- 7,006 km
- 79hr 57min moving time (my arse salutes you, Corbin)
- 11 travel days of 15 total
- average speed 67.5 km/h door-to-door
and 87.5 km/h moving average (GPS tallied)
- 372 L of fuel burned
at an average of 5.3 L/100 km or 52.9 MPG (Imperial)
- 1.8 L of oil topped up, a bit at a time
- 1 fender bag lost, 1 pair of gloves worn out and replaced
- 22 unique spare parts carried, plus fasteners; 0 required
The grand totals for wildlife are:
- black bear (11, in 8 different spots)
- mountain goats (many)
- bison (tonnes)
- red fox (2)
- whitetail deer (2)
- Canadian geese (gaggles, all southbound)
- a squirrel
Becoming another blogger was not part of the plan, but became a significant part of the trip for me. Most satisfyingly, it got me interested in stopping for pictures again, perhaps by offering a more timely and relevant way to share them with you than a three-months-later snoozefest slideshow. Or maybe it's because I have an awful memory, and forcing myself to write notes and caption photos on a daily basis is more effective than forgetting 90% of it over the next three months.
Riding-wise, I was thrilled with how my bike performed, and fortunate to not run into any trouble, major nor minor. I had a brief scare when, while topping off motor oil at the Grande Cache Esso, a puddle simultaneously started streaming out from the rearward underside of the frame by my right footpeg. My initial terror over a cracked engine casing subsided, though, when I determined it to be gas, not oil, coming from the overflow vent tube; I'd cleaned my chain after filling up, and 20 minutes in the morning sun must have been enough for the black tank to soak up enough heat to expand the fuel some, and tipping the bike up vertical to check oil level probably caused the spillage. Coming home, I'd also become slightly concerned about a tinny metallic idle tone that I thought I started noticing in Hinton, but was relieved to find it to be only a rattly exhaust heat shield, nothing on the inside. Returning home, I have only a squeaky front brake and a (dangerous) sticky rear brake light switch to attend to. The Buff with baby powder got my forehead home safe 'n sound, with nary a sign of 1532 highway kilometers in two days. I stand to be better equipped for keeping dust out of my eyes in gravel/construction traffic (Goggle time? I didn't like seeing my eyes red as often as I did), and keeping my fingers warm on those over-documented single-digit-Celsius mornings (the expensive warm gloves vs. Canadian-made Hippo Hands decision awaits...).
I'd love to go back to the Yukon, and explore the network of multi-surfaced highways (the Robert Campbell, the Canol, Nahanni Range Road, the balance of the Alcan), and of course The Dempster tempts.
Thanks for keeping me company out there.