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Jackson MS to Fairbanks AK

W

warwgn

Mini Bike
So i pick up my 03 C10 in a week or two and I really think I want to take a big trip this summer in June for my 45th birthday. Seems like an 8K mile trip would fit the bill I think it can be done in a 12 day window easy enough and still let me sight see a little. Might be a bit ambitious but only want to use 7 days of time off, so work the Saturday before on leave on Jun 14th and be back home on June 25th ready to work the next day. Can do 1000 mile days up there and 800's back or there abouts. Just gotta figure out lodging or camping to help keep it on the cheap.

I am about 75% this will happen right now, I been wanting to do this for a long time and this seems like the time to do it. Any suggestions for this?

 
I have made that plan and headed west a couple of times.

First time I did FL-OR-down the west coast-TN (38 days C14)

Second time did TN-CO-OR-Yellowstone-Sturgis-TN (75 days KLR)

Went out west this year and just couldn't believe how far I still was from Anchorage while in Northern WA  :eek:

Seems once I get out west and surrounded by parks, mountains, rivers, great weather, riding, camping and rallies (with thinning tires and not quite halfway yet to Alaska)  - I just have enjoyed the west those three different times three different ways and hope to do it again every few years. Alaska is FAR! and $$$ and I would believe totally worth it. I'd just build extra time and money into that voyage. There's a string of goodness from the Grand Canyon up to Glacier and all in between. I wonder if I'll ever make that trip to Alaska. . . .

 
666.667 miles per day. Oh my azz.....  I know I couldn't do it. That's HUGE miles (for me). I MIGHT could average 300/day and still something besides truckstops and McD's. I don't think I could do that in a Cadillac. Might be worth a little internet cruising of the Iron Butt website but that's temporarily down (I see). But here are their tips:  http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cfm


Good luck. You know we'll be cheering for you! :popcorncouple:

 
Just to make me seem less crazy, only using 7 days of time off but total of 12 dys for the trip, 5 up and 5 back with 2 for down time and issues. As for distance in a day with "good" roads 1000 in a day is not to bad for me, have done it a few time two up on my Goldwing 1500, and even did it on my 86 Honda Nighthawk but not two up. I am an Iron butt rider just dont register my trips because I would rather spend that extra time riding not donig paperwork 😁.

I think 1000 mile days is easy until I hit the Yukon, and may loose miles by half? I may have to suck it up and make Canada on the first day then 1200 to 1500 the next day and then take it easy at 500 a day there after. Then again if it stays light most of the day the would mean more easy miles.....until it pours all day.

Lots of good points and things to consider, and thanks for the link to the videos....except it makes me want to try for Prudhoe Bay....but wont fit my time schedule this year.
 
Old rule of thumb for maximizing enjoyment of vacations of all sorts:
1) cut your scope - the what you're doing (in your case, miles) - in half, and
2) bring 3X the money you wanted to spend. 

either way, take photos and post up a report!
 
Have you been riding for awhile ? Thats a bunch of miles to do in a short time . I did 700 miles in one day after being without a bike for a few years . Not easy at all .
 
im just north of you in booneville,  thats not a doable plan.  thats iron butt finisher mileage, and leaving you no bail out options except to turn around or wait till you get a new tire shipped in and so on.  understand the desire, but you need more time. and need to spend time between now and them checking out your bike.  if you like I have a buddy in florence whos ridden more IBA than i have on a concours.  go to the kickstand and ask for richard stevens someone there will get him in touch with you.or i will PM you his number.  also see larry buck and bruce barge on this forum, they are also iron butt riders who run connies.  12 days is enough to get to  grand canyon,the north rim, canyon de chelly,zion np, bryce canyon np. 4 corners,capital reef np. and arches np. you can have a really good trip and not be beat down. and there is help available in the area if needed.  dont want to rain on your parade but thats asking a lot of you,your bike, the weather and local road conditions with not a lot of support if stuff goes wrong.
 
Just thinking out loud here
I know it wouldnt be a cheap trip but have you thought about doing a fly/ride trip
Ship bike to Ak fly there and ride back or ride there and ship/fly back
You would have more non iron but days
 
With all of the neat stuff to see going, coming, and at the destination, why would one want to spend 15 hours a day in the heat and cold riding on mostly flat, ugly roads. Somewhere over 6000 miles of this trip is through "not so much fun" roads. And where the roads do get decent you will most likely be stuck behind big "B trains" and/or wreck all creation vehicles. And then there is the road construction delays to factor in.

