I left the hotel in Haines Junction this morning about 9am and rode three hours (145miles/232kms) to Haines, Alaska.  I am writing this while waiting for the ferry to depart in four hours.  Haines Junction is literally a cross roads on the ALCAN between TOK and Whitehorse.  I stayed at the ALCAN hotel and with the US/Canadian exchange rate I got the room for $99 US.  It is a pleasant little village but I hung in the room,  watched a bit on Netflixs, and wrote the previous chapter of this blog.

The road between Haines Junction and Haines is in great shape.  I pretty much rode 60-65mph the whole way.  Once you leave Haines Junction, there are no facilities until you reach the US Customs inspection station 40 miles west of Haines.  You are in wilderness.  The population of the Yukon is only 50,000 and 30,000 of them are in Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon.  Most of the ride was with temperatures in the mid 40's (6-8 degrees C) and rain.  Why am I not surprised?

I made it to Haines with plenty of time to spare, had a great lunch and am writing this from the public library.  I was in Haines for a few days in August, 2015, to catch the ferry south and it was delayed a few days due to damage from hitting a log as it made its way north.  Haines was established as a trading post under the Russians and then became a US Army outpost after the US purchased Alaska from Russia in the 1860's.  One of the main hotels here is the old US Army officer quarters and is a historic site.

I much catch the ferry in three hours and am looking forward to three and a half days of kicking back in a lounge chair in the observation lounge.  I don't know if the ferry has wifi and don't plan on missing it if it does not.  I have sorted my two bags and the big one stays on the bike in the vehicle deck.  There is no access to the vehicles while the ferry is underway.  We reach Bellingham, Washington at 0800 Friday 8 Sept and I hope to make a few miles toward Missouri before sunset.  And I. admit to looking forward to riding in warmer temperatures, hopefully no rain, and putting some serious miles on the bike. 

The ferry is a great way to travel compared to a cruise ship, at least in my humble opinion.  It has a bar, slotmachines, a great cafeteria, and great observation lounges.  I have several copies of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, The ECONOMIST, and a few hardback books to catch up on.  If push comes to shove, I have a couple books on my phone I would not mind rereading.  Finally, I have binoculars for wildlife and some photo work to pass the time.  

I have not got the hang of this site just yet.  I spent time writing about the above and it went into the ether so I had to rewrite it.  I wanated to say something about the bike, known by myself as THE BEAST.

The BEAST started life as a 2016 KTM 690 enduro and it may be the best enduro (on/off road bike) being made today.  It weighs 340lbs/155kgs and may be the lightest enduro out there.  KTM's motto is "ready to race!".  It puts out 68-70 hp, has the finest off road suspension and is filled with quality components.  It has not missed a beat in 750 miles.

Bill Ness,  the previous owner,  did a great job sorting it out and turning it into an ultra light adventure tourer.  He spent well over $4000 in aftermarket parts including a five gallon aux fuel tank, a GPS and built in tower and windscreen, aftermarket seat, large Wolfman soft saddlebags, heated grips, crash proof mirrors, and hard luggage rack.  I thought this bike would take me to Tierra del Fuego and purchased the bike with that in mind.  Now, I am not so sure.  Anyway, Bill Ness is an independent motorcycle mechanic in Anchorage and if you need any work done, he can be contacted at 907 244 6620.

The bike has two problems which may prevent me from riding it south.  First, the seat sucks.  My rear and the aftermarket seat start having a debate at 100 miles on how much longer to ride.  The aftermarket seat Bill added is head and shoulders above the stock KTM seat.  KTM seats are known to be designed by sadists and made of 2x4's.  I am hoping my Airhawk pad will help resolve the issue but don't plan on trying it until the ride to STL.

Also, the bike is tall.  I have almost dropped it after strapping the luggage to the rear rack.  My guess is I have 60lbs of luggage which raises the center of gravity and to get it off the side stand I have to tip the bike to the right.  It is almost too tall.

The solution is my 2008 BMW GSA1200 which I had orginally planned to ride south last year.  It is waiting for me in Missouri and was gone over last year by a great mechanic.  It is my favorite bike of the five I own and has brand new tires and service so we will see.  It is 200 lbs heavier than the BEAST and has over 96,000 miles (156000km) on the odometer.  Don't have to decide right now.

Hope you like the blog.  I would love comments.  All for now.