped at an overlook of Muncho Lake as stopped for a photo.  I then realized we were heading down the hill toward the lake, so would get closer.

We reached the shores of the lake and the road ran along beside it for quite some time, which was an amazing sight, but marred by the haze.  I decided not to stop for photos, and will just be happy with whatever I got with the 360 camera.

Shortly after the lake I passed two deer looking things on the road side, and they did not spook quite as badly.  I had thought they were moose till I got close, but not sure what they were.  Signs had warned of bighorn sheep, but these did not look like that.  Will have to review the video footage later and see what I can figure out.

We then started to go up to the highest point on this day’s ride and the clouds were so low we were now riding in them.  And they started to get a bit thick and reduce visibility some.

Came down and rain let up a bit, but still sprinkles now and then and occasional sections of mist or fog.

On the last big pass which also was close to 4000 feet, the fog became so thick you could barely see 15 feet in front of the bike.

I had to slow down quite a bit and the car that was behind me must have slowed more or pulled off as the headlights vanished.

Going up was freaky, but once we crested the pass and started down it was even more crazy and you could not really see what was around you, or where the road was going. 

Had to slow quite a bit and just ease it down, watching the painted lines on the side to know when the road was curving or not.

Finally came out of it enough to ride normally, but still had some fog sections.  This is also where lots of cars that were behind started zooming past me at way over the speed limit.

The last half hour into town was very miserable.  While the rain had stopped, I was still quite wet, and body was aching from the cold, though it was back in the mid-50s from the mid-40s I had seen a few hours earlier.

Finally reached Fort Nelson where I would stay tonight.

I had routed myself to a hotel at random as it had the name of the town in it. (I was using the Garmin today as the early rain had me keep phone away, and while I used it later, it somehow lost the routing, and then would not let me setup again as there was not internet, so guessing I moved outside the region of the offline maps.

I was not interested in this hotel when I arrived, but big wide street allowed me to get off the highway and check for other places.

Several spots farther down the road, most were chains, but for tonight I did not care.

I stopped at the local Motel 6 as I figured they would be cheaper than the other places.  Passed two nice looking hotels, 4 stories tall and huge, but probably more money, and were busy, so less chance of an open room.

Motel 6 was not too busy, though did see lots of motorcycles in the parking lot.

They did have a room, so checked in, moved the bike over and unloaded everything.

While I was unloading, I spoke with some people that were on their way up to ride the Dempster highway, so gave them a few thoughts and comments on it.  They were all running the same tires, so let them know my concerns I had on the gravel with them.

Once done unloading, I changed and then walked across the small side road to eat at Boston Pizza.  Was nice to have a good meal and lots of options, many places lately have had quite limited menus.

When I finished eating, I walked across the highway to the gas station convenience store to buy a few drinks for tonight, then back to the motel.

Now in the room for the night, going to work on the blog and maybe convert some video, but getting tired, so might try an early night to bed. 

Looks like morning might be dry, but rain likely later in the day.  So, another 5-6 hour ride in cold and wet.

Catch ya down the road.

 Todays Route:

Back down the Alaska Highway

July 25^th, 2026

Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

Woke at 8:00 am and sat at the desk for a bit.

Dressed and went upstairs for breakfast, not much options, but had a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, and some orange juice.

Back in the room I then took a nice hot shower and got into the riding gear.

Went outside to remove the cover and there was a misty rain getting everything wet.

I pulled off the cover and laid it out on the bench on the porch, hoping it would dry some as the mist was light and there was a small wind blowing.

Slowly started to bring out the bags and load the bike, and when I was ready for it, put the still wet cover in its bag.  It was drier, but still damp.

About this time, it actually started to rain lightly, so looks like another wet day.  So much for weather reports saying no rain today.

Did a final check of the room, grabbed rest of my stuff and dropped off the key at the desk.

Then out to the bike to put the final objects in their place and zip al the jackets up and get on the bike.

I rode 2 blocks over to the fuel station and filled the tank.  Then messed with the gloves as they were messed up.

The rain gloves I wear are large winter sport gloves that have an outer shell with a light inner lining.  That lining is NOT attached except at the wrist.  This means if any moisture gets in the glove, it makes the lining stick to the hand when pulled out and now its hanging inside out of the glove. 

This can take 5-10 minutes to get back inside the gloves and all the fingers in the correct fingers of the outer shell.  Not sure who at Touratech came up with these, but probably need to rethink the construction.

Once fixed, and all the GPS setup, I got on the road.

It started to rain harder as I left town, and kept up most of the way north, with only a few breaks.  Was also quite cold, temperature hovering in the high 40s (F).

Once I reached the end of the Atlin road, it was a short 1-mile drive on the Tagish highway to reach the Alaska Highway.  Then we turned east to start leaving the area.  This is actually about the only road into or out of this region of the country.

