steveb64
7th December 2007, 02:04
Picked this up from another site - about a tough old coot who has a go at riding to the Arctic circle - in midwinter! Story in several parts...
As the mercury starts to drop below freezing, most riders tuck their mounts away, stabilize the gas and drain the carbs, sit down to hot toddies and football. But there are the few who think nothing of riding in below freezing weather, snow and ice.
My brother at the age of 67 is one of these hardy souls. He has been riding about 10 years longer than me, so put it at 56 years in the saddle. A couple years ago Eldon made a once in a life time ride, I hope that you enjoy his log as transcribed.
My brother
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w196/gustovh/barlow/barlow014.jpg
February 4, 2005. It’s official, Eldon Aszman has been turned away from his goal of reaching Inuvik the Northern Territories, Canada. White out snow and winds approaching 150 mph. has terminated Eldon's bid to be the first man to ride a motorcycle to the arctic circle in the middle of winter. After consulting work crews and weather forecasters in Dawson, the Yukon, Eldon made the hard decision to turn back. The weather and winds had all work crews and traffic stopped North of Dawson, with no end in site. Eldon has not been able to send any pictures, because the temperature has been so cold that the digital equipment he took with him did not work. Eldon said " The people have been so open and generous to me, it really warms my heart and rekindles my faith in humanity.” This leaves us with the questions. Will there be another time?
The following log was written by my brother, Eldon. On January 16th, 2005 he departed Portland, Oregon, in an attempt to go as far North on a road that you could go. He was traveling to Inuvik, the Northern Territories, Canada; 6,000 miles round trip. He did this on a 2004 Ural Patrol. He faced 1,500 miles of rain, ice and fog on his way up in temperatures -10 and below.
The farther North that he got the colder, -20, -30, blowing powder snow. The truck and auto spray was terribly bad, turning the road in front of him into miniature blizzards. Accidents were common as well as big trucks being blown off the road. No matter where he went, no matter where he stopped, he found the people to have old time generosity. The pages only reveal just a small portion of what he received.
Word traveled ahead of him, and he received all manner of help. Eldon got as far North as mile post 41 on the Dempster highway, before being turned back. He was already sick with Lymphoma at this time, and it is a good thing that he did turn around, although he was less than 400 miles from his goal. It in no way detracts from the effort and the adventure of it. He feels that the experience meeting the people that he did was more than worth the trip.
Now the Arctic Adventure Log:
Sunday Jan. 16, departed the Leukemia, Lymphoma Association parking lot at 08:30. Arrived in Bellingham Washington at Ural Northwest, Mark Watson was waiting for me. I got there about 1600, the bike was put in Mark’s shop. Mark took me to his home where I met his wife and daughter. We had a good Italian supper and they gave me a room for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and then Mark and I went to his shop. He had noticed that my headlight was out when I rode in the day before. A loose connection was the cause. That done, Mark took pictures to post on their Web site. The ride up to Bellingham was uneventful. Truck stop scales said that I tipped out at 1,420 pounds of rider and machine.
January 17, here I sit in Hope Canada, all roads north are closed, two to weather and one to a burning wrecked tanker, so I am staying in the Hope Mountain Motel. The time right now is 22:41, I'll see what tomorrow brings.
January 18, 10:30 am, the roads North are open again. I guess at the time, 17:10, a nasty accident happened in front of me. Four cars in heavy rain mixed with fog and huge amounts of road spray, coupled with excessive speed may have been the cause. I was running at 90 kph with the speed limit at 100, everybody blowing by like I was sitting still. Brake lights coming on, I backed off to 50 kph. The pickup truck in front of me locked up and lost it, at the same time a car passing me T-boned a car and the truck went into the ditch, with his bed in my half of the lane. I zigged around them all like an obstacle course, my dirt riding days saved my butt. I continued on the eastbound Canada 1.