Unless for some sort of endurance/feel good thing, there really appears no reason to put yourself through this. If the goal is to ride to somewhere in Alaska, go get yourself Hyderized in Hyder and save 800 miles each way and see better scenery. Then head up to Skagway and Haines City(use the ferry between these towns), time permitting. The Cassiar Hwy is one of those magical roads. You'll know what I mean once you've traveled it.

Expecting to average 900 miles a day to and from Fairbanks is not my idea of fun, not on those roads.

Have fun.
 
Still lot of good input and thanks!

Yes have been riding for about 16yrs now, and living where i do I can and do ride to work every day so average a little over 500 miles a week just commuting.

After all the comments and a little reflection I changed up the plan a little, leaving 3 days later get me the July 4th holiday in so a couple extra days for free. Will use 80 hrs of time off but have 17 days of travel with one day home to recover before going back to work.

Still plan on 1000 miles the first day but may spend a day with my buddy while in MN, then another 1000 miles or so up to Saskatoon in one hit. Then after that will drop the milage down to 8 or 10 hours a day. Will still hit fairbanks in the first week, then head back home but detour south a bit to salt lake city to visit my sister. Might fit a quick ride through yellow stone, then east for a bit to mt rushmoore and see a cousin,  then straight south to Albuquerque and spend a day or two with the parents then 17 hrs east on my last day to be home.

Still planing routes but the time frame is set and is longer.

As for the trip itself, it is not really to sight see or prove I can do it, not even about what roads I ride. I really don't care if it is twisty, hilly, curvy, paved, or dirt, or dead flat and straight for miles on end in the dark, I simply just like to ride all day long. I am happy to put on my helmet turn on the tunes and roll on the throttle. I am sure some of you get where I am coming from, but on the other hand I like adventures and camping, have never been to Canada so figure why not. I alson want to go through Dawson and hit the top of the world hwy.
 
if you are dead set on doing it figure on replacing a tire to get home on.
start with fresh new tires. and have a replacement rear available for the return leg at a us dealer with a timeframe when you will arrive there. concours 150/80/16" rears will make 6-8k in occasional use,  just eating miles they go faster with the load, speed and heat.
more than once i had to get an unscheduled tire replacement to get home from the west coast. and connie size tires arent stocked at most dealers.
when i was doing 20-30k per on my c-10 i used the goldwing 1500 size tires  those make 15k or more  but feels like someone jacked your bike up and slid a log truck under it handling wise until you get used to it.  if youre going to be sleeping out in alaska get a 20 degree bag, synthetic, its damp most of the way thru canada/alaska  and down will fail in wet conditions.and a silk bagliner.it gets cold at night even in the summer.  also you will need a hat with a bugnet on it for the mosquitoes long sleeve shirts pants and a big bottle of skeeter repellent.  and bearspray..
 
See if you can contact Rick 3 foxes , a member here . He made the trip from the east coast on 1 set of tires I believe . 12000 miles if I recall . Also check out his awesome videos on YouTube. I'll see if I can post a link for ya


https://youtu.be/T578lzlENSY
 
Warwgn said:
Still lot of good input and thanks!

Yes have been riding for about 16yrs now, and living where i do I can and do ride to work every day so average a little over 500 miles a week just commuting.

After all the comments and a little reflection I changed up the plan a little, leaving 3 days later get me the July 4th holiday in so a couple extra days for free. Will use 80 hrs of time off but have 17 days of travel with one day home to recover before going back to work.

Still plan on 1000 miles the first day but may spend a day with my buddy while in MN, then another 1000 miles or so up to Saskatoon in one hit. Then after that will drop the milage down to 8 or 10 hours a day. Will still hit fairbanks in the first week, then head back home but detour south a bit to salt lake city to visit my sister. Might fit a quick ride through yellow stone, then east for a bit to mt rushmoore and see a cousin,  then straight south to Albuquerque and spend a day or two with the parents then 17 hrs east on my last day to be home.

Still planing routes but the time frame is set and is longer.

