The Art of The Dilly-Dally…
While staying in Ft. Nelson, BC, I managed to get a weather forecast for the following few days… Rain the next two days, especially showers during the morning, but it didn’t’ look promising at all… That, combined with the very negative road report I’d been getting from the folks in the room next door, had me seriously doubting the wisdom of attempting such an enormous road trip… “Am I crazy?”, I asked myself again and again…
Lots of daylight hours up there this time of year… and that number increases the further north one travels… Sunrise in Ft. Nelson then was around 4:30am, sunset at 9:30pm! So, when I say I wanted to be on the road by 6am, you can see that isn’t as insane as it might at first appear… Anyway… you know what they say about the best laid plans, right?
I awoke about 4:30 the following morning, and no rain!!! I took a little hike to get a better peek at the west and northwest horizon to see what might be coming our way… Hmmm. Looked rather ominous… I’d taken the precaution of asking if I could keep the room another night or two if it did rain, and they'd said, “No problem…”
A word about motel reservations… I’d been worried, mostly based upon advice given to me by others, about being able to find a room in the afternoons… I’d been warned that finding a room could be a problem, and it’s a long haul between stop places. Not finding a room could lead to a very long day indeed, even to some after dark riding! Since we’d camped on my other visit up here, I hadn’t paid much attention to motel vacancies…
Anyway, I had made a reservation for the room in Ft. Nelson, but I’ve made no others this entire year, except for the one at InZane… A word of caution… I tend to stop riding fairly early in the afternoon (usually when a noticeable level of fanny-fatigue coincides with the presence of a motel close by.) On several occasions, I’ve seen where the motel filled up after my arrival, so… things could have turned out much differently!
Anyway, there I was… armed with recent information about pending doom and gloom with the road up ahead, and with a forecast that suggested all that poo-poo could be compounded with moisturficaion… On top of that, I’d looked on the net at possible motel rooms at likely stop-over points, and that did not look promising at all!!! Maybe another night or two here in Ft. Nelson, then a turn south towards more sensible undertakings…
I had another cup of coffee and continued my pondering that fateful morning, stewing, and fretting… I then did the three Ss, more to kill time than anything… When I reemerged outside to have another look-see, the first thing I noticed was that it had ‘rained’… barely!
If I looked closely, I could see the outline of ALI and her cover, and that the pavement was quite dry directly underneath… The forecasters could all pat themselves on the back, but now we’d just lost three hours of riding time!
ALI was raring to go, so I loaded her up and pointed her northwest… We did come across several stretches of wet pavement, and we also saw puddles that confirmed the forecasters may not have been far off the mark after all. What had saved us, apparently, was the delay in departure… the dilly-dally…
I’m sure it helps to already be a procrastinator, but those who are most successful with the dilly-dally are those who have the self-confidence to admit, “I just don’t know…” combined with a good amount of patience. I’m reminded of a famous quote…
During WWII, President Roosevelt was being pressured my some of his aides to make a major decision. One of those aides reminded the president that it was the early bird who catches the worm… To this FDR is reported to have responded, “Much has been said about the success of the early bird, but perhaps too little about the fate of the early worm…” The artful dilly-dally is like that…
We did ride on, and I still haven’t had to suit up on this trip… so far… I’ve come close more than a few times, but good fortune and skillful employment of dilly-dally have spared me that unpleasant and undignified predicament… I hold no grudge for ‘fair weather only’ riders, but up here, there is a word for those visiting riders who only ride in perfect conditions… immigrant!
We made it to Watson Lake, YT, that day, and more of the same… Great roads, decent weather, plenty of fuel, and motel vacancies when we arrived! Speaking of fuel… I tend to ‘ride the top of my tank’ in that I do not wait until I go on reserve to start looking! A wise strategy for anywhere out west, I’ve found, and especially for this stretch of road up here!
My own rule of thumb for up here is if I have less than 50 miles on a tank (I have an Interstate tank), I ride on unless map work and/or signs have indicated I shouldn’t. If I have more than 50 miles on the tank, I’ll stop and top off; again, unless I have reliable information that I don’t need to…
This has actually paid off a couple of times! And, I’ve only gone on reserve once so far… Well, technically I suppose I’ve ridden on reserve twice… I forgot to switch the petcock lever back when I topped after the first time… It all worked out, however…
The forecast for Watson Lake was almost a carbon copy of the one for Ft. Nelson. I got up early anyway, and I then proceeded to go out for a look see… Light rain and fog! Dang-it-all anyhow!!! Time for some serious dilly-dally, I figured. Maybe I’d have to stay another night, but I wouldn’t have to make that call for a few more hours…
Sure enough, the rain finally stopped and the fog lifted, right along with my spirits! We did make it out with enough time to arrive at our next target of opportunity at a reasonable afternoon hour...
I wasn’t sure if it was the way the clouds refracted the light and the cones and rods on my retina picked it up, or if I was merely seeing mirages borne of wishful thinking… But, out of my peripheral vision, I thought I could see faint patches of blue through the clouds, but when I looked directly at a spot, it just looked like clouds…
Moot point… following another successful dilly-dally, the sky cleared for the most part, and there was mostly blue heavens and a giant orange orb overhead…
The obligatory picture of the famous sign orchard in Watson Lake, YT
More shots on the ride up to Haines Junction
Expedia had informed me there were only two motels in Haines Junction, one a B&B, the other a lodge… and they both were pricey! We rolled the dice and went there anyway… There also happened to be two or three mom & pop type motels that wouldn’t appear on Expedia, so…
I got a room at one that also had a café and a lounge… Two other riders also stayed there, and we shared a few chuckles over a cold one or two about non-sense, really, but it was fun to compare notes with some kindred spirits…
View from my room in Haines Junction, YT
On the net, it looked like slim motel pickings in Tok, Alaska, also, but luck was still with us, and three or four mom & pops were there with vacancies… I got a nice room for less than $100.00 including tax and all!
The motel in Tok, AK
Shots of the road to Tok, AK
The prize!
The road so far by usual standards has been pretty rough. However, based upon my fears due to my experience on the last ride up here, that road has been absolutely wonderful!!! There are frost heaves that will sneak up on the unwary, and some potholes and patches that I would describe as tooth-chippers and fork seal poppers… Several times my tush got airborne, and a couple of times I had to reseat and readjust my helmet. ALI forgave me, though…
We also encountered some short pull-around bypasses (dirt of course) where culverts and small bridges were being replaced, and a couple of stretches where road repairs required pavement to be removed entirely… No sloppy mud, though, and everything was manageable with even a little caution… In my view, I’ll take the road the way it is today any old time!!!
WARNING: If you happen to dislike awesome views of pristine natural beautify or stunning mountain vistas, do not make this ride!!!
DDT