January 19, 13:30 on the road again, raining still. The rig started running crappy around 15:00. Stopped at Thomson River RV Park to seek a dry place to work. I rode through the snow, about 6 inches deep, up onto a covered patio. Found that the ignition was wet. Dried it out with a heat gun, sealed it up with silicone sealant, had coffee then left. Don was an old-time rider himself. He loved the bike.
17:00 on the road again. About 9 1/2 hours later, I lost the left cylinder again, the first time to a bad plug, this time it was the sparkplug cap. I did a bit of brainstorming, electrical tape lining the inside of the plug cap, back on the road. Two hours later it started to happen again, this time I did something different, I quit for the day, 03:30. Could not see thru the rain and road spray and fog. Speed approximately 40 kph for six hours is just too much. Stopped at Cachcreek.
January 19, 21:00. Stopped in Prince George for the night. Rain, freezing fog, road spray, was not safe to continue on. Hwy. 16 west is closed due to the weather. I will try again in the morning. Travel speed average, 60-70 kph. The people are helpful up here, they all think I'm crazy, but they wish me well. When I stopped for gas this evening, I had the usual questions and answer session and two photo shoots. Nighty, night.
January 20, 10:00, the Ural is still running well. About 13:00 I stopped for gas in Vanderhoof. The left cylinder is acting up again. I pulled into the Polaris shop but not have enough power to get up the drive through 8-10 inches of slush. They pulled me up with a quad winch. I replaced both plug caps. Down the road again, purring like a kitten. At the Polaris shop, I met a man by the name of Ben. He and three others stood there and laughed at me, but it was all good natured. At Burns Lake, I stopped for gas and guess who showed up, Ben. He thinks I'm crazy. We jawed for a while. He invited me to his log cabin for Moose steak, yum yum. He also put me up for the night. He's still laughing. Bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast for breakfast.
January 21, on the road again and still raining, going is slow, about 90 kph, damn fog and rain and road spray. It was warm, +3 degrees when I left. Pulled into Bell 2 at 23:00, expensive, too tired to continue, the weather is pure dog poop.
January 22, up at 09:30, breakfast, gassed up, answered questions to a bunch of Italians for 20 minutes or so. The bike is running great. Approximately 30 K out of Stewart Junction, the conditions forced me to shift into two-wheel drive; rain on glare ice. Made it to Dease Lake on the back of a tow truck. Throttle cables froze up. I had to use the Kill switch on the downhill bend. Went to restart after getting the cables freed up and the switch was frozen, thus Chuck’s towing. Chuck Phillips suggested that I put the bike in his heated shop for the night to thaw out. He and his lady friend fed me carrots, peas, scalloped potatoes and ham with pineapple sauce, and topped it off with lemon marange pie. They gave me my own room for the night.
On the way into Dease Lake I stopped at Isnut Motel for a bite eat. John Grove asked why the trip, question answered. Time to pay the bill, no charge. It was for the cause.
January 23 we had pancakes, bacon, eggs and fried potatoes. (No other notes for this day).
January 24, on my way to Good Hope Lake, the rain stopped and it is snowing. 60-70 kph with a temperature of -11. In Good Hope, I lost it and the rig wound up on top of me. We landed in a snow bank. Some of the locals helped me out from under. We flipped the outfit back up onto its wheels, it was upside down. Got it fired up, went and gassed up. Got 2K down the road when the rig started running awful. The air cleaner was full of snow. Limped back into Good Hope and got help right away. They let me stay in the fire house, bike and all. I tore into the filter, it was full of water, ice, and snow from the road, and oil from being wrong side up. Don't take your eyes off the road when it’s slick. I paid for it. The Woman at the store gas station gave me $20 Canadian for my next tank of gas. God moves in mysterious ways. By the way it is still snowing, at least it is not raining. Tomorrow I hit Watson Lake for an oil change and hopefully a new air filter.
I am taking advantage of the heated fire station to get some things dried out. On the way into Good Hope lake, I had to wait for three moose to get off the road, a cow and two calves. After waiting for 10 minutes I fired up and slowly moved towards them, up the hill they went. The snow was belly deep on the cow and moose are BIG. I took some photos. Sure wish I had a long lens.
