21 May 2016: I read a book once
T - After yet another cold night of almost no sleep I climbed sighing out of the tent. If I couldn’t sleep I may as well get up and light the fire. It was currently -1.5 degrees. No wonder I was cold. My sleeping mat barely inflates anymore and in my thin sleeping bag the cold coming up from the ground is making sleep near impossible. Time to stop being a tight ass and buy some new gear.
We were going to aim for a town called Teslin today. Only about 200 clicks west from us. Here we figured we would stay in an RV park for the night and do some washing and showering and hopefully update the blog! I get a bit annoyed if I go too many days without updating it. Instead typing it into a word document so I can cut and paste it across when we have interwebs.
With a hot fire going I settled down to read a little more of the book that had influenced us to think about the Honda CT110 as world touring bikes. A young British fellow once rode one of these little machines from Sydney Australia all the way back to his home in England. I enjoy his books as they are all about the raw emotions and ups and downs he experienced both mechanically and mentally on his journey. Then he rode his little bike, Dorothy, across the USA and ended up finding himself in Skagway Alaska. Which is where we were headed next.
We were on the road by 815am today. Probably one of our earliest starts to date! We were going to stop along the way somewhere for breakfast as we had exhausted our breakfast supplies by now.
As we cruised down the old Alcan highway we came across a sign for a bakery in the next few km’s. That would be our breakfast stop!
We filled up on cheap coffee and eggs and toast and continued on our way. All too soon we were crossing a horrible steel grate floored bridge into Teslin. We made a decision here to keep moving as we thought we may get most of the way to Skagway.
Then the highway slog began. Mile after mile of tarmac slipping away behind us. The scenery always stunning. The road always monotonous.
We turned south onto the Klondike highway with another 158 km’s to go to Skagway and 400 km’s behind us for the day. What a days ride. Our asses hurt. Our heads were tired. It was nearly time to stop. We figured we would knock a few more km’s off for the day and then find a nice free camp on the side of the road. We wanted to be within spitting distance of the Alaskan border for an easy short ride tomorrow. But….
The scenery changed drastically and became so amazingly stunning that I just can’t put it into words. Sharp mountains rising straight up to form towering snow covered peaks. We were hooked and we couldn’t stop staring. Ooh baby we wanna get closer and take your picture…… (thanks Sir Mixalot!!)
The road was draped across the sides of these majestic monoliths. Rolling and climbing past lakes and cliffs. We rose higher and higher in terms of altitude and attitude! Every new turn making us swear and laugh in delight. Holy F**K could it get any prettier!
Why yes it could. And it continued to do so. And then we were there. The Alaskan border crossing.
What happened to the last 100 km’s? We descended from the border crossing down into Skagway. The town I had been so keen to see. A gorgeous sleepy little place with wooden boardwalks and hundred year old timber buildings. Very nice!
We found ourselves an RV park and after over 550 kms in 12 hours of riding we set up camp and proceeded to unwind.
Tomorrow we stay put. We shall spend a day walking and stretching while we wait to board Mondays ferry to Haines and then continue our journey northwards to Anchorage.
Finally, just a quick little bit to say thanks Nathan Millward for giving us inspiration for this trip and for putting Skagway on our radar.
If you haven’t read Nathans books the look him up at www.nathanmillward.com/. They are a great read an you won't be disappointed!