It was drizzling when I woke up. I packed quickly and rode across the street to Fast Eddy’s for breakfast. This is the fourth time I’ve eaten at this restaurant. The food is good and the Wi-Fi is better.

After breakfast I got on the road. It was raining. It rained all the way to Whitehorse. The rain varied between drizzle and full rain. Oh wait! there were two minutes of sun just before I crossed into Canada. The rest of the day the sky was one of those socked-in, its-going-to-rain-all-day skies.

I made it through the three construction areas with pilot cars just fine. It was a relief to get through them and reach Destruction Bay.

I had lunch at the same restaurant I ate at on the way up. It’s where I had a conversation with the couple from Peoria.

Today a rider sat down with me for lunch. He is a 63-year-old retired fireman from Washington, D. C. He was riding a ’13 Harley Ultra Classic and pulling a trailer. He looked cold and wet. (So did I, except I wasn’t cold because my heated jacket kept me warm.)

He had a story to tell. His wife planned to fly up to Anchorage and meet him. They planned to ride around Alaska and take the ferry down to Washington, where she would catch a flight home. After looking at the weather forecast and learning they couldn’t get a confirmed ticket on the ferry, they cancelled her flight and their hotel reservations. The forecast was for lots of rain and one of the ferries was out of commission.

His revised plan was to ride down to Washington and pick up an interstate and go home. His feet were wet and he left his heated jacket at home. He wasn’t in any condition to continue in the rain, so he got a room right there. He planned to dry out and continue tomorrow. He asked me repeatedly how far it was to the Cassiar, what the road is like, what accommodations were available. When I got my GPS fired up I was able to tell him how far it was to the junction with the Cassiar. We wished each other safe travels and I departed into the rain.

By the time I got to Whitehorse my rain gloves were soaked through and, as a result, water was wicking up my sleeves. I bought a pair of industrial strength rubber gloves to wear under my wet gloves at a Canada Superstore. That’s an equivalent to Target.

Next I went to Tim Horton’s for Wi-Fi and dinner. I had to figure out my plan for the night. I found a hostel in Whitehorse, but it was full. By the time I had eaten and warmed up, the rain cleared and the sun peaked through, so I decided to take advantage of the late sun and good weather and continue riding. Teslin was 100 miles away. I camped at the Yukon motel and RV Park there on the way up and knew the tent sites were grassy and close to the bath house/laundry.

I arrived by 9:15 p.m., set up in the same place as last time and came into the restaurant for a beer and an internet connection.

Tomorrow I’ll do some laundry and continue down the Alcan.