Jasons June Ride Report

[AKJason]

Our quiet little Alaska chapter board never gets any chatter, so I thought I would attempt an advrider.com style "ride report" here. So, here goes. If you haven't read one before, ride reports are supposed to either feature good writing, or else good photography, and generally be about a motorcycle adventure. Sadly, this one will feature crappy writing and poor photography. Beggars can't be choosers :lol:

So I promised myself that in June by golly I would make a big bike trip. This trip would involve camping in a tent, and I would try to be as spontaneous and flexible as I could. I haven't camped in a tent in 20+ years, and I'm not very good at that spontenaity thing. So there you have it.

Naturally, I spent hours studying weather forecasts (http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=99701), checking out dozens of excellent FAA webcams (http://akweathercams.faa.gov/) and of course studying road surface temperatures and webcams (http://www.dot.state.ak.us/iways/roadweather/forms/AreaSelectForm.html?wp_ml=0). This was quite spontaneous of me, I assure you! :lol: Anyway, the weather looked good this weekend, so off I went.

I packed up my gear, suited up, and got ready to go:

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8613.jpg

Even the view going down my driveway was encouraging...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8615.jpg

More to come....

[AKJason]

I passed through North Pole and all the construction therein. They are adding more overpasses which is good for safety's sake, those stop signs crossing the Richardson highway are awful. Will North Pole wither on the vine like American small towns bypassed by newfangled Interstate highways?

The view along the base is awesome as they were kind enough to build their runway right next to the highway, and then they even mowed down all the trees for us. About the only thing they haven't done is setup lawn chairs and beach umbrellas for us spectators. Of course I could not take any pictures because the signs told me so. I found this photo in a brochure, it looks similar to what I saw:

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8618.jpg

The ride to Delta was great. Beautiful weather, and I was just getting going. You see, I put in extra hours earlier this week so I could take Friday off without using a vacation day. I was stoked because I was starting my adventure with a whole extra day full of possibilities. Al and Kent had responded to my messages and I was starting to get pretty excited about getting around to see you guys. Since I have about a 1 gallon gas tank, I had to stop for gas in Delta. The lovely ladies also grilled up a ham and swiss on sourdough for me, doesn't it look great? It hit the spot! I read about gas line news while enjoying my sandwich.

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8622.jpg

So then I was back on the road! The wind in my hair! (helmet) I drifted by Donelly Dome and I was really feeling happy now...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8623.jpg

I had to stop to admire the mountains at this spot. These are my favorite mountains, I just love the way they look. Of course, ANY view is vastly improved by putting a VTX in front of it! 8)

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8626.jpg

The Richardson leading up to, along, and beyond the Summit Lake area is flat awesome. The pavement is perfect (by Alaska standards) the weather was great, and there were lots of corners which are great fun at 55 mph. Of course, I NEVER go faster than the posted speed limit. Safety first! :wink: Then I stopped for gas in Paxon

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8631.jpg

Now, the per-gallon price is pretty high, but then the awesome motorcycle advantage comes to the rescue, I only needed two of those gallons. Gas should come in little bottles in purple velvet bags if they're going to charge that much. Then I can use the cool bags to keep my marbles in!

[AKJason]

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8634.jpg

Out in the flats beyond Paxson the views of Mount I'm-Sure-Its-Famous were catching my eye. The mountain was wearing clouds like good womens clothing. Interesting tidbits were revealed but the whole magnificence was never revealed. Denied, again. Maybe we should rename this Mount Denied? hah!

That's okay, because like all burley leather-clad bikers, I like taking pictures of wee flowers. As previously mentioned, everything looks better with a VTX in the frame...
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8640.jpg

I'm sure the black leather clad guy on the lifestyle bike taking pictures of flowers was amusing to the many cars that drove past. But, did they have to stop and laugh at me??? :oops:

I made my way to the next gas stop in Glennallen. Of course, touring on a VTX-C is an exercise in finding every single gas station along your route to fill that tiny little gas tank. After filling up (again) I drove down to Valdez. It was amazing, the clouds were parting before me as I went. The entire 125 miles was sunny and spectactular. The mountains are still carrying ample snow which cuts a striking contrast to the new leafy green invading the valleys. Once again, the VTX really makes this shot I feel...
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8646.jpg

I burned through the canyons on the way into Valdez. Man, that is some fine motorcycling! Finally I had reached my goal... I saw the ocean, smelled the ocean, and admired the boats...
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8647.jpg

The weather was just spectacular! I texted some people and had a burger down by the waterfront. Not one to just sit around, I decided I could make way for Anchorage! So off I went....