As the mercury starts to drop below freezing, most riders tuck their mounts away, stabilize the gas and drain the carbs, sit down to hot toddies and football. But there are the few who think nothing of riding in below freezing weather, snow and ice.
My brother at the age of 67 is one of these hardy souls. He has been riding about 10 years longer than me, so put it at 56 years in the saddle. A couple years ago Eldon made a once in a life time ride, I hope that you enjoy his log as transcribed.
My brother
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w196/gustovh/barlow/barlow014.jpg
February 4, 2005. It’s official, Eldon Aszman has been turned away from his goal of reaching Inuvik the Northern Territories, Canada. White out snow and winds approaching 150 mph. has terminated Eldon's bid to be the first man to ride a motorcycle to the arctic circle in the middle of winter. After consulting work crews and weather forecasters in Dawson, the Yukon, Eldon made the hard decision to turn back. The weather and winds had all work crews and traffic stopped North of Dawson, with no end in site. Eldon has not been able to send any pictures, because the temperature has been so cold that the digital equipment he took with him did not work. Eldon said " The people have been so open and generous to me, it really warms my heart and rekindles my faith in humanity.” This leaves us with the questions. Will there be another time?
The following log was written by my brother, Eldon. On January 16th, 2005 he departed Portland, Oregon, in an attempt to go as far North on a road that you could go. He was traveling to Inuvik, the Northern Territories, Canada; 6,000 miles round trip. He did this on a 2004 Ural Patrol. He faced 1,500 miles of rain, ice and fog on his way up in temperatures -10 and below.
The farther North that he got the colder, -20, -30, blowing powder snow. The truck and auto spray was terribly bad, turning the road in front of him into miniature blizzards. Accidents were common as well as big trucks being blown off the road. No matter where he went, no matter where he stopped, he found the people to have old time generosity. The pages only reveal just a small portion of what he received.
Word traveled ahead of him, and he received all manner of help. Eldon got as far North as mile post 41 on the Dempster highway, before being turned back. He was already sick with Lymphoma at this time, and it is a good thing that he did turn around, although he was less than 400 miles from his goal. It in no way detracts from the effort and the adventure of it. He feels that the experience meeting the people that he did was more than worth the trip.
Now the Arctic Adventure Log:
Sunday Jan. 16, departed the Leukemia, Lymphoma Association parking lot at 08:30. Arrived in Bellingham Washington at Ural Northwest, Mark Watson was waiting for me. I got there about 1600, the bike was put in Mark’s shop. Mark took me to his home where I met his wife and daughter. We had a good Italian supper and they gave me a room for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and then Mark and I went to his shop. He had noticed that my headlight was out when I rode in the day before. A loose connection was the cause. That done, Mark took pictures to post on their Web site. The ride up to Bellingham was uneventful. Truck stop scales said that I tipped out at 1,420 pounds of rider and machine.
January 17, here I sit in Hope Canada, all roads north are closed, two to weather and one to a burning wrecked tanker, so I am staying in the Hope Mountain Motel. The time right now is 22:41, I'll see what tomorrow brings.
January 18, 10:30 am, the roads North are open again. I guess at the time, 17:10, a nasty accident happened in front of me. Four cars in heavy rain mixed with fog and huge amounts of road spray, coupled with excessive speed may have been the cause. I was running at 90 kph with the speed limit at 100, everybody blowing by like I was sitting still. Brake lights coming on, I backed off to 50 kph. The pickup truck in front of me locked up and lost it, at the same time a car passing me T-boned a car and the truck went into the ditch, with his bed in my half of the lane. I zigged around them all like an obstacle course, my dirt riding days saved my butt. I continued on the eastbound Canada 1.
January 19, 13:30 on the road again, raining still. The rig started running crappy around 15:00. Stopped at Thomson River RV Park to seek a dry place to work. I rode through the snow, about 6 inches deep, up onto a covered patio. Found that the ignition was wet. Dried it out with a heat gun, sealed it up with silicone sealant, had coffee then left. Don was an old-time rider himself. He loved the bike.
