Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog

With Jim once again getting up very early, I had the room to myself from around 6.15am and so had plenty of time to try again with the jacuzzi bath (there was no shower, so it was either that, or try and fit myself into the sink, something I doubt I'd have succeeded with). This time there was plenty of hot water and so I had a good soak and even used the jacuzzi pump to blast away a few minor muscle aches here and there. Refreshed, I went online before heading down to breakfast, and Tracy was also online so we chatted on Skype for a while until I was late for breakfast and had to drag myself away. After a couple of eggs (over-easy), sausages (links), toast (white) and coffee (normal) I returned to the room to complete my packing, but went online to chat to Tracy some more...

All of which meant that it was 8.15am before I rolled out of Nugget City heading South on the Alaska Highway before turning right onto the Stewart Cassiar Highway. The sun was already up and it was relatively warm, and within a mile the scenery suddenly exploded into view – high snow-capped mountains, crystal clear lakes, dark green forests all under a bright blue and white sky. Every few hundred yards there was a motorcycle from our group parked at the roadside, rider with camera pointed this way or that. I stopped by one of the lakes for the first of a number of “bike by lake photos” (another Gallery, perhaps?).





Last night, over dinner, Kevin had explained that this road should be ridden slowly, as there was an “almost certain” chance of seeing bears along the route. So, riding along at a steady 45mph, scanning the woods on either side of the road (made easier by the complete lack of traffic), I found myself singing “Bear Necessities” and “If you go down to the woods today”... just as well no-one else was around to hear me... That changed when I passed an area where some wood had been freshly felled and cut, the smell of fresh wood sparking off “I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay”... now that would have been embarrassing to be caught singing...

The road continued to meander gently along through this stunning landscape, and I just had to stop again and take another photo of a lake, this time without my bike to spoil the view...





Then as I passed through a small settlement with wooden houses and endless piles of scrap cars everywhere, I looked up and saw 2 enormous people atop one of the great mountains, and quickly stopped to take a picture...





Still no sign of bears, though...

A few more miles along this most enjoyable road we encountered our first section of roadworks. Like most of the roads we've ridden so far, these consist largely of patches of loose gravel and dirt, where the road surface has not been laid with “tarmac”, and which have to be treated with caution on a motorcycle, as it's all to easy to slip and go down. This section was no different, but with the added challenge of loaded gravel lorries hurtling though at break-neck speed, kicking up massive clouds of choking dust which completely obscures vision for a good 10-15 seconds after they pass. Coupled with the inevitable bout of coughing that results from breathing in the dust, those seconds are tense, and a relief when both the dust and the coughing subsides and I can see where I'm going once more. That said, my riding on dirt has come on in leaps and bounds so far, and I'm nowhere near as terrified of it as I was to start with, my confidence growing with every mile successfully negotiated.

Shortly after the first section of roadworks I came across a sign for “free coffee” at a Jade mine, and so had to stop. Several other riders were there, wandering round, cups in hand and looking at the piles of raw jade rocks brought up from the mine. I went inside the shop, and got a coffee and then went and bought my first real souvenir – a lovely little jade Inuksuk – a rock likeness of man (story). Outside the shop were a number of RV's, so I decided to answer my brother's request for more “truck” photos with the first of several RV photos. This one is typical of what I like to think of as the “working man's RV” style, a pick-up with a ruddy great big RV trailer attached. I'll try and get a photo of the “rich man's RV” style in the near future (a bloody great big RV towing a 4x4)...





Once clear of the roadworks, the road again continued to flow through this unbelievably beautiful scenery. It was time to stop once more and enjoy the peace and quiet, and spotting Julia and Kenny down by another lake I rode off the road and down a track to join them in admiring the view (well, Julia was, Kenny had his rod out and was trying to catch something – and no, that's not a euphemism, he was fishing...). Inevitably, this lakeside also lent itself to a “bike by the lake” photo...





