Well, I'd already made a day ride to Homer, so now the options were: Whittier, Hope, or Seward... Arden had carved out a little time, and, truth be told, she was getting frustrated a bit over me riding around and her being stuck at the office. With all the determination and grit of a true free spirit trapped in a responsible position, she managed to find the time anyway...
She left the destination choice up to me... Why do women do that? I mean, they say, "It doesn't matter to me, so you decide..." BUT, if we decide something other than what they had in mind... Well, this lady is not usual at all, and there were no recriminations for the selection I finally made... Whittier...
Normally I'm reluctant to make a call like that, partly because of my own experience with more than three decades of matrimonial bliss, but mostly because I just don't know! Heck, I ain't from around here, so... for me it would be a blind shot in the dark... normally...
This time would be different... I'd been to Seward on the last ride up there, and I'd never heard of Hope... I had heard of Whittier, though, and I did want to go there, so... for me this particular choice wasn't difficult at all. And, she had no problem with it either... Dang, something just ain't right here... this whole thing was going way too smoothly...
It was a delightful afternoon! It was mostly overcast, and the temps were enough to cause me to don the Gerbings for the um-teen-th time. On the plus side, traffic was delightfully light, the clouds were all high, so no mountain views were impaired, and her cumulative skill rust from not riding much lately was only slight... It was a great ride!
Getting to Whittier is unique. There is a rather long tunnel through which one must ride to get to the other side of a huge mountain. That tunnel was dug during WWll for trains to haul cargo to the deep, natural harbor of Whittier for transport of supplies to the Soviets... who later demonstrated their gratitude throughout the Cold War...
The tunnel is wide enough for only one lane of traffic, and it is still sometimes used for trains... Strict controls are in place to regulate traffic flow, so naturally one must receive directions from the ticket person upon arrival at the beginning of the wait lines...
Several lanes are marked off into which cars and trucks are directed to wait for their signal for their particular lane to turn green and for them to proceed... but not motorcycles...
When we pulled up to the ticket booth window, the guy inside started giving me directions, but I couldn't hear a single word he was saying. The exhaust on Arden's Harley was so loud, that... I had to give her the sign to kill her engine... She did, and then I got the news that we were to pull over and wait until he told us to proceed and into which lane we would do so...
We pulled off to the side, not into a lane, for about twenty minutes or so. In the meantime, cars and trucks started to move, but we stood obediently by and watched the procession and wondered if maybe the guy had forgotten us...
What seemed like several minutes after the last car had disappeared into the tunnel, the guy told us to use lane two and to stay back at least a hundred yards from the last car... No idea why that is, but... we followed instructions precisely, like the good little boy and girl we were...
I forgot to measure the length of the ride, but it would not surprise me to learn it was a mile or more... Cold, dark, and damp... and noisy ventilation fans blowing air... There were lights, but they were quite dim, and of course there were no headlights coming at us... We found the best course was to steer between the rails for the trains... which were recessed into a smooth concrete surface. No real challenge here, but it was most unusual...
Once out the other side, we proceeded at a snail's agonizing pace (there was a cop sitting beside the road monitoring traffic for any revenue opportunities) into the town that proved to be a disappointment for me... I was expecting something yuppie-fied, touristy, perhaps even a bit upscale... It was none of those... at least the part I saw...
Whittier, AK
Harbor at Whittier, AK
It appeared weathered, and more than a bit run-down... There were a couple of resort type multi-story buildings, but most everything else had the look of a tired fishing village with some trinket shops and small cafes... and a large, modern ship terminal.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly glad we rode over there, and I am glad I got to see that place. The natural setting alone was worth the ride and price of the tunnel toll ($13. each roundtrip for bikes)... It's just that I'd let myself fall into the trap of setting expectations, then having things turn out differently... You'd think I'd know better by now!!! The problem was with me, not the place...
Another grand ride back to Cooper Landing, and a great day in the saddle was concluded... And a good time was had by all...
DDT
