Welcome to Cheena Hot Springs resort where surprisingly our room for two nights has a few specially added features built into it that we weren’t aware of like; a bathroom faucet where hot and cold water are reversed; and when they say hot they mean scalding; the shower either scalds you or freezes you; and the soap dispenser probably ran out twenty guests ago; the toilet runs all night but, the grand finale that took Roberto down (who is an extremely patient man (not) is that the heat is uncontrollable; the thermostat spin’s like a roulette wheel and I’m sure there’s more to add but, I slept so wonderfully that my body was wrinkled on just one side.
Unfortunately for my little friend Roberto whom everyone that knows him describes him as, not liking the cold, he probably won’t survive in the Arctic if the heated vest, gloves, seat and socks decide to suddenly stop working.
He couldn’t take the heat. Sometime in the middle of the night he said words to the effect of (ai caliente) and soon left the room.
By that time I was so into lala land that I thought I was still riding that little Klondike with a second bad chain.
Update: I’m on my second chain and this one cost me $150 but, it’s a considerably better made chain than the Canadian one that I recently destroyed on that haul road highway.
Roberto update: This morning I woke up at precisely 0700, Roberto’s gear is still in my room but, no sign of Roberto. Maybe the mosquitoes or a bear carried him off?
Todds amazing adventure motorcycle ride continues with a special emphasis on the adventure parts. The weather was unlike anything we have yet to experience. This ride started according to the previous dispatches five days ago and now seems like weeks ago. Anything except a tornado was thrown at us. The roads also changed from nice and quiet residential like tarmac to the most horrendous slushy mud that has you slipping and sliding.
Can anyone or any bike do what we just rode. Not by a long shot is my first response. The first four days- maybe with no problems but, not making your way unprepared to Prudoe Bay, that’s a different story. This road is an adventure for man and machine. Like they say; the stuff that separates the experienced and the prepared from the rest.
We survived the ride to the Arctic but, the bikes are a different story. Three guys started on brand new machines, KTM 890’s, two 901 Husky Norden, a Desert X by Ducati a new Africa Twin and a rental BMW 850.
And then there’s Roberto’s 2018 Kawasaki Versys 300, Decklands Craigslist find of a Dakar BMW and my 2017, little Klondike.
Several of the bikes experienced overheating problems, including Todd who has a special bike made and prepared for each ride. He overheated. And come to think of it while riding to Mazatlan on another new specially made and prepared KTM he had fuel filter problems and on our Oaxaca ride he blew a rear shock and then there’s the Baja Husky bike; makes my little stretchy chain issue sound tame by comparison doesn’t it Todd? Todd has been secretly taking a survey as the best overall bike to ride. He secretly polled us and we mostly all agreed that his new KTM 890 (Joeys go to bike whom has greatly influenced his decision) is the bike voted most likely to succeed unless it has special issues like a bad fuel pump or filter. We usually see Todd first thing in the morning and later at the end of the ride. He is usually accompanied by Flying Brian and his high school buddy Rod who came here all the way from Maryland to ride. And Flying Brian I am told has wheelied a motorcycle at 175 mph and lived. Todd wheelied his KTM 1290 in front of Mexican federales and also lived but, it cost him a few dollars to keep riding.
It was a near group effort to get to where we are now (Cheena) since leaving the Arctic and Prudoe Bay. It took us roughly 15 hours arriving at midnight to get here on the longest day of the year.
We got caught earlier just prior to Tom, Jacob, Paul, Roberto and I nearly running out of gas; in a full blown thunderstorm with lightning and hail. We pulled up underneath a Tesoro gas pumps awning.
An employee woman seeing our arrival runs out from the store yelling in the pouring rain; we have less than five minutes to come inside if we want anything to eat.
The boys were all starving and most went for the frozen burritos. They microwaved the food more just to warm themselves back up; except for maybe Roberto. We ate and drank our food away from the bikes waiting for a lightning strike to relieve us from our burden of having to get back on. Since the lightning strike didn’t arrive Tom calls up Todd who surprisingly was up and waiting for our arrival. Todd said let there be $20 Alaskan hamburgers all the way around but, the catch is you have to get here!
Todd and company were still in the Hot Springs bar since our arrival. We closed the place down after our hamburgers and a beer or two. Thanks to Todd everyone got fed $20 Alaskan hamburgers.
Everyone spoke a little slurred. Like a record player whose plug was just pulled. I actually started to understand Decklands words. Our English guy from Gig Harbor.
Todd, Ron, Deckland and Flying Brian arrived at various times. When we went to check in with Jenny at the front desk she asked us if we were with the guy with the two flat tires on his motorcycle? What!
And later we learned that Deckland was the first to arrive riding in jolly like with two other BMW’s.
Tom saved my ride today and he is to be commended. “Learnt that in the USAF, he said to me, in addition to a few other skills. Never leave a man behind.”
Speaking of behind; I pull over when I saw a group of riders somewhere by the haul road. I start to remove my helmet and then realized that they weren’t anyone from our group of riders.
Tom arrives and says to me Ralph they can’t possibly be our group; these guys are here waiting.
He looks at me, he laughs, I laugh, we both start laughing out loud and then the group of riders from Brazil decide why not; and all of them join in, in a laugh out loud session somewhere on the haul road to Prudoe.
Tom stayed with me repeatedly to help me with an overheating problem. I stopped the little Klondike by a flowing stream. I think Tom was also on bear watch duty with his bear spray nearby.
I carefully walk down to the flowing water that is the breeding grounds for all the mosquitoes around us.
Next I would soak a towel I borrowed from one of our hotels into the water and wring it out with thousands of the little vampires now caught in the towel.