As for the trip itself, it is not really to sight see or prove I can do it, not even about what roads I ride. I really don't care if it is twisty, hilly, curvy, paved, or dirt, or dead flat and straight for miles on end in the dark, I simply just like to ride all day long. I am happy to put on my helmet turn on the tunes and roll on the throttle. I am sure some of you get where I am coming from, but on the other hand I like adventures and camping, have never been to Canada so figure why not. I alson want to go through Dawson and hit the top of the world hwy.
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Wow what a ride that will be.


But you better plan for a tire-change session.


Also, theres no quick way through Yellowstone NP.  Theres few passing zones and its 45mph.


 
Bear spray: best check the legality of what you carry into Canada, And for (insert deity here)s sake don't bring a hand gun into Canada.

Also, the ground stays quite cold up there, perma frost.

Above all, have fun. And wave to the fake RCMP car in Teslin, YT.
 
SteveJ. said:
Bear spray: best check the legality of what you carry into Canada, And for (insert deity here)s sake don't bring a hand gun into Canada.

Also, the ground stays quite cold up there, perma frost.

Above all, have fun. And wave to the fake RCMP car in Teslin, YT.
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thats why i said bear spray, cant carry a 6oz mace can or even the keyring size one for personal protection, but you can bring a 2lb can of bear spray..
 
Max said:
SteveJ. said:
Bear spray: best check the legality of what you carry into Canada, And for (insert deity here)s sake don't bring a hand gun into Canada.

Also, the ground stays quite cold up there, perma frost.

Above all, have fun. And wave to the fake RCMP car in Teslin, YT.
Click to expand...
thats why i said bear spray, cant carry a 6oz mace can or even the keyring size one for personal protection, but you can bring a 2lb can of bear spray..
Click to expand...

Thanx for the clarification. I knew there was some sort of rule there.
 
Taking a 14 year old used (but new-to-you) motorcycle) on a trek like that without substantial saddle experience is optimistic IMO.  You may have ridden lots of high mile days on your GL 1500 but a C10 is NOT a GL. It sits differently, it handles differently, it feels differently. How comfortable are you going to be riding a 700lb+ bike on poorly surfaced roadways?

What's your mechanical ability? Have you ever seen anyone adjust the valves? Do you know what's involved in removing/replacing the fairing parts? How confident are you in the condition of this bike? When was the suspension last serviced or the valves adjusted? Are the carbs clean?

I would hope that you're going to spend the time between your picking up the motorcycle and departure getting VERY familiar/comfortable with what it takes to maintain a C10. 

Good luck. Post up a travelogue of the adventure.
 
All good points, and I am set, I am a gear head and can do anything on the bike at all, I even change and balance my own tires. I do not have the patience or trust to take any of my vehicles to the shop. I build engines, transmissions, replace bearings, weld, paint and modify all kinds of stuff. I am very comfortable and confident the bike will be ready for the trip by June.

I was a desert racer on ATV's in the early 2000s and had an old Yamaha TT600 dirt bike that I just about wore out riding off road, and I was fine taking the goldwing down dirt roads quite often so dont see any issue there. Excellent points you made and great info for others to consider too if they plan a trip like this, and for myself.

I will be over and over every aspect of this adventure, the bike, the routes, my gear, and my health several times before I leave. June only seems like a long way off but will be here in no time, i have not been real big on documenting trips and stuff in the past but will try to post up a lot here as i prepare. Just got some new gear in today so gonna go mess with that and will review it all soon.
 
Warwgn said:
Well tomorrw is my big day, picking up the new to ke bike!! :)
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Hoot, Hoot.

Still can't identify with your travel plans and especially schedule.  But that's me - not you!

Request that you try to break with your habit of not documenting your travels and take photos
and every 2nd day entering a post with photos.  A lot of us have brought older bikes up to snuff,
but few have done your trip.  Just a suggestion - enjoy everything.
 
How was the 1st day with your new-to-you Connie? Did you ride her home? (these bikes don't like being trailered)  :motonoises:

:beerchug:









 
I love it so far. Runs great but will need to do a few things soon, oil n filter, lube it all up then bigger stuff like steering bearings and tires n brakes and check the shaft. I only got in 150 miles today before i came home but as usual got right to work on it with a few mods and a fix. The throtle had slop which turned out to be routed wrong on the cables and one of them was a little busted but i fixed it with a zip tie until I buy a new one, just the very end of the adjuster at the grip is broken a little but now its good.

