Monday, May 7, 2012

Everyday for 7 Weeks–Day 10–Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

Everyday for 7 Weeks Banner

It is amazing how much your mood can very from one day to the next. Yesterday, I was very low when I discovered my rack was broken, and I couldn’t get it fixed that day. Today, I’m on top of the world.

I made sure to get everything packed up before I went to sleep, and for a change, I went to bed early. I wanted to get up and start calling the list of numbers I had collected.

I had one motorcycle shop and four welding/fabricating shops. My friend John sent me a nice list of services in Dawson Creek which had one I didn’t find. I added it to the top of the list. I guess I just liked the name.

I woke up right at dawn (I never do that). hmm. Too early. Everyone is still closed. I tried to go back to sleep. I slept another hour. Still too early. I slept another hour. Ok close enough. I got up and made breakfast. I was so anxious about finding someone, I could only eat my banana. My oatmeal just sat there staring at me. I tried to eat it, but strangely I didn’t want to eat (I love breakfast!)

I picked up my sheet of numbers and walked outside to start calling. The wifi was terrible, and I literally had to stand next to the access point to get a decent signal. bleh. It rang and rang.

On the third ring I heard “hello, stewart fabricating.” My heart jumped. I explained the situation and what I needed.

He said, “I suppose you need it today? We are really busy. Bring it by and I’ll take a look.”

He gave me the address. The one on the PDF was several years old apparently. He was right across the street from the Safeway where I was buying pineapple and chocolate the day before. I thought it was a good sign. Oh, and the guy who wouldn’t help me yesterday? I didn’t bother with him; I crossed him out already.

I put my gear on and rode across town. I pulled up to a gravel parking lot full of vehicles. I parked the bike out of the way and walked inside to look for help. I found Paul, the guy I had spoke with on the phone. I showed him the problem. He looked at it, and said he could squeeze me in. It looked simple he said. AWESOME!

I spend the next 30 minutes taking my SV650 apart with my tool kit. I took off the seats, grab rail, and entire rear cowling to expose the subframe.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I quickly removed the broken mounting tab, and for good measure I removed the “good” one too.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

After inspecting the good one, I could see it had hairline fractures, and it was bound to fail soon.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I showed the parts to Paul, and he suggested adding a small piece of metal at an angle to reinforce the pieces. The downside is I would have to cut a notch on each side of the cowling. I agreed and started hacking away at the plastic with my multi-tool.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

His shop was busy! Four employees busy with lots of different vehicles. We waited a while for the welding area to open up. Another mechanic was using the vise for a gasket repair on a diesel engine.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

Eventually, it opened up and Paul set to work. He is a busy and popular guy. While he was working on my two little parts, he took over 10 phone calls on his personal and shop phones and had two visitors. I picked the right guy. Seems the whole town liked this guy.

He ground the paint away to get a clean weld and cleaned up the surfaces with a grinder.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

Then he welded the broken piece back together. He used the big chop saw and gut two small pieces of metal and then welded those to the mounting tabs.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

He cleaned up the welds with a wire brush, and then even painted them black. I was impressed. A real craftsman who took pride in doing a good job, and not just getting it done.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I put the bike back together in a blur. While I was working, I chatted with one of customers, a Canadian, who lives in Thailand part of the year and while he is there gives motorcycle tours. We had a fun chat.

With the bike back together, I tried to settle up with Paul. He refused to take any money and said he was just happy to help. I gave him some anyway and told him to buy a nice lunch for the guys. Thanks Paul!

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I made it back to my motel room with 10 minutes to spare before checkout. Loaded up the bike, got gas, and then hit the road for Fort Nelson. I had ridden the first mile of the Alaska Highway about ten times now. I was ready to see the rest of it!

For the rest of the day, I felt GREAT. I was brimming over with gratitude and joy. It felt go good to be back on the road and riding somewhere new. I secretly wanted a way to bottle the feeling up and be able to use it later. When travelling, the ups are amazing, and the downs are low. The lows are hard to escape too since the normal network of friends and family isn’t there to pull you out of it. Thanks to the Internet, I was able to chat with my wife via skype and that helped a lot. In person would have been better (2 1/2 weeks more!). Thanks to the folks on facebook and twitter who tried to help as well (John, William, Rachael, Chris, Paul, and Mike).

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

The first hour to Fort St. John was packed with traffic, after that it started to thin out quickly. For the most part it was a two lane road in surprisingly good condition.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

My least favorite parts were the chip seal areas which were very, very rough. The tree line was well away from the road which made looking for animal easy. I didn’t see any though, not even a deer. Maybe tomorrow.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I found a muffler man along the way. It was in someone’s front yard. I wonder when FuzzyGalore will get one for her yard?

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I finally started to see some mountains again!