This stunning scenery continued for mile after glorious mile, before eventually I stopped for fuel and to eat the lunch I'd got from Jeff earlier. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but at the start of the trip most of us chipped in $50 for the “van-kitty” which pays for a variety of healthy snacks (fruit, energy bars, fruit drinks, bottled water, that sort of thing). The idea being that first thing in the morning before setting off, you get a small supply from Jeff to consume during the day. So far, I'd managed to remember to do this once (actually, I remembered a lot, but usually when I was an hour down the road and about an hour and a half ahead of the van). This morning was no exception, despite me having a long conversation with Jeff the night before about how I must remember to pick up some snacks (I'm a bit sick of eating a hearty lunch). However, due to my slow pace (bear spotting, remember) and frequent early stops to take pictures, at one point the van had caught me up and I'd picked up some grub. So at the lunch stop, whilst Julia and a couple of others went inside for a full-on meal, Nigel and I sat outside in the sun, eating our fruit and snack bars. Much better...

With lunch over it was back on the road again, stopping fairly soon after by a fast-flowing river to see if there were any bears about (there weren't) and to take another piccy.




Suffice to say, I have several more photos that were taken that day, but I won't post them here for fear of making you even more jealous...

With the day getting on and the sun beating down, I stopped at a lake mentioned in the notes as “a swimming opportunity”. I'd been riding alone for some time, so pulled in to the parking area, where there were picnic benches by the lakeside expecting to see the lead group, only to find no sign of them, just families in RV's cooking or playing (and staring at the weirdy-beardy motorcyclist riding slowly past, helmet open to let the air get to his hairy chin). So I rode round to the boat-launch point and went and took a photo of the lake...





Doesn't that look inviting?

I thought so. So I waited for some of the others to arrive, and Julia and Nick rode in and past the entrance to the boat-launch and on into the main area. So I waited for them to re-appear and after 10 minutes went to look for them. Nick was just putting his socks on, having been for a paddle, but I managed to convince them to come and check out the boat-launch area, where there was a small jetty. With little further convincing, Nick and I stripped to our underwear (I put on my swimming shorts and got out my big towel, Nick just left his boxers on) and in we went. In front of a family of Norwegians (mum and dad and teenage son & daughter) who thought the whole affair most amusing (watching 2 middle-aged bikers shriek when jumping in freezing cold water probably counts as high entertainment in Norway). Julia managed to get some photos, but I've not been able to steal them off her camera yet. But take my word for it, the water was COLD!

Dried and dressed again, we rode the remaining 70 miles to Bell II in a much more alert state than we'd have been in had it not been for the cold water wake-up. Finally arriving after a full day's ride (300 miles) whilst constantly scanning for bears, the final score was : Squirrels 3, Bears 0.

Bell II consisted of a fuel station with attached cafe-cum-restaurant and a beautiful set of 2-storey cabins, each of which had 4 large bedroom apartments. Jim and I shared one called “Bobcat”, which had 2 huge wooden beds, and a nice bathroom (although the shower was rubbish, the water turning to a trickle as soon as I'd got covered in soap and shampoo). In the middle of the cabins was an outdoor hot-tub, which had it not been for the resort's other memorable feature (a zillion flies) would have been investigated with great haste.





Dinner that evening was a buffet, which included a magnificent salad, so I stocked up on my greens having several bowls of it (I also got more of my 5-a-day by having a couple of large pieces of carrot cake, the joys of being on the road...). After dinner I was encouraged to get “Pass the Pigs” by Julia, which then resulted in a long explanation of the rules (whilst Julia tried to recall how it was a drinking came when she was at University – fortunately this time we didn't reach for the alcohol, but I know it's only a matter of time...), and then a game with most of the group playing. This naturally took a long time, but in the end I won, a remarkable achievement as in all the years I've been playing Pass the Pigs, I've never won. Not against Tracy, nor Colin, nor anyone else. Content with my new-found success, I retired to bed and read my book before falling into a deep sleep...