It rained off an on the entire way.  I stopped for a few restroom breaks and then stopped in Teslin to top of the fuel tank as I would not have enough to make my destination on a single tank, especially since I am running a bit faster today due to the cold.  Using fuel at a faster rate.

Stopped again later to connect my helmet intercom to power as I needed to have some music going to keep me alert, but battery was almost out on the intercom.

Once that was sorted, we made good time toward our stop for the night.

About this time the rain stopped and clouds even thinned out and sun was peeking through occasionally.  This let the temps go up around 10 degrees as well, so helped a little with the cold.

I arrived on the edge of Watson Lake at about 3:30pm, so right on time.

My first stop was the famous sign post forest on the edge of town.

The first sign post was supposedly erected by a soldier helping with the construction of the Alaska Highway.  While I have heard it was removed and then put back later, at some point other people started to add to the site. 

The signs are typically license plates or street signs, but all kinds of stuff have been left, from business signs, custom signs and even simple homemade placards.

It is estimated that 90,000 pieces now decorate the trees and poles setup along this corner spot where the Alaska and Campbell highways intersect.

I noticed a few signs from Arizona, including one from the town near where I am staying with my relative.

Once done, I stood at the bike and checked out the hotels in town as I had not booked anything since I was not sure if I would stop or push onward.

I am way too tired to push onward, so will stay here tonight.

There are 4 motel/hotels right along the highway and all right next door to each other a mile down the road.

I decided to just ride down and pick one based on the looks as I would guess they are all about same in costs.

First place which I had looked at a few days ago and thought about looked empty, not a single car.  Now it is early, but still a bit odd, so decided to skip it.

Next place looked abandoned, no cars and even the building did not look right.

Next two places were both larger and had several cars and bikes around.

I chose the last one as it also has a restaurant and small grocery store attached and the parking lot was a bit nicer.

Parked and inquired if they had rooms and then did.  Price was a bit steep, even after converting back to US dollars, but still paying that remote town premium that all rooms have up here.

Unloaded the bike and brought everything in.  Luckily, I am on the first floor and actually have the first room in the hallway (though facing the lot behind, not the one in front where my bike is).

Once done, I walked over to the store to buy a few drinks and snacks and then came back to the room.  I called back home for a bit and snacked while I talked, then I finally changed out of the riding gear. 

Went next door to the restaurant and had dinner.  Good food, and not too horribly priced.

Now we are back in the room to type up the blog, move footage off the cameras and hopefully get some 360-footage converted so I can start editing again soon.

Will figure out what my plans are for tomorrow as I continue south and eastward on the Alaska highway.  It’s a very long ride to reach the end of the highway, so doing it in 1 day would make it a long day on the bike.  But also, not much else between here and there either, so will need to see what my options are.

Might end up going to bed early tonight as well, just feeling drained today.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Visiting a remote village

July 24^th, 2026

Atlin, British Columbia

I woke early to piss as usual, but went back to bed.

Woke again later as a few people were getting bikes ready to leave.  Also, the rain was coming down enough to hear it on the roof.

I moved into my chair and sat there with the blanket for warmth, but hoping it would help wake me up, did not get a good sleep last night.

Finally got up and changed into all the riding gear other than the jacket. 

I walked over to have breakfast and once done I went back to the tent and slowly packed things up and prepared them for loading on the bike.

The rain was showing little sign of stopping.  Weather app predicted a lull in the rain starting around 11:00am, so my plan to wait till last minute to check out might work.

I started to load the bike and finished up about 15 minutes till 11:00.

Grabbed the final gear and checked over the room.

Put on the jacket and all the rain gear and started the bike to let it warm up a bit.  It is only in the high 40s right now and still raining.

Rode up to the restaurant and dropped off my key, then out onto the road.

Pulled over soon after my turn as the damn AI assistant on the phone came up and again and breaks my maps.  It keeps interpreting wind noise as speech and asks me to more clearly state that I want to toss a monkey into the ocean (okay, it does not say that, but the recommendations are just as stupid and totally unrelated to anything I would ever say).  I thought I had turned this fucking shit off, but it keeps coming back up at random and besides taking over the screen, it requires me to stop and take off gloves to get rid or it.  Half the time it stops by Maps routing as well so I have to restart that.

Once I fixed that crap I got back on the road and headed toward Carcross where I will pick up a new highway I have not ridden yet.  This road is a repeat from a month ago as it eventually reaches Skagway.

Had to stop again as maps freaked out, so just put the phone away and will rely on the Garmin today.

Having lots of fogging issues today due to the rain, but it’s my glasses, not the visor that fog up.  Will try riding without them next time I stop, my vision is not that bad at distance, just up close that I cannot see good.

