North to Alaska—by motorcycle

This summer, Maria Lironi (UVic Communications) and I rode our motorcycles to Alaska. We clocked 8,300 km, explored glaciers, met some wonderful people, had a close encounter with a moose, and—perhaps the most memorable experience of all—rode our bikes through a forest fire at the top of the Cassiar Highway—twice!

What was it like? Wild! First there was the fuel issue. Motorcycles have small fuel tanks and there are few gas stations on that highway. The last one on the route had run out of gas. So by the time we arrived at the fire barricade we had just enough fuel to get through the fire and not enough to make it back to an open gas station. We had to get through.

But would officials even let us? People had already been waiting days for the right conditions that would allow the barrier to open. They'd run out of food and water. Luckily, we only had to wait a few hours before a helicopter and two pilot cars escorted our 40-vehicle convoy through the next 77 kms. We sped through the thick smoke, which stung our eyes and made breathing uncomfortable, as ash swirled behind our tires. Trees on either side of the road were on fire and we could hear them exploding beside us. It was exhilarating!

Eventually we made it to the Alaska Highway, where there was gas, fresh air and a banana split for a job well done.

I remember thinking that riding my motorcycle through flames was an epic event—all that was missing was the heavy metal soundtrack-and that I'd probably never have another experience like that again. Little did I know that we'd be doing the exact same thing two weeks later!

We've blogged our trip. If you want to read more: wham2010.blogspot.comhttp://wham2010.blogspot.com