Hello from the Most Westerly Community in Canada
At 5:25 AM exactly, while still pumped up for the start of my 2008 adventure, I walked through rolling hills along the Alaskan Highway in the town of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Then I set off for the301 mile drive to my “start”, the Yukon and Alaska border where I ended Stage II last year.
The Highway is a beautiful road. In the upper reaches of the Yukon there is little truck traffic and this year, perhaps due to high gas prices, few camper vans.
There are many long distance motorcyclists. Most travel in pairs. Now these folks are masters of packing their gear. Sleeping bags, pillows, food, tools, spare tires, maps, books, clothes and who knows what more are all tightly woven into water proof metal carriers, leather saddle bags and in side of ultra light space age material carriers. All of these items are fitted compactly usually over the rear wheel of these two wheeled over-burdened demons of speed.
The riders are almost always out fitted in leather. Like cowboys on motorized horses most wear denim covered with leather pants with the seat conveniently cut out. For what reason this demon of speed –master of pacing- race walker could never guess.