Underware: I have come to like Smartwool. It works well for me. I have lots of Underarmour too, but the smartwool is better I feel. It still insulates when wet and dries fast. I wear the thin long johns under my fleece pants, under my Darien Lights. On top, I wear Smartwool long sleeve pull over, then a Smartwool ¾ zip thin long sleeve, my Gerbings and FXRG and that’s all. Keeps me very warm and dry. And it cuts way down on the packing. I don’t need a bulky sweatshirt. On the way home, I found that the Smartwool kept me cool with my jacket on and the air vents open.
VISA: Everyone has traveled enough to know that sometimes one card won’t work and you need another card. Call your bank and tell them you will be on a trip, so they understand the charges from strange far away places. You could also hide a second card on the bike somewhere in case you lose your wallet. I don’t and keep everything on my person. I just keep checking to be sure I have it all at each stop, Passport, cash and wallet. Just be very conscious of it. I used to be afraid of robbery, but I feel safer in Canada than I do at home. Just great people up here. When in the States, I always carry my pistol on trips. You can’t cross the border with one though. I talked to a game warden in Canada and he said it was because they have to register all their handguns and there would be no way to register them if people could bring them across the border.
Packing: go light. I don’t camp, as I want a warm room to dry stuff out and a hot shower at the end of the day. My camping days are over. So without the camping gear, I pack so I don’t need to put an extra bag on the tour pack. I wear one pair of jeans and that’s it. I don’t pack a spare. If they get wet, they dry out. (But they won’t get wet if you have gortex overpants). If you wear riding pants, they won’t get dirty. So, I have one pair of jeans, one pair of fleece pants. One short sleeve T shirt and one long sleeve T shirt. As you will buy a couple of T shirts on the way. And I only wear them at night to a restaurant, otherwise I wear my smartwool. I wear LDC riding underware and really like them. I wear them everyday and have two pairs of Underarmour shorts for night after a shower for a couple of hours. I wear short PJ’s and T shirt for sleeping. I’m not too concerned about smell, as I’m a guy and it’s only me. I usually will wash all my stuff half way through a trip.
Socks: one pair thick Smartwool, 2 thin pr for night wear after a shower. One pair can be worn during the day if it warms up enough.
Boots: just be sure they are waterproof. My Bates gortex boots worked well for three years and this trip they leaked bad. I think it is the tongue fabric. I just bought a pair of Harley FXRG boots, so I hope they are better. (they are waiting at home)
Lodging: I stay in the cheapest motel I can find. I like the small ones with the doors to the parking lot so I can park my bike right outside. I also like to help out the private motel owners, instead of the corporations. In the states you can find them for about $70-$80, but in northern Canada, Yukon, Alaska expect to pay $110 to $160/night. Stuff is just more expensive up there.
Gas: fill up often when up north and towns are far apart. You’ll need 150 mile range. My 6 gal tank was no problem. Had it down to the 40 mi. range three times, according to my bike. Always gas up when you get to your last town, BEFORE checking into a motel. If you check in first, you may shower and say “I’ll get gas in the morning”. Beware, because the stations don’t open early. And with the 2-3 hr time difference, 8 am home time is really 5 am in Canada (assuming CST).
Maps: Get a book called “The Milepost”. It takes you mile for mile on all the major Canadian and Alaska highways. It is considered “the bible” for Alaskan trips. Tells you where gas is and motels. But don’t go completely by it, I saw one gas station was out of gas, just due to demand. And a GPS is most helpful. That way you don’t need to bring paper maps.
Distance: we all can ride for different lengths of time. I usually ride a couple of hard days at the start of the trip when I’m fresh. After a week, I find 400 miles is about right. That usually takes me 10 hrs with stops. I usually try to stop after the first tank of gas for a café breakfast. It gives me a good rest and good food, then I can go until dinner. We all have different mile ratings.
Cost: figure $250-$300 per day. Gas: 50, Motel: 120 avg., Food: 50-60, breakfast was 20 with tax and tip and dinners are 18-30 w/o tip, there are a lot of Subway’s here which help cut down the costs. snacks and drinks: 20. $300 would give you enough for an oil change and a few T shirts as well. I figured this trip cost me about $5000, not counting Carol’s expenses.
The motorcycle miles were: 7600