(Picture: Bruce, a friend, and Dino) About a year ago, I decided it was time to make the attempt, again, to ride across the Arctic Circle. For me, it was a nagging desire that had festered for almost 20 years. I wanted, for no good reason, to take my bike over the Arctic Circle. In my younger days, I had located a route in Norway to Nord Cap, that was inside the Arctic and presented the additional adventure of a European tour. In other words, in addition to the thrill of not speaking the language, there might be food, lodging and gas along the route as it was a well travel vacation destination. How well traveled became obvious when my group arrived in Trondheim to find bumper to bumper travel trailers, station wagons, buses and all manner of vehicles slowly making their way to Nord Cap and the certificate that they had visited the North Pole, an optimistic claim but all in fun. An effort casting caution to the wind and taking every opportunity to lane split, pass on the right, left, on curves and over hills, netted, after a hard days ride, 45 miles and found us in Hell, which, we learned, does freeze over every winter, while also learning that July is the wrong month to plan a visit to Nord Cap. All of Europe is on vacation in July and many shared my dream.
I began to look for alternatives. Some, I'm sure, exist in Russia. But, Russia had denied me entrance several times and despite the fall of The Wall, I held lingering doubts that entrance, although now, perhaps, possible, may not be safe and successful. China was, and probably still is, closed, as well. That left a review of Canada highways.
And, it was there, in my back yard, so to speak, that I found a thin red line that ran from near Dawson City, in the Yukon, to a town called Inuvik within the Northwest Territories and 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Someday, I thought, I'd convince the group to go. That proved difficult as 5000 miles of not very much lay between here and the beginning of the adventure proper. Last year knowing that my health and resolve were failing, I determined to go alone, if need be. But, the need did not be and a solid rider, Bruce, several years my senior, but and extremely experienced rider, agreed to join me provided we include Alaska in the itinerary. No problem. Although, I'd like this to be the beginning of many Last Great Adventures, I can't count on returning to the Canadian Northwest and finding myself within striking distance of Alaska again. It was, therefore, an easy and exciting addition to the itinerary and an opportunity to have another rider along just in case. So, it became Bruce and Dino's Last Great Adventure! Two old guys on their Goldwings wondering if they could beat nature, errant drivers, and the highway crews one more time. Our departure date is set for May 24th as the final leg into Inuvik is an Ice Road and closed for the month of May since the ice is not strong enough to carry traffic but too thick to permit ferries to operate where needed. The road usually opens for regular traffic on June 1st but has been known to be closed until June 16th. We'll see.
Although three routes were debated, in the end, we decided on hugging the border, primarily on Route 2, to Shelby, MT and then striking north. This decision was arrived at based on an assessment of views, poor regardless, and value, stateside is much cheaper for gas and lodgings.
For the technically minded the bikes are GL1800s, Bruce's yellow 2001, with just over 100,000 miles logged, and my silver 2002, with just about 50,000 miles logged. Both have back rests, heated grips, Lowrance iWay 500c GPS navigation, CB communications, and Darkside (car) rear tires. We will carry The Spot, which is, basically, a global positioning "I've fallen and I can't get up" emergency device coupled with a "We're fine and here (lat & long coordinates provided)” message generator linked to a list of e-mail addresses set pre-departure. Since temperatures will be low at our destination and warm in between, we'll pack full riding gear with liners, long pants, shorts and several top layers. This means we can travel light while still maintaining the flexibility to deal with all conditions. We have both been doing long hauls for a long time and I'm not worried that we will be unprepared. That is not to say we will be successful.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Early Days
(Picture: Bruce, a friend, and Dino) About a year ago, I decided it was time to make the attempt, again, to ride across the Arctic Circle. For me, it was a nagging desire that had festered for almost 20 years. I wanted, for no good reason, to take my bike over the Arctic Circle. In my younger days, I had located a route in Norway to Nord Cap, that was inside the Arctic and presented the additional adventure of a European tour. In other words, in addition to the thrill of not speaking the language, there might be food, lodging and gas along the route as it was a well travel vacation destination. How well traveled became obvious when my group arrived in Trondheim to find bumper to bumper travel trailers, station wagons, buses and all manner of vehicles slowly making their way to Nord Cap and the certificate that they had visited the North Pole, an optimistic claim but all in fun. An effort casting caution to the wind and taking every opportunity to lane split, pass on the right, left, on curves and over hills, netted, after a hard days ride, 45 miles and found us in Hell, which, we learned, does freeze over every winter, while also learning that July is the wrong month to plan a visit to Nord Cap. All of Europe is on vacation in July and many shared my dream.
I began to look for alternatives. Some, I'm sure, exist in Russia. But, Russia had denied me entrance several times and despite the fall of The Wall, I held lingering doubts that entrance, although now, perhaps, possible, may not be safe and successful. China was, and probably still is, closed, as well. That left a review of Canada highways.
And, it was there, in my back yard, so to speak, that I found a thin red line that ran from near Dawson City, in the Yukon, to a town called Inuvik within the Northwest Territories and 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Someday, I thought, I'd convince the group to go. That proved difficult as 5000 miles of not very much lay between here and the beginning of the adventure proper. Last year knowing that my health and resolve were failing, I determined to go alone, if need be. But, the need did not be and a solid rider, Bruce, several years my senior, but and extremely experienced rider, agreed to join me provided we include Alaska in the itinerary. No problem. Although, I'd like this to be the beginning of many Last Great Adventures, I can't count on returning to the Canadian Northwest and finding myself within striking distance of Alaska again. It was, therefore, an easy and exciting addition to the itinerary and an opportunity to have another rider along just in case. So, it became Bruce and Dino's Last Great Adventure! Two old guys on their Goldwings wondering if they could beat nature, errant drivers, and the highway crews one more time. Our departure date is set for May 24th as the final leg into Inuvik is an Ice Road and closed for the month of May since the ice is not strong enough to carry traffic but too thick to permit ferries to operate where needed. The road usually opens for regular traffic on June 1st but has been known to be closed until June 16th. We'll see.
Although three routes were debated, in the end, we decided on hugging the border, primarily on Route 2, to Shelby, MT and then striking north. This decision was arrived at based on an assessment of views, poor regardless, and value, stateside is much cheaper for gas and lodgings.
For the technically minded the bikes are GL1800s, Bruce's yellow 2001, with just over 100,000 miles logged, and my silver 2002, with just about 50,000 miles logged. Both have back rests, heated grips, Lowrance iWay 500c GPS navigation, CB communications, and Darkside (car) rear tires. We will carry The Spot, which is, basically, a global positioning "I've fallen and I can't get up" emergency device coupled with a "We're fine and here (lat & long coordinates provided)” message generator linked to a list of e-mail addresses set pre-departure. Since temperatures will be low at our destination and warm in between, we'll pack full riding gear with liners, long pants, shorts and several top layers. This means we can travel light while still maintaining the flexibility to deal with all conditions. We have both been doing long hauls for a long time and I'm not worried that we will be unprepared. That is not to say we will be successful.
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