Sunday
Today was Bob's birthday, and we set off good and early on Highway 1, the Alaska Highway, otherwise known as the Alcan. This was described by Chris as a "heads
down" day. The road was good and wide with long sweeping bends, and huge sweeping vistas before you. It is possible to OD on scenery!
A slight misunderstanding about the distance to the breakfast stop (is that in miles or kilometres?) saw our first fuel error, as Gaz tried to freewheel the last 10 miles. This plan fell at the first incline, so the siphon pump was called to the fore (available at Adventurebikewarehouse.com) and Johno was swiftly relieved of half a tank of unleaded. I think he's still waiting for it to be repaid!
A small settlement called Rancheria was the fuel and food stop, a stereotype of the truckstops that keep these kind of roads operational. The petrol pump was some way from the office, and the couple that ran the place, so you were trusted to tell them how much fuel you had put in! You then pay for it at the same time as you order your food. Ten bikes arriving at once can cause some confusion though. Gaz was pleasantly surprised when his order of ham and eggs arrived within seconds, Bob was hacked off to find that his ham and eggs, the very first order, arrived last. And on his birthday too!
We were by now riding in smaller groups, but with Gaz and I nearly always towards the back, so when we caught up to a few of the others parked on the wrong side of the road we stopped to see what was happening. Down in the margin, as the Yanks call the verge, was a black bear enjoying its own breakfast. It soon got tired of the attention and wandered off. Not much further, and there was another bear, on our side of the road this time. I pulled alongside Alex (on the opposite side to the bear) while we filmed it eating berries off the
roadside bushes. As it came to within 10 feet of us, Alex leaned over and asked if they were dangerous. "Don't know." I said, "but you'll find out first!"
Needless to say, the bear didn't give us a second glance.
A brief dip back into British Columbia, as the line didn't follow the road, then back into Yukon. We crossed the longest steel deck bridge yet, at Teslin, which must have been 200 yards long! At the other side was a Motel and petrol station, a chance to check out where we would be staying later on in the trip.
As we neared Whitehorse the road skirted a large body of water, shown as Marsh Lake on my GPS. The shoreline looked odd, but as I got closer I realised that it was a line of RV's parked along the waters edge. The roads were full of these, ranging from quite modest, to absolutely huge! I can see the appeal over there, less so in the UK. We stopped for lunch at a truckstop opposite Whitehorse International airport and to regroup. There is a small museum at the airport, and an old DC3 on a swivel as a wind vane, which some of the lads went to look at. Chris, Gaz, Little Mark and I went instead to look at one of the old paddle steamers that used to ply its trade on the Yukon River. There was a brief film show in a marquee next to the boat, and between that and the joggers using the park we were kept entertained for half an hour before heading further.
Continuing on the Alcan out of Whitehorse, the road seemed wider and the countryside more open, and the mountains seemed to be getting closer and closer. The already 'Big' scenery switched to 'Huge'.
Cruising along, iPod singing away merrily, and I see a couple of bikes up ahead. Little Mark stopped at the side of the road, Chris a few hundred yards further doing a U-turn. "Not another black bear?" Thinks I, switching on the GoPro, "or is it a breakdown?" Little Mark appeared to be hunched over the tank, but as I rolled up to his back wheel I saw that he was carefully getting his camera out, so I followed the direction it was pointed........
The biggest Grizzly bear I have ever seen (in real life) was standing in the trees at the side of the road. I nearly fell off the bike in shock. It turned
and walked back into the undergrowth, and I started breathing again. It's one thing to see these magnificent creatures on film, but to have one 20 yards away with nothing between you is something else entirely! I U-turned myself and joined Chris, who confirmed that that was one of the biggest bears he had ever
seen.(Those weren't his exact words, if you watch the video you'll understand!) Sadly for my credibility, the video footage shows nothing but some rustling leaves,
but Marks photos do. A couple of miles further on was a sign for camping!
We stopped that night at the Alcan Motor Lodge in Haines Junction. "The management" had procured a few cans for us to celebrate Bob's birthday so we congregated around the bikes in the car park as the last of the suns warmth settled behind the mountains. Other riders staying at the motel wandered over with the now customary "hey, where y'all from?" and such, and we chatted with them for a while before wandering off for food.
That's the view from our Motel, stunning!
Johno thinks so!
Mark