So it does have bar risers and is in good shape over all and even already had a K&N air filter so I think the PO might have been a gear head or at least took care of it. The first thing I did was put led tail lights in since one was out anyway and I have a box of them in the shop from when I had my goldwing. Next up was the cable fix and remove the slop, then ditched the foam grips and put on oxford heated grips and a kako throttle lock. Will go ride tomorrow and order some oil and a filter and new spark plugs, the K&N was very clean so all good there. It has some almost new shinko tires so will roll those for a while but prolly get some new avons or something before I take any big trips. So far I am positive I made a good choice!



And of course had to take is apart a little just to see what was in there, oh and also to hook up the heated grips and a lead for my heated jacket. It had a battey tender lead on it but took it off and tossed it, I have no need for that since I ride every day.



 
ok review time.

like the bike a lot, runs great and seating position is good for my body and it is comfortable for the most part. it does put out a lot of heat on the legs but is easy to just get them in the wind a little and its not too bad. the shinko tires are crap but brand new so will run them for a little bit and sokething new on order. the front tire has a butt load of weights on the rim and I think that is the cause of low speed wobbles. will put on a new tire and balance it better before i say the steering bearings need to be replaced. I think I need to adjust the valves, there is a little clatter on cold starts but it goes away quickly and it seems to be running well but still want to do valves and plugs and see where it goes from there. MPG wise it got 41 the first tank and 44 the second so jetting seems good and no hesitation with smooth idle.

gear and upgrades

the oxford heated grips are awesome, install was a snap and the work very well and feel great too, the controler is clean and looks good and not in the way at all. I have been following the headlight threads and think I will go with the LED of some sort soon since I ride in the dark a lot. I thought about tip over bars so I can run highway pegs but my legs are just too long so not a good reason to get them since that just wont work for me. i think I will get a 6" led light bar to put under the headlight for auxiliary lighting just gotts see how tht goes.

schuberth C3 pro helmet is the bomb, it is very comfortable super quiet and just overall awesome. I got the Schuberth SRC bluetooth that replaces the neck roll and love it too, the audio is plenty louc and clear and the buttons are easy to use. I rand pandora and qooqle maps for a 10 hour day and it worked all day  so battery seems good too.

went with the tourmaster transition 4 jacket and it is good over all so far, dont think it will work once the temps get over 70 just too hot. the liner is great and in 40 degree weather it was plenty warm . it is very comfortable but even with the liner out and all vents open it was very warm . Also got the tourmaster over pants but have not used them yet, it isnsupposed to be raining tomorrow so will get to test out the water proof of both.

so the upcoming things will be a taller windshield, think I will try the 19" clear for my rifle base. I am 6'4" so it should put the air flow iin just the right spot, right now it just makes a littlemore noise at speeds of 75 and up so for all day riding I want to bring the decibles down a if I can. There is no buffeting at all this is purely for sound dampening.  The big ticket item will be a russel day long seat, after only 300 miles I was starting to get a slight monkey butt burn going so experience tells me for 1000 mile days I am gonna want to change that up. I found the oem seat had me sliding forward a bit so some angle chane a little more support will go a long way. with the fuel range at an easy 250 to 280 miles between fill ups I want to be able to stay in the saddle for all of that to make the most of travel time.

oh and the last bit was the kako throttle lock, I played with it a bit and it does work but was riding in a group and it was not steady enough for that, but suspect going solo it will be just fine.

 
Maybe I missed it, but you may want to anticipate: 1. no cell phone coverage, and/or 2. coverage but you may need a Canadian phone until you get back into the US.  I lived in Anchorage for many years and did the Al-Can three times.    Don't underestimate how remote the Yukon and some of AK really is.  Road surface in the Yukon can be marginal; have very good luggage and/or straps.  Figure gasoline at 100 mile intervals at best in some areas.  Double your anticipated gas, meals and lodging expenses when in Canada!  Never, ever carry a firearm into Canada from the US. Make sure your passport is valid.  Get 2017 Milepost magazine immediately if you haven't already...It's the bible for road travel to and from Alaska. I'd rent a sat phone or get a SPOT locator for emergency if you are traveling solo.  Will not get very dark at that time of year, but watch out for moose, bear and caribou on the roads. Good luck! 
 