Pulled over to take some photos of a lake I missed on my last trip down this road.

Reached Carcross and turned onto the Tagish Highway.    I had to stop right away though and put glassed back on.  Vision is just off enough that it is giving me headache trying to ride without them.  I will just have to ride with visor open and let my face freeze.

This new highway (Yukon Highway 8) is a short 40 mile stretch that goes back up to Highway 1 (Alaska Highway) across the Tagish First Nation territory.  It also has the turn for the highway out to Atlin on it, which is where I am going today.

Rain actually let up a bit while on the road, but then started up again right before I reached the turn onto Highway 7, or Atlin Road.

Turned off and started heading south and almost immediately the road turns to gravel.  This was supposed to be paved all they way, but in Yukon fashion, they tear out the asphalt and then put down gravel and never finish fixing the roads.

Gravel lasted for about 4 miles, and they went back to asphalt road.

Narrow road with lots of small hills and curves, and the views were okay when not being hidden by the trees.

Got stuck behind a large truck in some larger hills for a bit, but finally got around him.

I noticed that I was going to arrive much earlier than I had planned.  My original estimate assumed I would stop and do more photos, but since I have skipped most of that due to the rain and cold, I will arrive just before 2:00pm.  Check in is not till 3:00pm.  Hopefully they will let me in early, otherwise might have to find a café or something to sit at.

I finally arrived in Atlin and found the hotel.  It sits right on the lakes edge with some amazing views and two older boats that used to work the lake now on display along the shore.

The hotel front desk was not open, but sign said to talk to the person in the Post Office (which shares this building, along with a Saloon, though that is part of the hotel and serves as the restaurant most days.

He looked up my info, but the room had not been cleaned yet.

So, I would need to come back around 3.

I went outside and sat on the stone bench on the porch of the building to check for things.

The lunch service at the upstairs restaurant had already closed, but I was told I could sit up there and have coffee if I wanted.

The café around the corner was going to close in just a few minutes, so was not an option.

Restaurant a few blocks away was still open for a few hours, but as it was raining harder now, and I had been out of it long enough to start feeling dryer, I did not want to go get wet again.

So, I just sat on the porch and did some online research while I waited.  The wind was not so bad here and I was just warm enough to not be uncomfortable.

Went out to the waters edge to take a few photos of the mountains across the lake as well with all the clouds hanging around.

With the Post Office inside, the place was quite busy with people coming to get mail and drop off mail.

One guy had pulled up and noticed the plate on the bike and we talked for a few minutes before he went inside.  Then when he came out, we talked again for quite some time.  Older gentleman who has come up to Atlin in the early 1980s.  He had come into Alaska to work the oil fields, but when the place he was at dried up, he came over to Atlin to mine gold for a few years, then got a job with the highway department.

He told me about some stuff farther south that would be good to see, but its all gravel that way, though supposedly not too bad.  I might see what things look like in the morning and perhaps do a short ride south, probably not all the way down though, would make my day longer than I would prefer.

I finally went inside and this time there was a guy at the front desk.  He checked on the room and it was ready, so was able to get checked in a few minutes early.

Unloaded the bike and stowed the gear and then secured and covered the bike.

Once in the room I got out of the wet gear and took a nice warm shower.

Once dressed, I went outside to walk around some as the rain had mostly stopped, though was still sprinkling here and there, and was still a bit overcast.

Walked to the waters edge to do some photos of the mountains around the lake and then the old boats on the shore.

Back inside I did some online stuff until I drifted off to sleep, was suddenly very tired again.

Woke when my arms started to tingle from laying on them at the desk in the room.

Sat for a bit and then forced myself to get up.

I then went upstairs to see the view from the windows up there, but not clear enough glass to take photos.  Looks like they do not have dinner service up here except on a few days a week.  Though breakfast will be here in the morning and I get it complimentary as a hotel guest.

I went down to the Saloon as it serves as the restaurant tonight.

Sat at the bar and ordered dinner and just played on the phone while I waited and ate.

Paid and went back to the room and finished editing the video from last night.

I then started the export which would take some time, so went back outside as the clouds had cleared up and sun was shining in at least half the sky. 

Took some more photos and watched a sea gull along the shore for a while.

Then went inside the Saloon again to buy a few drinks for tonight (or will take them along tomorrow if I do not drink them tonight).

Once back in room the video was ready, and I am now uploading it, which takes forever.

While I do have cell and data service, its not as fast as it could be.  Hotel has Wi-Fi, but warned it is limited and not to stream or do massive things, so my upload might not be much faster, or could break things for others if I tried using it.

Figured I would get the blog entries typed and then once done with the video will get them online.

Then I will probably turn in, already 10:00pm, and had to many late nights, so will get a good night’s sleep hopefully in a bigger bed and warmer room.

