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Texas to Alaska RT via the Rocky Mountains
I am planning a trip through Europe I will begin in May of this year. Since I have used this forum for preperation (I am also on advrider) and it has helped me immensely, I thought I would contribute with some photos and wisdom from my first adventure. Hopefully it will help others and perhaps even inspire someone else to do the same.
If someone wants detailed route information, please ask. My route was simple - Austin to Fairbanks only riding the Rocky Mountains, then to Achorage, back down the Yukon and on to San Francisco. Lastly, we headed across through the deserts to New Mexico before reaching home. We left on August 1st and gave ourselves 1 month. We arrived at 8am in Austin exactly 1 month later. 2 riders, a friend on a 05 Ninja 500r, and me on a 07 zx14, both stock with no touring modifications. My priority is enjoying the roads as much as possible first, reliability second, several other things after that, and comfort ranks somewhere near the bottom. August 1st proved to be a worthy start to our trip. My tent fell off about 2 miles from my home and dragged on the pavement for a good minute before I noticed. I was able to salvage it and ended up having it replaced, for free, at the REI in anchorage. We made it from Austin to a lake in New Mexico to camp the first night, about 600 miles. We unexpectedly had to ride about a mile on a terrible gravel road to reach the campsite and got lost several times in the process. Gravel on a zx14 is not easy, but it proved good training for what lay ahead. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5774.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5771.jpg We camped most nights and only stayed in a couple hotels. That particular night some kids were driving their truck around (probably drunk) up and down the shore of the lake all night. I figured there was a decent chance they would either run our bikes or tents over but went to sleep anyways. We continued through New Mexico towards Colorado. No GPS, just a few maps and my internal ability to know which was North was. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5781.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5780.jpg |
Growing up, I used to frequent the town of Telluride, CO often. The mountains in this area are truly staggering but significantly off the beaten path. I noticed my friend picked up a nail in his rear while visiting a friend of my father's who lives in Telluride.
My friend contemplating our predicament: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5798.jpg Nearby areas including Silverton and Durango. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5791.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5792.jpg This was randomly on the side of the road and I had to get a picture. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5795.jpg I got on the phone to try to find a replacement tire for my friend. The rear tire size on the 500r is very unusual. A tire shop in northwest Colorado said they had a tire that would work. A gang of much more rugged than we were dirt bikers saw us at a gas station trying to figure out the tire repair kit. Were were 4+ hours from anywhere and didn't want to accidently destroy the tire. The crew of dirt bikers came over and did it for us with ease. We were humble enough to take the assistance with great gratitude. My friend bravely rode on the plugged tire for several hundred miles through desolate western CO. After a couple hundred mile detour, we found the motorcycle shop near Grand Junction. After speaking to them on the phone while in Telluride and telling them about our bold plans, they offered to stay open late to help us. They told us stories of other riders heading towards alaska, mostly of their failure. A suzuki DL rider from Texas was there about a week ago with a bad rear wheel bearing. The issue couldn't be fixed quickly and he had to cancel the trip. We thanked them greatly, stocked up on supplies, and headed north. We met a harley rider and his wife who had traveled a very long ways with their road king, trailer and all. The next morning I realized my friend's tire was deteriorating rapidly. Something was wrong. We were now hundreds of miles from the tire shop and in the middle of no where; but we had no choice given the rarity of the rear tire size and the fact we had just paid good money for this defective unit. We headed back to the shop and were eventually forced to put the plugged flat tire back on the bike.I found a shop in Salt Lake City that said they had a good rear tire. My friend did not like the idea of riding that far on a plugged tire, but we carried on. The shop in SLC was tremendously helpful. We camped in Copper Canyon that night and woke up to find a bull moose standing next to our tents (about 10 feet from me). I had a ten second staring contest with him before he ran into the woods. It would not be the last moose we saw on our trip north. The campsite: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5817.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5816.jpg Some roads we traveled. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5810.jpg Stopping to rest for a minute, my friend dropped his bike in the gravel shown below. The bike wouldn't start and we had to drain the fuel from the carbs. We almost gave up, but finally it started. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5811.jpg |
