1 Do not
over pack; cut in half the number of clothes you think you will need.
2 Pack for
all kinds of weather and temperature; some days were extremely hot while we
almost froze at other times.
3 Rain is a
given, it is going to rain. Have a good-quality and easy-to-get-on/off rain
suit.
4 Electric
jacket liner and gloves are a great investment.
5 Waterproof
your boots and gloves; then you can cut back on extra boots.
6 Take
comfortable shoes to wear at end of day; tennis shoes.
7 Conversion
of Canadian to USA dollars is a pain in the ____.
8 Use credit
card as much as possible, they do the conversion for you and no hassle with
carrying lots of Canadian money.
9 Carry
extra credit cards and several hundred dollars of cash; keep separate from
billfold.
10 Don’t
leave your driver’s license or credit cards at hotel or gas station; PAY
ATTENTION TO THIS!!
11 Roads in
Canada are not nearly as good as USA; expect rough stretches and slower speeds.
12 Fuel is
NOT easily available the further north you go in Canada; always fill up when
half empty.
13 On the
ALCAN you cannot count on fuel being available; plan carefully and have back-up
plan.
14 Animals
are everywhere up north. We saw BIG brown bear by the road, black bears, elk,
deer, big horn sheep, buffalo, caribou, and a Bald Eagle setting on a fence
post 10 feet from the road. You have to drive at a speed that will let you miss
them. This is usually slower than the speed limit and the speed semi-trucks
want to drive.
15 Expect
anything on the road; when a sign says loose gravel on a 2-lane paved road they
mean 3 inches of gravel covering the road for a 100 feet!!!
16 Up north
you are a LONG way from everything especially help. Drive defensively and pay
attention. 17 Roads are slick with rain, trees are close to the road (animal
surprises) and roads do not always have shoulders. Roads are built on 8-10 foot
berm so going off the road is going to hurt and you won’t be able to get bike
back on the road without a crane.
18 Know
basic first-aid and carry a first-aid kit. You may be the first to reach
someone hurt in an accident. Make sure your travelling companion has the same
knowledge for your benefit.
19 Carry a
satellite locator; it may not be real fast for getting help but at least they
will eventually find you. If you go off the road you could very well be unseen
from the road.
20 Cell
service is non-existent up north except close to settlements and they can be
over 100 miles apart.
21 There is
no radar weather coverage up north so you cannot expect to see where the
weather fronts are located like you can in the USA; plan on wet and you can’t
go wrong.
22 People
are real friendly and always asked about our trip; had great time every evening
in local pubs talking to strangers; P.S. don’t party too much, next morning you
WILL regret it.
23 Go in the
off season; we had Jasper National Park to ourselves and very little traffic in
Yellowstone and none on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway.
24 Use sun
screen!
25 Stay off
Interstates as much as possible; much more to see and enjoy on the side roads.
Of course if you have to make miles you have to use the interstates between the
good spots.
26 Be
flexible. You may have to reroute or change your destination totally as we did.
27 We only
made a couple of hard hotel reservations especially on the ALCAN. Everywhere
else we always found lodging when we were ready to stop.
28 We had
wireless at every hotel so carry an iPad (like I did) or a netbook to check
email, upload to Facebook and to check weather at next destination.
29 Practice
packing prior to departure. Items not to be used regularly should be put in
saddle bags. Items that need access easily should be put in a bag that can be
opened without untying your gear.
30 Make sure
bags are waterproof or put plastic bags inside the main bag.
31 Carry
windshield/face shield cleaner in easy- to-access location. Bugs are terrible
up north and you will use the cleaner at every fuel stop.
32 CB
between riders was critical; coordinate rest/fuel stops, traffic advisories,
eliminated boredom, confirmed routes from 2 GPS, discussed weather options,
etc.
33 Talk to
other bikers; latest road conditions, road closures, weather up ahead, places
to go. We heard about the Jasper Nation Park from a biker stranded at Ft Nelson
with us. On our return south we diverted to this park and it was one of the
high points of the trip.
34 A lot of
Best Western hotels have a place to wash motorcycles under an agreement with
Harley Owners Association (HOG); real nice after riding in the rain.
35 Most
paved roads up north and especially in Canada have dust/sand on the roads that
continually gets in your eyes. This is especially true if you are riding behind
another bike or vehicle. When it rains, like it does often, this dust becomes a
milky coating on your windshield and facemask that restricts viewing. Use
windshield that is short enough to look over instead of through and it will
still partially protect the face.
36 Wear a
helmet with a facemask (see previous item)
37 Most
parking lots at gas stations and even hotels are not paved the further north
you travel; easier snow removal I guess. Expect gravel and mud holes.
38 Expect
bridges with steel grate driving surface up north; again easier snow removal.
This will be an exciting ride on a motorcycle so keep the speed up and let the
bike dart as it will with only loose hold of the handlebars.
39 Expect
bridges with wood plank driving surface up north. These can be very slick when
wet since they will also be covered with dirt/sand that becomes slimy mud when
wet.
40 Big bugs
and rocks will hit you as you ride. I got hit on the leg by something and it
hurt for an hour.
41 Don’t
ride at sunrise or sunset if it can be helped; large animals! Up north the sun
is up many more hours than it is in Arkansas area.
42 For trips
of this magnitude it is important to be compatible with your riding partner.
You must agree on a number of key factors or after a few days trouble will
begin:
42a Departure
times (early verse late sleepers will be the issue) (we were both early risers
and were usually packed and on the road by 6 am every morning. A late departure was considered to be 7 am)
42b Stop for
lunch or eat snacks at gas stops (we both ate snacks with a big dinner as the
main meal)
42c Range
between rest room breaks (I drank 2 cups of coffee every morning so you can
guess who needed to stop most)
42d Miles to
travel each day (we both expected 400-600 to be the normal day)
42e Quality
of hotels (economy or luxury) (we both agreed not to go cheap but to use Super
8 type hotels where possible)
42f Smoking
or non-smoking (I am non-smoker but Jim smokes. He would go outside to smoke
and this never became a problem)
42g Share
room to save cost or separate rooms (We agreed to reduce cost by sharing the
hotel room as long as we could stand it. It never became an issue and we shared
a hotel room for the whole trip)
42h Snoring
if sharing room (Neither of us snore)
42i Temperature
of room if sharing (both agreed that a cool room was good)
42j Camping
or hotels/motels (No question, hotels only)
42k Drinking
or non-drinking (we both looked forward to a cold beer after a long days ride)
43 Do a
couple of practice rides prior to the big trip to work out the bugs listed in
item 42. In addition, work out the routine for spacing and procedure while in
heavy traffic and on the open highway.
In traffic I stayed close so we could move as one in the flow but on the
open highway I would hang back so I could relax and use my cruise control
without having to adjust speed continually.
44 Without
cruise control your right wrist will not last through a long multi-day trip. My
wrist even with cruise control hurt more than my butt, especially on sections
with lots of turns or in heavy traffic where cruise control could not be used.
45 Have bike
equipped with highway pegs so you can stretch out and adjust seating position.
I also added passenger foot pegs that let me put my feet behind me at times.
This will greatly extend your riding range.
46 Have
access to water bottle while riding, especially in the HOT sections like the
Dakotas.
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