52184
GTRider
Last Thursday afternoon I returned from my month-long post-retirement ride to Tuktoyaktuk and points beyond (Fairbanks, Valdez, Hyder, Bella Coola, Revelstoke/Nakusp, etc). My ride of choice was a 1993 R100GS, chosen simply because it's a reliable machine that is easy to work on and because it was part of the question on my mind--can a 60-something rider on a 25yr-old motorcycle make it to Tuk and back? And, one of the objectives of the trip was to visit places at the end of the road--a location that always fascinates me. I rode up through Banff and Jasper, turned off the Alcan at Watson Lake to ride the Campbell Highway up to the Dempster, then on to Inuvik and Tuk. Turns out I was the 6th motorcyclist to ride the new road to Tuk--not a distinction I set out to achieve, but just a result of trying to time my trip between the end of the bad spring weather and full-blown insect season. Was able to ride the Top of the World Highway, the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxson, the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, and more. Numerous adventures along the way, including a layover in Kalispell, MT on the second day of the ride to have laser surgery on a retinal tear that occurred just north of Kalispell. I should probably write something up and file it away, I guess.
Anyway, here's a couple of pics from the ride. And yes, I am a lousy photographer.
The Campbell Highway: Generally good road surface but vegetation comes right up to the roadway. Mind the critters!:
The Tombstone Mountains on the Dempster make an absolutely beautiful ride!:
The mighty GS arrives at Tuk:
And is the #6 motorcycle to do so! Mike, who designed and made possible the Tuk stickers that will be sold at Tuk to help the community, was there to take my pic and post it on ADVRider: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/road-to-tuk.1199999/page-47#post-35166460
The marker in Tuk for the end of the TransCanada Highway:
And the GS getting ready to turn for the next stops, Fairbanks and Deadhorse. Wanted to dip my toe in the Beaufort Sea, but it was still frozen!:
I didn't make it to Deadhorse, denied by a major snowstorm that hit from the Brooks Range almost down to Coldfoot so didn't make the run. Substituted Bella Coola instead. The link to my Spotwalla track is here: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=18e345afa65fa88aeb&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes
But I'm not done with Canada and the great Northwest--there are still places at the end of the road to visit!
Best,
DeVern
Anyway, here's a couple of pics from the ride. And yes, I am a lousy photographer.
The Campbell Highway: Generally good road surface but vegetation comes right up to the roadway. Mind the critters!:
The Tombstone Mountains on the Dempster make an absolutely beautiful ride!:
The mighty GS arrives at Tuk:
And is the #6 motorcycle to do so! Mike, who designed and made possible the Tuk stickers that will be sold at Tuk to help the community, was there to take my pic and post it on ADVRider: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/road-to-tuk.1199999/page-47#post-35166460
The marker in Tuk for the end of the TransCanada Highway:
And the GS getting ready to turn for the next stops, Fairbanks and Deadhorse. Wanted to dip my toe in the Beaufort Sea, but it was still frozen!:
I didn't make it to Deadhorse, denied by a major snowstorm that hit from the Brooks Range almost down to Coldfoot so didn't make the run. Substituted Bella Coola instead. The link to my Spotwalla track is here: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=18e345afa65fa88aeb&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes
But I'm not done with Canada and the great Northwest--there are still places at the end of the road to visit!
Best,
DeVern