North America-2001

UNTAMED SPIRIT

August - 2001 The Beginning

When I made the decision to travel around the world on my motorcycle, I had no idea what was ahead of me. I began picking up books on some of the places I plan to go and reading everything I could get my hands on. My friends gave me books and articles that added to the information highway. Reading as much as I could was the easy and exciting part of my preparations.
Here's just a summary of what I had to accomplish before I left. In about March I started my immunization shots. I believe there were a total of about eight, with one more to get in six months (when I'm in Australia). I wasn't expecting to go through so much pain! I had to start making decisions about my personal assets and how I would handle that - not only how but who I could ask to handle personal and financial issues. Then there was the passport, international drivers license, a thing called a ‘carnet de passage’ (something like a passport for the bike), when and where to apply for travel visas, what countries require them, etc. etc... During all this I had to decide what kind of bike to take on this great adventure. Some of my more seasoned traveling friends advised against taking the Goldwing. This was hard to swallow but eventually I had to agree. I needed a smaller, more manageable bike if I should run into difficulty somewhere out there alone. What about my route? Well, I kept a laminated map of the world on my kitchen table with a washable marker and drew and redrew my route a hundred times or more.

In about May I decided on a general route and when I wanted to leave. August 4th was the target date - now the pressure was really on. The end of June I went to California to attend the WITW (Women in the Wind) convention. I decided to attend this event to promote my trip and get the moral support of my sister chapter members in the United States. I was overwhelmed by the interest and encouragement I received. I was fortunate enough to meet Marjorie, an honorary member of WITW, who was a pioneer for women in motorcycling. Against her fathers wishes she ventured across the United States by motorcycle in 1938. She is a great inspiration to me and other women riders.
The last month of packing and planning was very hectic but here it is August 4th, 2001 and I'm on schedule. It's 8:30am and I'm leaving Edmonton to spend the weekend in Canmore with my daughter and her family and enjoy the Folk Music Festival.

August 9th I leave Canmore taking the Bow Valley Parkway to Jasper – a stunningly scenic ride and one of my favorites. Over the next four days I take highway 40 to Grande Cache and Grande Prairie, Alberta then highway 2 to Dawson Creek, B.C. and the start of the Alaska (Alcan) Highway.

I follow the Alaska Highway to Ft. St. John and Ft Nelson, B.C., then Watson Lake, Yukon where I visit the sign forest and plant my sign, amongst thousands of others before me, signifying my presence in this neat little town. Then on to Whitehorse, Yukon where I stop to take care of bike maintenance and meet up with two Goldwing riders who join me on my ride to Dawson City via the North Klondike Highway.

August 2001 - ALASKA
Saturday, August 18th, 2001 - I leave Dawson City after a nice breakfast with my new friends from Whitehorse. As I ride down the river bank to the ferry I'm just in time to board the raft before they pull the chain across. I’m boarded with six vehicles and one bicycle. In less than fifteen minutes we dock on the other bank and I ride off to the top of the world.
Picture (right): Dawson City, Yukon nestled along the banks of the Yukon River.
On the far bank is the ‘Top of the World’ highway leading to Alaska.
I experience a rush of excitement mixed with apprehension as I head off across the mountains on my own. The road switches back and forth as I climb high up the mountains. The road surface is good, paved in most places and hard packed gravel in several short stretches. After a few miles of climbing I look out across the coulee and realize I am at eye level with the mountains peaks on the other side. The view is spectacular! I can see for miles - mountains, coulees, stretches of the highway as it winds back and forth ahead of me - what a feeling! The only cut lines I see are those of the road twisting on ahead across the tops of the mountains. I can easily imagine how spectacular this must be in a couple of weeks when the leaves start to turn color. Soon I reach the highest point on the Canadian side, round the top of a mountain and begin a short decline to the border - Poker Creek crossing. A few kilometers further…
Up until now I've been fortunate to see the sun poke its face through the clouds from time to time. Now it looks like I'm headed for rain. I travel about 30kms before the road shows signs of a recent rain. Still not bad to ride on and I continue optimistically. My optimism doesn't last long as quickly I'm into very wet roads. I feel my rear wheel slip - just a reminder to keep a steady pace. After fifty kilometers this is no longer fun! My bike fishtails as I cross a muddy track to make room for an oncoming truck and camper. My biggest fear is to drop my bike out here and be attacked by a bear. I’m happy to reach Chicken just to get off the road for awhile. I stop for gas and lunch and order chicken soup. I figured that was appropriate for being in Chicken, Alaska. It's stopped raining for a bit and I'm told there is only 22 miles left before the new chip seal surface. I head out again and battle the remaining stretch of mud. The clouds look like they’re breaking up and I am ever so thankful when I reach the hard surface road.
August 21st - I reach Anchorage and stay with more Goldwing members. They are great people and help me make some contacts for my flight to Japan then on to Australia. As it turns out, the cost to fly from Japan to Australia is twice as much as it is from Vancouver to Australia, so I decide to omit Japan for now. I will travel to Haines, Alaska, take the ferry to Prince Rupert and ride to Vancouver. From Vancouver I will make arrangements to fly or ship my bike and myself to Australia.
With this decision made I have the pleasure of riding through more of Alaska to Haines. The weather is cloudy and I ride in rain off and on for the next two days. It’s a very pretty route along the Glenn Highway and I have a few bright periods throughout the ride. I see another bear. This time it runs across the road and into the ditch to the right of me. At Tok I head south east on the Alaska Highway towards Haines. Gorgeous countryside but the air gets colder as I reach higher elevations. I see snow falling over the mountains to my left and am thankful for my Gerbings heated clothing. It’s 5:00pm on August 25th when I reach Haines, Alaska. It’s been a long 2 day ride so I do a short walk around town, get food for the ferry ride and crash, waking periodically to hear the rain still falling.
August 26th at 7:00AM I arrive at the ferry for a two day ride to Prince Rupert. The day is clear enough to see the mountains around me, but by evening the clouds have socked in and it is raining. It rains most of the night and I'm thankful I'm on board and not riding. I stay on the Solarium deck on a lounge chair with my sleeping bag, along with the other passengers who don't wish to pay for a stateroom. The loungers are in a passageway which is open to the outside viewing deck. As the rain comes down it runs through the area where we sleep so we must make sure our things are off the floor and put in the lockers behind us. My sleep is broken by the feel of the boat rocking. It's still raining in the middle of the night and I'm surprised at how warm it is out here.

Read more about my exciting adventure in my future newsletters and my upcoming book to be announced later this year. Enjoy my site, Doris