not2brite said:
Maybe I missed it, but you may want to anticipate: 1. no cell phone coverage, and/or 2. coverage but you may need a Canadian phone until you get back into the US.  I lived in Anchorage for many years and did the Al-Can three times.    Don't underestimate how remote the Yukon and some of AK really is.  Road surface in the Yukon can be marginal; have very good luggage and/or straps.  Figure gasoline at 100 mile intervals at best in some areas.  Double your anticipated gas, meals and lodging expenses when in Canada!  Never, ever carry a firearm into Canada from the US. Make sure your passport is valid.  Get 2017 Milepost magazine immediately if you haven't already...It's the bible for road travel to and from Alaska. I'd rent a sat phone or get a SPOT locator for emergency if you are traveling solo.  Will not get very dark at that time of year, but watch out for moose, bear and caribou on the roads. Good luck!
Click to expand...

All great advice and very much in line with what I have found researching, I was going to buy a spot but found you can rent of for $40 a month so will go that route I think. Actually have started downloading music to my phone since I know I wont have coverage, and will consider it lucky if I find wifi. Part of the point for me is to get away so don't mind the remote thing at all, don't think I mentioned it but I am a Marine and avid outdoorsman so none of that will bother me at all and I look forward to it. Again thanks for the good advise, I will def look into the Milepost magazine!!
 
The trip to AK is no longer scary:  the true old-timers had to deal with hundreds of miles of gravel and mud.  But lately, it's all paved, minus the road construction zones...which can be temporarily paved with amazing baseball-sized rocks!  Good news: motorcycles can go to the front of the queue at the flagman.  Take advantage of that...or choke in dust. 

There will be plenty of slow-poke RV traffic in June, so don't worry about being stranded anywhere.  Plan your overnights carefully if you want to stay in civilization (i.e., a hotel or similar)....The limited motels along the way fill up early at that time of year.  (Use the Milepost Magazine to find motels.)  If you're camping, no problems,  except for the giant AK mosquitoes.  BUY A GOOD HEADNET and maybe light gloves!!!.  You will thank me more for that bit of free advice than anything else.     
 
my 19" rifle replacement came in today and I put it on, will test it tomorrow and see what difference it makes. Can't see over it easily so will be looking through it, not a huge deal I did that for 2 years on the wing with no issues. Also got my USB charger/volt meter, but the mounting bracket it came with is just a tad wide and does not fit like I thought it would so will need to think on it a bit before I install those.

have done more planning on the route and have a huge laminated wall map now so can dry erase mark my route and study it. So far the miles would be 8900 round trip so I should not need to replace tires if all goes well. Still need to do homework on tires but believe I should be able to get 10K out of a set with no issue. I think I saw where some have used goldwing rear tires and on my 1500 I could get 16K out of the Dunlop E3 rear. I ride lots of highway miles and not a corner carver at all, I will do that but not my main riding style so will be looking for tires that get me the miles.
 
You may well get that mileage out of a set of tires but I would not trust that you will.  Make sure you watch the ware and be in a location to do something about it if they only last 6k like most of mine do.
 
was wrong, i can see over the shield much better than ai thought than just sitting in the garage. This was a great choice, cut the volume in half again, can open my chin vent now and no change is the sound level, in other words I love it.
 
Warwgn said:
was wrong, i can see over the shield much better than ai thought than just sitting in the garage. This was a great choice, cut the volume in half again, can open my chin vent now and no change is the sound level, in other words I love it.
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I am gonna try the Dunlop Elite 4's, stock size in the rear but have to go up to a 130 in the front. If I can only get 6k out of tires I will have to get a different bike, I am not changing tires every couple months.
 
It is not always the bikes fault.  Try running hard on Tx. chip glass roads at 80-100 degrees and a 40 mph side wind and it will rub any bikes tires off in half the expected time.  I suspect you will do better that far north.  Roads will be cooler and made from real asphalt maybe but still.  Don't trust it, check tires every day as you should anyway.
 
:)  Oh I get ya now, and know exactly what you mean about Texas roads and weather. I hope to order a set of tires this month and will have them worn out before June so should get a good judge on how they last with the way I ride. To your point I dont think road conditions will be any worse than what I ride on now, most of what people say are bad roads seem good to me compared to rural Mississippi.
 
17 days is very doable, but will limit on what you can sight see on the ride up and back.  My only real suggestion is not to do the Taylor Highway or the Haul Road.  Not because the C-10 can not handle them, it is because these roads take a toll on the bikes, and it increases the chances of having a problem with the bike, getting a flat tire or unfortunately going down.

