Your road trip plans? (and dreams)

[Phil Tarman]

Siyeh, you said, "My son Josh and I leave for a three weeker on June 28th. He wants to see Hyder Alaska."

I did a funeral Friday and the honoree had a nephew at the funeral who owns the Pizza Parlor in Hyder. Fire-baked pizza... sounded good. His name was, I think, Mike. If you go in, tell him the preacher from Fort Morgan sent you. We talked about motocyclists coming to Hyder. I went in '04, but didn't have pizza. I'll go again in '13; this time I will.

 

[siyeh]

We talked about motocyclists coming to Hyder. I went in '04, but didn't have pizza. I'll go again in '13; this time I will.

Yes, I've had pizza in Hyder. In 08. Not fire-baked tho. Bar-baked at Sealaska,,,

I'd just done 400 miles of rain/hail on the torn up Cassiar. It was very good pizza, just what I needed!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Right now our plan is 5 days in Colorado then shoot north. That's it. See where the road takes us. My son is a "biker" and he want's to become a "rider". If he runs much with me I think I can arrange that. I love getting around a bit. If you have a half hour to kill and it's raining outside, here are a couple little rides I did.

Alaska
http://www.vtxoa.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=balou

Out West
http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums...ead.php?t=5473

I think the NT will fit my riding style perfect.

I just finished reading your ride reports on the VTX and Versys rides. Wow! I look forward to your report of something even more magnificent on your future NT.

BTW, I know it's more than the camera, but what camera are you using?

 

[siyeh]

BTW, I know it's more than the camera, but what camera are you using?

Phil I used a Canon PowerShot SX100IS. I really like it for it's 10X zoom. I have dropped it a few times but it keeps on clicking. Poured water out of it once also.

 

[elizilla]

Rick, if the weather is good you can definitely get to the Arctic Circle sign on the Dalton. I took my V65 Sabre there in 2001. It's about 200 miles north of Fairbanks, and at that time the gravel started about 30 miles north of Fairbanks and the rest was gravel. But as gravel goes, it was very good gravel - wide, well maintained, clear lines of sight. One of my friends went last summer and he reported that the pavement extends farther north these days than it did in 2001. The NT is similar to my V65 Sabre, in weight and geometry, but has about 50 miles more range and a better frame and suspension - I'm sure it would do just fine up there. I was nervous about the gravel when we started up that road, and would have tiptoed along at 30mph or so, but my traveling companion was like "Bonzai!!!" and eventually coaxed me to go faster. By the end of the day I was railing along at 50 to 60 and doing just fine. We did it as a day trip, up and back in one day. It doesn't get dark there in June so you don't have to worry about running out of daylight. I wouldn't have wanted to do it in the rain, but it was clear that day and I had no trouble. You're retired, you have time - if the weather isn't looking good, just wait until it improves. If you get to Fairbanks and the weather is bad, just go to Denali for a couple days, then go back to Fairbanks and try again.

 

[siyeh]

The Arctic Circle sign was a piece of cake. In 08 it was about 100 miles of gravel to get there. That Haul Road gets 100's of trucks per day. It was as wide as an interstate highway in places. But the edges do get loose. I met a cop in a truck doing 83mph on gravel. He lit me up but didn't come after me. I watched in the mirrors for many miles.

I have been on roads in the UP of Michigan that made The Haul Road look easy.

Harleys, crotch rockets, and many other bikes have made Deadhorse. I didn't try it on my VTX I had fuel and time issues. A good two day weather window and a good rider can do it on any bike made IMHO,,,

 

[elizilla]

Being in Nevada, Rick could try that road between Gerlach and Winnemucca. If he can make it through there, he can handle the Alaska roads with ease.

 

[karl]

While not as exciting and exotic as many of your posts, I'M excited about going to NE Iowa tomorrow and back!! Should be about a 400 mile day, the longest I will have ever done on a bike. I'm teaching up there in August, so I decided it would be a good idea to check things out ahead of time, rather than showing up after a 3.5-4 hour ride with little time to rest up and get my act together before teaching that evening. OK, I'll fess up: It's mostly an excuse to do a day trip on the NT! :redface: If I have time, I'll sneak up to Minnesota so I can add a state to my map.

Go for it should be a good time for you,enjoy your ride.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Being in Nevada, Rick could try that road between Gerlach and Winnemucca. If he can make it through there, he can handle the Alaska roads with ease.

Oh, yeah! If you can handle the Jungo Road, you can go anywhere. Of course, there are a lot of folks who haven't been able to handle the Jungo.

 

[siyeh]

One can split the ride halfway and stay at Wiseman. Boreal Lodging is owned by two NPS employees. There is no food in Wiseman. Eat at Coldfoot.

 

[bicyclist]

Phil, I've used a 1 gallon Roto Pax container for gas for a couple of years. http://www.rotopax.com/
It has lots of mounting options including flat across the passenger seat, which is how I carried it. It's tough, doesn't leak and has a filler nozzle.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Thanks, George!

 

[mlester1973]

My sweet E (aka my wife) on her Suzuki 800 Intruder and I on my excelle'NT' have our anniverasry trip already planned June 8th we leave from Myrtle Beach, SC and head up to Pigeon Forge, TN, we'll hit the TofD, Hellbender and the Great Smokies Parkway and maybe even The Charahala Skyline. We have four days off before we return to the Beach.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Michael, I can't recommend the Cherahola Skyway enough. A prettier ride than the Tail of the Dragon, and much less traffic.

Lots of good roads in that part of the country. Don't be afraid to follow a whim.

 

[mlester1973]

Michael, I can't recommend the Cherahola Skyway enough. A prettier ride than the Tail of the Dragon, and much less traffic.

Lots of good roads in that part of the country. Don't be afraid to follow a whim.

Thanks Phil, We have riden there before and love it everytime, The Foothills Parkway is another nice little ride with great scenery as well as the ride from Gatlinburg to Marysville around Cades Cove, we do the Dragon just to say we did it yet again and passing through, The first time I did the Cherohala it was on my Honda ACE the first owner changed the pipes to straight pipes but did not change the carb, I didn't think I was going to make it up the mountian, But I agree the Cherahola has some amazing views.

 

[Jaster]

Thanks phil. I'm still looking over maps and getting all of my gear together.
cheers,