Tomorrow is supposed to be less wet, though still cold.  Will see about any side trips and then will head back north to the Alaska Highway and then turn east and south. 

Not sure yet where I will stop, but likely be a close town, making a 4-hour ride is all, but they have several motel/hotels there and then things get sparse till another town much farther away, so probably not going to want to ride that long.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Video Editing Day

July 23^rd, 2026

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Woke normal time and after sitting around for a bit decided to skip taking a shower as there were a lot of other riders getting ready to go places.  Might do it later this afternoon instead.

Decided to wander over and have breakfast today, was hungry since I did not get much for dinner last night.

At the restaurant the same guy was working, so sat and ordered food and talked more with him in between his tasks he had to do.

Once done eating, I went back to the tent and worked on the various social media platforms.

Put a few updates on Facebook, typed up the blogs I still needed to get done and uploaded all the ones waiting.

I then worked to complete a video for YouTube and get it uploaded and ready.

I then completed another vide and have it scheduled.

I started working on another video, but decided to go get an early dinner.

Back at restaurant I was the only person there, so actually got service right away tonight.

Had a pizza with wings, but the boneless wings here are more like small breasts, and they put quite a few on the plate.  Was too much food, so started eating just the chicken and leaving all the breading and sauce.

Probably a good thing as a few hours later that sauce I think is what turned my stomach inside out.  Going to be a long night, I think.

Continued working on video until quite late, but was not able to finish it, but should be a quick job to complete tomorrow.

It looks like it will be raining tomorrow, has been lightly raining off and on all evening today.

I will wait to check out till the last minute, hopefully give time for any rain to move out of the area, and will give me time to have breakfast again as well.

I only have a 3-hour ride planned for tomorrow, so short day hopefully.

Catch ya down the road.

Fix the Bike and rest day.

July 22^nd, 2026

Whitehorse, Yukon

Woke early today, but then went back to bed for a while.  Then finally woke and since I had no clean towels decided to skip the shower.  I just had one last night and did not do much, so still good.

Started working on the bike after a few minutes to wake up.

Took a few things off and started to go through every nut, screw, and bolt and make sure it was still tight.  Most of them were good, a few gave a little, a few took a good full turn, and one of the wing nuts for the license plate was about 2 turns from falling off!

Once done, I then cleaned as much of the clumped dirt still clinging to the bike.  Most of it was on the crash plate, rear frame, under the seat, and stuck to the wheels.  Also used the brush to clean the chain of any dirt stuck to it.  (Brush pretty messy now, so just going to toss it and pick up something new).

I then slowly oiled the chain to get all the links and ran it around several times.  I put the gauge and the chain is just slightly on the loose side, so was going to adjust it.  However, the tools for the axle nuts on the rear wheel that come with the bike are just too short to get any force on them.  I cannot get the nuts to break loose, so will just have to hold off on that for now.

I will see if I can find a dealer or good shop in the next larger city a bit farther south, get out of the crazy prices zone I am still in. (Beyond the crazy prices that everything goes for all ready).

I then repaired the bar that holds my GPS, charger ports, and go pro mounting.  Had to replace both brackets which are a bit larger, so maybe take more abuse this time.  Also lost 3 of 4 set screws that hold the bar at the correct length and avoid it rotating, but had to just use regular bolts as no one carried the small set screws.

But it is now back on the bike securely and all the mounts were reattached and setup to the right angles.

Cleaned up all tools, and then used the Gorilla tape to fix the hole in the tool bag that a screwdriver ripped open.

While I had it out, I tried to use it to fix the zipper on my rain jacket, but was not going to work like I hoped.  I did tape up the ends of the seam to hopefully keep the zipper from separating even more. (Right now, it is still usable, but if it gets much looser, will not do any good at all.)

Once done I then cleaned up and went to have lunch at the restaurant.

While there I got into a conversation with the guy working the place about music as he had some really good electronic music playing in the background.

Things were pretty slow, so we could talk, but eventually others started to show up, so I excused myself and went back to the tent to work on videos.

I think I got about 30 minutes of work done and was suddenly so tired I could not keep my eyes open or head up, so decided to lie down for a bit, and was weird feeling lying there.  Felt like I was floating or something, and then I must have fell asleep as I do not recall anything specific after that.

I could hear the motorbikes coming in as this was about when checkin opened up, but when I finally woke around 7:00pm the place was full, about 2 dozen people and bikes.

I refreshed myself and then walked over to the restaurant to have dinner.

It was busy, but still some open tables.

I took one of the tables, right in the front of the counter and sat down to wait.  And wait.  And wait.

The owner who saw me come in did nothing, and the staff was not paying much attention either.  After 20+ minutes I just got up and left.  Guess they do not need my 20-30 dollars tonight.

