Alaska: Day 18 (22 June 09)

The next morning, we were off and running at our usual 9:30 or so. This would be our last day riding together. I needed to change my back tire, though. Remembering that there were several bike shops in Cranbrook (Greg and I had stopped there 2 years ago, so he could buy some warmer gloves), I took the exit and headed into town, thinking it'd be worth it to pay someone $25 or $30 to mount the tire for me. We whipped into Honda Powerhouse on the main drag in Cranbrook and were met by the owner's son Jared. Jared was super nice, but, unfortunately, their mechanic was out for the day. He suggested we try the Kawasaki shop down the road and offered to call and make sure they had someone on hand to mount the tire. When he called them, though, they wanted $75 to do the job. Screw that. I can do it myself.

Since it was pouring down rain outside (what else is new, eh?), I asked Jared if we could pull the bikes into their shop, out of the weather. He was happy to oblige, opening the shop up for us and offering the use of their compressor, the mechanic's tools, and anything else we might need. What a great guy! They even had a tire machine, which, had Danny and I only known how to use it, would have made things super easy. We mounted the tire the old fashioned way, though. No trouble. I'd put 8,000 miles on the Tourance and it still had tread, maybe 1,500 more miles of life in it. Great tires, those Metzler Tourances.

With my tire off, I decided to check my rear brake pads because they'd been grinding. Turned out I was down to metal on metal, so I pulled out the spare pads which I'd packed along and installed them. Danny's pads were also shot, but he'd neglected to bring replacements. Jared checked their stock, but didn't have anything to fit the V-Strom. Danny could just stay off his rear brake until he got home. I didn't have that option on the Beemer, as the brakes are linked.

Danny's front tire was also looking pretty shabby. Jared had a replacement in stock, so Danny bought it from him and we mounted that as well. It was another Trailwing, and we'd already decided the Trailwings are crapola, but what'r'ya gonna do, eh?

Thanks again to Jared. He was incredibly helpful and accomodating. If you're ever in Cranbrook, BC, be sure and stop in at Honda Powerhouse. If Jared had only been able to stop the rain...

We left out of Cranbrook and hit the US border. "Welcome back to the United States," said the customs agent and I thanked him. It felt good to no longer have to recalibrate kph to mph in my head. Danny was determined to make I-90 by dark, so that he could press for home. I was wet and cold and in no hurry by the time we reached Kalispell. It was about 9 pm Oklahoma time and I figured if I stopped there I'd be able to make a phone call or two before family and friends starting going to bed. I pulled into a Motel 6 for a room, while Danny pressed on alone. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, both of us knowing it would be extremely weird riding on our own after so many days on the road together. Danny would press on the Interslab and be home in two days, while I would ride my original route through western Idaho, then into Colorado and New Mexico, sticking to fun, twisty backroads.

Danny signs for his brand new Bridgestone Trailwing -- you can see how excited he is to be the proud owner of another one of those tires. Thanks for everything, Jared!