The Alaska Highway Redux

The ride from Whitehorse to Dawson Creek can be pretty well summed up in two words: cold and wet. It was still a fun ride, but I got a little cranky from not being able to feel my fingers and toes all day. My boots not only stopped being waterproof but actually starting absorbing water, so that when I got off the bike I would leave little puddles with each step as the water squished out (for shame, Diadora!). The temperature was generally in the high 40s to low 50s, but one guy I met when I stopped into a cafe to defrost said it had dropped to 40 on the last stretch of road we'd just ridden. I don't know if it really was that cold, but I eventually had to stop every 30 miles or so and warm my feet against the engine for a few moments. I began to fantasize about all those things I've always scoffed at like electric vests, heated grips, and actual waterproof clothing.

The day that biker died on the road in front of me was a real bummer (see the earlier post). It certainly cast a pall over the ride for the rest of the day and I was just a touch more careful on the road. As some other biker I met later would remark, "Well, we're not out here playing kick the can now, are we?" True enough. Still, a little caution goes a long way out there.

Watson Lake, like Haines Junction, seemed a bit sleepier than it did when I was riding with the Filthy Five. Once again, I bowed out of exploring the local culture (i.e. going to the bar at the Watson Hotel) and decided to catch up on some reading and blogging. The hotel I stayed in didn't have 'net access in the rooms, but they had an ethernet jack in a meeting room that I plugged into for a little while. It actually worked pretty well, one of two decent 'net connections I found in Canada.

The ride from Watson Lake to Fort Nelson was COLD and WET - brrrr! I stopped into the roadside restaurant at Toad River (excellent poutine, BTW) and met up with a couple of other cool bikers there. I met a woman there who was riding a Buell solo from Toronto to Dawson City. That's guts, I tell ya - I don't think there's a major motorcycle company out there that makes bikes with as bad a reputation as Buells have. Even the motorcycle press (loathe to ever say a bad word for fear of jeopardizing some future ad revenue) rag on Buells for their lack of reliability. That's a shame, too, since Erik Buell seems to be a true innovator. Maybe their newer bikes will finally shake that reputation, but I'd be mighty wary of taking one of those up the Alaska Highway. Here's hoping she made it there and back without any trouble.

I also met and rode with (for a while, at least) a pretty famous actor who I've admired for a long time. I never actually asked him point blank who he was (meeting people on the road is like that - you might have a 30 minute chat with someone and end up knowing their whole riding history, what bikes they have, what mods they've made, where they're going and where they've been, and still not know their name), but I'm pretty certain he was who I think he was. If he was who I think he was, (and I've confirmed that this actor lives where this guy said home was - not LA!), I have to give him props. Even with his martial arts training and history of playing bad-asses, you've got to be pretty tough to do that ride at 64. Way to go, and I hope you made it home safe.

After I split off from my famous riding buddy, I continued south to Fort Nelson. There I stayed in the same little motel/gas station/convenience store/RV Park I'd stayed in before. That motel, the Blue Bell Inn, is the other one of the two places I found in Canada that had reliable internet service, and the rooms were great (and cheap!). Also, the first time I'd stayed there, I'd gotten to talking with the Manager, a really affable guy named Michael, and I knew that he ran a good operation and was happy to give him my business. Sure enough, my stay there was great and I got a chance to chat with Michael a bit more the next day. I don't usually recommend places, but you could do a lot worse than the Blue Bell Inn when you stay in Fort Nelson.

Actually, there was one really amusing thing that happened there: when I was checking in, I handed my Driver's License as ID to the girl behind the counter, and she seemed amazed to be meeting someone from NYC. She said that she had visited NYC the previous year and had LOVED it, especially Broadway and Times Square. I mentioned that my last (next?) job was located on Broadway and Times Square, and she seemed quite impressed with that. A little while later, after I had checked in and changed out of my grimy road gear and freshened up a bit, I dropped into the office/convenience store to pick up some snacks and water for later. I overheard her telling her co-worker that she had met a guy from NYC and "...how cool is THAT?!? He lives in Brooklyn and used to actually work in an office on Broadway!", she gushed to her slightly older and more jaded co-worker. I overheard all this and thought the whole thing was pretty funny. She completely didn't recognize me (seeing how I wasn't covered in mud anymore), and I finally broke down at the counter and said "OK, NYC is pretty cool, but not THAT cool! Besides, I'd trade places with you and live up here for a while in a second!" Her unimpressed co-worker then chimed in "Well, but then you'd have to live with her BOYFRIEND!", which made the younger girl blush and get a little pissed that she'd blown her dating status in front of the NYC guy. I just thought the whole thing was hilarious and laughed all the way back to my room - I never knew that being from NYC was soooo cool (yeah, RIGHT!) HA!