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Off to Alaska

2K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  JDBRIDER 
#1 ·
Leanne and I will be leaving in a few minutes. Some of you were interested in our progress so I will update this as we go. Looks like we will hit rain out west.
 
#2 ·
I am truly envious, that's a trip I have wanted to make since a started riding. Wish all the best for ya and Leanne. Have a wonderful time and take lots of pix. Maybe you will inspire me to do this next year myself !
 
#4 ·
Ken and Leanne have a great trip !!! :thumbup:

with all the not so good weather so far this year i figure its bound to finally get better just in time for your trip

yes be sure to take lots of pictures, when we did the trip i took over 500 and only deleted about 6, looking at them sure brings back some great memories !!! :thumbup:
 
#6 ·
Have a great trip and we are looking forward to updates!!!!!!

Ken and Leanne be safe out there and enjoy the flower sniffing:thumbup:
 
#8 ·
Enjoy.....Hope you have your warm clothes....you guys are leaving pretty early ........probly hit some snow on the way.

Good luck, be safe!:thumbup:
 
#10 ·
Nope. I would call them, but not sure what phone plan they have and whether or not it would cost them a lot of money. I am sure all is well, but would really like to hear from them.
 
#11 ·
My wife and I will be doing that trip beginning July 1. We will meet my brother in Salt Lake City, Utah and then ride from there to Alaska and back. Leave a trail of bread crumbs for us to follow!
 
#12 ·
My wife and I will be doing that trip beginning July 1. We will meet my brother in Salt Lake City, Utah and then ride from there to Alaska and back. Leave a trail of bread crumbs for us to follow!
Be sure to call home once in a while... :coffee1:

I am sure they are just having fun... and we're all wishing we were on the trip.... :tongue:
 
#13 ·
Thanks for all the good wishes. We are having a GREAT time. Rode in some rain to Idaho and then the first day north. The scenery from Lake Louise to Jasper Alberta was really impresive, even in the rain. Actually the Rockies are awesome anywhere. Since then the weather has been nice. Have seen snow along the road everyday since we left Idaho bun thankfully none in the air or on the road. The coldest its been was 36 degrees and raining. The raingear Gerbing heated gear is working just as it should and so are the bikes. Broke a spring on the trailer and repaired it in Grande Praire, BC. Thanks to parts from a Canadian Tire store and a guy in the Gold Book and his cordless drill. We only lost about 3 hours. Mornings have been in the 40s and highs in the 60s and 70s. Have seen lots of Elk, some Buffalo, 4 Moose, 4 Black Bear, and 2 Wolves. thankfully none on the road. Tomorrow we are taking the bus tour into Denali Park. Should be a good time. We should probably call this the A&W tour, as we hae eaten supper there just about every night. What can I say. Their burgers and onion rings are good.
Ride Safe and I'll try to post again before too long.
 
#14 ·
Man I got to get may act together one of these years and do this run. Enjoy the rest of the trip and ride safe you 2 :thumbup:
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the update Ken!!!!!!!!

It sounds like an unbelievable trip and one that you will have lifetime memories of.

You guys continue to ride safe and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#16 ·
Ken and Leanne thanks for the update ! :thumbup:

i am kinda surprised u have not seen a lot more bear, we must have seen about 30 on our trip, maybe u will see more on the way home

the A&W thing is interesting, they seem to be doing very well in Canada but almost out of bussiness in the states, we ate at a bunch of them on our trip and the food was excellent

have u been camping or moteling ? i was always a little worried about bears when camping but every campground we stayed at had barking dogs and i think that kinda helps keeps the bear away

we are all anxiously looking forward to your next report :thumbup:
 
#17 ·
Are you taking pictures? We'd love to see some! Also want to know how the bus trip in Danali went? We're thinking about doing that also if time permits.
 
#18 ·
Got home Thursday afternoon. We had a great time. Leanne and I are now experienced gravel road riders. We rode the "Top of the World HIghway" from Chicken, Ak. to Dawson City, Yukon. We went that way to avoid some very badly frost heaved road. We were told that there were 30 miles of gravel going that way. Turned out to be 100 miles of gravel. We made it OK but were spent when we got done. Changed the rear tire on my bike in Grand Forks, ND. I had a spare in the trailer on a wheel. Pulling the trailer wore out the Metzler in about 8,000 miles. Normally I get 16,000 to 18,000 miles. Did it with the bike laid on its side. Worked OK. We had a WONDERFUL time. 8166 GPS miles, Leanne's bike showed 8598 miles and Mine showed 8609 miles even though we rode the exact same route. Maybe I took the inside of the corners and she took the ooutside ???
 
