Once I fueled up in Beaver Creek after they let me back into Canada, I began putting back miles and rising 250-300 miles each day. I only briefly stopped to resupply and say hello to Bastian in Whitehorse before continuing on. There was a monster headwind for three days but the rain was holding off and I was enjoying the ride. Most pictures were with my point and shoot so will likely never see the light of day. Only sorta kidding there. As is typical, I noticed the same fellow travellers on the Alcan and Cassiar continuing on the same route and covering similar miles each day. Turning onto the Cassiar took me away from the row of RVs on a guided tour together which kept passing or stopping on the roadside. Having 6 of these beasts pass you on a narrow shoulder with a headwind is less than desirable. Happy touring elsewhere. I was nearly finished with the Cassiar when a not-so-routine tire inspection uncovered a dimple in my rear tire the size of a dime. More proding revealed a 2" area elsewhere that was soft to the touch as if no metal bands were behind. Not good. Once I had service in Kitwanga, I called the shops in the area but nobody had scooter tires. Fortunately the shop in Prince George had my size in stock so I bought it. 350 miles to go on a bumpy and stressed tire. When I told Dad I would be taking it slower, he thought I was pulling his arm. At 30 mph max for the entire ride to Prince George, I earned 130 mpg and zero flats. The tire would heat up considerably but never went out. My guess is a big sharp rock and lower tire pressures combined to push into the tire enough to break the inner bands holding the tire together. The outer rubber tread wasn't compromised but there wasn't an inner strength beneath. My hunch, tomorrow we'll see when I spoon it off. Right now it looks like a goose egg is poking out of my center tread. Yeah, try riding on that for hundreds of miles! Oh the joy in Adventure.
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Mike SaundersIn May 2014 I quit my job to ride a Honda Ruckus over 69'000 mi and counting. Wild camping most nights and cooking most of my own meals, I keep the costs low and the landscape changing. Archives
April 2018
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