[AKJason]

So I headed on out of Valdez, AFTER finding the gas station of course. Lord knows I can't buy gas too many times in one day don't you know. So I'm heading out of town and I have the honor of being escorted out by one of Valdez' finest. So, I had to stop at Bridal Veil falls to take a snap. At least, I think that's where this was...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8650.jpg

After pretending I like waterfalls for a few minutes I was able to resume my safe always-under-the-speed-limit pace without worry about the police teasing me about not driving faster. :wink: I drove past them as they were making their return journey through the canyon.

Thompson Pass was still spectacular. There is snow right along the road. Have I mentioned how cold it was? It was cold! So I didn't stop for pictures... Down in the valley on the other side this fella setup a nice pose for me:

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8652.jpg

Just after pulling back out into traffic, I noticed that I was behind an unmarked SUV. They have funny extra bits SUV's don't tend to have. I followed it all the way to Glennallen, but that's cool cause they felt, like I do, that less than 10 over the posted limit is "cool". This relaxed riding gave me time to pontificate two problems. First, I figured it would get darker down south and I didn't bring a flaslight to setup my tent. Second, the sky ahead was ominously dark and brooding. Sure enough, by the time I reached Glennallen it was sprinkling. I filled up with gas (shocking, no?) and headed West on the Glenn. The sprinkling turned to real rain, and it got very dark. I turned around and headed back into the sprinkle.

I decided to try heading north to see if I could get dry and setup camp before the rain got to where I'd stopped. Annoyingly, the rain chased me and it was 40 miles before I'd gotten out ahead of it, and dried off my leathers, and FINALLY found a campground. Home sweet home...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8657.jpg

This tent is a little cheap Eureka Tetragon 5 which I bought at Fred Meyers. (Is it just me, or is Fred Meyers the greatest store on Earth?) The tent goes up super easy compared to anything I've tried before and it is perfect for one cyclist. That is to say, it's a two man tent, or one man and a man's worth of leathers and other crap. Though I don't have a photo of it, the highlight of this camping adventure has to be my Big Agnes (http://www.bigagnes.com/) sleeping bag! This bag is freaken awesome!!! I was toasty warm even in the chill morning air, I couldn't feel any rocks at all, and I felt like I was sleeping on a bed, not bound up in a sock. The small orange bag on my bike is the sleeping bag, and nearly 50% of the large bag is the pad. It's not backpacker small, but for big guys, this is THE BAG to get. It only cost me $79 too, such a steal...

[AKJason]

So I awoke, as I mentioned, very snug and warm but also dry in my giant Big Agnes. I mean, the pad is like 6.5 feet by 2.25 feet, it is HUGE by camping standards. These were my views when I awoke...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8659.jpg
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8660.jpg

Obviously the view of my VTX was vastly superior to all that nature crap. Been there, done that. I had coffee (2 squares of caffeinated chocolate) and a hearty breakfast (a granola bar) and then was packed and on the road to a gas station by 6:45 am. So after getting gas in Glennallen for the second time, I headed west once again. I had visions of joining Al and Kent for a late lunch somewhere cool and then taking a ride somewhere else cool. Today was going to be great!

I was getting pretty cold within another 10 miles, so I pulled over, had more "breakfast" and added long johns and a polar fleece to my garb. I'm pretty sure I could bounce off a semi and not actually feel the impact at this point. I got back on the road and enjoyed the many tones of dull gray. There are so many ways to arrange gray with dark gray, sprinkled with light gray, against a dark green soaking wet background, with puddles in the foreground. I didn't let this dampen my spirits though.

So I got to Eureka and (guess what?) filled up my teaspon of a gas tank. Some other bikers arrived from the other direction layered up with rain gear over riding gear looking thoroughly soaked. They said it was "very foggy" West of Eureka with "some drizzle". So I called Kent, who spilled a can of paint trying to get to the phone. (Tell her it's a new texture effect you learned about at Home Depot man.) Kent reported it had been raining all morning in Anchorage. Not good.

So I headed into the diner to put some real food into me:
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8661.jpg

That is a Eureka Omlette. For the record, they rock. Great place to eat, good food, and reasonable prices. I chatted with some guys who rode from Wasilla that morning and they confirmed the drizzle. So, I made the decision I did not want to make, I cancelled the ride to Anchorage. I'm sure I lost out on hot tubbing with swedish supermodels at the all-you-can-drink biker celebration where we were going to meet up, damnit. I'm really sorry I didn't make it down to see you guys! :( :( :(

However, it gets better. I put my locomotive into Overdrive and headed back to the gas station they call Glennallen. That VTX just handles sweet "at speed" doesn't it??? Damn that's a great feeling. No other bike makes 55mph feel SO good.

The weather got better and better and after my 4th fill up at Glennallen in 18 hours, I headed North to see what awaits... Had I made the right decision? Guilt and angst played around in my head...

