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    Alaska by Motorcycle: are you sure you know what you are doing?
    Alaska by Motorcycle: are you sure you know what you are doing?
    Alaska by Motorcycle: are you sure you know what you are doing?
    Ebook110 pages57 minutes

    Alaska by Motorcycle: are you sure you know what you are doing?

    By Airborne Andy

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    About this ebook

    11,260 miles, 25 days, 5 bears, 4 tires, 3 close encounters, 2 oil changes, 2x out of gas, 1 crash, 1 fire, 1 blizzard, 1 dog fight, 1 thousand mile day, and 1 conversation with God! “Alaska by Motorcycle – are you sure you know what you are doing?” is the story of one man’s experience braving the unknown on a motorcycle journey into the remote regions of the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Alaska. With many years of motorcycling experience but new to long distance Adventure Touring, the author embarks on an unforgettable journey that revitalizes him physically and emotionally. The wilderness, the elements, the solitude, and the shear distance take their toll as a rookie overland motorcyclist develops into a seasoned Adventure Rider.

    The experience also has an astonishing impact on the authors’ future as it opens the door to a whole new world of exciting possibilities. “Alaska by Motorcycle – are you sure you know what you are doing?” is a Motorcyclist’s travel log, of an incredible journey that strengthens his body, stirs his soul, and changes his destiny.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAirborne Andy
    Release dateJan 2, 2013
    ISBN9781301054954
    Alaska by Motorcycle: are you sure you know what you are doing?
    Author

    Airborne Andy

    Andrew Vela (aka Airborne Andy) is a motorcycle adventure enthusiast

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      Book preview

      Alaska by Motorcycle - Airborne Andy

      Preface

      Ah… but where to begin. In this case, perhaps the end is a good place to start. I’m selling my trusty motorcycle.

      For Sale:

      Slightly used Suzuki DR650. Only ridden off-road a few times in Mexico, across the U.S. and Bolivia. Only taken on a few road trips from Los Angeles to Maine, Florida, Alaska and Argentina. Only exposed to salt water during a sailboat trip from Panama to Colombia, and for a short ride across the flooded Salar de Uyuni. Only raced once - in the Baja 1000. And, only been down 25 maybe 30 times. New air in tires.

      Introduction

      For many years I had dreamed of riding a motorcycle across the country but the farthest I had managed was from California to Oregon (the next state over). I had also often thought about taking a trip into the Alaskan wilderness. I’d been quite active and adventurous for most of my life but my physical abilities had begun to decline noticeably. For the past year I had suffered from Plantar Fasciitis – a painful aliment in the arches of the feet – and at times I could barely walk. With the realization that I was growing old much faster than I had anticipated, I decided it was time for one last adventure – one last hurrah before fading into sunset of my life. But what could I do… what adventure could I undertake with my waning physical abilities? It appeared that I already had the answer - Alaska by motorcycle would be my last great adventure!

      The Plan

      I searched the internet for information on riding a motorcycle to Alaska. That’s how I discovered the Adventure Rider web-site (advrider.com). There I found lots of helpful information, stories and photos from others that had already ridden to Alaska. I scoured the web-site reading lots of reports. I discovered that there was an annual motorcycle gathering - the Dust to Dawson Run - which takes place in Dawson City, in the Yukon Territories of Canada, during summer solstice. And, I learned that there were three infamous dirt highways that attracted adventurous riders from all over the globe – the Dempster, the Denali, and the Dalton highways – which became the highlights of my travel plan.

      I had ridden motorcycles on and off since I was a child and had just recently gotten back into riding. But, I didn’t have the right type of motorcycle for this particular journey. At the time, I owned and rode a Triumph Bonneville – a street bike with classic styling. The trip to Alaska would include lots of miles on the famed Alcan Highway which crossed the vast and unforgivingly remote regions of Canada and Alaska, and was often under (re)construction in numerous areas due to constant deterioration from the severe climate conditions. These Construction Zones were unpaved and often rough dirt for many miles. I also wanted to experience the notorious 3Ds – the Dempster, the Denali, and the Dalton highways – with a combined, round-trip distance of nearly 2,000 miles of dirt and gravel. So although my journey included many thousands of miles of paved roads, the thorough enjoyment of this epic adventure would require a motorcycle with some dirt in its pedigree. I figured that the ideal motorcycle for this type of adventure would be a Dual-Sport. Dual-Sports are small to medium size bikes that are designed for both on-road and off-road use. There are also some larger Adventure bikes that would be enjoyable in this type of terrain but generally speaking - larger bikes are more road-biased and smaller bikes are more dirt-biased. Considering all of the above, I chose a medium sized bike with a simple low tech design, renowned for its capable manors both on and off road, and for its legendary reliability akin to that of a claw hammer - the venerable Suzuki DR650.

      Are you sure you know what you are doing?

      I had been planning my Alaska trip for a few weeks. I hadn't even begun my journey yet and already I felt like a world traveler. The day before I was scheduled to leave, I packed everything on the bike and took it for a test ride just to make sure everything worked alright. Down the road a short

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