I came back to the tent and ate a few of my Tuna packs, and then decided to wash the lunchbox as the zippers were so jammed I could not close them.  Took it over and run it through the shower and sink and scrubbed it some.

Back in the tent I laid it aside to dry and using some paper towels I cleaned the dust off the food packets and then took the utensil set over to wash it as I had just cleaned the fork before using it.

I then started to edit a video and was about done when I needed to get up and walk around, so went outside and eventually ended up talking with the two tents nearby.  Two guys from the US (did not get the state) who were on the way back after riding the Dempster and a guy from Mexico who was also heading over to explore more in Alaska.

When done, I came back inside to finish the video, but will wait to upload it till tomorrow, late enough now I need to get to sleep.

See ya tomorrow.

 

Short ride day – Find parts day

July, 21st, 2026

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Woke early, probably around 6:30am.  Laid in the tent for a bit and finally bladder told me to get up.

Crawled out and stumbled around a bit as my legs did not want to work, then wandered over to the outhouse to relieve the bladder.

Back in the tent we sat there for a few more minutes and then started to get ready.

First was changing into clean clothes and getting riding gear back on.  This is always an adventure in a tent.

Then we pulled off the rain cover and laid it over the bike as the humidity from my breath had condensed on the inside of the cover. (I am guessing, not sure where the moisture would have come from otherwise?)

I packed up what I could, then packed the tent, uncovered the bike and loaded things up.

When done, I rode over to the fuel station across the highway to fill the tank as I was probably not going to have enough to get where I was going today.

Got onto the highway about 9:30ish to head south.

Road was a bit rough, and pot holed badly, and the shadows from the trees made perfect camouflage for the holes, was a real fun game trying to avoid them.

Hit gravel again for a few miles, then later came upon another one-way, though I arrived just as the line was moving, so rode fast as I could to catch up to last truck as it was going and joined the end of the line.

Very rough section again with lots of rocks, uneven ground, loose dirt and gravel, and quite a bit of dust to blind you.

Once we reached end of the work zone, the gravel continued for a few more miles, but truck in front or me waved me around, so at least avoided the dust some. (Camper in front of me kicked up some, but not near as bad as the semi did.)

Finally, back on asphalt and made better time.

Passed some slow vehicles and pulled into the general store in Carmacks.  Wanted to buy a drink as I had not had anything food or drink wise yet.

Then stopped bit farther down the road to use the toilet and take a photo of the welcome sign to the town.

Then was just time to put miles behind me.  No filming today as the bracket is holding with the tape, but camera weight would likely be enough to move tape or bounce around to much.

I stopped once along a nice view of a huge lake, otherwise I decided to skip most of the viewpoint stops (some of them require you to hike back to actually see anything, and that never works with all the gear on the bike being left unwatched).

So, while there were some really nice views today, they will only live in my memory, you will have to come drive the Klondike highway yourself to see them.

Eventually came into the edge of Whitehorse.  I had routed myself to the pizza place I ate at last time as the food was good, and very reasonably priced, even before converted to US dollars. (Which is not quite as good, dollar is buying about 2 cents less than it was last month.)

Once done eating, I had found a car wash along the highway and routed myself over there.

I wanted to wash off the heaviest of the built-up mud, calcium chloride and dust from the bike.

Pulled into the building, they have 2 lanes and each can have 2 cars going at once, looks like the front of each lane will have attendant wash, back side is self-wash?  Bit odd.

I pulled in behind a pickup that was being washed and using the coin operated wash station I was able to run for bout 5 minutes to get most of the heavy muck off the bike.  Still some spots up under the frame and lots of drips that did not get washed, and plenty of dust I missed as well.

Bags were still on bike too, so sprayed them down to remove the heavy build up on them as well.

Once done, I headed out of town toward the Yukon Motorcycle Park.

Arrived and they were able to check me in. 

As I was walking out, I saw the owner coming back in and he greeted me in a way that made me think he might remember me?  I responded that I was back again to spend a few days and mentioned I had just completed the Dalton and Dempster.

He then asked if I got my sticker, to which I had no answer, as I was not sure what he was referring too.

Turns out they have stickers for those doing the two highways, either each singly, or both together as I did.  If you can show proof that you did the rides. 

He did not aske me to show anything, guessing my offering the info without knowing about them was enough to convince him.  I will email my proof to him anyway as they post on their own social media.

I then rode over to the wall tent, parked the bike and opened up the room to drop off the helmet and such.

There was a guy at one of the nearby tents and he came over and started to talk.

Probably spent 20-30 minutes talking.  His riding partner then showed back up from his trip into town for an oil change, so I returned to unloading the bike.

Inside the tent was the same as last time, only there was $5 laying on the top shelf.  Figured the cleaning crew forgot to grab it, so will drop it at office later.  Also noticed there was not bag in the trash can, but not a big deal.

