Alaska 2012

It’s 5.05 pm Pacific time and I’m sitting in a pretty empty airport departure lounge in America. In two and half hours time the big bird in the sky will fly me back to London. Today has been a day of goodbyes: and while I have ridden with some nice guys, I’m not so sure I’m going to miss them greatly. I’ve now got quite good at parceling up these trips – and the people in them – so that when I go home it is a memory of the past. An enjoyable memory but not one that confuses or upsets my real everyday life. You’ve got to do such a trip to really understand what I’m getting at. Any-case, I’m very much looking forward to getting back to the UK and doing some ‘normal’ stuff at home – including planning my next trip. I’ll now watch a film on the laptop to pass a bit of time ……..

Yesterday was my last day in the saddle. Again I rode with John and Symon (Gordon was staying in the USA for another three weeks and started to ride east on his own) and we decided we’d ride back to Santa Rosa rather than have another night on the road. Our logic was that we’d be able to have all of Saturday sorting out our gear and the bikes before parking them at the local BMW agent: they get shipped back on Tuesday and we fly back (on different flights) on Sunday.

While our ride was seventy five percent on an interstate (to get the mileage done) it was interesting enough as the main road went through some pretty Californian countryside and the last bit of the ride was on a lovely twisty hilly road which allowed us to end the ride on a high – albeit the roads got busier and busier as we neared the more populated areas of California. In the evening we went to a very traditional American steak house where I had a giant sirloin which, yet again, was of a far higher standard than the Brits usually see – and relatively cheap, less than £20 including a beer and a glass of wine!

I’ll miss America in many ways and my ability to feel at ease here was summed up when I went to the supermarket last night and found myself not only automatically looking the right way when crossing the road etc but feeling very confident to shop for what I wanted and to chat to the checkout woman about how she was going to give me a ‘members discount’ which she did. Doesn’t sound like much but I remembered going to the same supermarket when first here and feeling like an alien in a different country – confused about products, money and the way they spoke. Indeed once you realise that almost all Americans like talking to you and each other and their politeness isn’t just an act, it really is difficult not to relax and join in – they also like to joke, which suited me.

I’ve also decided I won’t do any more ‘long mileage/change motel every night’ trips: They’re far to tiring. Medium mileage and spending at least two days at each stop seems far more sensible. Off to breakfast now before finishing of the blog and uploading a few more photos over the next day or three: Bye.

Today was quite tiring. I rode with John, Symon and Gordon – and unfortunately neither Symon or Gordon are good ‘convoy’ riders, so you have to keep stopping and wondering where they’ve got to: But they’re good company. The ride consisted of three definite bits: Firstly we drove through the most gorgeous Cowboy and Indian country in Oregon. It was scrubland mainly through rolling hills until we entered about 20 miles of canyons and gullies through which the road switch backed in a most enjoyable fashion. The second part of the ride was through pretty boring flatland on a main road in the searing heat. We then entered Klamath County and rode through Crater Lake National Park to the Crater – apparently the deepest lake in the World (got to be it’s in America) formed in a non active volcano.

Tomorrow I head for Santa Rosa in California and the end of the trip along with a few others – some are spending the night elsewhere and returning to SR on Saturday. I’m now quite tired and have had enough of the breathtaking American scenery for the moment – over 7000 miles in 28 days is a lot. I guess I had never really thought about the west coast of North America much previously but now realise it’s defined (for me) by some tectonic plates clashing together millions of years ago (indeed they still are I’m told) and forming giant mountains, lakes and rivers etc that form achingly beautiful scenery over vast distances on a gigantic scale. It’s also incredibly sparsely populated. But I’m looking forward to getting home now and planning my next adventure!

Well it’s cooler today – only 37.5c!

I’m at a place called John Day as I type. Very much a Cowboy and Indian town in Oregon: Hicksville. However as I was here first and no motel had been booked I got us into a ‘Best Value’ motel which did a really nice twin double bedded room with AC and all the trimmings plus a swimming pool and the most helpful pleasant middle aged sisters running it: And all for $80 a room!

