I am planning to depart home in Cypress (Houston), TX on June 10th and ride solo to Fairbanks, Alaska, and from there north on 500 miles of dirt road called the Dalton Highway (aka “the Haul Road”) to Prudhoe Bay. Once I get my bumper sticker at the General Store I will turn around and come home. :-) I expect the trip will cover about 10,000 miles and take at least 30 days.
My general plan is to ride west from home out to west Texas (hot and boring!) and get into New Mexico, up through Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Not sure of a route yet, I will figure it out as I go depending on the weather and what other riders tell me on the way. I plan to cross the border just west of Glacier National Park and then ride hwy 93 up to the Icefields Parkway to Jasper and on up to the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks. And I have no idea how I will come back, except I would like to stop and see my sister and BIL in Camas (Vancouver), WA. Maybe a stop in Jackson Hole, WY if the timing works out.
On this email list are past riding friends from Kansas, neighbors (in Kansas and Texas), former work and flying club associates, family members including my 11 year old nephew (hi Jake!), and the previous owner of the bike I am riding (thanks Will!).
I will camp most of the way with a hotel stay every 4 days or so – again depending on the weather and circumstances. I will stay in campgrounds as well as some “adventure camping” along the way. I have enough provisions for about half the trip so I will eat out the rest of the time.
I will also carry a SPOT personal GPS tracking device (like I used last year). It will update my position every 10 minutes via satellite and then update a map so you can watch my progress if you are so inclined.
I’m not sure yet how often I will be able to send out email updates via email here. Many places I will camp will be remote with likely little or no cell phone service. Also, I will not use my cell phone in Canada but I should have access once in a while via wifi. I might send out an email or I might just update my blog, or I might wait till the next day if I am tired! Details and links to follow.
I have been listening to fellow bikers talk about going to Alaska for 3 years. I kinda thought about it last year, then started reading trip reports and travel logs on the Internet forums and began to think I might actually be able to do it. I got serious last summer or fall sometime and then researched and found a bike specifically for the trip. I bought the bike last October from Nashville and rode it home. I have been slowly modifying it and adding equipment (“farkles”) over the winter and spring. Over the last several months I have been gathering more personal equipment together and I am now doing final maintenance and service on it (new tires, chain and sprockets, air filter, plugs, oil change, etc, etc). It is almost time to go and I can almost start to feel it.