You will be able to put in some long riding hours the farther you go north, lots of daylight, but what is going to slow you down is the construction zones and fuel stops.  The construction zones may be 10 feet in length, or a 100 miles, some will just be dirt, others will be deep slick mud.  If you are going to ride long hours on the Alaskan Highway, plan accordingly.  The C-10 has plenty of range, but those roadside places do close, and when they do they usually turn off their generators, and you will have to be extremely lucky to wake one of the owners up and they agree to fire up the generator so you can get gas.

Take good rain gear, and wear good waterproof boots.
 
oh yeah, good point I sorta did not consider, riding during business hours which may be different than around here, and as you said they may turn off the pumps at "night". Well that just added a new level of planning for me, I am glad you brought that up so I can add that in.

Right now I have been focused on getting the bike set up the way I want, and getting most of the riding gear I want, and I am close to done there. Have all the jacket and pants and gloves and heated gear, still need good rain gear even though my jacket pants seem to be fine and water proof I want a second option just in case. I should be putting on the new tires this weekend Dunlop Elite 4's, also installing the USB charger and volt meter, and last the Evitek LED headlight. Needed to do all that now so I have time to see how the tires last and evaluate the Evitek to see if it will do or need to add additional driving lights as well. Also ordered a Russel Da-long seat today so hope to have that completed by April so I can put in a few thousand mile on it before the trip to break it in good.

Still undecided about tip over bars, I like the idea just not sure on the looks, but if I decide to get driving light they sure do mount nice to the bars.
 
Still undecided about tip over bars, I like the idea just not sure on the looks, but if I decide to get driving light they sure do mount nice to the bars
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Along with foot pegs.

:beerchug:
 
SteveJ. said:
Still undecided about tip over bars, I like the idea just not sure on the looks, but if I decide to get driving light they sure do mount nice to the bars
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Along with foot pegs.

:beerchug:
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I think my legs are just too long for highway pegs on this bike, my feet would be up by the front axle.  I can put it on the center stand and still flat foot the ground with my knees bent.
 
Now there is an idea.  Mount pegs on either side of your front axle.  I would pay some money to see you coming down the road like that.
 
I also lived in Alaska for some years and keep in mind that is the place where God invented weather!!  Travelled most of Alaska and Yukon and North West Territory and can be very strong rain and winds, not suitable for bike riding plus lots of opportunities to meet up with moose and the moose will win every time.  Unless it has changed your entry point to Alaska will be a small town/village by the name of TOK and a motel, gas station, stores are there but in between just miles of wilderness. Your time frame is way short when opportunities of problems is high on such a trip.  I would not even consider it unless had a month of time available and not sure about that.  If you do go, wish you Gods Speed and may the wind be at your back. 
 
I'm reminded of a member on here who took a ride to Alaska on his C-10 a few years ago. I think the story was that he was riding along minding his own business and a moose came out of the bush, knocked him off and stomped the crap out  of the still running C-10. Fortunately his wife was behind in a SUV and got him some medical care in time. Apparently C-10's are offensive to mooses...
 
I have already hit a deer at 70mph head on, tore up my Goldwing but I cam out fine, just a little road rash on my left hand and busted rib. After that I have been very cautions looking for critters on the side of the road, and I sure hope I don't have that close of an encounter with a moose or bear or anything at all really, but cant let that possibility or fear stop me.  :-[

 
ron203 said:
I'm reminded of a member on here who took a ride to Alaska on his C-10 a few years ago. I think the story was that he was riding along minding his own business and a moose came out of the bush, knocked him off and stomped the crap out  of the still running C-10. Fortunately his wife was behind in a SUV and got him some medical care in time. Apparently C-10's are offensive to mooses...
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Fortunately she is a trauma nurse, or Paulie would have died on the spot. They wound up air lifting him to Sky Harbor in Seattle. It took him a while to recover.
 
I hit a big buck about a month ago and really mess up a Hyundai Sante Fe, but it was NOTHING like moose. I saw those in Alaska, and they're HUGE!  I can hardly imagine hitting a deer on a bike. Gives me the shakes to think about it and they're like rats around here.
 
The way I heard it the moose knocked Paulie off the bike and danced on him for a bit.  The bike just kept going down the road a ways.
 
smithr1 said:
The way I heard it the moose knocked Paulie off the bike and danced on him for a bit.  The bike just kept going down the road a ways.
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Even worse....
 
