We have made it to Alaska.

[threevalks]

       Jane and I left West Virginia June 10, rode to Chicago to start the route 66 Mother road Rally. We joined 56 other bikes for 12 days on Route 66 to Santa Monica Pier, Ca. From there we headed north with 7 couples including our VRCC brother and sister Robin and Judy. Three days later Robin, Judy and New York George & Judy dropped off to continue their separate rides home. The 5 remaining couples continued on to Alaska.
         We have taken the Alaskan Highway thru British Columbia and the Yukon. We visited Dalson City for 2 days, returned to White Horse YT, then to Beaver Creek YT. After 28 days and 7100 miles. (Jane ain't killed me YET) we crossed the border into Alaska and rode to Chicken, turned around and rode to Tok to spend the night. We're headed to Valdez tomorrow. Then 9 more days in Alaska before going to Glacier National park and parts yet to be determined.
         As our main man Bruce said after his trip up here last year, if you're thinking about riding to Alaska. Do It, you will not be disapointed. You will not believe the amazing beauty of this great continent. This size of it is mind boggling. Snow covered mountain tops, lakes upon lakes, spruce trees large and small. We have met people from all over the world, bikers, motor home campers, blue hair bus tours, and best of all locals, and as Will Rogers said, I never met a man I didn't like.
          The roads have been great, compared to what I've heard for years. The are a few rough spots, a few off and on miles of gravel, but really not all that bad. I am yet to bottom out. The road to Chicken has so far been the worst we've traveled to date, quite a bit of gravel and washboard.
          So far we have not been attacked by bugs, though the bike does babe a pretty good collection each evening. Unlike Bruce I have started off each day with a somewhat clean bike so I can collect a fresh batch.
           Weather wise, the temps have been high 40's in the mornings to mid 70's in the afternoon. We've had maybe 12-15 hours of off on light rain since leaving the US. It looks like it rains all the time in Valdez, so our rain time may go sour tomorrow.
            I know I should post pics, but I am doing this on a tablet. With all the hoops you need to jump through, I'm not computer savvy enough to resize this, download that, etc, etc, etc.
 Maybe I need to take a picture posting class from Dennis.
             One last quote from Bruce, and I'm outa here. If you are considering riding to Alaska, don't just talk about, DO IT. Start saving you Nickels and dimes, cause it's pricey.

[DirtyDan]

Congratulations

Dan

[Pappy!]

Wow...impressive is almost not a good enough word for your trip so far. Way to go and keep us posted.

[msb]

What an amazing ride so far...congrats!!!  My eldest daughter lives in Fort St John, which you would've ridden through on your way up. If you're returning through BC and  have any questions about must-see routes, etc, please don't hesitate to drop me a PM or contact me through the General forum here...I'd be more than happy to help out 

Mike

[DDT (12)]

Keith,

I've been wondering how y'all were doing! I've almost PMed you a couple of times... glad I waited now... Your post is a welcome update/progress report, so thanks for that. As for the pictures, don't let that hurdle keep you from checking in with us from time to time... your 'word pictures' will do for now...

I'm glad y'all are having a large time, and that you've found the roads to be tolerable... That was a most pleasant surprise for me last summer! Lots more for y'all to see and do, so please check in now and then and let us know about the big adventure!!! There are a bunch of us jealous friends of yours with inquiring minds!

DDT

[Valkorado]

Yup, a tad green after reading that!

[threevalks]

Dan,
       Thank you. We spent one night in Kingman on Route 66 ride.

Pappy,
        I will try to keep you all updated.

MSB,
         As I'm sure you already know, your providence in one amazing place. When we first came into BC  I would have bet that the mountains were at least 5000 foot elevation. I was shocked when the GPS said 1000 and under.

Bruce, 
          Your stories are the reason we are on this trip, can't thank you enough. I will give a progress report from time to time. I figured you would have talked Dennis and Mitch into escaping with their passports by now.
          PS I'm planning on doing some investigating when we get to Cooper's Landing.

