Bear!!!

South of the Denali Hwy on the Parks

So there I was. Not to long after helping those ladies change the tire on their Escalade, but much wetter. Shortly after the end of the Denali Highway I was headed South on the Parks to Talkeetna when the sky opened up and started raining cats and dogs. Bears too apparently!

I was cold, wet, and focused on my destination. Tucked behind the tiny windshield going about 65 I came around the corner and saw the biggest black bear that I'd ever seen. And it was getting bigger as I got closer!

Hand full of clutch, locked up the rear and thinking to myself that I should go easy on the front so I don't go down on the wet pavement. Right when I got stopped the bear lumbered back into the woods most likely just as startled as I was.

Proceeding cautiously I kept an eye on the woods to catch a glimpse as I passed by but didn't see anything. When I was a comfortable distance from my first encounter I stopped to see if it would try and cross the road again so I could snap a picture. Just when I was about to leave I could see it come out of the woods in one of my mirrors. After a quick U-turn I was able to get the two pictures above.

For some scale I would guess that the shoulder is probably 6 feet wide.

This was the only bear I saw on my travels that summer.

Stuck :(

Abandoned Coal Mine Lays In Wait for the Unsuspecting Motorcyclist

This was my last ride of the season in mid October. There was snow on the KLR that morning and even with several layers the run up the Glenn Hwy was a little brisk.

I met up with two others from ADVRider in Palmer and we headed out to Sutton where there is a abandoned coal mine. We poked around some trails that were near Coyote Lake for a little bit then cruised up a wide haul road leading to the top of a hill. At one of the dead ends we could see this cut and thought it would be fun to go check it out.

I took up the rear and headed down. To the right looked like a neat place to go play around and maybe sling some mug. So off I went, reached a talus pile no problem, turned around, and figured I could splash through some of the shallow water on the way back.

Moments later I had a sinking feeling. When mud fell from the sky landing on the instrument cluster I let off the gas and realized I wasn't moving forward, which normally means you would fall over. When I looked down my feet were on the pegs and touching the ground at the same time, mean while my riding partners were laughing on dry land.

Long story short. We bummed a rope from a family nearby, and wrestled for an hour and a half to get the KLR out of that mud. It was half frozen, about knee deep, and had a death grip on the wheels. About a hour and a half later we got her out and on solid land. If I had been out there by myself the KLR would still be out there.

Thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you.

The Victorious Riders

Of course ten minutes later two quads with tow ropes and winches came by. If they had only been there and hour earlier frost bite could have been avoided. Oh well, I never plan to do that again anyway.

Lugs Prohibited

Chicken Creek in Chicken Alaska

On my way to Dawson I saw the sign that says "Vehicles with Lugs Prohibited" and kind of chuckled my way down the road. The tires on the KLR are TKC-80's which are a rather aggressive tire to be used on a road bike. While they aren't the biggest lugs you can get on a DOT approved knobbie tire the sign still gave me a laugh and I knew I had to take this picture on the way back.

So there I was. The bike parked half way in the road, people driving by getting in the frame, and me laying down in the dirt trying to get the perfect angle. Then to top it all off when I got home this photo was nowhere to be found. I have had the same problem with this camera before and was pretty disappointed. Luckily a month or so later I found several lost pictures, including this one.

I'm not sure where this was taken. Somewhere on the Taylor Hwy between Chicken and the Alaska/Yukon border on my way to Dawson City.

There isn't really much of a story to go with this one except that I was there and thought it was a good idea to stop for a picture. This is what the road looked like most of the way after Tok on that trip. Now that I think about it I'm more surprised that there weren't more motor homes. This was the first weekend in August, which is still tourist season (I think).

I was debating what to do with the coveted four day weekend and debated if I should go to Deadhorse, Valdez, or even the Denali Hwy again. One day when I was talking to someone I mentioned that I could go to Dawson or I could wait until Dust 2 Dawson next year. He said, "You might as well go now because you never know whats going to happen before next year.".

I'm glad went. That was some good advice.

Rain Rain Go Away!!!

In the rain just south of Palmer

This was from my ride to Valdez but it very well could have been from any of my overnight trips this last summer. It seemed that no matter what, the weather would be great all week, then when it was time for me to make like a banana and split, it would turn for the worst.



You can see two different boots in this picture. I was wearing my Redwing work/hiking boots. They are only as tall as the top of my ankle and if I ride too long in the rain the water will get up in my rain pants and leak into the boot. Which gives me wet feet.

The other boot there is one of my XTRATUFs, your basic indestructible rubber boot. Those boots are pretty much the official foot wear of Alaska, they definitely are in Southeast where it rains more than you can imagine. Anyway, the xtratufs are pretty tall so the rain stays out and my feet stay dry. The only downside is that if I were to crash at speed the pavement would shave them down like a belt sander through hot butter. This would be very bad for my feet.

I'm looking for some good riding boots, and nice weather proof riding pants for this season. I'll stay dryer and safer. Which is a good thing.

I rode in the rain A LOT. But it was still a lot of fun. One day I went, dripping, into the Palmer McDonald's looking for something hot to eat and a place to warm up. After a woman took my order she said

"Its not a good day to be on a bike huh."

I replied

"Its always a good day to be on a bike!"

As she shook her head I walked to my table with a big grin on my face and ate my hamburger.

Random Road

View from the Top of the Hill

Near Mile 120 of the Glenn Highway there is a small road leading to the valley floor. The road has a name but I can't think of it right now. It has something to do with communications because at the end of the road there is as large hill with a com tower on the top.

You can see some rain in the back ground. It would be a clue as to what I was going to have to ride through. It didn't rain the whole time, just in bursts. However, it was the heaviest rain I'd experienced, and several times I thought about stopping until it let up.

I had been by on the Highway and looked at the small peak wondering what was over there. This time I was on my way to Valdez and figured I should check it out. After all, while the colors hadn't changed in Anchorage, they were ablaze at the higher altitudes. I was surprised to see the grass as red as it was. In Michigan the grass changes color too, but only when it dies.

When I reached the top there were two people up there on Mountain Bikes. They were camping down near the river you had to cross, picking blue berries and decided to go for a ride. I commended them for riding up the hill and we talked about techniques for riding down. All of us were worried about sliding off a corner and falling to our death. I made it down without any trouble and went on my way.

From the top of the hill you could see several trails heading towards the mountains. If I can find someone to go with me this summer they may need to be explored.

Hope

The KLR previously precariously perched

This was actually a group ride. Some people on ADVrider.com in the Great White North forum (which includes Alaska and Canada) decided to get together and ride to Hope for a bite to eat on a Sunday morning. Those of us with dual sports headed out a near by gravel road and I found myself here.

Not too far up the trail, bowling ball size rocks were the typical surface. While there were three in our group that decided to proceed, I decided to head back with some of the others and return to ride another day. I did see the pictures from the top, and they were amazing.

About 2.78 minutes after this picture my bike fell over. If you look close you can see that its pretty much verticle, which isn't the best way to get the side stand to work. Maybe a stiff breeze came by or a marmot sneezed somewhere. Either way it went down and broke a rear blinker.

I picked up as many pieces as I could and decided that low profile blinkers are in my future.

What a nice day.
The sun was out, it wasn't too hot but it was warm. Blue sky, fluffy clouds, and green mountains.
It doesn't get much nicer than that.