Hi Glenn,

It was cool to meet you on the road. It took me 8 days to get to Skagway, Alaska from Toronto. I stuck around for a couple of nights to play some private poker games and then rode to Whitehorse. Because of the snow and crappy weather and the $500 in cash I picked up in the Skagway poker games, I decided to live large and get a hotel room for a few nights.

The first night at the bar I met a local fellow with an Arctic Motorcycle Tours jacket on, he said for a whiskey and a beer I could have it. Couldn’t beat that deal and it fit perfect. Felt a little sorry for the guy, it had just snowed earlier on in Whitehorse and he had to walk home in his t-shirt. But a deal is a deal.

The next night I wore the jacket to the bar and Heather Ireland from Biker TV came up to me to find out about the Arctic Motorcycle Tours. Hung out with them that night and then met you, (Glenn), the following night. Kind of crazy how randomness can make people’s paths cross.

I made it up to the Arctic Circle for the Summer Solstice, and it was not an easy trip by any means. I took the Top of the World Highway across to Dawson City where I entered the weekend Poker Tournament at the Casino. Lost all my cash and was tenting the rest of the trip.

The Dempster Highway had a lot of rain and turned it into basically a mud road. I threw down the bike once when my back tire slid out and totalled my side case. Also, helped fix a popped tire for a guy riding the same bike as mine (V-Strom). He told me he was going to get a patch kit or beer and he decided on beer (wrong choice), but I got a lot of beer off him for my patch kit.

When I finally made it to the Arctic Circle it was 25 C and a perfect day. Got a good sunburn in the Speedo and fairly drunk with my whiskey on an empty stomach.

Riding back I hit a deer just outside of Jasper. I looked down at my map and when I looked up, a deer was right there. It smoked my sidecase and I barely recovered. The deer was rolling on its back, but when I went back I couldn’t find it so it probably just has a bad headache. I was driving slowly for the rest of that day.

I promised the girlfriend I would be home on a certain date, and when I was running behind with the tire being changed in Prince Rupert, I had to book it across Canada to make it back in time, or she probably would have left me. I’m surprised she stayed with me after being on the road for five weeks.

From Prince Rupert I road to the Icefields between Jasper and Banff. All the campsites were booked solid, and since it was dark I just pulled into a parking lot and set up camp. Little did I know why it was so cold until I woke up and saw a bunch of glaciers around me. The next day I road to Regina, where I met up with some guys that hooked me up with a ton of free beers after hearing about me hitting a deer.

From Regina I drove to Thunder Bay. For the last 2 hours of this riding day it was dark and tons of moose and deer were seen along the road edge, so I tucked in behind an 18-wheeler and stayed close. Figured it was a big animal barricade. A deer I could handle, a moose I would have to ditch the bike I figured.

The 4th day was from Thunder Bay to Toronto, which I thought would be only about 11 hours riding, yet I misjudged the map and it ended up being just shy of 1500 km. My entire body was sore when I finished, yet I met up with the girlfriend and friends at the bar that night for drinks and it was all worth it. Now I have to clean my bike.

I’m thinking of a winter ride to Mexico now. Figure it’s another good spot to get a tan in a Speedo haha! MMM

Steve Corke