Alaska ride June of ‘18

dcoley said:

Brownie0486 I did not see a PM. If you go I hope to meet you on the trail.

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It's in my sent box, here's the message

June to Alaska

I might be very interested in this. How long are you planning on being gone? I have a K1200GT that needs to stay on paved roads or well maintained at the very least, no off roading like your bike will do.

How many miles you planning on doing in how many weeks. I have a 2 man, bag good to 23 degrees, all the necessities for a trip like that in the dry bag [ which I was going to use on a 3 state tour in June to Utah, Colorado and NM. I live just east of Phoenix, Az. So we could meet up somewhere while you're heading west, then continue on from there.

I'm 66, in good health, can ride all day if need be, but would love to see the country and not be rushing past some of the spectacular views/scenery. Sounds like the trip of a lifetime. I'd put new skins on mine for the trip, as it looks like 3600 to fairbanks from here, 7200 round trip without layovers and detours. New tires would be a must for me IMO.

Not much of a mechanic, but my bike is always maintained and tuned. Just had the 18K full service 1400 miles ago, so it won't need anything else to just hop on and go. I have medical training, wilderness first responder with search and rescue out here in Az.

I can do camping and then motels every 2-3 days just fine. Even every 4 days if need be. Let me know more details if you can, I like this idea and normally wouldn't consider it as I'd be riding alone as well. Maybe this works for both of us.

My phone is ########## if you want to reach out

I deleted the phone number. If you're interested, pm me

Brownie

All you AK travelers ! Pack well!

Ak was my home for 13 years and had a couple different bikes while there. My memory of the weather changes are quite amazing. I lived in N. Kenai, ( Nikiski) and during the years there played "a lot" of softball. The fields were either in Soldotna or Kenai at the time. We played 2 nites a week in the summer along with travel dates on weekends on several events. Of course, beers at the Nightwatch in Soldotna or Kenai Joes in Kenai were a given and many nites getting home after 1 or 2 were a norm . Ahhh, youth,,,, . On short nites where the dreaded day job came into play , and a early self implemented curfew, I'd ride one of my cycles.
One particular late aft ,I peaked out and saw clear blue skies and a warm wind. I geared up, glove and spikes in tow, loaded the bike and headed out. About a 30 mile ride to the fields. The first 2 miles to the hi way went unadventful. I turn left on black top and a little grey cloud and drizzle appear. No biggie ,I say, ride on and about mile 6 the drizzle turns into a bit of a flurry. Mile 8 ,I am riding in a 45deg or so complete white out. Trod on, I ride out of it , back to drizzle, then upon getting to the field, clear blue skies again, and sopped. My buds go, " where in the hell you've been?" I say , just a commute in with a little turbulence on route.
On your AK trip planning:
Figure on riding in 4 seasons , even in July
Game, game. everywhere and not just rabbits,,,,, Its the moose that are tough to run over.
Bugs, yes plenty of those,
Cops ( same category as bugs)
Unbelievable scenery, it never ends,,,, A trip to above the arctic? IMHO, just inviting trouble , a long way from no where. Mc Kinley , Homer, Seward , Girdwood, Valdez will have all the pleasures to handle in a couple weeks time. I left Ak in 88 but get back up every few years, Last trip a couple years ago I took the Mrs to Seward for a day. Had days in the upper 70s and no rain, stayed there 4 days , took local cruise, hiked mtns and glaciers ( Mt Marathon a must) , fished, and had Alaska Ambers by the fire pit at nite.

Bring lots and lots of money. Its not cheap, but well worth it, Enjoy!

Hey Dcoley

dcoley said:

I am planning a ride to Alaska from Central MIssissippi. So far it seems I will be riding solo. (My brother and an old friend cannot make the trip due to their work). However I would like another rider or two on the trip for safety reasons in event of a breakdown or something. Just to give a brief description of me: I used to ride quite a lot, and after a time, gave up riding to focus on career. I Retired in January and promptly bought a 2011 R1200GS with just over 12,000 miles. If you are interested let’s talk. If I attached photo correctly there should be 1 of my bike and pic of me.

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What’s up with your trip - I am leaving CA abt June 18th -
Want to meet up in Canada? Message me and we can talk
Curt - Sailnride

dcoley, myself and another are meeting in Montana July 18th, then heading north the next day.

You're a month ahead of us. Stay safe on your travels

How did the trip go?

So what was the outcome of this trip? I’m strongly considering Deadhorse next July and trying to learn everything I can. I assume at least one or two of you guys made it up there and would love any insight from your trip.

oneodd1 said:

So what was the outcome of this trip? I’m strongly considering Deadhorse next July and trying to learn everything I can. I assume at least one or two of you guys made it up there and would love any insight from your trip.

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Well, it's been two days and neither of the other two have responded so I'll chime in even though it's Don's thread and question to him. Another forum member and I met Don in Kalispell, Mt. and headed out the next morning taking a detour though Glacier Nat'l Park. Then entered Canada and moved up along the Alcan over the next several days arriving in Fairbanks where we stayed at the UAF dorms. The next day Don got tires on the bike at BMW. The following day we went up the haul road to the arctic circle, got our certs and pics of the bike at the sign, and headed back to Fairbanks as the weather was deteriorating further north of us.

The next day, we parted company and went our own ways. I headed south to home, another made detours further onto other Ak. roads and I'm not sure what Don did after we parted. When he sees this he can chime in on that aspect. I made 8786 miles in 19 days, 17 ride days up and back. I ran Heidenau Scouts and they performed as expected for thousands of miles of tar and hundreds of miles on dirt.

I warped the rear rotor and trashed the brake pads somehow on the way back. GS went in for service, had the Tourance next tires put back on the bike, all new fluids again and the rotor and pads replaced. Bikes back in my possession and running like a champ once again.

Overall, I had a blast, trip to remember. I'd post pics, but the issue of doing so has still not been resolved on the site where I can upload them.

Like you Brownie I was waiting for Don to respond before I added my experiences as the third person in the group. After leaving Fairbanks I headed to Denali and then Talkkeetna, from there I went to Anchorage and spent the day exploring. The next day I headed to Homer and spent a day there driving roads in the area and taking lots of pictures. Heading back north I took the Glen highway and camped in a beautiful spot along the way. I went thru Tok and on to Chicken Alaska continuing over the Top of the World and into Dawson City. I then took the Cassier with stops along the way and went to Hyder, AK. From there I stopped in Smithers BC and on to Tete Jaune which turned out to be a very amazing place. After that it was Golden BC and Lake Louise after which I decided my front tire wasn't going to make it the 2000+ miles I had to get home. I did some research and found Blackfoot Motorsports in Calgary AB. I tried to call them on Monday not realizing it was a Canadian holiday. Since I had to go thru there on the way home anyway I took a chance and showed up on their door Tuesday morning. What fantastic people! They took me in immediately and had a new front tire on and I was back on the road in less then two hours. The price was was a little over 200.00 dollars installed US which I thought was very fair. From there I made it to Great Falls Mt and three days later I was back home in Michigan.
I traveled 10704 miles in 28 days and had no mechanical issues on my 22 year old 1100rt. I met a lot of amazing people a saw so much beautiful country. I could write so much more as it truly was a trip of a lifetime. If anyone has question about doing this trip give me a shout. Jerry Emhoff

Thanks for replying and where you went after we split ways in Fairbanks. Glad to have met and rode with you sir. It was an amazing trip with lots of memories to think back on while planning the next adventure.