A deer (typically) won't attack you. A moose might very well attack you. The moose had injured Paulie had come out of the brush, went back in, came out and attacked him (breaking his neck in the process). Even a HUGE deer is a fraction of the size of an average moose. More Alaskans are injured by moose than by bears. :-\
 
It sounds very ambitious! We take a 3000miler each year and I always remember....once you get to your destination, you have to go back! Don't let us all discourage you, but you should consider a lot more time.
 
I wish I could take more time but 17 days is all I got to work with, I have young kids and a demanding job that needs lots of attention, part of why the route no signal means no work calls. I will still have about 80 hours of time off left so if there is an issue I have reserve saftey margins but that would dry up my time off for the year. I have already burned some of that so trying to not use any more until the trip.
 
Warwgn said:
I wish I could take more time but 17 days is all I got to work with, I have young kids and a demanding job that needs lots of attention, part of why the route no signal means no work calls. I will still have about 80 hours of time off left so if there is an issue I have reserve saftey margins but that would dry up my time off for the year. I have already burned some of that so trying to not use any more until the trip.
Click to expand...

Ride on. This blast will give you a taste of what you can go back to when you can smell a flower two.

Get on and go.

I'm just glad to be done with that whole working for a living concept.  :beerchug: :motonoises: :motonoises:
 
Warwgn said:
I wish I could take more time but 17 days is all I got to work with, I have young kids and a demanding job that needs lots of attention, part of why the route no signal means no work calls. I will still have about 80 hours of time off left so if there is an issue I have reserve saftey margins but that would dry up my time off for the year. I have already burned some of that so trying to not use any more until the trip.
Click to expand...

Do what travel you can. Have fun!
 
Well dang, gotta call the trip a bust for this year, kids got sick and had to miss some work then I got sick and had to miss even more so my days off have been burned down a bit to far to allow any safety margin at all. Hopefully I can still manage to carry over a week into next year which would give me 5 1/2 weeks of paid time off so maybe allow some sick days to prevent this form happening again.

On the plus side it does give me more time to prepare and upgrade the bike, but on the down that will add a lot of miles to the bike by next June, will prolly be upwards of 70K on the clock by then....ahh that aint so bad would still be under 100k even after the trip.

Time to start taking some bike camping trips and really get a good idea of what I want on this bike and what gear I really need and how to pack, prolly even take a few weekend trips to Canada to try out the border crossings and camping up there. So After typing this and thinking on it as I am, this don't really seem like as bad a deal as I thought, even more time to save up extra cash for the big trip....hmmmm maybe I should have just planned it for 2018 to begin with, of course I would not have moved as fast on getting new gear if I did that.
 
"Time to start taking some bike camping trips and really get a good idea of what I want on this bike and what gear I really need and how to pack, prolly even take a few weekend trips to Canada to try out the border crossings and camping up there. So After typing this and thinking on it as I am, this don't really seem like as bad a deal as I thought, even more time to save up extra cash for the big trip"

^^^
COG is like a college for learning the above. The forum is good - but many of the people who ride and camp will give you ideas and info you won't find here. I have met some folks at events that don't use the forum and have their bikes outfitted in creative ways. Plus, it's easier to observe and etc in person. Camping with COG and other riders has shown me many ways to skin this cat. We all have different things we are willing to skimp on and things we aren't at all willing to skimp on. Observing is the way as many of the folks that have this down pat have never used a forum and don't even know how much you'd like their advise. Face to face is da bomb :great:

As I mentioned earlier - I have headed for Alaska 3 times and found the weather and parks and roads and everything I wanted was between Zion and Glacier. It's quite something to be 3,000 miles from home and still 2,000 miles from Alaska - being well prepared would not suck.

Check the calendar and join us sooner than later. Still 9-10 spots left for the Horseshoe Mtn Rendezvous

:beerchug:

 
I plan to try and hit an event or two, I am sending my seat out on the 15th to russell day long so after it gets back I will be itching for some long rides. Trying to decide on what pillion tail bag I want to get now, gonna take a camping weekend up into MO the weekend after Easter to hang out with some Goldwing buddes. only about 550 miles each way, but think my butt will be sore with this stock seat, but need to jump in there and start figuring it out what I like.
 
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