ride update

Day 21 and our (almost) iron butt ride awaits. Lets do this thing!

When life gives you Alaskan ferries, take pictures.

More about day 20 right below!

Another day on the boat. The weather goes sour, we get soggy, and we get to visit the brothels of Ketchikan. Day 19, your time has come!

The boat was underway and all we could do at this point was wait. We may have been stuck but we managed to make the most out of our time. More about what we did after the break..

A new day, a new adventure! We pack up, head into town, and wait for the Ferry. Day 17. Lets rock and roll!

Rain. The Bringer of Life. Rain. The Bringer of Flash Floods. Rain. The Bringer of Wet Socks. Rain. The Bringer or Boring Days.

Rain. We woke up very much the same way we fell asleep with rain tapping on the roof of the tent. We still managed some adventure once the rain broke. Day 16 is here!

Our ride from Tok to Haines was horrible and beautiful at the same time. I guess it was too much to ask for perfect weather the whole three weeks. Nevertheless we trucked on. To Haines!

After a restful night at the campgrounds behind House of Harley, we got packing. We were to make a Wal-Mart stop and then hit the road for Tok. Our riding portion of the adventure was almost over..

It was another beautiful day in Alaska. We had just concluded our one night stay in Homer. We had figured, by this point, we were sufficiently far enough away from Haines that we should slowly head back (almost 1000 miles). There was still much more to see though! There were a few stops left on our list and both were worth it. Day 13 here we come.

A preview of things to come. We enjoyed Seward but there was much more to see. More about Day 12 after the break..

Day 11 was a bit of a rest day. After sleeping about 12 hours we did decide to keep trucking. There was much to do and not enough time to do it all. More after the break..

After surviving a day of hell, we knew we needed a break. Our target destination for the day: Anchorage.

Daily report:

Still a little weary from the day before, we packed up and got back on the bikes. We then proceeded to ride back the way we came. Back to Glenallen, back to that darn Thai food truck.

80% of the pictures I took with my cell phone didn't really serve justice. Just take my word for it it was beautiful. We survived a night camping out on the Denali. It definitely got the coldest here that night. We were prepared though with lots of warm clothing (and worst case, our motorcycle gear). By the morning the clouds rolled in and we couldn't see much. So, after a light breakfast we begrudgingly broke down camp.

Selling a motorcycle be a bit nerve-wracking the first time you do it. In this article, you learn actionable tips and tricks to get selling motorcycle right the first time.

Note 3/27: this is a repost back from September 3, 2013. Enjoy!

We woke up to sun to subtle drips and taps on the top of the tent. (Ugg. Rain.) We had enough of the Arctic Circle. We packed up with haste and began our journey back down to Fairbanks (and beyond). More info about Day 8 after the break..

Note 3/17: this is a repost back from September 2, 2013. Enjoy!

Rumor had it it was raining in Anchorage. Rain is a good thing but not when you're riding your motorcycle through it. We decided to book for Fairbanks. Our final target: The Arctic Circle.

Note 3/17: this is a repost back from September 1, 2013. Enjoy!

Top of the World highway was reccomended to us from the guy who originally owned Gregg's motorcycle. He said "if there is one thing you shouldn't miss don't miss the Top of the World Highway." So if it's not obvious enough, we chose this to be our experience entering Alaska for the first time. More info past the break.

Note 3/17: this is a repost back from August 31, 2013. Enjoy!

After another night of successful camping, we were on the road again. Destination: Dawson City.

Note: originally posted on 8-29-2013.

We had our eye on the prize, Yukon territory. It was a bit of a stretch from Vanderhoof but we were naive. So we packed up our stuff and headed back out on the road not knowing what the day would have in store for us...

Note 3/5: this is a repost back from August 28, 2013. Enjoy! We were off and running early in the morning. We knew it was to be another long day in addition to crossing into Canada. See the route and log below for more info.

Note 3/3: this is a repost back from August 27, 2013. Enjoy!

The adventure begins.