[AKJason]

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8662.jpg

Let me tell you, I made the right choice! The weather got better and better and better all the way home. It's like 500 degrees in Fairbanks and the roads all the way back were FANTASTIC! But I'm getting ahead of myself... Above you see a fish. I would name the species and whatnot but I'm not a fisherman so, you know, I'm fairly sure it's not a seal. I shot this at the fish overlook at the south end of Paxson lake. While taking this picture somebody rudely walked out there with me and invaded my personal space (I have annexed 30' at this point.)

It turns out it was a great old friend from where I used to work! We had a great time talking for 10 minutes or so about fishing and vacations and the like. It was heartening to meet a friend in the middle of nowhere. Good times.

Now this shot accurately captures what the area around Summit Lake was like. The sun was hot, the roads were clear, dry and clean and free of traffic. The lake was deep blue and life was good. I ripped up some curves and admired the scenery...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8670.jpg

At the far end, I captured some totally amazing shots, I'll only share one. This area is where Arctic Man camping is setup. Wow, what a day!!!!! 8)
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8675.jpg

At this point I'm totally jazzed because I'm getting lots of neat pictures, which I love, and the riding is amazing. The Locomotive was on rails and life was awesome

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8695.jpg

[AKJason]

So just some shots from the tail end of my ride, to wrap it up. Once again, I can't get enough shots of this spot...

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8706.jpg

Now I'm really happy with how this shot turned out. Once again, the burly biker was off the road playing in a field of flowers. This shot reminds me of the Alps for whatever reason:

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8719.jpg

I never got soaked the rest of the way home. This last shot I took was making me think I would get well and truly soaked before I got home, but I missed nearly all the rain, just catching a few sprinkles now and then. I LOVE the smell of a summer rain and the heat in the interior was really bringing that smell out when new rain fell.

http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8732.jpg

My tires were pretty hot when I stopped to take that shot. I launched as hard as I could and instead of getting a wheelspin, I think I got the front tire in the air. It bounced on the 1-2 shift too. I was laughing out lout in my helmet like a maniac. I tried it again later on (on a closed course with a professional rider of course!) and got the same thing - front wheel elevation. My rear tire was pretty hot on this ride I guess.

I made it back to Squarebanks (Bearflanks?) by 4pm. One hot shower and chinese take-out later, I've posted this ride report for you all to enjoy, so - enjoy! Tomorrow instead of Swedish supermodels with Al and Kent, I have to settle for working on my garage. Less satisfying, but probably good for me in the long run.

Oh, parting shot, this shot of my bike from day one. I think it was winking at me...
http://www.acsalaska.net/~jasnmic/IMG_8621.jpg

[Northrider1300]

Jason,
Thanks for the in depth report and pictures. Not all the pictures came through, but enough of them to make me want to make a run to Fairbanks, or south to Seward.
My fairing is finally finished and on and I love it! Weather down here has been spotty at best. Evenings have been decent so that is when I do most of my riding. In fact, think I will go for a short spin now.

Ride Safe,
Don

[AKJason]

Jason,
Thanks for the in depth report and pictures. Not all the pictures came through, but enough of them to make me want to make a run to Fairbanks, or south to Seward.
My fairing is finally finished and on and I love it! Weather down here has been spotty at best. Evenings have been decent so that is when I do most of my riding. In fact, think I will go for a short spin now.

Ride Safe,
Don

Don that is one handsome scoot you got there. I would love to setup my X pretty much the same way you have, with a fairing, hardbags and a trunk. And a bit of an auxillary tank while I'm at it. Some time I'd like to see your bike in person to check it out.

I changed the quality level on the JPEGs and reposted them, that should help with the loading times.

[balou 44]

Very cool Jason. Hope the weather holds when I'm up there. 8)

I'm bringing two camera's.

In case I drop another one.

:oops:

[Cole]

Jason..........

I'm Sooooo jealous of your ride. Having lived in Alaska for a few years, I could follow in my mind the route you took and all the memories that I took with me when I left. Is the Knotty shop still there?? Good times.

Delta to Valdez ...... Bridal falls and the pass.... there is not another site I've seen that even compares.... Maybe the penninsula, seward and such, but Alaska IS heaven on earth.

[AKJason]

You know, I almost dropped my camera taking shots at one point, that really would have sucked. Two cameras is good insurance!

Cole: yes the knotty shop is still there and I very nearly stopped there for ice cream. It was a close call. :D The only thing that stopped me is I would have certainly started falling asleep about the time I went through North Pole. You know about 2 years ago they had a fire and lost the big shed that contained their entire inventory of raw pine boles (is that how you spell that?) They had to rebuild the shed and start collecting from scratch again.

[alaskamonte]

Very nice! Found this in a search for Alaskans on the forum.

Greetings, I'm Monte and a VTX 1300 owner as well as a gun nut. I can usually be found at The New Gun Traders on Muldoon tuning a Smith action or just bs-ing about hunting and guns.