Valkorado,
           Colorado is one of four of the lower 48 that I have yet to ride in. I don't think we will make it this year, but am planning on it next year, along with Utah, North Dakota, and Nebraska.

[mojo]

Safe travels Keith & Jane.  You worked hard all your life and saved for this! 

[KUGO]

Wow, I too am envious and hope all goes well for you two.  I was there in the ‘80s at exactly the same time of year for a two-week excursion.  (Not on the bike.  Flew in and rented a motorhome.)  Had the time of our lives.  Spend as much time as you possibly can while you’re already there, regardless of your budget, and try to soak up each and every unique experience that the state offers.  You may not get to go back.

Near Denali National Park, a must-see, we met an older couple (uh, actually, I was just younger then) on a fully-laden Goldwing from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  I grew up 25 miles away in Iowa City, and was impressed.  She had lost her contact lenses sometime just before they crossed the Alaskan state line.  They had been up there for eight days already and she couldn’t see a dang thing the entire time!  He’d have to tell her, “Oh, there’s a moose!  Oh, there’s a bear!  Oh, there’s a mountain!” the whole way.  Never found out if they made it back to Cedar Rapids as a couple or not.

Tips (which I hope are not too late to be of any use):

Yes, it IS expensive.  Costs a lot to get anything up there, obviously, and then costs more to those who want/need the stuff sold back to them (food, gas, everything), but the trade-off this time of year is the near-constant sunlight.  (We set off fireworks into a huge canyon at 2 AM on the “night” of July 4th, after playing volleyball until well after midnight, all with sunlight still keeping things semi-lit.  Fun!)

Depending on what you’re up to (camping?/motels?), mosquitoes can be worse than brutal.  They have specimens that look like pterodactyls in little Lucite blocks on key-chains with the words “I Gave Blood in Alaska” imprinted.  Seriously.

Back to camping/hiking: it can be dangerous.  Follow all food rules, “stay out” areas, etc. as if they were important.  I could give you a couple of funny stories about my experiences up there, but I’ll wait until you get home safe before I share.  I’m not trying to take away your fun!
 
Gas up whenever you get the opportunity when going off the “beaten path”, which is not as evident as you may be used to.  Gas stations/restaurants can be very sparse, depending on where you head.  (I remember thinking at the time, while behind the wheel of a monster motorhome with a gas-tank that required second/third mortgages when filling up, that my bike, with a slightly 100+ mile range at the time, would never make it w/o additional gas brought along.) 

Gravel roads are NOT the same as here in the rural Midwest.  The individual pieces of gravel can be really large, some slippery-round, some razor-sharp, so just know what your tires and bike (and you) are capable of and be prepared for flats.  People who may occasionally drive by are usually helpful in a pinch.  They seem to kind of have a “code” up there to survive.  They also don’t seem to “suffer fools lightly”, either.  “Don’t go where ya don’t know.”  I have a friend there who is a professional hunting/fishing guide, complete with float-plane, who gave us a week-long tour beyond belief.  He impressed upon me that there really are things you’d better pay attention to.  He flew me hundreds of miles over areas WAY back into the hinterlands and we could see crashed aircraft deep in the woods, some of WWII vintage, that he said no one knows the stories about.  There’s no one up there to save your butt when you need it, and I don’t care what apps you have in your smart phone.

There are some roads that are just the opposite of what I described above, with stunningly beautiful scenery, smooth pavement and sweeping curves.  What could be any better?  Just don’t get numbed into not watching for moose around those curves.  Re-read that last sentence as many times as necessary, and if traveling after “dark”, ask yourself, “why didn’t I read that one more time?”

Best to both of you, ride safely, and thank you for sharing your experiences from up there.  Especially with your limited access/tablet posts.  More people should put that place on their bucket lists.  If they had only known how amazingly varied their experiences can be in that vast state, they’d have put that much higher on the list!  Bravo to you guys!!

[Wizzard]

Wow, I too am envious and hope all goes well for you two.  I was there in the ‘80s at exactly the same time of year for a two-week excursion.  (Not on the bike.  Flew in and rented a motorhome.)  Had the time of our lives.  Spend as much time as you possibly can while you’re already there, regardless of your budget, and try to soak up each and every unique experience that the state offers.  You may not get to go back.

