A friend and I are leaving in June from Alabama for a trip thru Canada and on to Alaska. Anyone familiar with road service availability in Canada and on the Alaska highway? I ride a Heritage with wire spoke wheels, so repairs on the roadside may not be feasible. I am carrying a spare tube and patches if it comes to that.

 

Well, the good news is if you break down, someone will eventualy come along to give you a ride to the next town. As for tube tires, it is possible to patch a tube without removing the wheel from the bike. One other thing is a small pad jack, simular to a car scissor jack can be handy. I made mine from a car scissor jack by welding some supports to the existing jack. Now I will wait for someone to jump in and tell me that patching a tube while the wheel is still on the bike can't be done. Don

 

Having traveled the Alaska Highway many times and living North of 60, I feel I should jump in here and offer my two cents.

Firstly, services (gas stations ect...) are very sparse on the Alaska Highway. So just make sure you know what kind of fuel economy you get on your bike and plan your stops out beforehand accordingly.

Second, I would sign up for a service like AMA or the equivalent of BCAA. I've used their services in the past and in my opinion, having that little sense of security goes a long way.

You shouldn't have too much to worry about as far as service availability south of Dawson Creek, British Columbia (Mile ''0'' of the Alaska Highway)... Of course, this depends on the route you plan on taking.

Where are you planning on crossing into Canada from the lower 48?

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

We plan to cross from Montana into Canada, head north and crisscross the four western provinces, before hitting the Alaska HWY above Dawson Creek.
Are there any fuel stops between any of the few towns i see on the map. Some look to be over 100 miles apart. We are carrying a fuel can for emergencies. My buddy has a trailer to haul tents, etc.
We will come back down the Alaska HWY and then over to Calgary and down to Glacier Park in the USA.

 

If you are having a stop over near Jasper Alberta on your way heading north or south we have some room and you are welcome to spend the night. We live just outside Jasper park. A couple guys from Virginia are stopping in on their way north in June. PM me to see if we are around and not out on a trip of our own. Have a good ride

 

Fill up when you can and you will be fine. Road is all paved except for a couple of gravel patches so don't worry about flats. There is only about a 100 miles of crappy road from the north end of Kluane Lake to the border. PM me when for sure coming through and arrange to stop by. I live on the way to Anc.

 

Thanks for the offers and the information. Larry is the planner on this trip. This is probably going to be his last cross country ride. This trip will get the last four provinces and the State of Alaska off his list. He will have to wait for a bridge to get Hawaii.
Thanks Mike

 

I would first of buy the Milepost. It is about $30 at Amazon. Buy the most recent. This will give you the most current info about lodging and gas that are still open. This covers all highways in Canada and Alaska. I would make sure to give yourselves enough time to enjoy the Icefields Pkwy between Banff and Jasper. You easily could spend a 1/2 to full day there. If you can plan the timing on the route I would avoid spending the night in Watson Lake. There is very limited lodging and only one place to eat and drink and it isn't very good. I would recommend to lodge in Fort Nelson and then Whitehorse. These are bigger towns with more options. From Whitehorse you can easily make Alaska. From there your options are endless. Ask me any questions that you may have and I will try to answer. natetp1227@hotmail.com

 

Larry has a new copy of the Milepost coming, he has done most of the planning with last years copy. We are planning to camp as much as possible. How bad are the mosquitoes? I hear they are terrible. If they are as bad up there as they are when I turkey hunt in the river swamp, then we are in for it.
Been thinking about trying out a new product called a "thermo Cell" to repel the buggers.

 

I was up to the Yukon a few years back with my son and cousin. It was in the spring and the mosquitoes were thick. Need to have some good repellent. Would love to get back up there again. What was odd is,,,, no night.