Next I would dunk a 16 ounce plastic water bottle with a squirter on top. I found it by the haul road and used it to squirt my bikes radiator. Then I would return to the Klondike and scrape, rub and squirt the radiator down.
Then I would sometimes do it up to three more times to get the caked up mud off. Why so much mud you might want to know? Well someone in their infinite wisdom decided that the little Klondike looked cooler with a BMW beak front end than a fender.
The Klondike’s front tire did an amazing job at squirting everything from rocks to mud and every road thing up into the radiator,my and front parts. I briefly tasted the road salt they used and sometimes even spat some back out.
I gave up a long time earlier even in 17 degree temperatures to stop wearing gloves. I needed my finger to use as a mini windshield washer on my bifocal tinted Ray Bans that are now totally useless on account of everything spilling on them from fuel to mosquito repellent.
I also needed a free hand to dunk into the freezing water that plastic water squishy bottle. The heated grips did an amazing job at returning life back to my hands and so did the gauntlets.
Jacob emptied his drinking water into the Klondikes little reservoir tank that’s secreted into the most hidden space possible. Apparently the water was steaming itself out.
Roberto 1 gave me loads of encouragement as he waited patiently at the next pilot car stop up ahead. You can do it Ralph. I have complete confidence in the Klondike as he commenced to plug himself into his Versys with a plug hand warmers, jacket and even heated socks. “I have a spare fuel bottle he said to me. Like music to my ears; he has now saved me with that 1.5 liter bottle from running out of fuel.”
But enough about my day as it was all fantastic. I wouldn’t trade a thing in this adventure at all even for the little Klondike adventures that started with Roberto 1 and two, Federico and Gpskevin in Prince George Canada.
Paul stepped up and helped me get my chain back on when it flew off; suddenly and just prior to a pilot truck arriving. Paul used a piece of bailing wire that Joey had put into the klondikes emergency tool kit. Almost everything he left me with was used. Great job. And if he only would’ve left that front fender on it would’ve been priceless!
Prior to the thunderstorm my little Klondike kept overheating. After the thunderstorm she ran like a sewing machine. The haul road threw every kind of weather at us. We all compared around the table and the only thi not thrown at us was a tornado.
So far we’ve worked with a known timeline worthy of a professional touring company. Compliments of Todd and Gpskevin for giving us the required tracks to follow.
Trying to get this dispatch out is not an easy process, what with laundry and bike maintenance and hot springs soaking time occupying my time.
Thank you Patti for your underrated attention to such details as laundry. Today I did mine. First I got change. The machine took $4 bucks worth. Then I started the machine and then I got more change for the soap; and I managed to push the wrong lever and out comes fabric softener; and then I got more change but, the machine would only take a $1,5 or a $10. So off I go in search of someone to break a $20.
When I returned and sorted the soap issue out a guy tells me, yeah I think it’s ok to put it in now with 17 minutes remaining on the washer. Wrong. My laundry was all covered in a soapy solution of white granules.
In go another $4 of coins that you insert one at a time until the digital counter is satisfied and off I go for a hot springs soak. I meet a Filipino guy from Anchorage who is having an RV adventure with family. He flew to LA bought an RV and with immediate family they are now seeing the Alaska they haven’t visited before. He said by the Stewart Credit Union is the finest Filipino food money can buy.
I forgot all about laundry for a while then decided that the clothes were not going to dry themselves so, out come another $4 and I didn’t place the clothes in the right dryer because the wrong one went on. So, out come the clothes for the third time. I think I’ll go have an espresso and call this dispatch done!
So was it worth the riding up and would you do it again asks an oil line worker as he is leaving the Aurora restaurant. I hesitated much too long with an answer. He said I thought not, and both got in their truck to leave for another 12 hour shift.
Someone once said that happiness was only a myth. That happiness is either created or invented and if you can fool the mind into wanting nothing you can actually succeed in getting it.
And the other trick to life is to not get too attached to it.
- This writing stuff is actually far easier than you may think. First you pick your characters in this story like Todd, Tom, Jacob, Deckland, Paul, John, Roberto, Gps Kevin and Jane.
- And then you put them in interesting situations far far away from home in the land of mosquitoes. Then you just become observant.
- Pick a destination that not everyone is real familiar with but, is really interested in seeing what happens along the way. Everyone loves animals and we got to see plenty so show some.
- And in story telling they say that my goal as a writer should be to prevent the protagonist from reaching their destination. So far this hasn’t happened even in Circle where the entire town was washed away we rode there!
- Add smaller hindrances like for example running out of fuel, (check); Sidetracked along the way, (check) Credit card is declined. (Not yet checked).
For some reason in our DNA we have this endless desire to find some type of meaning in the life that we are living. Why do we have to know?
Why can’t we just continue on searching for the same things other creatures do like food and sex.
So what do we do? We ride on and laugh it off. And sometimes, you find yourself laughing out loud in the Arctic with friends and on the road to Alaska.
Thank you one and all for making this the biggest adventure in my recent journey of life.
“We only live one life, but then maybe it’s not the years in your life; it’s the life in your years “.
Trawlercat
Bobby Davis: Ooh boy, my ass is sure sore.
Dudley Frank: Mine too, its all Todds fault for riding us so hard yesterday. The human body wasn’t made to stradle something that big for that long.
Woody Stevens : Well ya know its gonna hurt a little bit but, that’s all part of making memories. Its why we ride and also why nobody brought their wives.
Bobby Davis: Wut da…? What the hell? Someone wanna explain to me why I’m the only one in the dirt?
When I got sore jaws from 3 hours of blowin…
Highway Patrolman: Please… Please, for the love of God, finish your sentence.
Trawlercat Chronicles 