Daily Miles Ridden: 244
Cumulative Miles Ridden: 3,075
This Day's Route: Departed Williamson Provincial Park, AB [1] on CAN
34; CAN 34 W to CAN 2; CAN 2 S to Grande Prairie; CAN 2 W to Dawson Creek, BC.
After replenishing supplies and stopping at the visitor center, I started
northward on the Alaska Highway; stopped for the evening at Wonowon, BC [4]
(Mile 101).
Weather: Sunny and warm. Temperature was in the 60's.
At Dawson Creek, I bought a plastic headlight cover (for protection from flying rocks from passing vehicles on the gravel stretches of road) and a fiberglass mesh screen (to keep insects from clogging the radiator). I stopped at Wonowon at about 3 PM and installed these on the bike. I noticed that the low beam on the headlight had burned out, so I adjusted the headlight downward and rode using the high beam for the remainder of the trip. This proved to be no problem since I rarely rode after dark.
The terrain changes near British Columbia.
WOW! After riding 3,000 miles I finally arrived at the start of the
1,422 mile long Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, BC.
The first part of the Alaska Highway was superb.
Primitive facilities at the Mile 80 rest area.
I met another motorcyclist at the Mile 80 rest area, a fellow about my age riding a basic Yamaha twin. He and his bike were covered in dried mud and he looked as if he had seen death. His gear was minimal - it appeared he only had a bedroll, a light jacket, and a change of clothes; I actually felt rather sorry for him. He said he had made it to the Arctic Circle north of Fairbanks but the roads were terrible and he strongly advised me to turn around. This was a little unnerving, but having come this far there was no way I was going to stop. I rationalized (hoped!) that he simply wasn't properly prepared.
Stopped for the day at Wonowon (from Mile 101), British Columbia.