Please note: I’m updating this blog semi-regularly: to see all posts in this blog, you need to go to the bottom, after any comments, and click “home”. The arrows should take you to older and newer pages. This is the first page, first published May 31, 2023. Another way to navigate this is to click on the “Blog Archive” tab on the side (depending what browser you’re reading this in). You are at the first entry and many more follow. (For some reason the “home” button at the top of the page header doesn’t take me to the listing of all entries but maybe it works for you?) It’s best to start with the earliest entries so you read in order of adventures and don’t ruin the surprise. I’ve been advised that the challenges in navigating the chapters in this blog aren’t a “bug” but rather a “feature”. You’ll figure it out!
Why write a blog? So many people have done blogs before and I've only paid attention to a few of them. I'll probably make mistakes along the way here, but if I get to describe my adventures and show some photos, I'll be happy. As will my lovely wife! (Proof of life, anyone?). If you stick with this, you’ll share parts of my adventure of the period after retirement,
Three weeks ago, I retired after a few decades in public service (although I keep calling it semi-retirement) and I have a few ideas regarding some next steps. Most of my plans are not solo pursuits but some are, in addition to my own need to be on my own, I’m planning to travel with my wife), and complete projects around the house, and even gardening!, and sailing, and so on; some plans will actually involve work, (hello semi-retirement) others don't need to be shared, but I'll try to write and photograph at least one of my solo adventures and we'll see how it goes from this humble beginning.
Nearly 30 years ago, as I was preparing to transition from "learning" to "working" status, I had a tough year. Part of what helped me get through that year, 1995, was planning and then going for a motorcycle adventure. At that time, I had resolved to travel from Thunder Bay, Canada (where I live) to Germany, and purchase a BMW motorcycle, and travel around the continent. I had one month and a few old friends to catch up with, so I focused on Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland. I'd bring the bike home with me afterwards (I was not yet married so no real need for negotiations). That trip covered 7,000 km and was just what I needed at the time. I loved the trip and made plans for more trips: very few have happened.
So here I am at the other end of my professional career or at least a significant juncture, and it's been another tough year, and I have a new idea for a trip that I've been thinking about for a few years:
Thunder Bay to Tuktoyuktuk (on the Arctic Ocean). I know I'm not the first one to have made this trip, but it will be MY first trip in several years. And my longest, so far, if I make it (more on that later).
I own two bikes: Rocinante, the red 1989 BMW K75RT bought in Germany in 1996, and Bouncing Betty Blue, a 2007 BMW F650GS Dakar bought at a pawn shop in Thunder Bay in 2020 (as a non-runner, for $2,200.00).
I'll let you guess which of these will be my steed for this adventure! The trip: 11,000 kilometers (7,000 miles) across Canada, through northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, then north through Alberta with a corner of British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, where you can drive along a very long gravel road from Dawson City, through Inuvik, and on to the Arctic Ocean.
The month: June, 2023
In order to prepare, I've given the Betty Blue a thorough going-over. All fluids changed, repaired the water pump, new chain and sprockets installed, repaired the broken pieces of critical protection, replaced the rear brake rotor and pads, got a new battery of course, ordered two new sets of tires (one pair, the knobbies, will be sent to the Yukon to be changed before that final challenge of 1,000 km of gravel roads -- the Dempster Highway. The other pair, more suited to paved roads, will get me there - I hope!).
Today was spent trying to work out a problem with a sticking rear brake. I initially thought it was the caliper and that was indeed sticking. But the brake was dragging intermittently throughout the rotation so I diagnosed a warped rotor (disk). In addition, the master cylinder wasn't returning properly. So I rebuilt the caliper and the master cylinder, and replaced the parts needed, and somehow magically, the tire is spinning when the brakes are off, and stops when I hit the pedal. Success, and learned more about the inner workings of hydraulic brakes.
Rebuilding the water pump / oil pump (a known weak spot on these bikes) was a project of last summer, which I was better prepared for than perhaps expected, as I’d done a similar job on my other bike a few years earlier.
I have a packing list that I may share at some point. Tools for unexpected (expected) issues. I've got a bunch of safety gear as well. Food, camping gear, warm clothing. . . . More on that later.
And of course, I have an itinerary, as follows:
TBay to Tuk Stops
Start @ home- Shuniah ON June 3
1 Kenora ON 513 km
2 Brandon MB 433 km (946)
3 Saskatoon SK 623 km (1,569)
4 Edmonton AB 523 km (2,092)
5 Grande Prarie AB 458 km (2,540)
6 Fort Nelson BC 584 km (3,124)
7 Watson Lake YT 513 km (3,637)
8 Whitehorse YT 437 km (4,074)
9 Dawson City YT 533 km (4,607)
10 Eagle Plains YT 409 (5,016)
11 Inuvik NT 366 (5,382)
12 Tuktoyukyuk NT 153 (5,545)
And back! WWish me luck!
Next: my "trial run". This might be a very short blog. Maybe I'll give some insights on packing for this trip.
