On a hope and a prayer to "The Great Land"

I really enjoy reading anything about Alaska and seeing that we have two kids who live in Anchorage these things are more interesting yet. I'd love to do that trip on a bike but will have to be satisfied with doing it from my recliner now. Thanks for taking the time to do this.


Gary "Oldone"

Grampa’s Lake Superior Ride
Grampa’s National Monument Ride

Will get back to this soon....

Dan had to have back surgery and is staying in Oregon, I put twenty hours at 80 mph on the freeway and toasted my rear sprocket which led to an amazing string of individuals, 2 flat tires, and a craigslist sprocket from a complete bike for sale.

Now I'm at a kwik trip, the best gas stations in the world, and which means I went west coast to wisco in just a couple days, phew...only 2 hours to go :)

IMHO via Swype autocorrect

After crossing the super cheap Puget Sound ferry we headed towards Cape Flattery.

Cape Flattery on the furthest NW point in the lower 48

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Getting to Cape Flattery turned into a labyrinth of dead ended native territorial roads that never did get us out.... in all this frustration we all wanted to just lay down

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There was some sort of weird electronic music festival called "Photosynthesis" why we didn't stay the night is beyond me, but I credit that decision to me being here typing this right now.

As we headed South on the Coastal Highway I was really disappointed with the traffic and touristy small towns. It wasn't what I was expecting really. But the further South we got, almost to Cali the better it became.

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I was really sad to leave the ocean, because one never knows when your next encounter will be. It's vastness and bounty attracts me like nothing else can, but eventually we had to head back east. The rest of this fine day was spent in Jedidiah Redwood State Forest and it was amazing to see the size of these Redwood Trees! Talk about feeling small!

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The coast was in the rear view mirror. We had to cross most of the country to get back to work. Bittersweet. Dan woke up and his back was feeling pretty badly, but he pressed on.

First stop was Crater Lake, and what a sight is the water in it!

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Shortly after this stop near Bend, I could see Dan was hurting with his back and he asked to stop for a bit so we hung out in the park. There was a wedding and it was a really warm day. It was still hurting him but we pressed on into the desert of East Oregon. It was brutal out there at 105 degrees and absolutely no cloud. About 150 miles east at the next gas he can barely move or talk. He is in no shape to drive so we find a motel in the next town for him to lay down and ice it. After I get him set up I head on down the road to get a few more miles in so I can meet my friend at a reasonable time the next day. We had planned for Dan to call me in the morning and if need be I'd come back. IF not we'd meet up down the road the next day. I cruised through the desert to the Idaho border.

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The next morning I just couldn't connect with Dan for some reason. Turns out his back pain got unimaginably worse overnight and he had to go to the hospital in the meatwagon. His doctor told him that a disc in your back is like a jelly donut cushioning between vertbrae, and his jelly is no longer in the donut. He required surgery immediately. I felt terribly and couldn't believe how quickly it all had happened.

I was relieved when he called after surgery and said his pain was greatly subsided and that he said this was the best trip he could have ever been on. Meanwhile I decided to make a big day out of the bad misfortunes and interstated in for the first time on the trip.

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In about 20 hours I hauled the KLR well over 1000 miles.

The only cloud in my way for over 1000 miles happened to contain hail and heavy rain.
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I was beat down when I finally found a campground in Bismarck area at 2 am. I showered and slept for a 3 hours with the intentions of getting home the next day early afternoon.

This next day turned into a futile effort. At the first gas stop I had for the day I looked everything on the bike over like I typically did every night. What I found was disheartening.

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The big day yesterday absolutely toasted this sprocket and chain, as well as the chain guard. It was not going to get me home like this so I started calling everyone within 200 miles for a new sprocket. Turns out none of the dealers, salvage yards, mechanics, mechanics friend that owned a KLR, nobody, nowhere had this sprocket! IT would take two days to come in. Even as I pushed the bike it was breaking teeth off. So I turned to Craigslist and this poor guy answered his phone about his 2008 complete KLR for sale.

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My sob story convinced him to sell me just the sprocket from his bike to get me home. What a relief!! One problem is he was 60 miles away from my location, so I flipped the existing sprocket and tightened the chain taut. It sounded like hell but I was making progress at 30 mph down the backroads. Then an hour in I just happened to smoke a 8 inch spike nail direct to the rear tire which almost sent me skidding into the ditch. What a rush and I couldn't imagine blowing out a tire at 75 mph. Makes me think twice about ATGATT.

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I called Aaron and explained my predicament. He graciously offered to come pick my brokedown strangers ass up 30 miles away. I couldn't believe how much help this complete stranger to me was! He even got pulled over for speeding on his way to me. We loaded up in the back of his pickup and got to his house to replace the sprocket and the tube. The only tube I had was a front that was already patched because I pinched it. Everything went smooth and Aaron's family were fantastic about me being there. AFter a glass of water I was on my way to town to get a new tube to replace the missized one. As luck would have it I blew out the tube as I was coming into town, and again nearly laid it down! I got to the bike shop just as the closed and got a new tube. Aaron couldn't have been more of a lifesaver. I owe him for my safe return home! He has a small business making snowmobile trailers that lift above the bed of a pickup truck. HE is also getting into fabbing adv moto parts such as pannier's and mounts. Check him out with any interest in either of these products or designs. His company is called Jetstream adventuring trailers and phone is 218.639.5051. There is not a better person out there!