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I got gas twice along the way to Fort Nelson.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

There were lots of places, at least one station every 50-60 miles or so. I didn’t have any fear of running out.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

I don’t even think I went below half a tank.

I made it to Fort Nelson tired and in time for dinner. I hope tomorrow’s weather will be nice as I ride to Watson Lake.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day10 - Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

 

Thanks again Paul. You made my day!

 

 

Day10 Full Flickr Album

 

Video: Broken Luggage Rack and the Start of the Alaska Highway

 

Today’s Route:


View Larger Map

Other Posts in the series:

23 comments:

  1. Chris:

    You sound extremely happy. Thanks to Paul too for getting you back on the road. He sounds like a great guy. Now you've got me wondering about my Racks. I also have those Givi type, the same as you have.

    Those roads look tempting and hardly any traffic and the weather seems to be holding out for you

    safe travels
    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, quite happy. It wouldn't hurt to check them for cracks regularly. You do check them for tightness too right?

      looks like revenge of the wind tomorrow, but so far weather is cooperating nicely.

      Delete
  2. Now that's customer service. I am glad you found his shop and he treated you well.

    I have heard about the Alaska highway breaking rack mounts before (but you weren't quite there yet) . I was talking to someone who'd done it on a Gladius and she mentioned hers broke on the way.

    Glad you are back in the saddle again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was lucky to find him.

      there is a lot of chip seal surface which is quite rough. I hear there is also a bunch of frost heave areas coming up that are also brutal. racks like the givi's aren't the greatest for getting pounded by the road.

      Delete
  3. Glad to see you back on track.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad everything got resolved easily, on to Alaska.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Guys like Paul are the ones who make our rides so much easier. What a guy!

    I've had similar experiences on the road and i'm always looking for opportunities to repay the kindness of strangers.

    Glad you're back on the road in better shape.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the world needs more guys like Paul. They are a rare breed.

      I'm glad I'm back in business too!

      Delete
  6. Following your travels and adventures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad. I hope you guys are enjoying it :)

      Delete
  7. It's funny, but of all the memories you will have of this trip, whether they be mountains, bears, lakes or whatever, I am sure you will remember the broken bike rack and Paul one the most, and look back on both with a smile. A little bit of adversity invariably brings good times with it. I can tell by the tone of this post that it has happened here.

    The problem was of course, that you tempted fate the day before when you said that playing with your mini multi tool kit and checking things was fun. Don't even think that it is fun using your tools when on a road trip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a strong contender for sure. The ice fields parkway is also at the top. check out the lunch video if you haven't that spot was so nice.

      I do have to use my tools! check that everything is tight - fasteners, chain, etc. the roads are rough up here!

      Delete
  8. That's an excellent design modification. I may have to take mine apart and redesign them before they break. Nice looking welds, too. Way better than the mediocre GIVI welding. Paul must have been a pipeline welder before he opened his shop. Those guys are the artists of welders.

    Remember what the WA guy told me, "Moose look like NBA players cut off at the waist." That visual saved me from running up on to moose (meese?) a couple of times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was a craftsman for sure. I would fix yours up before they break if they have the same design as the SV rack.

      After seeing two, I'd say a cross between a horse and a cow.

      Delete
  9. BTW John Wright told me that his browser is incapable of dealing with Google's arcane series of "validation" routines. Between the account login and the irritating word game, he had never been able to reply to one of my posts. As an experiment, I removed the whole mess of checkpoints and Google's spam filter is working amazingly well. Not a single spam comment has made it to my site. You might think about reducing your reader's hassle-factor by dumping the sequence of check-in routines. I only comment about 1/4 as often as I might otherwise because of the log-in hassle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My blog has always allowed anonymous comments or even just a name with a comment. No need to sign in unless you want to.

      Delete
  10. That looked like a nice repair. Bet it works!

    Sobering, though, to see a lug that thick have a stress crack on a modern bike. I just learned something.

    Nothing better for peace of mind than to have everything fixed up good.....as far as you know! (Cue evil theme music)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The roads are very rough, and I have put that rack through a beating over the few years I've owned it.

      It all worked out in the end.

      Delete
  11. I'm so glad everything worked out. I was worried about you. I know how discouraging it can be to not be able to help yourself immediately. ::whew::

    You have no idea how happy I would be to have my very own muffler man. That would be the best <3

    Though I have been terrible about commenting, every morning I look forward to the next installment of your trip. Thanks for taking us on the ride with you.

    Safe travels, buddy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks. your quick tweet along with a few others helped.

      you should get one!! It would be sweet.

      I remember our convo about comments, so no worries. I am glad you are enjoying the posts every morning. :) I enjoy reading the comments each night. lol.

      Delete
  12. The broken rack gave you the opportunity to slow down and meet (the right) crowd. Aren't it people like Paul who make traveling so rewarding and worthwhile?

    ReplyDelete