Re-tired. part 4 Ak.

I'll need new tires before the trip is over so I had called this place previous to leaving home. They had a set of Metz Tourances waiting for me. Not only that, but they let Beverly mail the controller to them and held it for me even though they wouldn't make a dime on it, nice dealer!

 Then I visited the cultural center to learn more about the road to Deadhorse. What I learned is that the road is still muddy, flooded in spots, and "you'll be OK, just watch for the icy places..." 

"Thanks" I said, "I'm on a motorcycle." "Ohhh..." she replied, "Make sure you ride slow.."

 On the way back to my lodging I stop at the North Pole.

 Back on Eielson AFB where I'm staying.

Then I'm off for a day ride the next morning - Destination; Minto, a tiny spot I saw on my map.

But first a stop for a photo of the famous pipeline.

 Then a pic of the famous Dalton Highway sign.

 Then after 60 miles of dirt, I make a visit to the village of Minto

I buy an Almond Joy and a can of V-8 and soon start my return trip to my lodging.

 The Cemetery.

And back to my lodging.
Tomorrow I ride to Coldfoot and on to Deadhorse on Saturday

Ginger gets laid (down) part 5 Ak

I leave Fairbanks to ride to Wiseman where Beverly has reserved me a cabin for two nights. Wiseman is 250 miles south of Deadhorse and is the last place (before Deadhorse) that I can get lodging.

The Yukon River bridge is being worked on so traffic is stopped in both directions for 4 hours.  

 On my way again, I stop for this picture.

 Gas and grub stop at Coldfoot.

 Gassed and fed I ride onto Wiseman, this Cessna belongs to the owner of the cabin I'm staying at.

 My home for the next two nights.

The next morning

I leave the cabin at 6:00 am to ride the 250 miles to Deadhorse.

 On my way out of Wiseman I snap a picture of the post office..

 A couple miles out of town this wolverine was standing in the road, I had an excellent view of his side and the goldish stripe. Unfortunately by the time I could stop and take a pic he was to far  into the woods to get a decent shot. 

 I met this handsome couple yesterday while waiting for the bridge construction to open. Casey and Katey (sp?), they are hunting caribou and black bear. When I saw their camp I had to stop and say hello. Notice two bows...Casey is a lucky guy! 

Another fox..

.

 Annnnnnnnd finally Deadhorse. The whole town was a giant puddle. Lots of hardy people making a living there.

A kind of cool thing... As I was riding north, I was told numerous times by locals along the way, "You're the first bike this year". I didn't plan that or even think about it until people started telling me that. Soooooo yes, I thought it was a very cool thing to be "the first bike this year"!

 I have the photo, bought a snickers and some jerky - it's time to head back to my lodging. 

 From the time I had passed on my way north to now making my way south, three avalanches had come down (see the fresh snow on the right) and gone all the way across the road and been cleared by the Alaska DOT.

 I make it back to the cabin at 10:00 pm. 16 hours in the saddle and a super day of riding.

The next morning I'm southbound again heading to Fairbanks, 270 miles down the road.

 Conditions aren't optimal..

 Even so, things were going fine, I was about 80 miles from the end of the Dalton when I hit a very slick stretch of mud...I started to swerve...

And ended up here. I didn't break any bones, but was bruised and sore. Ginger on the other hand... 

The Kindness of strangers;

I can't overstate how much I appreciate the help I received from the Alaska DOT guys. From the two that gathered me up and put my bike in a safe spot, to the crew at Maintenance facility 7 who allowed me to take over a corner of their office while I awaited rescue. Thanks Donny and Brian and crew.

A thanks also to John, another new friend I met the day before at the bridge closure, for being a resource and the offer of a room and use of his shop.

Thirdly a huge thank-you to Ezra who put his life on hold and drove 300 miles on a rough road to load my bike, gear and me in his truck and deliver me to my hotel.

Lastly and most importantly Thank-you to my home support team, Kaybi, (lead calmer-downer), Jacob (head rescue truck arranger), and of course Beverly, who takes these things in stride and doesn't change the door locks while I'm gone..

I am truly Blessed.

South bound. Ak part 6

Soooo.....the long break between posts: In the crash a water bottle burst in my top box soaking everything there, including my laptop. That, combined with the impact of the crash, and some "tapping" to encourage it to wake up the next day....caused it to die. I was without computer other than my waaay smart phone for the rest of the trip.

