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Prudhoe to Key West Record Run

akbeemer

SURVIVOR
John Ryan arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska last evening (05/27/09) to stage for his attempt to break the record for riding between Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and Key West, Florida.

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He's spending today preping the bike and attending to other logistics. New tires being installed at Trail's End BMW, repair of a broken zipper on his stich and trouble shooting a problem with his CB radio are all on the agenda.

It appears he will link up with a local Iron Butt rider tomorrow and head to Prudhoe. Goal is to begin the attempt Saturday evening. The schedule may yet change.

His ride, Yamaha FJR 1300 with 138,000 miles on it and still with a year left on the warranty.

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Note the custom made 13 gallon fuel tank.

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More pictures (and better)to follow.
 
Boy, have I got fuel tank envy...


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I'd love to see a photo of how he fits in there when seated. Looks like he could rest his chin on the tankbag.

Looking forward to a successful conclusion to this epic run!
 
John is on his way up the Dalton. We linked up with an IronButt friend of his from Glennallen (Jack G.) at Hilltop and then I rode with them up to the start of the Dalton. Plan is to overnight in Wiseman then on to Deadhorse on Saturday. John is prepared to stay in Deadhorse for a few days if needed to get a good weather window to start his attempt. If things go well he will depart Deadhorse Sunday evening and arrive in Fairbanks 7-9 hours later. We will meet him at a car wash here in Fairbanks where he will clean his radiator and wheels; we have his side cases that he will install and then resume his ride. I have pictures of today's ride to the head of the Dalton that I will post when I can get on campus where I'm not on dial-up. Will also have pics of the pit stop at the car wash. The only issue he was unable to resolve was his CB radio being on the fritz.
 
Is there a place to follow his attempt? Great coverage on this end of the run, just wondering about the other end.

:lurk
 
So what is the record? Has he tried it before? :lurk

From Motorbiker website:

"One of Iron-Butt's (the USA based, long distance riding association, promoting long distance motorcycle riding) members, Gary Eagan, has broken one of Iron-Butt's records; the longest distance in the shortest time.

Gary rode on his Ducati Multistrada motorcycle from the northern most point in Alaska to the southern most point in Florida;- a total of 5,632 miles (9,063 kilometers) ! The managed this journey in a record 100 hours (the previous record was set by someone riding a BMW in 114 hours). That's only four days !! That means he was riding on average 1400 miles per day (2200 kilometers).

Doesn't sound much if you say it quickly, but if you stop and think, it represents almost nonstop riding. If you ride 24 hours a day, you'd still need to average 58 mph... and that's not counting refueling and other pit stops.

What makes this even more incredible in my eyes, is that at the beginning of the journey, Gary was forced of the road by a trucker, and he damaged his motorcycle (and himself). After repairing the motorcycle with zip ties, he continued his trip.

He stopped only to take short naps, and to refuel, and kept on riding."
 
The current record is 96 hours and 1 minute. John made an attempt last year and did it in a bit over 101 hours. He had several things go wrong last year including a flat on the haul road. He seems confident he can break the record if he can avoid just some of the issues he had last time .
 
The current record is 96 hours and 1 minute. John made an attempt last year and did it in a bit over 101 hours. He had several things go wrong last year including a flat on the haul road. He seems confident he can break the record if he can avoid just some of the issues he had last time .

Who holds the current record and when was it done on what bike?
 
GSTom, I do not know the answer to any of your questions, but the important thing is that John knows. I do know that the record is held by a friend of John's and on a Duc Multistrada. So I guess it is the same person you cited and he made another run.

John is back in Fairbanks. Atigun Pass was impassable. Even Jack G. (ALCANRider to those on ADV Rider) could not make it up the pass on his KLR with TK's mounted. John is doing some minor maintenance on his bike and will head north again tomorrow.
 
AKBeemer,

Thanks for the updates which are eagerly read here.

You say, Atigun Pass was impassable. What makes a pass impassable? I'm thinking mud or floods. It can't be snow, or can it?

Did a Google search and found that white-out conditions can occur even in July!

Click Here
:lurk
 
It was so icy that they were unable to get enough traction to get up the pass. Forecast is for 37 degrees and mostly sunny today at Deadhorse, so maybe conditions will be better at Atigun.
Kevin,

Thank you for keeping us up to date :bow

John is going to be the keynote speaker at the Not Superman Rally awards banquet in Cape Girardeau MO on Sunday, July 12 at 4:00 PM following the 12:00 Noon finish of the 54-hour NSR rally. www.notsupermanrally.com

We all wish him a safe and productive record attempt.
 
John left for Deadhorse a little after noon on Sunday and was back at our house at midnight. He had a flat near Coldfoot and plugged the tire. He is going to replace the tire and then head back up north. Hopefully he's getting all the bad luck out of the way before he goes on the clock.
 
Some pictures from the first attempt on Friday.

Voni, John made sure he had the "something red" you gave him attached.

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I rode with John as far as the start of the Dalton. We linked up with his fellow IronButt friend Jack at Hilltop.

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Jack rides the original KLR and regularly puts in 1000+ mile days between Glennallen and Prudhoe.

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At the head of the Dalton we met two riders from NC who had just come off the road.

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I asked John to have a "I couldn't have done it without you" look in this picture.

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And then they were off.
 
This picture was taken by Jack G. (ALCAN Rider) and previously posted on the ADVRiders forum. Shows John's FJR at Atigun Pass last Saturday.
 

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I, for one, am personally fascinated by this whole concept; however, seeing these pics and reading the posts I guess I do not understand why he would try this in early June instead of later when the weather would be warmer? I am not familiar with Alaska so there may be something I am missing.....
 
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