I was pretty exhausted at this point after only 3 hours of sleep and being 6pm already. I checked the GPS and it showed 6 hours to get home. That itch to get home gets so strong when you're that close. I dove for it... that last 4 hours through Wisconsin was miserable. It was cold as hell and I was tired as could be. Hindsight tells me I shouldn't have bombed it home... but my bed was like heaven.

The next day the bike reviewed that it had been beat down: none of the electrical worked, chain was toast, it was dirty as hell, footpeg ready to fall off, 15 layers of bugs, really low oil....

Unlike the bike I felt really good after 21 days on the road and 10k miles! I am ready to go again, but the bike is not.

Since the day I got home I haven't had a moment of free time with summer in full swing here... softball, vball, concerts, fishing, girls, beer, canoe trip... I'm not in a hurry to get back on the road but it'll come soon!

Dan rested a few days out in Portland and caught a commercial flight home. His bike is going to be shipped back to Wisco. I can't wait to sort through his gopro videos and my pictures soon!

Thanks for following along! Once I get my camera photos downloaded I will add a few better shots:)

2013
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2012/2013
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Dan did a great job combining his videos with my photos. These videos are best viewed in HD setting of youtube.

This is 1 of 5 videos - Two Wheels To Alaska - Part 1 The Unexpected Party

Hope you all have an amazing holiday season!

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Great report! As with every long distance ride, Im curious about what items you packed, what brands, how you would review them, what roads you took and why, and what sites were circled on you list of things to see. Any thoughts?

Thank you for the praise :)

Honestly I try to have just the basics. And then cut that in half. A solid tent, small quality sleeping bag, clothes, thermarest, waterproof dry bag to keep the electronics, maps, a little alcohol stove, and one dry meal. My bike, the KLR had kappa luggage which was perfect and a pelican case on the rear. The Walmart ATV seat cover atop a corbin flat is a must. I took that Walmart ATV seat cover off for a few hours and got a sore ass immediately. If you read on to the beginning this KLR was actually only purchased a day or two before we left because the one I had intended on taking had an oil drop episode at cruise rpms. A good helmet such as the Schuberth C3 with music and a quality waterproof suit like the Aerostich Roadcrafter I donned are also integral to comfort for the long haul. I would rate every piece of gear I used A+. It was my second trip, so I got it all right. Pack minimalist and then cut that in half. You will still have brought to much but it's manageable.

For the capture of these moments I ran a Samsung NX1000 that I nearly destroyed in Glacier National and over by Whistler. Takes great photos and the wifi photo transfer to phone was great for a real time report. Dan used the GoPro Hero 3 for the video capture and it turned out well. Everything else technology related was done through the cell phone. The OSMAND app for navigation and mapping was essential through Canada. There are so many waypoints and good routing that doesn't need a data connection it was invaluable. Highly recommend it. I recorded the GPS tracks with a trip logging app that is ok.

Honestly though the less you have the better, and hit the road. We didn't plan the route before hand at all. We knew we wanted to make Alaska and try to hit the ferry through SE AK. Everything else was winging it by the locals advice. The best things you'll find are accidental.

Interesting to hear about the Shinko 705's. I have been running them on my KLR down in Arizona for about 20,000 miles now. I get almost 10k miles out of rear. Granted, it's mostly slab on my way to work. Awesome trip!

I had heard all good things too, and it's not that they were bad but they went faster than I wanted. It kept being repeated that the chip seal roads up there tear a tire up quick. I filed the Kenda's still wore better. There is a trade off with every choice though.

Awesome man, you definitely have the right attitude for travel. This won't be your last amazing trip. See ya on the road!

The second of five installments takes us from Wyoming, through the Tetons, over the Road to the Sun, and into Alberta. The first real mountain and offroad action of the trip was breathtaking...it's hard to believe it only gets exponentially more intense!

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Thanks for the replies... I am brainstorming this summers trip already... thinking the maritime provinces and northern east coast of North America!

Into Alberta, through British Columbia, and into Alaska.

This leg of the journey was most terrific from the Canadien border, through Banff, Jasper, and into Alaska. One of the defining moments of the trip for me was eating lunch in a cloud, above a glacier, with hummingbirds flying haphazardly through the cliffs. Salmon Glacier is well worth the side trip to Hyder/Stewart!

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Driving through the sign post forest, up over the top of the world highway, and back down through the inside passage of Southeast Alaska on the ferry! The top of the world highway is breathtaking, but I really liked the port towns of SE Alaska. There is no water that color of blue, and it reminds me of my former job commercial fishing for salmon. The ferry ride was a well needed break, and I've never met better people.

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The final video takes us from our terminus of the Alaska Ferry in Prince Rupert, BC through Vancouver, down the coastal highway through Washington and Oregon, through the California Redwoods, and on the journey homeward. Incredible trip period. Absolutely incredible.

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