Tue. August 18th 2009
8:10pm. Sitting in my buddy's cabin here in Fainbanks. It's hard to believe the trip here is over! It took so much planning and care. Not that's I'm sorry. The ride up here was mind blowingly beautiful. When I get home I will write about the great wilderness here. It differs from the intensity of the Amazon. Lonely and Peaceful.
Quick note about yesterday. Probablly the best riding of the trip. Had a horrible realization in the morning. My back tire was not going to make it to FB before going bald...which was probably going to happen around Tok....so I hatched an idea. There was lots of tread left on the sides of the tires(can you see where this is going). So I rolled the bike back and forth across my lane getting it as leaned over as possible. White line to yellow line.....white to yellow. Almost instantly I realized how much fun it was! Why had I not thought of doing this sooner!??
It felt almost exactly like skiing when I learned how to parellel. Staying in the carve as long as possible, then slowly upright...and boom switch to the other side. Back and forth down the hill. It was exactly like that, only on a motorcycle, and I never reached the bottom of the hill. I got to ride those carves all day long! It was awesome! I probably looked like an idiot, but of the 6 other motor vehicals I saw that day, I couldn't care less:)
I love when you stop for a rest/snack and it's 40min...60min...no 70min sometimes before anyone passes you on the road. That meant for a moment in time, the closest human was 70miles away, if not further. It was fun.
Today was mostly in the rain after Delta Junction. Bearly any tiresaving swerving was possible. I rolled into Fairbanks on a breadth and a prayer. So Happy! Quick stop for gas proved I still had some tire tread! Thank god for the USA. As soon as I had crossed the border in to the US the roads became nice once more. None of that damned chip-slate crap. Well bearly any:)
The timing plate cover poped off somewhere today. Put some gorrilla tape over the large hole to keep water and other crap out. Other bikers seem super concerned about keeping thier bike SUPER clean....I like to clean it as mush as possible. But, it's more of a routine inspection sort of thing than pride of any kind.
The Harley Dealer had a dunlop tire in stock when I stoped by today to ask. Got an appointment tomorrow to have the thing mounted.
I know I just got here, but it's been getting colder EVERY day I was riding north. I think with in a week there will be the first snow of the season.
I've got the get the hell out of Fairbanks before winter. Super tired. New tires tomorrow. After that, it will be time to hatch an excape plan. I'd only ever planned on getting to FB. Never how to get out. Turns out this place is really really far away. Don't think I'd make it back through those passes again before winter hits them. Several days already I woke to see snow dangerously low on the mountians. Also it's been hovering +- freezing every night since Hope BC.
Here's to getting out of here with my bike!
