This morning we woke up to beautiful weather in Tok. It was hot and sunny! Before we even left town some of the riders started peeling off layers! That being said, I started my morning by smashing my finger and making it bleed, then falling down the stairs of the B&B! I was not enjoying the bad omen of the morning! Unfortunately, Paul and Taren were stuck in Fairbanks until after 12pm, so they were not going to make it to Haines Junction. The group of us that were all in Tok, met up at the gas station and started our day about 10 riders deep. The weather was nice and it was nice to ride in a group formation. Not too far down the road we found our large group pulling off into a gas station to put on some rain gear.

Gas/Rain Gear Stop

The clouds were low and the rain was pretty persistent. I started to have memories of the 2008 trip when we had the worst weather all the way from Anchorage to the boarder of Montana! Luckily for us, it wasn’t too bad. But, it was the worst part of the road! Lots of gravel and “construction” that kept us slowed down. Overall though, it was a pretty good day. We ended up splitting into some smaller groups and I got to ride behind my dad. I forgot how much I enjoy him leading the way! Talk about some father/daughter bonds…we move together fluidly!  The best part of riding with my dad was we both ride at the same rate of speed and still go pretty fast through the rough stuff. It is sometimes easier to just rush through rather than ride slow and feel how much your bike is sliding around in the gravel. As we were cruising along, we came up on an adventure rider. He was behind a motorhome and riding really slow through all the deep gravel. Barry and I waited for a safe place to pass and waited a minute to let the other rider pass the motorhome but he stayed behind it. So, we blew past them both…H-D adventure bikes! I really enjoyed riding with my dad today and It was cool to share this experience with Sherri and her father Lee who are also with us.

I used my heated coat for the first time as we continued on the cold wet ride. We finally arrived in Destruction Bay where we had lunch. From that point forward the roads are easy and the distance was short. We only had to make it to Haines Junction. We all made it, but as we chatted over dinner, I couldn’t help but think about all the folks that have NO IDEA what it is like to ride on the AlCan highway, it is like nothing you have ever done before! There are some crazy frost heaves that will take you off your seat as well as some gravel construction that will make you wish you had some dirt bike tires on your bike. Despite all of that most of us are used to what we encounter, because we are Alaskans!

We are off to Watson Lake tomorrow and I will check in there! One day closer to the 110th Party!

U know u r in Canada when u see poutine on the menu…yuck!