Search the Community

I just recently moved a bunch of content to my other website and figured I would share a long buried ride report from 2013 when a buddy and I rode to Alaska. Everything also posted here. Enjoy! --- Day summary: Start location: San Francisco, California End location: Tacoma, Washington Miles: 816.3 Route GPX 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. Soon enough, around 5:30 am PST we were on the road for Tacoma. Gregg and I planned this day to be (one of) the longest. The rationalization you ask? Portland/Seattle are relatively close compared to Alaska, we knew that we could always organize trips to those states/cities later on. We were focused on the prize: Alaska proper. Daily report: Note 3/3: I’ve moved the full detailed Google Map to the routes page. 07:50 - first stop in Orlando, CA. We filled up on gas and also rolled down the street to the Subway. We ended up buying some breakfast and a foot long sub each so we could munch on a half as we continued to make our stops. Tip: requesting the Subway employee to wrap the halves separately made consuming them in stages more efficient. Especially when your hands are gross from your gloves and fueling up. 11:20 - stopped in Ashland, Oregon to get fuel. One of the main things I didn’t realize was that the northern part of California and the southern portion of Oregon is quite pretty (especially in and around Mt. Shasta National Park). 17:54 - stopped in Winlock, Washington for more fuel. Here’s where we made our first boo boo: as we pulled off the freeway exit a motorcycle cop happened to be coming in the other direction. I thought nothing of it and headed toward the gas station. By the time I pulled in the gas station I looked around and the cop behind Gregg on the side of the road with his lights on. (Ut oh.) The officer proceeded to ask Gregg where we were coming and where we were going. He explained to Gregg that it’s a $140 dollar ticket in Washington to roll through a stopsign (or in our case perform a California Stop). “You wouldn’t want that ticket would you?” he asked as Gregg replied “No sir!!” He proceeded to tell Gregg to cut it out until we get to Canada. And with that admonition, he got back on his bike and rode down the road in the same direction he was originally traveling. (Whew, trafic ticket averted.) Tip: Most of the local governments and even state governments are hungry for revenue. Be careful while riding through these states! Anyway, we pulled in fueled up and took off for Tacoma shortly after. 19:00: last stop! Tacoma, Washington. We decided to rock the Howard Johnson for the night. (Figuring we would do about the same amount of miles the next day) We dropped off our stuff and rode down to Patty’s Burgers. It’s too bad I didn’t know about it before but Patty’s is particularly known for their “Cake Burger” which is composed of 7 hamburger patties! I ended up settling for the Reuben but maybe next time Patty…

Harley and dirt bike rider who is new to the ADV world. Bought a 2017 1090 KTM to ride from my home in Montana to Alaska in the early summer of 2018. Excited for the adventure.

Over the last week I was finally able to get out with my kit, old and new items, to do a shakedown ride on my Africa Twin. I'm in Alaska so I figured I'd just check off a couple of the locations that I usually do annual camping trips to. I rode from Palmer to Homer, stayed the night and continued to McCarthy. As I was leaving McCarthy, a brother told me he was going to fly to a nearby airstrip and wanted to take his kids camping. I decided to try to get my AT back to the campsite knowing he was going to be using a UTV in 4WD to get there. I made it. It wasn't easy riding though. If it was, I'd have been bored anyway. Several steep climbs that are covered with fist sized round rocks that offer little to no traction and love to kick your tires in different directions. Most of the trail was ATV troughs that you can't ride the crown between and are forced to be beaten by the brush while riding down in the rut on one side or the other. Several muddles that were completely rutted forcing you to ride down in a rut, the bottom of the holes are mud and the rear tire just churns it's way through while you walk and push with your feet as well. Overall, it was a freaking blast. I wasn't able to continue my trip up on to the Denali Highway because the days that I was going to go, it snowed. Not just a small flurry, a few inches. hahah. Welcome to Alaska. Picture captions: 1- Bike prep shop rate with your buddy equals whiskey. 2- Fresh tires that will hopefully last for the shakedown ride as well as my ride from Alaska to Key West, Florida in a couple weeks. 3- Homer, Alaska offers some truly incredible views. 4- Beauty and the Beast. The AT looking pretty and the lady growling at a bottle of wine trying to open it. She hates mototravel and wants to overland in a kitted out 4Runner. I fully support having a support vehicle for my mototravels. hahaha 5- Even in the COLD ocean winds here, Homer shoreline campsites are incredibly peaceful. 6- Staying properly hydrated is important. First watering hole while riding north from Homer. St. Elias Brewing, decent beer but not my favorite. It'll do. 7- Off road a bit to warm me up by getting the blood flowing. It snowed on me as I rode through the pass. 8- Second watering hole while continuing northbound. Girdwood Brewing, GREAT BEER! If you come to Alaska and find yourself in the area, you must stop in. 9- Third watering hole. I'm thirsty. Stop judging me. Midnight Sun Brewery, great beer, great food, awesome place. Don't miss it. 10- Continuing north via the Glenn Highway to work my way to McCarthy/Kennicott. Orange Mountain. Highly creative name. 11- Yes, that's another bottle of wine she has. That's how she tolerates me. 12- I made a fire with grass and twigs without the use of a road flare and gasoline. I cooked meat on a stick over the fire. I drank beer and hung out with my motorcycle. This was all a manliness checklist according to the lady. haha! 13- The departure morning. I was all packed up and ready to leave but just felt like hanging out a bit longer. The grey and hazy skies weren't much to look at but just chilling on a river bank sure can clear your mind though. 14- "I wonder where this trail goes." It was just a short distance and lead to the old railway that used to run all the way to the Kennicott copper mine. At one point, the largest copper mine in the world. 15- When we got to our campsite, my nephew asks if he can pull his tooth out because it's loose and annoying him. Then he did. He went full savage on his mouth and ripped it out. Lil' stud. 16- I tried to capture a little moment of the boys and their dad enjoying the fire, overlooking the valley and the mountains just poking through the one opening in the clouds. 17 & 18- The kids love fishing but it's a serious test of patience with the constant "Dad, it's snagged again." "Dad, somethings wrong." "Dad, it's tangled again." Luckily, they kept asking their dad to help and I was free to continue playing with the camera. haha 19- 'Seeing your friend off at the airport' is a little different in rural Alaska. He and I are best friends but have very different preferences in preferred mode of travel. However, he's recently been saying that he wants to try out bikes and see what it's all about. Muahaha.. I'm a good influence on others. ;-) 20- Alaska has mountains. This is just a small one too. 21- I stole fruit packets from the ladies' cooler she had in her SUV before she left. 22- I love exploring the abandoned sections of old highways. This section was part of the old Glenn Highway and I actually remember driving on it as a kid when the family would make a trip to Anchorage. 23 & 24- Matanuska Glacier shots. IMG_5296.mov IMG_5330.MOV