Once everything was inside, and organized so I can use it as needed, I opened the window covers to allow a bit of airflow while I did some research on the parts I was going to need to fix the instrument mounting bracket on the bike.

I then went out and pulled the bracket off.

I realized now that I did not bring an Allen key small enough to pull the small set screw out, so would need to take the whole bracket with me to verify the screws I was hoping to buy.

Loaded the few things on the bike, locked up and rode into town.

I stopped first at Canadian Tire, thinking they had a decent amount of stuff.  I could not find any bolts.  Turns out this store does not have the bulk bolt bins, and the packaged stuff was very limited and it was all square machine screw heads, no Allen, Philips or hex head bolts at all. 

Seems a bit odd, as very little application outside of campers would use the square machine head bolts.

Finally gave up on the bolts, but want to get an Allen key so I could at least tighten the bolt in there.

Had to look them up on website to find the aisle, and when I did, most of the keys were either huge sets of 20+ keys which I do not need, or small sets of really large keys.

Finally found the sets I wanted, but of course, the metric sets were all gone.  They had the metric set sold with an SAE set (which I do not need), and it was almost twice the cost.  But only option, so had to buy it.

I left the store and while I was loading the tool on the bike and getting ready, a guy who pulled up next to me asked if I had ridden up and told him my short version of the trip.

Got on the topic of hardware and he recommended the Home Hardware store down the way.

Stopped on my way over to put fuel in as the indicator was starting to blink, so tank was very low.  I probably still had enough to get to another station closer to the motorcycle park, but easier to just fill it now.

I wandered a bit and finally found the fasteners.

Much better selection, but I asked the staff and they did not have the type of screw I needed.  I decided I would have to use regular bolts and finally found the right size.  Longer than I wanted, but should work, and will use a little Loctite on it to help.

I then left to load things on the bike and then realized I had forgot to look for new angle brackets to hold the mounting bar since the one bracket had broken in two.

Went back in, showed a guy the broken and he took me to where similar things were, and finally found a very similar piece, bit larger, but will still work.  Bought two as the other one was taking all the weight for a day, so probably weakened it.  Will replace both.

Loaded them on the bike and then went back over to the Walmart to buy something to drink and eat.

I have never seen a Walmart with so many empty shelves and such limited choices!  It was not this bad last month, so either they have a messed-up ordering system, had a run on supplies, or some kind of shipping delays.

I found only 2 bottles of water left in the size I needed, so bought one and then had to buy a 12 pack of the tea as they had nothing left in bottles.

I then forgot to even look for snacks, but probably for the better anyway.

Took stuff out to the bike and got ready to leave.

Now I am hearing a clunking sound at low speed in 1^st and 2^nd gear, but goes away when I get going faster.

I am thinking the chain is probably ready to be adjusted, will check it tonight.

Reached the park and put bike up on the stand outside the tent.

Unloaded the stuff and then went out to check the chain.

It has not moved since I checked it in Fairbanks after the Dalton.

Chain is pretty dry right now after the car wash, so hoping a good coat of oil will help.  Will go ahead and try the adjustment as well, but hoping there is nothing else going wrong.

I also looked and felt up around the headlight to see if there was a loose connector, but do not feel anything, so assuming the headlight bulb went bad or vibration killed it.  Odd that the high beam and small daylight running bulb both still work.

I am not going to tear that apart here though, will just ride without the headlight as still stays light till late up north, and by time I get back in the US, I will not be riding late anyway.

I then changed out of the riding gear and grabbed a towel to go take a shower.

After I reached the shower a was hanging the towel and it felt damp?  I wonder if they did not get dried before being put on the shelf.

Showered and dressed and went back to the tent.

The other towel was also wet, and now I noticed they had slight odor as well.

I then took a closer look at room.  No trash bag, money still on shelf, wet towels, and bed covers were a bit wrinkled, pillow too, at least on the bed I was going to sleep in.

Pulled the covers down and sheet was all wrinkled and looked slept in.

I went out and asked the guy at the other tent if the place had been occupied the night before and he said yes.

I am fairly certain it was not cleaned afterward. (The same guy mentioned later he saw a kid on one tent nearby, but not the others, including mine).

I walked over to the office to complain.

The only solution they had was to move me to another tent, but I did not want to do that.

First off, I chose this tent for the location.  And since the other tents near it were also used, and likely not cleaned, not going to help me.

Secondly, it would take me 30-40 minutes to pack up again and walk everything to another tent and move the bike.

They said I could get some towels in the laundry room and would have to come back tomorrow to talk to someone as the manager was not in and no housekeeping staff was there either.

