Minnesotans are invading this summer!

[AKJason]

I just found this thread this morning:

http://www.vtxoa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=61704

Who's going to be around this July?

[alaskarider]

I'll be here. I think we should have a ride and BBq for the Vtxers who come up.

[AKJason]

That's a great idea!

I've been chatting with Ed offline. What I know so far is that there's three bikes coming up, and they have roughly 7 days to spend in the state, give or take. They like to keep plans vague so the exact dates of when they'll be where are fuzzy. The general itinerary is to ride a big circle - come up through Fairbanks, down the Parks to Anchorage, and leave the state via the Glenn and maybe the Tok cutoff.

If the timing is right I'd like to throw my oldest son on the back and accompany them from Fairbanks down to Anchorage. Think we could setup a BBQ down south?

[alaskarider]

I have a large house and big yard and deck to bbq on. Come on down. my son is 13 and he will be there. If your son is old enough they can ride dirt bikes down here. I would like to ride with you folks with my son on the back as well. And If folks need a place to sleep and clean up we have lots of room.

[AKJason]

Cool, thanks for the offer! My son is 12 - finishing 6th grade this spring. He's a geek, like his dad.

Bert's never driven a motorcycle, his mom won't entertain that idea just yet. Her dad was hit on his BMW by a stoned kid and was in a coma for about half a year. She doesn't like motorcycles very much.

[alaskarider]

They have an off road park here in Anchorage called Kincaid which has a track and other areas for dirt bike riders so they can ride off road in a more controlled enviroment. Also I live up on the hillside and kids up here ride on the dirt roads and fire trails all the time. So if your wife changes her mind, either way is a safe way to learn to ride with little or no traffic. Will has a 80 cc honda 4 stroke and a kaw 85cc 2 stroke. The 80 cc honda is perfect for a beginner to learn on.
I understand your wife's concern, it sounds like that was a terrible accident. As far as being a geek, remember virtually all real life heros are geeks. Only in the movies are the heros always cool.

[choptop]

I have a large house and big yard and deck to bbq on. Come on down. my son is 13 and he will be there. If your son is old enough they can ride dirt bikes down here. I would like to ride with you folks with my son on the back as well. And If folks need a place to sleep and clean up we have lots of room.

The whole BBQ thing sounds too good to be true! I am the tag along third rider. Mostly a helpless lemming following Ed where ever he rides.
I imagine by the time I get to Alaska my stomach will think it is in rehab with a slit throat.

Marlon

[AKJason]

The whole BBQ thing sounds too good to be true! I am the tag along third rider. Mostly a helpless lemming following Ed where ever he rides.
I imagine by the time I get to Alaska my stomach will think it is in rehab with a slit throat.

Marlon

:D Yeah that Ed sounds like a real mile-burner. Is it true what they say, the group doesn't pull over until the largest bladder is full? Are you ready to pull some 1,500 mile days??? :lol:

[stpaulvtx]

Hey, I told these folks that I only ride sunup to sundown, how hard can that be? :D Oh, nautical twilight still means the sun is up to me. That means they can sleep for what, 15-20 minutes? hehehe Haven't quite squeezed 1500 miles out in 24 hours yet, sounds like a challenge! :shock:

Choptop has got some 700+ days with me already, one with a 50 degree swing in the temp. I think we have ridden through monsoons too. Tell him just to not ask for lightning ever again! Not sure if he has ridden with me in snow, but I know he has in wind, rain, fog, and most everything else mother nature could throw at us short of animals. And she can keep her animals, thankyouverymuch. :)

He is mounting a fuel cell on his VTX, not sure what will do about the full bladder thingy... :D

The plan is coming together, but as Choptop knows my plans are always subject to change.

Ed

[stpaulvtx]

I have a large house and big yard and deck to bbq on. Come on down. my son is 13 and he will be there. If your son is old enough they can ride dirt bikes down here. I would like to ride with you folks with my son on the back as well. And If folks need a place to sleep and clean up we have lots of room.

Shoot, that is extremely generous of you and we may have take you up on the offer! You need to be careful what you offer Choptop though, lessee, food, shelter, you may end up with another son! :D

[Alaska X]

Hey! You never offered any BBQ to me Al. :lol: :lol: Great little ride the other day, up for another destination?

Bill

[alaskarider]

Hey! You never offered any BBQ to me Al. :lol: :lol: Great little ride the other day, up for another destination?

Bill
BBq for one and all. I am always ready for a ride. It sounds like on july 9 or 10 they will be coming. I am a bit under the weather right now. But I should be out of bed and riding by saturday. Give me a call maybe ride out to past the Knik river bridge or eklutna I thought I saw you in eagle river last night gasing up your vtx. I was in traffic so i couldn't take the time to look to make sure. Bring your family to the bbq if you want if you bring your son he can ride with akjason's son and mine on dirtbikes up in the park.

[Alaska X]

Sounds like good times Al. I don't think my sons in town, but the rest of us will be there.
As far as Saturday goes I'm up for it. I am working the morning shift but should be out of there by 5:00. My son has been begging to go so I would have to grab him on the way. If that time line works for you let's do it. 8)

Sorry for hilacking your thread Jason :oops: Back to the regular scheduled program.

[choptop]

Al, Ya got serious competition in the lower 48!
Cindy, Eds wife, got taken off her bike by a deer last Saturday. She is in St. Marys hospital in Rochester. I think the final tally was collar bone broken in several places, sholder, four ribs and a toe all broken, a few patches of road rash and some bruises that are developing to be quite colorful. Oh yeah and one very dead deer.
Sooo... she ain't gunna make the BBQ. Ed is waiting to see how the recovery is going to deside if he and I are still going to make the ride.
(I think she will be glad to get rid of him for a while by then.)

Marlon

[AKJason]

Marlon, Tell Cindy I hope she recovers quickly! That really bites, but I'm glad she didn't suffer anything worse than some broken bones. (Although I've heard a broken collar bone is one of the worst you can get.)

Let us know what you guys decide about your trip. Alaska will still be here next summer.

-Jason

[alaskarider]

I hope Cindy gets better soon. What s bad deal to hit a deer right before a trip. Give her our best wishes. bbq offer is always good.next week or next summer.
Al

[stpaulvtx]

We gave it a shot, Choptop and I considered still going but as of today Cindy is still in the hospital and I'm not up to it anymore. There will be another time, we will get up there to see you guys yet. Thanks for the offers and information.

Ed

[stpaulvtx]

On the shortest day of the year it is time to ressurect this thread. We have our sights set on doing this ride yet. We are scheduled to leave here July 1, 2006 and head up your way. This time around it looks like two more suckers, er.. I mean riders look like they are buying into this. We may even have a chase vehicle! Might have to put him up front to chase the deer and moose out of the way!!! Cindy healed up pretty good and got some miles on her new bike before we took some time to get my neck repaired. We both are feeling great and looking forward to longer days...

Anyways, just a heads up that we will be heading your way in July and should see you sometime after the fourth.

Happy Holidays!
Ed

[AKJason]

I'm glad to hear everybody has healed up well!

If I'm not in Colorado, I'll be riding around with you guys!

[stpaulvtx]

You thinkin of ridin down to Coloradical? We were thinking of doing that in '06, then someone(Marlon) got me going on the Alaska bug again and things just started falling into place. :D

We are going to stick with our plan of not overplanning this ride. The only sure stops are Winnipeg, Dawson Creek, Fairbanks and Anchorage. The rest will play out as it happens. Time and space is relative, but we really should be back to work on the 24th.

[AKJason]

I am thinking about it pretty seriously. If I don't go that far I'll try a shorter trip. It all comes down to how much time I can get off, not nearly as much as you guys! :(

I think loosely planned is the way to go!

So why the chase car? Is somebody moving up, or just not a motorcyclist?

[stpaulvtx]

There is someone interested in going who doesn't think his 68 year old body would enjoy the ride to Alaska, but he would like to ride in Alaska. Sure would solve the short range issue with the C models. I did a couple of mileage runs last year and could get into the 140 mile range, but it does reduce the comfort level to have that low fuel light hanging out there.

Talking to most people down here you would think that three weeks isn't near enough. I am pretty sure I could do it in significantly less but do have to have some consideration for those riding with. Kinda like name that tune, I can make it to Fairbanks in _ days... guess it all depends on how well your butt is broke in. 8)

[AKJason]

Cool, having a car to dump everybody's stuff into could be really great. Then all the bikes can run unloaded, or lightly loaded. Sounds like a fun trip. I know a good here in Fairbanks B&B I can recommend when you get around to logistics. The gang from Anchorage came and tried it out.

[alaskarider]

Will and I are always ready to ride . Now Will will be able to ride the 1500 Drifter while I am on the VTX. It sounds like a road trip. It gives us an excuse to ride to Fairbanks and beyond. I better get back to work.
Al

[AKJason]

Will and I are always ready to ride . Now Will will be able to ride the 1500 Drifter while I am on the VTX. It sounds like a road trip. It gives us an excuse to ride to Fairbanks and beyond. I better get back to work.
Al

That's cool Al! Definately hope to see you guys again next summer.

[stpaulvtx]

Well after everything here got coated in ice last night it is supposed to get to 40 degrees today! Spring is on its way, NOT! I found my "schedule" for the abandoned ride from this year, it looks like it will work for '06, we'll see how things shake out...

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all the rest of the Happy Merry stuff! :D

[stpaulvtx]

Sorry I haven't updated this before.

Jason said we like to keep our plans vague, after last summer we are afraid to plan. We are pushing off in the morning (7/1) and should be in Fairbanks late on the 6th, only one VTX, Cindy is still on a VTX but Choptop is on a new wing and I am riding a VStrom for this trip. I know most of you guys have changed bikes too. Still have the VTX but the range is a killer.

Jason, I think I still have your contact info here somewhere and I will try to be in touch on the way up, first couple of nights for sure. We still figure on heading south to Anchorage and looping out. I need to run to Chitina on the way out but other than that I think we are wide open while we are up there.

Thanks,
Ed

Ed

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Hi There!

Come on , I'll show you around anchorage.Or a ride to Kenai Possibly on weekends. If you would like to hook up and ride,or you need mecanical assentants I have the tools, call me 907-227- 6587
-Kent

[stpaulvtx]

Hey Kent!

It looks like Saturday the 8th we should roll in to Anchorage from Fairbanks. We'll get in touch when we get up there, I can check this for the next few days late, most motels have some kind of hookup. My cell : 6129633364. I heard from Jason and we will see if we can't hook up with him too.

Thanks,
Ed

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Hi Ed,

Do you guys plan on going south out of Anchorage towards Seward? If so your in for a real treat! :) Just 40 minuites from anchorage is the city of Girdwood and there is inlet view with mountains along the way.

Are you going to Valdez after Chitna?

If work does not get in the way for me,I would like to ride along for a while.

Kent :) 907-227-6587

[stpaulvtx]

Kent,

We welcome anyone that wants to ride along and we won't know where we are going until we are on our way there.

We are in Portage La Prairie Manitoba tonight and should be in Saskatoon tomorrow for a light ride. The first killer day of the ride comes Monday and we are going to run from Saskatoon to Dawson Creek.

More as we know it. I will get in touch with you in the next couple of days.

Thanks,
Ed

[AKJason]

Hey guys,

Just catching up. I've been out of town for a week, got home late last night. You guys give me a jingle when you get to town!

Kent, are you and Al both back? Where are the pictueres?????????

[stpaulvtx]

Do you guys know how flat the middle of Canada is? Short day was a long boring day, good thing we gained an hour. Hard to stay awake when the road is straight from horizon to horizon, I thought I was in Kansas. Sakatoon today, Dawson Creek tomorrow. More as we know it.

Ed

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Yes were back! and pics to follow :)

Kent

[stpaulvtx]

We are now in Dawson Creek at Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. Three provinces, 700+ miles today. Forest fires burning south of here. Much more interesting than yesterday... See you guys in a couple of days, eh.

Ed

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Hey Ed!
Sounds good, Be careful around burwashlanding! Lots of frost heaves. :shock: :shock:

Kent

[stpaulvtx]

We are in Fairbanks, we are going to run up to the arctic circle today. Got in late last night and will call you guys this am. We are at the super 8 in fairbanks, room 308.

[AKJason]

I heard from Ed this morning, on the way out. It rained ALL day, poor guys. Hopefully it was less wet up north. On the plus side, the sun is finally out!

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Yes, Edd called me as well and hopfully you guys can hook up and ride. If they make it down to anchorage this weekend I will try and do a sightseeing and somthing to eat :)


Jason, Iam remoldling,but you have a place to stay if you come down!
My wife leaves saturdaynight for Disney and Vegas!

907-227-6587
Kent

[AKJason]

Yes, Edd called me as well and hopfully you guys can hook up and ride. If they make it down to anchorage this weekend I will try and do a sightseeing and somthing to eat :)


Jason, Iam remoldling,but you have a place to stay if you come down!
My wife leaves saturdaynight for Disney and Vegas!

907-227-6587
Kent

You are a wicked wicked man! :twisted: The summer is already half gone and I've so much to do. I do want to make one trip to Anchorage & Seward this summer. Come to think of it, I'd better get off my duff and plan it sooner than later. Work and Home seem to be laying claim to all my remaining weekends. :oops:

[AKJason]

They decided to explore Denali park today. If all goes well I'll be meeting up with them for dinner. I believe they're going to head to Anchorage Sunday.

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Jason,
sounds good! Ill have time for a short ride in morning, in the afternoon ill be textureing the drywall :( :( flooring Company can fit me in next week and walls have to be ready! :evil:

I want to make it to fairbanks and Valdez at least once this summer :wink:

Edd, if I do not see you guys it was nice corresponding with you! Hope you get a chance to go down south of anchorage its nice :)
Stop at Girdwood pull off on Seward hwy.Its about 40 minuits from anchorage. The coffee shop on the side has some great donuts and cofee :) :)

Kent

[AKJason]

Yes, I'll probably be piping up on the board very soon. I want to pick a weekend to take Bert and go visit you guys and have a good ride.

[stpaulvtx]

Hey Jason, it was great meeting you, nice ride.

Kent, we are in Anchorage now, finally... I will give you a call Monday.

Thanks guys for all the help so far, we are gonna see what the dealers have for tires in the morning and maybe head for Seward after that. Choptop is heading down to Homer in the morning.

Choptop has posted some pics at:
http://calico.stufftoread.com/defaultalaska.htm

Thanks,
Ed

edited url on 11/2

[AKJason]

Thanks for dinner Ed! It was great to finally meet you all. Now that you're gone, it's absolutely beautiful up in Fairbanks today, of course.

Good luck with the tires!

[stpaulvtx]

Hey Kent,

We are staying until Wednesday am, was all over the place today and didn't get you called. I am going to deal with dealers and see if I can't find some back tires for Cindy's VTX and my strom. We should be around for dinner tomorrow, someone said Gwennies is pretty good, you want to meet up with us? I for sure will call you in the am...

Jason, I told you that you guys were only having the weird weather so that Choptop could have some lightning. :D We did get a few minutes of a clear Denali on our way to Anchorage.

Thanks guys,
Ed

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Hi There Edd!

Anc Yamaha 243-8343 ,Susuki 272-2412 unfortunitly Anc Honda sucks 279-9478.

got to get to work should be back by 3pm, bed time 8:30 :)

I have a set of 18 vtx new.

Kent

[stpaulvtx]

Went to the Honda dealer, they had the tire and tube, said they couldn't install them. Started to leave and went back and got the GM, she said they most likely were booked up and maybe someone was out today. I said this is the first time travelling that we stopped at a Honda dealer and were sent packing. She said let me look into it and if I still wanted the tire changed they should be able to do it. Half hour after we got there they agreed to work us into their schedule.

I took off to the Suzuki dealer, they had a new Anakee on the shelf for my v-strom and it was installed and I was riding away less than an hour later. Very friendly and helpful people at that dealer.

Meanwhile back at Honda they were working on getting to Cindy's bike, they were very conscientous and appear to have done a very good job, it just took three times as long as the Suzuki dealer and they didn't have to adjust the chain.

Alls well that ends well, new back tires on both bikes and twelve more riding days until we need to be home! I should say that the Honda service was still better than what we see back home...

Our hours are so screwed up now, three hours later at home and we will be moving through the time zones on the way home. I usually get up at 5:30 at home, that is 2:30 am here, you just work Central Time hours. :D

[stpaulvtx]

Hey Kent,

It was great meeting you today, thanks for the guided tour of Anchorage and the gifts. Glad to hear your daughter is all right.

Guys, appreciate the time you took out of your busy schedules to hook up with us.

We are off to Valdez this morning. We will probably detour to Chitina on the way. Next comes Dawson City and down through BC to the lower 48. Looks like about 4300 more miles and we will be home again... :D

We will probably move out of internet connection area for the next couple of days. I will post more as we know it.

