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Ron, Jay and Ken... A Non Yukon Exploit. |
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A Scoot We Took Starting For Ron and Jay on June 15 - Ken on June 17, 2023. |
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Everyone Meets In Fort Saskatchewan For - My Ass Hurts Tour 2023. |
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This Is Our Two Bit Story From the three of us... LOL |
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Ron and Jay travel to Fort Saskatchewan.- June 15th to 18th. |
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Ken travels to Cochrane - June 17 - Fort Saskatchewan - June 18 |
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| 25 cents worth from Jay. |
The why? Because it’s there…. I think This is commonly said in the Yukon…..”In a
province far far away, a long way from here, living on throughout the ages is a
place, so beautiful, so pure, so ancient that So quite some time before…… while sitting
around “in the winter”….. thinking…….. probably should go somewhere. Ding… A
zero thought…and right after that, |
| Two bits from Ken. |
| So,
in preparation for this trip... a few things had to happen. First on the list
for Ken, was to run it past the committee for approval. After spit balling a few
ideas around about a scoot with Ron and Jay... receiving approval was key. Upon
achieving committee approval, I was in. We are going to Ontario on our bikes for a peek
at a waterfall. Looks like the tour line-up will be Jay, Ron and Ken. The
scooters in this adventure will be a couple of Honda Gold Wings and a Star
Venture. Links to the scooters ( Girls ) will follow at the end of this
story. Now comes the trip prep. You know just the basic stuff... 1) When are we going? 2) Can you get there from here? 3) How long will this tour last? 4) Do we have to ride in the rain? 5) Are covid restrictions still on and should we be leaving the comfort of our own beds? 6) Are the falls still going? Just a few hurdles to clear before we even begin. I know... I know... que sera sera... Again, after another spit ball session with Jay, it was starting to firm up that some duties were naturally falling into place. Jay was coordinating new ideas while keeping Ron and I in the loop. Ron was looking after the communications device research and electronic gadgets. I was looking over the maps and working out some distances for Jay, trying to figure out where the **** some places were. Heck... I finally figured out how to cancel my GPS on the bike from looking for a donut shop in Ashcroft, this from a previous tour ride two years back. A plan was coming together just like the "A" Team always said. Captain Jay, Information Technology ( I T ) Ron and Navigator Ken. Lacking a climate change expert was the only position that could have benefited this scoot. Anyway, we push forward on completing this mission to check out a waterfall in Ontario. So far we know Ron and Jay are going to have 3 or 4 days of long kilometres, and myself one long day or two shorter ones before we begin our group Scoot. I'm leaning on the idea of taking two days to hit Fort Saskatchewan. |
| June 15 - 18th. |
| 25 cents worth from Jay. |
| We are travelling to go find Ken. |
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Ron, Brad and Jay
started out from Faro as a unit. Ron and I are on Gold Wings while Brad is
travelling in his 2004 Chevy 4500 Kodiak that features a steel patio deck with
camper on the back… plus towing a twin axle trailer behind. “The Monster Rig”.
(Picture of Brad’s truck) |
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Ron (LH) and Brad in Faro. |
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| Thursday, June 15 |
| This is a Brad Beaumont summer time tradition. Brad drives to Saskatoon to visit his family and chillax for a month or two. The trailer he pulls is empty and will be filled with essential supplies (toilet paper) and brought back to the Yukon. As a unit we travel to Whitehorse which is an easy start to a very long journey. Only 4 hours of travel time and we lodge at the renowned Airport Chalet. We had dinner at the Chalet with many friends dropping in to see us off. The food was delicious. |
| Friday, June 16 |
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The next day we are off to Liard hot springs
which is a beautiful Yukon ride. A chicken dinner special was on that night and
afterwards we sat on Brad’s steel patio deck chatting with travelers and
passersby. Very cool as Brad’s Monster Rig attracts attention. You would think
we should spend the evening lounging in the natural hot spring… but, as Ron
pointed out “it's a 500 meter walk each way. When you walk back soaking wet the
mosquitoes eat you alive”. Well done Ron….. Forget that lets drink some beer. As for Highways in the Yukon, the traffic is not congested or high volume which makes it a pleasure to ride. I mentioned to my Brother-in-law about going on this trip to Niagara and his comment was, “you are going to where all the people are”. He was absolutely right when you compare Ontario freeways to the out-back of the Yukon. More about that later. |
| Saturday, June 17 |
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The next leg was from Liard Hot Springs to
Fort St John. We knew there were forest fires along this route and in fact there
were forest fires all over the place. This makes travel planning a little
suspect, but as long as the “powers that be” say the highways are open our plan
is to keep moving. At one point we passed through a section of highway where you
could see the fire had already come and gone. This highway section was closed
some days before and off in the distance an enormous plum of white smoke filled
the sky as the fire is continuing its serious business. I guess this fire is on
its own traveling holiday. The landscape was burnt on either side of the road
with bits here and there still smouldering as we passed through. If the highway
is closed at a moment’s notice your options are limited. Distances between towns
and cities in the Yukon are substantial and the possibility of sitting on the
side of the road in the “middle of nowhere” as they say is something you have to
accept. Lucky for us I guess. We dined in Fort St John at Mr. Mikes a Nostalgic Canadian Classic. |
| Two Bits from Ken. |
| Weather is great all the way and a beautiful ride to Cochrane. Tomorrow looks like I could be in for nasty weather. Good time to try out the new rain gear maybe. |
| Sunday, June 18 |
| 25 cents worth from Jay. |
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The next leg of the “My Ass Hurts Tour 2023”
was 662 kilometres from Ft St John to Fort Saskatchewan and….no my ass didn’t
hurt…… For goodness sake I am riding a Gold Wing. We lost Brad around Grand
Prairie as he was off shopping at Costco to load up on toilet paper for family
in Saskatoon. I am sensing a trend here with “Brad’s toilet paper issue”, we will see
him later in the story. This was a good solid day of riding and at days end Ronnie and I got soaked. I pulled my Bike up under the protective awning provided by the hotel and came to a stop. I slung my leg over to dismount. As I let go of the handle bars and lowered my arms to my sides a litre of water poured out of each cuff of my jacket. The saying “soaked to the bone” has a new meaning when in fact you are carrying a litre of rain water in each bend of your elbows. We found “The Premium Blue Bomber” (Ken) drying up in a nice warm hotel. Mission completed. |
| Two Bits from Ken. |
| Yup... it is raining. Oh well... I'm off to Fort Saskatchewan. Hope the weather breaks along the way as I really don't care for riding in the rain like most people. Well, it didn't break at all, it got worse as I went. I took the route with less traffic as it was raining so hard at times I had to slow right down. I finally arrived at the motel wet and happy to find a vacancy. I score a room and have them hold a couple for Jay and Ron. After hanging my wet stuff in the shower, it is time to relax and watch some tube before the guys arrive. We had the Pizza Hut next door all to ourselves that evening for a food fest. |
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We all meet at the Stars Inn & Suites for (My Ass Hurts Tour 2023). |
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