Well, no towels in the laundry.  Oh, there was a huge stack of towels on a table, not folded, some wrinkled and even a bit smelly, so without knowing for sure if they were clean or dirty, I will not take any.  I will just skip my morning shower until I can talk with someone.

Back in the room I moved all my stuff from the other bed and it looks like it was not used, enough that I will risk it tonight at least.

I will go over tomorrow and say a few words; I want clean towels and both beds changed at minimum.

I then setup my chair and did some stuff online.

Then I walked over to the restaurant to have dinner.

Sat down, menu was brought, got my drink, and in a few minutes ordered my food.

Ages went by (I was busy researching stuff online) and finally girl asked me if I had ordered, and then seemed to remember taking it.

She runs back to kitchen and shortly brings my salad out, but main dish still took time, so likely they had lost the order or it was not put in. 

So far not having a good experience this time around.

Ate my food, then went back over toward my tent.

I stopped at the wall around the main fire pit to write my name and dates of my trips on the Rode Dalton and Dempster achievement board.

I then went to tent and both guys were out around a fire, smoking cigars, so sat and we talked bikes and stuff for a while.

They turned in and I walked back over to change my writing on the wall, just realized I had put wrong dates.

While doing that I guy saw me and came over.  He was from Japan and has been riding the world for many years, doing the last continent (North America) right now.

We talked a bit, but his English was limited, so could not grasp everything I said.

I then returned to the tent an pulled out the laptop to update my financial records and balance the books.

That took longer than it should to match up everything as I did not get receipts from many places (too busy, out of paper or something else).

Had to use my phone to get online as the camps wireless does not work, or the password they have on the page in the tent is no longer valid.

I tried to use the phones internet, but the connection along with the VPN was so slow nothing was working, but the phone by itself was okay.

Once done with all that, I tossed the paper receipts I did not need and got to work on this blog entry.

Its now almost 1:00am, and actually pretty dark out, just a gray glow in sky, big difference from last month.

I am ready for bed now, and it is getting cold, will have to bundle up tonight.

Will upload this later.

2 more nights here, so plenty of time.

Todays Route:

 

Leaving the Dempster and heading south

July 20^th, 2026

Pelly Crossing, Yukon Territory

Woke at 7:00 am so I could get and earlier start.

Showered and geared up and then loaded the bike.

Had several conversations along the way.

Three guys riding bicycles up the Dempster, so spent a few minutes talking with one of them.

Then another motorcycle rider stopped to talk to me a bit.  He too was still on his way north.

Once loaded, I did final room check, dropped the key and rode the bike over to the fuel pumps.  Filled the tank and the spare bag as well.

Moved off to the side to get everything secured and make sure I was ready to go.

I then hit the road south.

I was able to push it pretty good in most spots, just having to go really slow in the very loose gravel sections and a few wet spots where they were spraying Calcium Chloride on the road and making a mess of it.

Reached the Ogilvie Mountain ridge lookout I had stopped at on the way up.  That time it was raining, overcast and clouds hanging low into the valley.

Today it was bright and sunny with full view of the mountains and valley below.  Spent a few moments taking photos before heading back onto the road.

I put the camera back up and the tape repair on the mount seems to have done the trick, it was holding pretty good, though I also changed the angle and level at which it sits, see if that creates any better photos.

Or maybe not.

Few miles down the road I noticed it was still shaking pretty bad.  I had noticed that morning that the bar I have stuff mounted too was loose, and looking closer found that both small screws on one side were gone, so the entire bar could rotate just a bit.

The two on the other side were there, though one looked like it might be out a bit, but did not want to unbury the tools to fix it.

Well, now on the side of the road I noticed that one was also gone.  So only 1 left and while it was still fully screwed in, who knows if it will survive.

To help, I removed the camera and mount as well as the GPS for now as I really do not need it since I am using the maps on the phone as the primary.  That will reduce the weight and hopefully the impact of the vibrations.

So very little filming was done today, and did not do much yesterday either, but then much of the route was filmed on the way up, so not a huge difference on the way down.

Stopped again for the Tombstone mountain view, this time the clouds were not blocking the view and got a full view of the valley and mountains.

I also spent a few minutes eating my cheese puffs as I had not yet had any food today.

Back on the road I pushed it to the end, though it got really rough in the last few miles, I do not recall it being so bad on the way up.

So rough in fact that the bracket holding the bar all the gear attaches to broke, and the entire bar collapsed onto the handlebars.   This is going to be a problem.

I saved it from sliding off since the screws were missing and got it wedged just right to stay put till I reached the end of the road, only 25 minutes away.

We finally reached that final mile which is paved, crossed the bridge and turned into the fuel station at the corner.

I got off and unpacked the tools to get the Gorilla tape out.  Using several pieces, I was able to tape it back into place enough that I can ride, and still have the GPS mounted as well, but not the camera, so still no video even on the pavement.

