Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Day 64 - YT

Since it was still raining a bit this morning, I got a late start out of Whitehorse. It was in the high 40s (°F) and I rode into a strong headwind all the way to Haines Junction. After Haines Junction, the headwind picked up enough that 3rd gear and 40 mph was about it. By the time I reached Kluane Lake, the wind had died down and it warmed up to 52°F. At the visitors center, I dug out the heated liner and got it all plugged in.

This is a beautiful section of the highway. I zipped past Destruction Bay confident that I could fill up again at the next town. The next town plus the next five roadhouses were either closed for the winter or no longer in business. At 167 km, I needed to switch to reserve. The headwind was really causing the bike to get miserable gas mileage. I added the 3 gal of gas from the gas can and it should be enough to get to Beaver Creek. According to the Milepost, it's about 33 miles away.

I was warned while on the Cassiar that there was 50 km of horrible construction between Kluane Lake and Beaver Creek. There was a cyclist heading north that was even thinking of trying to find a ride between Whitehorse and Tok. I think that maybe those tourists don't know what horrible is. It was just the normal repave process. The gravel road in the construction area was a lot smoother than the normal potholed chip seal. The only issue I had was the rear wheel spinning in the mud where the road was watered down to keep down the dust.

I was hoping that the White River RV Park that I had stopped at on the last trip was still open. Especially after seeing all of the "Closed" signs on this stretch of the Alaska Hwy. And it is still open but under a new name. Now it is the Discovery Yukon Lodgings. One of their many offerings are wall tents with optional heat and the cost is only a bit more than a tent site. Since it's supposed to be raining all night, it seems like a good option. Very slow but functional wi-fi through their satellite Internet connection.

The owners have all of these old military vehicles scattered around the campground. Some are in really good condition such as this truck. I believe that it is drive able as there is a picture on their web site showing it full of tourists. This is another good campground.

11 comments:

  1. Strong headwinds are truly the bane of URAL sidecars....carb or EFI, it doesn't matter when you've the wind profile of a box!

    I like your digs for tonight.

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    1. The wall tent is a pretty nice option to have. That way I don't have to pack up a wet tent tomorrow morning.

      The windshield doesn't help though I sure would not want to ride without it.

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  2. So, do you think you'll push for home by tomorrow?

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    1. I'm not sure. Depends on the weather and the road but I was thinking of stopping at the Tok campground again.

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  3. Good thing you are carrying extra fuel. The walled tent seemed like a good choice too given the weather.

    We are supposed to drop down below 90 today. That will be nice.

    Hard to believe you haven't been home in over 2 months.

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    1. Believe me, it I didn't have the extra fuel I wouldn't have passed up that or any other gas station. The Ural really doesn't have much range.

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  4. I like that old truck, would probably be a great URV

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    1. I suspect that it's even slower than the Ural. It's a pretty cool truck.

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  5. The range of a Ural is pretty pathetic. 200 km on a good day. 200 miles would be a whole lot better but that would require a 7 gal tank. The GSA tank would be even better. Usually, I don't run it down that far but I passed the last gas station with only 90 km on the trip odometer. And there was no sign, like there has been on the highway, warning you that the next gas was in 190 km.

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  6. On my EFI Ural am getting min of 36mpg but usually 38mpg. I fill up when the tripmeter gets to 200km but there usually at least 1.5 gallons remaining in the tank.

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  7. I usually fill up after switching to reserve which could be anywhere from 163 km to 210 km. Depends on the hill, speed, wind, load, type of gas, etc. 200 mile range would be a whole lot nicer...

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