It's 4:30am and you're stumbling around in the dark attempting to prevent the weight of your eyelids from pulling you back into a deep slumber. The motorcycle gear seems harder to put on. ("Did I snap those damn buttons incorrectly, again!?"). In your head you know you're ready for what is about to come next but you aren't quite ready to leave. You feel the sharp vibrations of your phone in your motorcycle jacket pocket; you know it's time to go.

Note: this is a repost back from August 26, 2013. Feel free to follow along!

The Bike!

Both Gregg and I own the BMW R1150GS (both 2000 model year). I was apprehensive about upgrading from a 2002 F650GS at first because of the size but was soon convinced after purchasing that it was one of the best decisions I made for this trip. The 1150GS is meant for long haul trips over gravel, dirt and, of course, pavement. The model year design was moderately simplistic compared to some of the newer bikes. (2002-2004 versions have servo brakes which are known to cause problems, etc.) One of the main benefits of owning the same bike is that we have the same gas mileage and the fact that we can easily carry one set of emergency replacement parts should we need them.

Note: This post was original posted on August 25, 2013 after arriving back from this trip. Follow along! As you may or may not know, Gregg G. and I just finished our trip to Alaska. We rode our motorcycles approximately 7081 miles in just 3 weeks! We took tons of pictures and videos of which some came out quite well. (I can't wait to share) Most importantly of all, we met some great people and forged some great memories that will stick with us for a lifetime!

One thing that I enjoy seeking out in the northwest is the paved mountain roads that zig and zag up and down the mountainous region. They're welcoming and just have enough space to enjoy cruising. Once you're on one of these roads it's just you and nature. No worries about losing tracking. No worries about getting some foreign object stuck in your tire. The focus is 100% on the ride and it's up to the rider on how fast or slow they want to go.

After a few days spent in Portland, it was time to get back on the road. My throttle hand was itching to get back to its rightful place. But first, the trip from Portland to Eugene..

Not too much of an update here but I did want to highlight some of the cool places I went to eat and also the places I explored!

Tow truck rides are always interesting. You don't quite know whats going transpire as you chug along down the road. Does your tow truck driver like plushy dolls but is burly and covered in tattoos? Is he a member of the local motorcycle gang? Does he rock a side gig of dressing like a clown for kid's birthday parties?

Being on the road can be filled with fun but it also can be filled with problems. Broken motorcycles == broken hearts if you know what i mean. ;)

During the first leg of my journey, I was called to the dirt. I had spent plenty of time poking around on the pavement. I was seeing awesome places like Crater Lake, beautiful mountain passes and quaint (but really warm) valleys. Luckily, in Oregon, dirt and gravel are as common as ever so it was easy to find a road to spend some time on.

Sometimes you really love a place enough to stay a little bit longer than you expected. Crater Lake on Day 7 happened to be that place.

So i'm still trying to figure out what format works best for these posts. I have limited time to write, edit and also adventure. Most posts I will at least include the following:

1. Lessons learned
2. Useful tips and tricks
3. Reviews and/or links to places and resources

In my quest to find something new and different to do, I find myself wine tasting in the valleys of Oregon and talking about the properties of the abundant backcountry wood. On top of it all it was the first day I found myself off the intended road I wanted to take and into some place even cooler.

My day started at Clam Beach where I bid adieu to barking dogs and loud families. I wanted to get away from the coast which was cloudy and cold for most of my trip. I pulled out the map and it looked like a route running through the Cascades would be my best bet.

I head north after briefly enjoying Westport. The next destination? The Avenue of the Giants and Eureka. I had already been to this area around 3.5-4 years ago when I rode with a buddy from San Francisco.

Fort Brag you've saved my opinion of northwestern California coast. I almost gave up on it completely until I rolled through your pearly gates*.

* No gates or pearls

I wanted to make a point to discuss something that I think plagues lots of people: the act of being busy but without purpose. For me, my worry was (and still is) to continue on without soaking in the place I may be staying in.

I just spent the past 2 weeks selling my life away. Starting tomorrow morning I will be living with only the things that will fit in my motorcycle luggage. My first day free from worldly things has already proved to be interesting...