Near Denali National Park, a must-see, we met an older couple (uh, actually, I was just younger then) on a fully-laden Goldwing from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  I grew up 25 miles away in Iowa City, and was impressed.  She had lost her contact lenses sometime just before they crossed the Alaskan state line.  They had been up there for eight days already and she couldn’t see a dang thing the entire time!  He’d have to tell her, “Oh, there’s a moose!  Oh, there’s a bear!  Oh, there’s a mountain!” the whole way.  Never found out if they made it back to Cedar Rapids as a couple or not.

Tips (which I hope are not too late to be of any use):

Yes, it IS expensive.  Costs a lot to get anything up there, obviously, and then costs more to those who want/need the stuff sold back to them (food, gas, everything), but the trade-off this time of year is the near-constant sunlight.  (We set off fireworks into a huge canyon at 2 AM on the “night” of July 4th, after playing volleyball until well after midnight, all with sunlight still keeping things semi-lit.  Fun!)

Depending on what you’re up to (camping?/motels?), mosquitoes can be worse than brutal.  They have specimens that look like pterodactyls in little Lucite blocks on key-chains with the words “I Gave Blood in Alaska” imprinted.  Seriously.

Back to camping/hiking: it can be dangerous.  Follow all food rules, “stay out” areas, etc. as if they were important.  I could give you a couple of funny stories about my experiences up there, but I’ll wait until you get home safe before I share.  I’m not trying to take away your fun!
 
Gas up whenever you get the opportunity when going off the “beaten path”, which is not as evident as you may be used to.  Gas stations/restaurants can be very sparse, depending on where you head.  (I remember thinking at the time, while behind the wheel of a monster motorhome with a gas-tank that required second/third mortgages when filling up, that my bike, with a slightly 100+ mile range at the time, would never make it w/o additional gas brought along.) 

Gravel roads are NOT the same as here in the rural Midwest.  The individual pieces of gravel can be really large, some slippery-round, some razor-sharp, so just know what your tires and bike (and you) are capable of and be prepared for flats.  People who may occasionally drive by are usually helpful in a pinch.  They seem to kind of have a “code” up there to survive.  They also don’t seem to “suffer fools lightly”, either.  “Don’t go where ya don’t know.”  I have a friend there who is a professional hunting/fishing guide, complete with float-plane, who gave us a week-long tour beyond belief.  He impressed upon me that there really are things you’d better pay attention to.  He flew me hundreds of miles over areas WAY back into the hinterlands and we could see crashed aircraft deep in the woods, some of WWII vintage, that he said no one knows the stories about.  There’s no one up there to save your butt when you need it, and I don’t care what apps you have in your smart phone.

There are some roads that are just the opposite of what I described above, with stunningly beautiful scenery, smooth pavement and sweeping curves.  What could be any better?  Just don’t get numbed into not watching for moose around those curves.  Re-read that last sentence as many times as necessary, and if traveling after “dark”, ask yourself, “why didn’t I read that one more time?”

Best to both of you, ride safely, and thank you for sharing your experiences from up there.  Especially with your limited access/tablet posts.  More people should put that place on their bucket lists.  If they had only known how amazingly varied their experiences can be in that vast state, they’d have put that much higher on the list!  Bravo to you guys!!

Amen to all that after having done it 2 summers ago

[Daniel Meyer]

Congrats! My favorite ride of all time (so far). I want to do it again someday.

Life-changing!

[robin]

Nice report Keith glad ya made it we had a great ride ourselves and now are 900 miles from home we will see ya in Sparta and talk

[The emperor has no clothes]

Are you guys going to make it down to the Kenai Peninsula ?

[3fan4life]

Sounds like you guys are enjoying the ride of  lifetime. 

I'm glad that you're getting to enjoy it!

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Been following you on FB . Awesome trip my friend.

[bludragon]

Congrats on such an impressive  trip.