About 60 miles into a full tank I see a fuel stop but decide to keep going. It would come back to haunt me. For the next 185 miles every fuel stop was CLOSED. I don't mean like not open yet . I mean boarded up and shut down. Up to that point I had been seeing a lot of bear activity and wasn't too keen on stopping on the side of the road. I was looking for a rest stop or pull off for a good while and was really hoping I didn't run out of fuel in a turn , going up a hill, or near a bear. I saw a spot and pulled in about the time the bike started letting me know it was thirsty. I still had the can of fuel on the bike but I knew that wouldn't get me far. When I went to get it off the bike It was empty. Road debris had flung up and punctured a hole in the can. It had been dripping down on the chain for who knows how long. It was like a reverse chain oiler.
I pulled out the bear spray, my oil and my rag . I put the bike on the center stand to lube the chain. I flagged down the first vehicle I saw and asked if I could buy some fuel. They said they were running low too and couldn't help me out but wished me luck. No hard feelings. Awhile later a guy pulls up with an RV towing a jeep. He had stopped to take pictures. I told him my predicament and he said he always kept a few gallons on top of the jeep. He insisted I use it all and he wouldn't accept money. I told him to hold on, I dug through my bag and found the camp passes I acquired earlier in the trip .I went ahead and gave him those. He was happy and I was saved.
By now I was hungry and still needed to top off my tank. Another 30 miles down the road I saw my chance. I topped of the bike and went inside to grab a BLT. All the tables were full. I asked a couple if I could join them and they said certainly. She had just retired and her husband was a retired Geologist. He still did research and They were headed north to get some rock samples. I ate and headed on down the road. At my next stop I ran into a couple of guys coming back from Inuvik. One was on a Tiger and one a KLR. We chatted for awhile and I checked out his homemade mermite side cases. Pretty sweet. They had a truck and trailer parked at Ft Nelson. I asked if I could join the group. They said sure. Before we headed out a guy pulled up towing a pretty neat trailer.
We hit a lot of road construction and while waiting for the "follow me" truck we met a rider who had hit a moose. His bike looked fine but his face...Not so much. He's the guy on the front right. I didn't try to get a picture of his face.
It was getting late and If I hadn't of been following the guys I would have probably pulled over a little sooner. Once we got to Ft Nelson we went our separate ways. I found a nice RV campsite. I set up my tent, cooked some soup and began my normal rounds. I found a few Texas plates and tried to strike up a conversation. One couple was from England and just rented the RV in TX and the other couple didn't seem like talkers. I did manage to get out of her that her Family was from Deer Park. When I said I grew up there she could have cared less. I went back to my tent. Then I saw a rider pull up on a cruiser. I walked over to his tent and met Bill from Florida. We chatted it up awhile about our trip, gear, bikes and past adventures His girlfriend was from Vancouver Island and he highly recommended catching a multi day ferry ride up that way where you pitch your tent right on the deck of the ship. Sounds awesome. After we visited I called it a night.
NEXT DAY Headed Home
No comments:
Post a Comment