Spent a few minutes talking with a guy who was riding on his way up, just starting, and looked as if he had joined up with two other guys (and their dog, poor puppy is in for a rough ride on the back of that bike) to ride up.

I told him what I thought about the road and the things they would need to watch out for.

Final thoughts on the Dempster Highway.  A challenging ride, made you work for it, showed you some amazing views, and some interesting people.  Loved seeing the Arctic Ocean and being so far north.  And I will NEVER ride it again on a motorcycle.  Might drive it in a truck or SUV someday, but not going 2 wheels again.  It just takes too much out of you.

I pulled over to fuel up the tank and then rolled onto the highway.

Took me several miles to get used to riding on pavement again, slight change in the way I shift the bikes weight and such, mainly being more cautious on the gravel, so now I could really get into the leans again.

Of course, the pavement was not a complete joy.  It was bumpy, and pot holes were almost as numerous as on the gravel, and these were far more dangerous if you hit them.

Had to weave around a bit and finally reached better roads, for a while.

Eventually reached a work zone where the road was dirt covered with gravel, and thick gravel too.

It was only about 5 miles, but still annoying to deal with.

Then the road was in decent shape for about an hour, till I was only 30 minutes away from my stop where I would decide if I would stay or continue on. (I had already decided to stay, was feeling it after so many miles on the rough road.)

Then we were stopped for another work zone, and this one must have been a one-way road as they were stopping traffic to wait for pilot car.

After 10 minutes we started to move, and then after about 4 cars stopped again.  Still not sure what happened there, but sat for another 20 minutes before we finally got to go.

This as very miserable as the temperature was now about 85 F (30 C).  I thankfully had already pulled off the rain jacket as it was warm enough on the ride down, I did not need to stop the cold wind, and the road was dry and no threat of rain, so rolled it up and stowed it about half way down.

Once we got going then things got bad road wise.  Much of it was broken up dirt and pot holes and lots of loose gravel, loose dirt, baseball size rocks and even thick sand.  They had us changing sides often as well and going up and down small hills of dirt.

The dust was horrible, and I had to try and stay far enough back from the camper in front of me to see the road.

This lasted for about 10 miles I would guess.  Took us 20 minutes to get across it moving pretty slowly.

Once off, then the road was again bumps, dips and pot holes for a few miles before it became normal.

Few ass-hats of course thought going 10k over the limit was not fast enough and blew by going 30 over.  On those same bumps, dips and pot holes.

I really need to open a chain of tire and suspension shops up here, the way they drive around here on these roads they have to go through tires and shocks like most people use toilet paper.

Finally reached the small village of Pelly Crossing, which is actually at the bridge crossing the Pelly River.

This village is a First Nation community, and there is a small fuel stop and general store here.  Might be a truck repair shop as well, could not tell.

Across the road the community has created a campground which they do not charge people to use, and I was planning to stay there tonight.

Rolled into the campground and found a spot that was a bit off from the other sites where I could see the campers parked.  Not sure if this was meant to be a camp site or just a picnic site, but I will stay here.  There is a fire pit, bench and picnic table here along with a small pile of wood (supplied by the campground).  I will not be using the fire, not worth the time.

I figured out the spot for the tent and slowly put it up and then unloaded the bike and stored things in the tent.

I emptied the spare fuel bag into the tank and then stowed it on the rack as I probably will not need it again, though might still be a few sections here in Canada where fuel stops are far away from each other.

I then rode over to the general store to see if I could find food.

They did not have any hot foods, so just bought a bag of chips and 2 ice teas, and a bottle of water as I am about out in my pack.

Back at the campsite I ate a few of my tuna packets I brought along for these occasions and cleaned a few things out of the food box (a simple lunchbox), that I was not going to use and were getting beat up by al the dust and vibrations.

I then walked the trash over to the bin and got the bike covered up and everything inside the tent.

Started my mosquito repellant as well to get them to go away, though does not help with the flies or the small gnat like things.

I then talked on the phone a bit (finally back in the connected part of the world) and did a few online updates.  Walked over to find the toilets, quite a walk, but at least the sun never really sets, so can see at night.

Finally changed out of the bike gear, mainly as I am overheating, forgot how warmth feels after being in cold and cool weather for the last few weeks except a few days where it got warm.

Will get this published and then probably setup the air mattress and sleeping bag, might even just call it a night, see if I can get up really early and get going before it gets to warm.

Might need to find a few places to stop and sight see as I will not be able to check in till 3:00pm, but will likely be in town by noon.

I will be hanging out again at the Yukon Motorcycle Park for 3 nights to get things cleaned and fixed on the bike, get laundry done as I will be ready again, and hopefully get some editing done.

I will leave on the 24^th to start heading south.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route: