My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
I figured i'd post a little bit about my solo Alaska trip i just got back from on my 2011 RT.
here is the route i rode
17 days - almost 9300 miles
Day 1 - Auburn Hills to Tomah Wi
Here is the bike all loaded up - i did camp about 75% of the trip
not much going on or to see on the first day...
Day 2 - Tomah to Saskatoon -Saskatchewan the ride was again pretty boring.. canola oil plants and finally a border crossing.. a little over 1000 miles. The canola plants smell horrible to me.
Day 3 - Saskatoon to Dawson creek
Again not much going on, i did see a wolf though..
Day 4 - Dawson Creek to Muncho Lake
finally on the Alcan!!
I seen quite a bit of black bear, to the point i stop stopping to take pictures of em..
Muncho lake BC - simply amazing beautiful!!! this is my first night of camping (which i haven't done in 25 years) so there was that learning curve, especially with not having power or cell phone service.
Day 5 - Muncho lake to Whitehorse Yukon territory
Finally into Yukon
I stopped at Watson lake to check out the sign forest - this place is amazing with all the signs
the alacan was a wildlife bonanza on this stretch, so many bison.
so far the alacan was pretty descent shape, which changed once i got a little west of rancheria yukon. mostly construction - long stretches of loose gravel.
Day 6 - Whitehorse to Tok Alaska
finally in Alaska.. seeing the Alaska sign finally in person put a huge smile on my face (may not show in picture thought haha)
once in TOk - i stayed at Thompson motorcycle campground - a must stay place for bikers camping. you can do oil changes, tires changes in the little area she has set up.
it was nice to chill and have a beer after a long day. Note: up til today i only saw 2 rt's that i noticed and ended up camping next to one - a local from Kodiak island. GS's def rule the alacan.
and deff check out jen's thai Place- best pad thai ive ever had to date.
Day 7 - Tok to Seward
20 miles into the ride - i finally get to see a moose, one of about 7 ill see on the whole trip - the last time i seen one this close i hit on my yamaha roadstar.... not a fun time
seward - the brewery had OK food and good beer
Day 8 - Seward to Whittier to Valdez via the ferry
pulling up the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (longest tunnel in north america - 2.5 miles) - the attendant was must of used the words if you crash 4-5 times.. kinda was like geeze is it really bad lol
here is a video of the ride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EArFi9oOyrs
and finally making it thru - the place is small with a population under a 300 i believe and super windy....
finally getting on the ferry and all strapped down - note make sure you bring your own tie downs.. i didn't know i needed them and the little hardware store sells em for a messily 10 bucks each... ouchy..
the ferry ride was nice, they have a little restaurant on board. plenty of views. seen a few killer whales, dolphins and sea lions.
Day 9 - Valdez AK to Glacier View AK (staying here 2 days)
ill add a video of Keystone Canyon ride in a bit
i did have time to check out a glacier and walk on it
Day 10 - Glacier View to Anchorage and back for a fight seeing touring around mt McKinley - i used sound aviation for the tour and the owners/pilot where great and i can say enough how much fun i had. im afraid to fly (hence the bike trips everywhere) but he made it like i was in a car.
Day 11 - Glacier View up to Fairbanks for lunch then to down Tok
Mandatory stop at north pole to see if i was on naughty list..
i had lunch at bigdaddys bbq in fiarbanks- damn good!!!
Day 12 - Tok to Whitehorse
All the dirt roads finally caught up to me... thankfully ride on sealant plugged most of it i put 2 plugs in it to make sure. i had pre-ordered a rear pr4gt at motorrad just south of Calgary. So i needed this to last til then, which it did thankfully. i would lose about 4-5lbs of air a day.
Day 13 - Whitehorse to Dawson creek
the Original plan was to stay at muncho lake again but i decided to skip it and make a long day riding, it went fast. I bet i averaged 120kmh that day. Most of the lose stuff i had ridden thru on the way to Alaska was packed down on my return trip
you will see lots of views like this around that area
Day 14 - Dawson creek to Jasper/ Banff national park then to Calgary
jasper/banff national park had to have been the most scenic part of this whole trip.
seen some elk shortly being in the park
the water is almost fake looking in real life
Day 15 - Calgary to Billings MT
i stopped in motorrad in turner valley AB to get my rear tire swapped out. These guys were quick and professional, high recommended!
as soon as they finished, mother nature decided to hail on us a bit....they wheeled in 3 bikes and it had already accumulated that quick.. after 1.5 hours the roads were clear to go on
Day 16 - billings to red lodge mt to wall SD
i took a ride to red lodge mt to visit a friend and check out the beartooth bike rally event.
Day 17 - Wall SD to St Clair Shores Mi - THE LONG RIDE HOME...1155 MILES about 17.5 hours due to Wisconsin dell traffic.. should have been about 16ish
ill add some riding videos later once i comb thru them some more.
few things i realized during this trip
1. the RT made this trip much more easier and comfy compared to Previous Harley
2. the RT eats rear pads lol
3. camping isn't bad and will do more bike trips with a tent vs hotel camping.
4. having good riding gear (klim) made weather almost irrelevant. i did get a little toasty in the 90deg days coming home.
gps screen shot of total trip
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
Thanks for posting, I enjoyed the photos and descriptions and I too look forward to seeing your videos.
What mileage were you averaging per day?
What mileage were you averaging per day?
- blokeonthemove
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Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
I really enjoyed that, great photos of a great trip, thanks for posting.
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
here is the ride video of keystone canyon just outside of valdez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqtH8kUnyU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqtH8kUnyU
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
Maz12 wrote: Thanks for posting, I enjoyed the photos and descriptions and I too look forward to seeing your videos.
What mileage were you averaging per day?
first 3 days was almost 2300 miles, then it slowed down to about 400 a day with a few shorter. on the way home the last 3 days where 2700 miles. i like riding and exploring some. Hell i drove a little over 500 miles round trip up to fairbanks from glacier view and back just for lunch.
- DaveCly
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Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
Well done Slothy Impressive trip, I thought I'd done well doing just over 3k in 17 days, however something tells me your just a little bit insane !!
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
DaveCly wrote: Well done Slothy Impressive trip, I thought I'd done well doing just over 3k in 17 days, however something tells me your just a little bit insane !!
lol - no i just like to ride long distances is all.. :))
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Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
I don't know how I missed this thread. I don't care that before I post this there was a bold red notification telling it's been over 120 days and am I sure I want to reply. Indeed I do! What a great solo trip! I prefer to ride with my son on trips but if he can't go for whatever reason I don't mind going solo either. Thanks for sharing!
- timminator
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Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
Nicely done! Wow, I cannot believe the distance you travelled in that amount of time. Pics are great too. I noticed you had beads on the seat, did that help out with those long days? I am doing a trip this summer from Portland to Yellowstone national park, and a little worried about the monkey butt.
BMW MOA #210438
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
slowvet wrote: I don't know how I missed this thread. I don't care that before I post this there was a bold red notification telling it's been over 120 days and am I sure I want to reply. Indeed I do! What a great solo trip! I prefer to ride with my son on trips but if he can't go for whatever reason I don't mind going solo either. Thanks for sharing!
thank you, yes i love my solo long rides. Being able to Pick and chose my locations and route as i please makes it less stressful imo.
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
timminator wrote: Nicely done! Wow, I cannot believe the distance you travelled in that amount of time. Pics are great too. I noticed you had beads on the seat, did that help out with those long days? I am doing a trip this summer from Portland to Yellowstone national park, and a little worried about the monkey butt.
i'm not sure if they really helped or not. i didn't having any discomfort with them on, so ill continue using them on the long trips. i think my biggest factor in comfort was finally stepping up to some real gear - KLIM.
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
here is a link to my fb album with lots more pics
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153846596793775.1073741835.575833774&type=1&l=0d4c31c729
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153846596793775.1073741835.575833774&type=1&l=0d4c31c729
Re: My 2016 Alaska solo Ride
Wow great ride, good write up and nice views. Don't fancy gravel roads at all though.
scunny1 R1200RT LE 2015