Sport-Touring the Dalton Highway?

Hypothetically speaking....
　
Suppose some guy who rode "borrowed" dirt bikes as a teeneager in the '60s finally bought his first motorcycle when he turned 55, rode it from North Carolina to Nova Scotia, and thought himself to be quite the adventurer.
　
Then tragically, he happened upon this site.
　
Now suppose that nearing 60 years of age, he traded for a 2003 Kaw Concours 1000 and wanted to ride to Alaska and back.
Solo.
And that he thought this might be a good time to try motorcycle camping.
And that it seemed like a good idea to start the trip with a BBG1500.
Are we at the insanity level yet?　 Not quite?
　
What if on the first morning, while getting the witness signatures for his BBG start, he immediately dropped the bike in the parking lot in front of co-workers?
　
What if he ran out of gas on his FIRST TANK?
　
Now we're getting somewhere.

Perhaps one indication of adventure is turning this:




into this:




It's taken me several months, but I have edited the footage and uploaded it to YouTube (Hi-Def).
I had to split it up into segments for YouTube... Watch in in 1080p Fullscreen for best results.
Enjoy!

Chapter 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T578lzlENSY

Chapter 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDrDfRO47e4

Chapter 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfGI2bLxz4Y

Chapter 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obQba5aGrvg

Chapter 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQGJMMrSmp4

Chapter 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLwmrZuQIRw

Chapter 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFHFyLhfbNM

Rick,

You sound like my kinda' guy- i'm 58

If us (ahem) middle age guys don't do it now, then when?

I have done undocumented 1000 mile days before but have plans to do the MM1000 this spring then a BBG (or two) on a long distance, short duration trip this summer.

Go man go!

Thanks for the youtube.

John

After reading your intro I scooted carefully into the center of my chair, got a good grip on my cup of coffee and placed my Ipad flat on my lap. Now I felt ready to continue with the video and earn my SURB (Seven Utube Ride Badge). I'm ready.

The video doesn't cover the "drop" I mentioned in the intro, so I'll include it here:

The Grand Launching Ceremony



I made plans with Sean and Bob to meet at the office before I left town and get them to sign the IBA witness forms as part of the verification for the IronButt ride. After I got the necessary signatures, I straddled the old red mare and started to back away. I wish you could have seen what happened next.

Actually, no I don't.

Bob was standing immediately to my left, and just as I started moving backwards, he said "Good Luck" and offered his outstretched right hand.
Of course, I quickly took my hand off the front brake and reached across to shake. That's when I felt it starting to go over. It was too late. My right hand was already shaking his, and the reach to the left was all it took.
So the three of us got to pick the beast up off the parking lot and I rode away.
Here's the BAD news: It didn't occur to me to take a photo of it while it was down.

Nice videos.
brought back some good memories of my trip in 09 (63 then)

Insanity level: 7.5

Awesome level: 9.9

I have watched the first four of your videos and sir, they are awesome! I like the combination of video and stills, plus your added comments and the music add greatly. We did a motorhome/jeep trip to Alaska this year and the north is really wonderful. We were at the Arctic Circle sign on May 27 and you were there on June 1. Looking forward to finishing the videos tomorrow.

Nice job!! Brings back fun memories, my ride from Fairbanks to Deadhorse was in the rain also, luckily though not as much graded up road.

What were the travel dates for your trip? What tires did you run?

Thanks and again, good job with the videos!!!

The trip was from May 25 to June 22, 2012.

The tires are Michelins - here is a report in another forum:
http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php/topic,36048.msg194610.html#msg194610

Rick that's awesome! I was up there in June, most likely past you on the road!

Great ride report Rick. Good Karma to U for the tow service on the BMW. Man U got alot of rain on this trip. I was on pins and needles while you were riding in all the muck up north, and I can only imagine the pucker factor was quite high on certain sections. I have never seen so many bears in one video, it was awesome.

Thanks!
Every time I passed a rider, I wondered if it was someone I've read about on this forum.

And the deep mud on the Dalton definitely pegged the pucker-meter.
It took me a week just to get the crease out of the seat cover.

Nice.
Camera work was smooth. Where did you have it mounted?

Very helpful videos! These really gave me a better sense of what to expect of the road conditions and the surrounding then still pictures. Pretty cool! Thanks.

Great ride! I plan on doing a similar ride in June on an 05 Connie.

Thanks for the great video. Gives me a chance to see the roads in action. Still shots do not compare. Planning a trip this summer from GA. Thanks again.

It was quite obvious your a seasoned rider and have honed your skills. How were the wood covered bridges, they looked equally greasy....

Nice... Thanks for sharing. I watched all your videos. Brought back some great memories.

I've stayed at the tundra campground twice now. Fast eddies in Tok is good food. I love the north.

A picture says more than a thousand words. Videos like this say more than many pictures. I watched the first 4 and will return for the remaining 3 tomorrow. Great filming, thanks for sharing. Now I want to buy a bike again and do the same trip.

You ran out of gas on a classic Connie C-10? With a 7.5 gal. tank? Dude, you're my hero!