Top of the World

[sgio]

What a great trip! Impressive mileage. I love that you did this trip on a touring bike. Give me thoughts that my ST could do such a trip..................
Maybe some tire research, I wonder if any dual sport tires are available for a ST1300?

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by Zepfan

Solo = Do what you want WHEN you want.
Group = Wait around till 10 in the morning for everyone to get up and get going.

San diego to Panama w/ 3 riders. (only one made it non stop w/o major breakdown)
San Diego to Inuvik solo. 1 month. Had a great time, met all kinds of people, never felt alone. Great fishing and camping.

I agree, doing what you want and when you want really helps when it's a long ride and you have a short time to do it.

Group rides can be fun and there is safety in numbers but I still prefer solo for the long rides.

.

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by Zepfan

WOW...... Excellent RR. Short & SWEET. Hats off to you and your ride. How about south to Argentina??

Thank you!

That would be fun but the next ride will be a lot shorter. I'm going to try the IBA 100CCC.
Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA and back to Jacksonville in less than 100 hours. I did the south coast to north coast ride and I would like to add the east coast to west coast ride and then?

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by sgio

What a great trip! Impressive mileage. I love that you did this trip on a touring bike. Give me thoughts that my ST could do such a trip..................
Maybe some tire research, I wonder if any dual sport tires are available for a ST1300?

With the right tires the ST1300 could make it. The rear tire I had worked great the front not so much.

[mrclean28h]

Totally AWSOME ride thank you so much for sharing

[GB]

Thanks for the report and pics.. Congrats, that's quite an accomplishment!

[Zepfan]

Originally Posted by Rollin'

Thank you!

That would be fun but the next ride will be a lot shorter. I'm going to try the IBA 100CCC.
Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA and back to Jacksonville in less than 100 hours. I did the south coast to north coast ride and I would like to add the east coast to west coast ride and then?

Fu#k'in ANIMAL!

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by mrclean28h

Totally AWSOME ride thank you so much for sharing

Thank you! I think you're really going to enjoy your ride to Alaska.

.

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by GB

Thanks for the report and pics.. Congrats, that's quite an accomplishment!

Thank you!!!!

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by Zepfan

Fu#k'in ANIMAL!

...........Thank you, I'm going to try.

[Rollin']

The Crash

I had made it to the start of the Dalton Highway marker and had stopped to take pictures. From this sign it’s 414 miles to Prudhoe Bay.
Two bikes pulled up next to the sign and the riders asked me if I would take their picture.

One of the riders asked “are you riding to the Arctic Circle?” I replied “I’m riding to Prudhoe Bay”
They laughed and said “on that?” and added “if we see you in Prudhoe Bay we’ll take your picture” I replied “I’ll see you there”

I saw them again on the side of the road just south of the Yukon River Crossing and waved as I rode by.
I made a gas stop at the Yukon River Crossing. It’s one of only three gas stops on the 414 mile Dalton Highway.

I headed north and was surprised to see them sitting in the road. This time one of them is sitting in a lawn chair. A very strange sight.
Both bikes were standing there, one rider was standing next to the bikes and the other was in the lawn chair.

I pulled up next to them and asked “are you taking a break?” The rider that was standing there said “no, he crashed, he went over the side and we’re waiting for help.”
There was an SUV in front of them and they had given him the lawn chair to sit in. The rider was going to be airlifted to Fairbanks.

I was talking to the rider that was standing and found out that both of them were from Wisconsin and lived near me.
I looked at the rider sitting in the chair and said ”hey, how’s it going”. As he slowly turned and looked at me I realized this wasn’t the smartest thing I could have said.
The next day I found out from a truck driver in Prudhoe Bay that the rider had broken 3 ribs and his shoulder, the bike a BMW GS 650 was also in bad shape.

They were having a really bad day. They had missed the gas stop at the Yukon River Crossing and the crash ended their trip 350 miles from Prudhoe Bay.

I found this video on YouTube. In the video the bike is still over the side. The internet is amazing –




From the video -

[Tommys04c]

I found your adventures while seeing an old post of yours on a 'Your bike with a tank' thread. I read all of your ride reports today. Simply amazing. It's ride reports like yours that makes the cold winter alittle tolerable. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for your next adventure.
Btw, your bike kicks ass to.

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by Tommys04c

I found your adventures while seeing an old post of yours on a 'Your bike with a tank' thread. I read all of your ride reports today. Simply amazing. It's ride reports like yours that makes the cold winter alittle tolerable. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for your next adventure.
Btw, your bike kicks ass to.

Thanks Tommy!!
I have been very fortunate to even be able to try the rides and very lucky on the rides.
I’m hoping I can try a few more.

Thanks again!

[pkbinder]

I enjoyed your ride report. It takes a special sot of guy to enjoy that kind of trip.
I did a SS1000 around Lake Michigan and it was truly a piece of cake and a lot of fun. I was amazed that I never got tired or bored. I supose it was because I was so engaged in the speed/mileage/fuel considerations.
Going to D2D in June on my 800GS. Paul

[Rollin']

Originally Posted by pkbinder

I enjoyed your ride report. It takes a special sot of guy to enjoy that kind of trip.
I did a SS1000 around Lake Michigan and it was truly a piece of cake and a lot of fun. I was amazed that I never got tired or bored. I supose it was because I was so engaged in the speed/mileage/fuel considerations.
Going to D2D in June on my 800GS. Paul

Thanks Paul and congratulations on the SS1000!!
I agree the IBA rides are fun.