I rode from Lewiston on my own today and enjoyed the 270 odd mile trip a lot. It’s amazing the differences you see in such a ride – from fairly flat prosperous agricultural Idaho into Oregon that seemed a lot poorer, lots of dilapidated and empty buildings and one horse towns and land that was scrub. Equally though I went through one or two National Parks with the mandatory winding road through the forested valley of a range of hills. I also rode through a couple of larger towns as it’s interesting to see how they lay out their towns and what shops operate in them. However when I say large towns, I guess they were Felixstowe size.

The trip is nearing its end now and I’ve started to reflect on my feelings about it. It’s probably too early to put these down in the blog yet but suffice it to say that I have, in the main, really enjoyed it. The main issue is around the size of America and the distances we’ve traveled – basically we’ve spent too much time chasing from one place to another, crashing out of an evening and then getting back on the bike first thing in the morning. I also much prefer just traveling with one or two other people – it’s far easier to make decisions about what you want to do, the speed at which you want to travel and meal and hotel breaks are a lot easier. Nevertheless all the guys have got on pretty well and there haven’t been any big falling outs – yet. More to come on my thoughts about the trip later. PS I’ve done one or two videos of my ride which are to big to upload – I’ll share them with anybody who wants to see them when I’m back.

Apologies to my legions of fans for not posting yesterday – and I won’t blog a lot today. Unfortunately, as the trip wears on time to blog gets more difficult.

Yesterday we rode from the Canadian/USA border through the Glacier National Park and stopped the night in a camping site (we had log cabins) where we cooked a BBQ with probably the best steaks (bought at a local butcher) you’ve ever tasted. While the ride was only 100 odd miles it was on “the road to the sun” which is over mountains and considered to be one of the great rides in the USA – though it was full of traffic as it’s holiday time.

We then rode this morning past Flathead Lake (I think – I’m getting tired) which is huge and startlingly beautiful then through cowboy country like you saw in ‘50s movies – you kept expecting to see Indians on the brows of the hills – into Idaho where we drove for 150 odd miles through another national park alongside a river on probably the most beautiful biker rode you’ve ever seen i.e. long sleeping bends and twisties with no traffic – plus scenery to die for. Put simply, Montana (a vast and sparely populated state) and Idaho are just beautiful.

Ultimately, with the temperature at 39c, we stopped for the night at a good motel in Lewiston/Clarkston (one of the two) where Symon and John, who I rode with today, and I had an expensive dinner while the others went out on the town. Off to bed now …………… it’s all a bit to much to take in!

I thought of going to see great grandfather’s home town/grave in Cranbrook – but this would have added about 150 miles to today’s ride which would have made it a very long day. So I didn’t.

I rode on my own today – and it was nice just to focus on your own thoughts, where you want to stop and go and the speed you want to ride at. All in all a very pleasant days riding.

I like Alberta which at 255,290 sq miles (661,190 km²) to England’s (50,346 sq miles (130,395 km²) is five times the size of England – and we’ve ridden the length of it! Today, once out of the bustling tourist Area of Banff and slightly away from the Rockies (which constantly framed my view as I was riding down their east side in a southerly direction)., I rode through miles and miles of beautiful green, lush prairie with a sprinkling of ‘ranches’ and a lot of ‘steers’. To top it all the sky was blue and the temperature slowly rose to 30c.

The motel I’m in is ‘60s style but well kept and it’s in a beautiful spot just touching the Rockies with a massive lake. It’s in a National park which needless to say is very busy with tourists – but I can live with that. The American border is close by and tomorrow we go into Minnesota.

I should add that I’m going off Americans and Canadians – they keep talking to you regardless of what you’re doing or who you’re talking to, “Hi, where you from; where you going” and so on and so on. Constantly!