Thanks,
Ed

[TheAkNeoDude49]

Hi There!
Edd & Cindy, it was nice meeting and sharing time you guys :) Cindy is quite the rider to come all this way!! Edd just alittle something for the Christmas tree :) :) :)

Hope the rest of your trip goes well!!!

Yes my oldest is o.k she got some weird puss infection on here liver from mexico :shock: :shock: :shock: they have it draining out into a bag and should be releasd today :) :)

Kent

[TheAkNeoDude49]

just some pictures of Edd and Cindy in Anchorage :) http://bigbikeriders.com/photopost/data/500/3874Old_cam_pise_004-med.jpg
http://bigbikeriders.com/photopost/data/500/3874Old_cam_pise_006-med.jpg
http://bigbikeriders.com/photopost/data/500/3874Old_cam_pise_009.jpg

Kent 8)

[stpaulvtx]

Hey all!

We are back in the lower 48, communications was an issue for part of the time, a certain dealer was another issue but I won't say anything until the issue is resolved.

When we left Anchorage we rode down to Chitina and on to Valdez. Cindy had a flat on the way to Valdez and we spent an extra day there as we got things back on the road. We ran up to Tok via the cutoff to find all the rooms taken on account of "Function in the Junction" so off to Chicken we went. On to the Top of the World and down to Whitehorse. The next night was spent in Moose Meadows on the Cassiar highway. Houston, BC was the next stop and on to Jasper. From there through Banff park and Kootenay down to Kalispell. Glacier National Park greeted us this morning and we are in Malta MT and should be home in a few days... Then the real work begins.

Thanks again!
Ed

[AKJason]

Ed,

I'm happy to hear that all of the troubles were small. Enjoy the last of your vacation!

[stpaulvtx]

We still haven't got a chance to run through all the pics and make more sense out of them. Choptop did a count and there are over 6800 pics. We'll get something posted as soon as it cools down here.

Wrap up on the troubles with the rear tire. The mechanic at Alaska Cycle Center/Anchorage Honda twisted the tube when he installed the tire. After 300 miles of rubbing on itself the tube started to disintegrate. We had some green slime and a compressor so we stopped every 5 - 7 miles and topped off the tire for the 82 mile ride into Valdez. We rounded up some help and got the tire to RBell Enterprises and with help from Mike and Rob we patched up the tube and we were ready to try for Delta Junctiona and hopefully a new tube there. Before we left I called ACC and let Harlia know that there had been a problem and that I was not happy with the work that had been done. She expressed concern and said she would make it right with me. We took off and no more than 10 miles out of Valdez that tube decided it had had enough and would not hold air anymore. Choptop took off to find a way to get the bike back to Valedz, I called ACC and asked if they could get us a new tube to Valdez first thing in the morning, even if the mechanic had to drive it there! Harlia said to hang with her as she checked inventory and found us a tube and said we would have it first thing. Choptop found the local UHaul dealer and rented a truck, before he got back Harlia let me know the tube was coming over Gold Streak and we should be able to get it at the airport that evening, thanks Harlia. pics of the day are here:
http://calico.stufftoread.com/alaska/day13/index.html
Got the bike back to Valdez, the good folks at the Glacier Sound Inn were a great help and we really appreciate all they did for us. Rounded back up the lumber we had used to jack up the bike and took the night off. Next morning - RAIN! We pulled the rear tire, headed to RBell's and used their equipment to change in the new tube. Aired up and off we went, rain and all! Alaska Cycle Center was very above board on the whole situation and we came to a reasonable resolution. A learning experience for all. Maybe after all was said and done, the service experience for the next person will improve at their dealership.

Regardless of that it was a spectacular ride. Somewhere over 8500 miles in 22 days. Spectacular scenery, animals galore, an opportunity to meet great folks like Jason and Kent and we got to see the top of Denali!

Would we do it again? In a hearbeat, I already have the bikes ready to go again, but it is hard to get the amount of time off necessary to do this right. We will have to see down the road.

Thanks again guys,
Ed & Cindy

[Caps]

Look out! another Minnesota Invador! So stpaulvtx.. what the heck? You take a fun trip like that and didn't invite the rest of us in Viking Country :cry:

Sorry guys, this post caught my eye and I'll go back to where I'm supposed to be now :wink: .

Lance