17:00 on the road again. About 9 1/2 hours later, I lost the left cylinder again, the first time to a bad plug, this time it was the sparkplug cap. I did a bit of brainstorming, electrical tape lining the inside of the plug cap, back on the road. Two hours later it started to happen again, this time I did something different, I quit for the day, 03:30. Could not see thru the rain and road spray and fog. Speed approximately 40 kph for six hours is just too much. Stopped at Cachcreek.
January 19, 21:00. Stopped in Prince George for the night. Rain, freezing fog, road spray, was not safe to continue on. Hwy. 16 west is closed due to the weather. I will try again in the morning. Travel speed average, 60-70 kph. The people are helpful up here, they all think I'm crazy, but they wish me well. When I stopped for gas this evening, I had the usual questions and answer session and two photo shoots. Nighty, night.
January 20, 10:00, the Ural is still running well. About 13:00 I stopped for gas in Vanderhoof. The left cylinder is acting up again. I pulled into the Polaris shop but not have enough power to get up the drive through 8-10 inches of slush. They pulled me up with a quad winch. I replaced both plug caps. Down the road again, purring like a kitten. At the Polaris shop, I met a man by the name of Ben. He and three others stood there and laughed at me, but it was all good natured. At Burns Lake, I stopped for gas and guess who showed up, Ben. He thinks I'm crazy. We jawed for a while. He invited me to his log cabin for Moose steak, yum yum. He also put me up for the night. He's still laughing. Bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast for breakfast.
January 21, on the road again and still raining, going is slow, about 90 kph, damn fog and rain and road spray. It was warm, +3 degrees when I left. Pulled into Bell 2 at 23:00, expensive, too tired to continue, the weather is pure dog poop.
January 22, up at 09:30, breakfast, gassed up, answered questions to a bunch of Italians for 20 minutes or so. The bike is running great. Approximately 30 K out of Stewart Junction, the conditions forced me to shift into two-wheel drive; rain on glare ice. Made it to Dease Lake on the back of a tow truck. Throttle cables froze up. I had to use the Kill switch on the downhill bend. Went to restart after getting the cables freed up and the switch was frozen, thus Chuck’s towing. Chuck Phillips suggested that I put the bike in his heated shop for the night to thaw out. He and his lady friend fed me carrots, peas, scalloped potatoes and ham with pineapple sauce, and topped it off with lemon marange pie. They gave me my own room for the night.
On the way into Dease Lake I stopped at Isnut Motel for a bite eat. John Grove asked why the trip, question answered. Time to pay the bill, no charge. It was for the cause.
January 23 we had pancakes, bacon, eggs and fried potatoes. (No other notes for this day).
January 24, on my way to Good Hope Lake, the rain stopped and it is snowing. 60-70 kph with a temperature of -11. In Good Hope, I lost it and the rig wound up on top of me. We landed in a snow bank. Some of the locals helped me out from under. We flipped the outfit back up onto its wheels, it was upside down. Got it fired up, went and gassed up. Got 2K down the road when the rig started running awful. The air cleaner was full of snow. Limped back into Good Hope and got help right away. They let me stay in the fire house, bike and all. I tore into the filter, it was full of water, ice, and snow from the road, and oil from being wrong side up. Don't take your eyes off the road when it’s slick. I paid for it. The Woman at the store gas station gave me $20 Canadian for my next tank of gas. God moves in mysterious ways. By the way it is still snowing, at least it is not raining. Tomorrow I hit Watson Lake for an oil change and hopefully a new air filter.
I am taking advantage of the heated fire station to get some things dried out. On the way into Good Hope lake, I had to wait for three moose to get off the road, a cow and two calves. After waiting for 10 minutes I fired up and slowly moved towards them, up the hill they went. The snow was belly deep on the cow and moose are BIG. I took some photos. Sure wish I had a long lens.