Anyway...after the crash, at the behest of the insurance company I took Ginger to a motorcycle store to be evaluated for repair costs. I took her back to Northland Power Sports that had installed my tires before I went up the Dalton. They did the assessment and .....Ginger was totaled. 

What to do??? Fly home with my tail between my legs, or find another bike to finish the trip on. I was pondering my options when I noticed this beauty on the showroom floor. She's a Strom just like Ginger (and just like Blue and Gen) but unlike Ginger she is a DL1000A

I got Bev's approval and worked a deal with Craig at Northland.

 In the meantime, another moto-blogger, Richard (RichardM in the "blogs I follow" list) who lives Fairbanks, contacted me and invited me to dinner. When he said, "We'll BBQ something....." THIS is what he meant....WOW! I was starving when I arrived and fat and happy when I left.

 Richard invited another friend, Bruce (if I remember correctly, I should have written it down) Both of them have Ural's with hacks. Richard also has a BMW with a hack. Those things look like a TON of fun!

 After a great meal, and excellent conversation I'm on my way back to my lodging for a couple hours sleep before I need to be to the airport at 10:50pm....

Thank you Richard (center) for a well needed relaxing evening!

 Why do I need to be at the airport? Well, Strom buddy Adrian aka Snownut has bought Ginger as a salvage title. He will fly in, get Ginger road worthy and ride her a few days southward with me.
Adrians story here: http://akhatch.blogspot.com/

And here is the new bike loaded up and ready to travel.

You might be thinking; 'Tombstone, why didn't you order some panniers to use on your trip home?'

Welllll.....................I did.

As soon as the decision was made to buy the new bike I called ADV Motorrad in New York and talked to Jason (the owner) about a  BUMOT luggage system. I told him my plight and he jumped to action. He told me he would have my order in the mail in less than an hour - and he did! He also had researched several shipping options so I could get the best price and have them arrive in a reasonable time. Sure enough they would arrive Saturday at the North Pole Post office, North Pole is a small town just outside of Fairbanks.

Ezra, the guy that had driven his truck up the Dalton to rescue me after my crash, and had let me use his truck to run the errands needed to do to get both bikes taken care of, gave me the ok to have the luggage shipped to his address. (He has a PO box at the post office)

Saturday came and since I was doing other work on the bike I didn't go to the post office until about 2:30 Sadly the North Pole branch closes on Saturday at 2:00....dang it! I'll  need to be there Monday morning first thing when they open.

Which I was. I asked for my packages and after checking in the back, the postal woman told me my packages weren't there.

I told her I had received confirmation stating the luggage had arrived at the North Pole Post branch, and after some more checking and she informed me that since Ezra's PO box isn't big enough to fit the luggage in they sent them back on the truck they came on.

"You didn't even keep it one day?" I asked.

"Ohhhhh nooooooo" she replied, as if I was a total dunce to suggest such a thing.

"Can I go to the Anchorage branch (where the truck was now headed) and get my luggage there?" I asked.

"Nooooo" she said, crinkling her brow at my stupidness, "we can't re-direct a shipment once it's in route."

"So my package is on it's way BACK to New York?" I asked.

"Well yes...." she said.

**.....sigh.....**

I know there are a lot of very good employees who work for the postal service, unfortunately none of those ones work at the North Pole branch....who's store motto is: "Neither thinking, nor reasoning, nor rational thought will interfere with us idling our way to retirement."

Ohhhh well, Adrian and I get the bikes ready and depart North Pole, beginning our trip home on Monday afternoon. 

 I took this photo on my way north...

 And here is the same place on my way south....

 Another comparo shot, north bound...

And south bound...

 One more northbound...

 South bound...

And a scenic pic.

More in part 7

Home. Ak part 7

A map of the second half of the ride.

 I'm riding alone as Adrian had to bust out some long days so he could get back to work.

I stop here for some hot coffee. 

  

 I ride to Stewart, BC to stay the night.

The Bear Glacier a few miles before Stewart.

 Leaving Stewart I go off a side road and end up wandering through this tiny First Nation village. The tall totem poles were incredible!

 The next two days find me riding in the Alberta province, past Jasper, and Banff, then into the US.

 Big horn sheep.

Lots and lots of rain, so the camera stays in the pocket.

 I make it home May 28th.

 This was a super trip and adventure. 8300 miles, 31 days, a million smiles!