#19 ·
Glad to hear you guys made it home safe. I look forward to hearing about the trip. No bear encounters I would assume. I suppose that now Leanne will harass me about miles again this year. I just turned 8353 for the year and she already has that beat. I think she should stay home till I catch up. I figured you would take a few rides in the morning to stay ahead of her. I know I would have.
 
#20 ·
How many total days was your trip. We're leaving 1 July and will have 25 days to do it. Unfortunately that will include the towing of the bike from here to Salt Lake City and back. That will only leave around 20 days for the part from SLC to Alaska and back to SLC? :cry: I want to enjoy it and I hope I won't feel like I missed too much due to not having more time?
 
#21 ·
Ken and Leanne: Good to hear that you are home safely. Looking forward to the next time we can be together for some "war stories" and pictures. We'll be heading out for SMRI on June 20 but hopefully we will see you sometime soon after that. :cool:
Ron and Mary
 
#22 ·
Glad to hear of a safe trip for ya. Please next time we are together ,bring pix and tell me to shut up and look at them. I really,really want to do that trip in future !! Be nice about it though I am sensitive :rolleyes::lol:
 
#23 ·
Ken, great to hear ya'll made it home in one piece.

I would surely like to see the photos and read any account of your adventure. I never get tired of reading about Alaska trips.

It is one of the things that keeps me going to pt, and the wellness center workouts, I would like to get healthy enough to ride to Alaska. I've been there on a boat, but that doesnt count.
 
#24 ·
Great to hear you had a safe trip and are home. I bet your experiences on the ride will leave you with many fine memories for the rest of your lifes. Really a great trip and I am glad you didn't have any major troubles. I am sooooo looking forward to hearing about your trip over pie or pizza.
 
#25 ·
Great news that you guys made it home safe and had a great trip!!!!!

You probably will have to call a RTE to show everyone all your pics and tell some stories:thumbup:
 
#26 ·
Ken, great to hear ya'll made it home in one piece.

I would surely like to see the photos and read any account of your adventure. I never get tired of reading about Alaska trips.

It is one of the things that keeps me going to pt, and the wellness center workouts, I would like to get healthy enough to ride to Alaska. I've been there on a boat, but that doesnt count.
We left Wisconsin for Sagle Idaho on May 19 and spent the weekend with relatives there. Then we left for Alaska on Monday May 23. We rode Hwy 95 to Hwy 93 in Alberta thru Lake Louise and spent our first night in Jasper, Alberta. Then we took Hwy 16 to Hwy 40 to Grande Prairie Alberta. We rode from there to Dawson Creek and then took the Alcan Hwy from there to Tok, Alaska. We rode from there thru Palmer, Alaska to Denali National Park. We spent 1 1/2 days there. We took the 8 hour bus tour, visited the dog kennel, and did some hiking. We went from there to Fairbanks where we spent 2 1/2 days. On the way to Fairbanks we stopped in a little town called Nenana. If you ever have a chance stop there go to the store across from the Visitor Center and ask for Joanne Hawkins. She is a very interesting local character. Be sure to ask her why she came to Alaska and what M&M stands for. At Fairbanks we enjoyed the Riverboat Tour, the, El Dorado Gold Mine, the Ice Museum which is about 30 miles from town, the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska. We would have went to the Botanical Gardens but it was too early in the year for them to have very much on display, and the Pioneer Park. The Pioneer Park is free and has a lot of interesting displays.
On the way home we went thru Chicken, Alaska which was a mistake. We were told that there was about 30 miles of gravel between Chicken and the border then all paved road from there to Dawson, City. Turns out that there was 40 miles of gravel from Chicken to the border then about 10 miles of paved road then another 60 miles of gravel. All the gravel we rode at about 25-30 mph. That made for a LONG ride. We saw a lot of animals and some awesome scenery. We got home on June 16. My wife and I each rode our own 1800 Goldwing I towed a trailer. We rode thru some construction but nothing that was a problem. I planned all of our Canada and Alaska gas stops in advance. Never had a problem with gas, the farthest between gas stations was 98 miles. Be ready to pay a premium price for gas when out in the boondocks. The most we paid was $1.76.9 per liter at Buckinghorse, Yukon. We each had our own camera and took about 500 pictures. It was truely a trip of a lifetime.
 
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