Sunday, June 24, 2007

The day started out overcast and threatening in more ways than one. These two pictures show Frank's and my bikes after the Cassiar mud got to them. A sign that we had a really good time.

John and Hayne decided to leave a little early to try and avoid some of the rain. After much cogitation we think John's fuel pump is not working that well because of all the rain. (It's under the engine, just above the bash plate, perfect place to put an electric motor) So they took off while we had breakfast and about an hour later we followed down Hwy 37. Overcast, but we could at least we could see the mountains and the road was really good for motorcycles. About 60 miles down the road, there they are, John's bike stopped.
We got the bike to a rest stop and started over. Frank and John took the fuel pump apart and it was a mess, water and corrosion. They cleaned it all up and before we got going again the boom truck guy (who will remain nameless because we are not sure if his employer would approve of him helping us) comes up and joins us (he's heading in the same direction to his home). He waits to see if we get it running again and when we do he said he'll follow us as far as he goes. Sure enough a few miles down the road it stops again. We decide that it is beyond our tools and skill and agree with the boom truck driver to have him haul John to the junction at Kitwanga where he goes a different direction.




And so it is done again, KTM in the truck.

The rest of us head on down to the junction where we meet another kind Canadian, is there any other kind, who is hauling his broken Kawasaki touring cruiser back to Smithers, the direction we are heading. The pictures to the left and below are the same (oops), they are an old church (and ?, don't know what that thing on the right is) near the junction of 37 and hwy 16 at Kitwanga. It's all wood, very intricate and old.

At the junction the boom truck arrives and off loads the KTM, (picture just disappeared of the KTM getting offloaded, see above for the general idea. Where do these things go when they go away like that?)

So that we can load it in a Harley Davidson trailer. Oh the shame.

The plan at this point is for Hayne to follow John and his bike to Smithers, and tomorrow to rent a truck to take both bikes to Calgary where there is a KTM dealer that can fix them both. We're just not sure how much longer Hayne's bike will survive the constant dilution of the oil with water even though he is changing it daily. Ddin't really want to split off like that but there really isn't anything we can do for them or they for us at this point.
We are also heading to Calgary to get tire changes so we will meet them there. The day is still young so we head on down the road to Burns Lake and crash after we wash off the bikes. I had planned to go all the way to Flagstaff with the Arctic and Cassair mud on my bike just so it looked like the travels it has made. However, the stuff that they put on the haul road to control dust, and what makes it so slick when wet, is very corrosive so we washed them in Fairbanks, and I got tired of getting everything filthy when I go near it, so off came the the Cassiar mud in Burns Lake.

The drive down hwy 16 is beautiful. Lot's of small towns and green fields, rolling hills bordered by high mountains. Canada should change their colors from red and white to green and white.
Of course in the winter it is grey and white. Did not get rained on today. Any more, it really doesn't matter.