Thursday, June 18, 2015

Day 2 - Tok to Dawson City

I got an early start from Tok after a cup of instant coffee as I knew that it could be slow going along the Taylor Hwy and the Top of the World Hwy. The first 60 miles or so are paved then it's mostly gravel with intermittent patches of potholed pavement. It was a bit cooler than I expected and there were still quite a few patches of snow along the side of the road. I was not the first out of the campground this morning though all made a bee line to Fast Eddy's for breakfast.

The pavement ended just before the community of Chicken where I topped off the gas tank. The gift shop had tons of chicken stuff and there were a few penned up outside the store. I was surprised that only 1 bike passed me along the paved section and I caught up with him just outside of Dawson. It was 80 miles from the campground to Chicken and another 108 miles to Dawson.

From Chicken to the border, it was mostly narrow gravel with oncoming traffic maybe every 15 minutes. The last 5 miles before the border was beautiful, brand new pavement. Not sure why there. No problem crossing the border and I was the only one there. Nothing like it is at the southern borders.

There is no bridge across the Yukon River into Dawson City so you need to take the free ferry. This is where I caught up with the other bike. I arrived here around 2:00 PDT. Supposedly they expect something like 200 bikes here today and tomorrow. I picked up a t-shirt, a pin and a dinner ticket for tomorrow. There are some "activities" such as a poker run but I think I'll just hang around town visiting with some of the other riders. I already found a group from Fairbanks who have been here since Tuesday.

The video is from today's ride on the Taylor Hwy and the Top of the World Hwy into Dawson City.


13 comments:

  1. So I get the news via your post. I don't think I'd want to write everything twice, either. Enjoy your tomorrow.

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  2. Even with a dusty GoPro lens, that's some fine, fun video, Richard.

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  3. Awesome! Looks like a beautiful trip. Please remind me: what is your planned route and how long will you be on the road.

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    1. Wandering around western Canada to MT, OR and back. And around 2 1/2 months.

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  4. What a nice day. I hope the dust will settle eventually somewhere else that is not your Gopro lens.

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    1. It wasn't too dusty but there is dust on everything. Need a bit of rain to wash things out...

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  5. Perfect music for the video! Beautiful scenery.

    See any wildlife other than the chickens?

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    1. No wildlife at all so far. I hear that there is quite a bit further south...

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  6. Replies
    1. No complaints so far. Had to adjust the valves on the right side again. They were both a couple of thousandths loose.

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  7. Very cool little video. I traded my gopro for a drift, which I'm liking a lot.

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