Glacier National Park is also an incredible place. I would rank it #2 in the U.S. only to Yosemiti. Banf and Jasper are also below. These places are not possible to describe in words or through simple photographs, but I will try-
Somewhere in WY or MO we ran into the most violent storm we would encounter on our trip. A tornado like cloud criss crossed across the sky horizontally. Winds were 40-60mph and it was hailing heavily. At one point we pulled over and used our bikes as shelter from the hail. I still remember being unable to put my kick stand down due to the wind; in the short amount of time it takes to lift your foot off and extend the stand the bike would be blown over. I had to get off the bike first then put the kick stand down. We finally found shelter 10 minutes down the road. Note the hail accumulated near the front of my friend's bike: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5925.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5960.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5975.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5972.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5971.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/sahtt/zx14b.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5968.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5967.jpg Many bears on our trip, this was the first; found on the far end of glacier national park. We camped all over bear territory and often cooked near our tents. It is a risk you have to take occasionally on a trip like this as you travel through Alaska and the Yukon territory. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_5962.jpg |
Between Glacier and Banf I purchased new gloves at a great shop in Calgary. I think it was called Redline. By now my friend and I developed a liking for Tim Horton's. We camped and cooked our own food most of the time, often resorting to beef stew when far from civilization. Once you head north from the Jasper area the population density drops sharply. Soon we were on the Alaskan Highway heading towards Alaska.
The Alaskan Highway. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...kanhighway.jpg Not as bad as legend makes it out to be, but it has a few rough spots. Especially if you are on a fully laden zx14. The photos of Destruction Bay, AK were actually taken when heading south. It was pouring down rain on our way up; I didn't even know what the lake looked like until going back down. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6104.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6101.jpg We have gone about 4,000 miles in 8-9 days. The motorbike is beginning to show it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6107.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6100.jpg Heading out to party, more to come.. |
We continued north and finally reached Alaska.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6038.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6039.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6049.jpg Standard pickup truck's load in rural Alaska.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6045.jpg We stayed in rainy/muddy Fairbanks for a few days with friends (in tents in their backyard but we'll let that slide...). They showed us a good time. Heading towards anchorage we stopped by my friend's family friend's cabin. They convinced us to stay over night and we had moose meat balls and spaghetti for dinner. They run a reindeer farm.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6054.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6055.jpg We stopped by Denali but it was of course cloudy, foggy, and rainy. My friend lost it on the outskirts of the park at about 30mph and went into some peat moss. Fortunately he and the bike were okay, both a little bent but still functioning. The 500r officially earned the name 'the tank' and my friend officially started heeding my warning when I told him he was going too fast in the wet. The areas between fairbanks/anchoage/tok are incredible (the triangle that forms the only real tarmac in the state hits all 3) and the roads are in good condition as well; many times better than the Alaskan highway. |
From Tok we headed towards Haines, AK. It's a ways off the beaten path, if there is such a thing in Alaska. This relatively short ride (about 600 miles I'd say) is perhaps the most stunning of our 11,000 mile trip. It also finally stopped raining as we reached Tok.
Those legends of it raining for days, even weeks, without stopping are not just legends. We had at least 3 days of non stop rain. Ride in the rain. Unpack in the rain (in the woods). Sleep in the rain. Pack back up in the rain. Ride in the rain. Repeat. But after all that rain nature makes it up to you.. Just outside anchorage a glacier kept the daytime temps damn cold- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6077.jpg SOB..another storm time go gear up. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6080.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6086.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6088.jpg Finally begins to clear up several days later. The entire sky for 3-4 hours was full of em' http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6087.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6084.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6114.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6112.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6110.jpg Lots of riding in the clouds. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6128.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6122.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6032.jpg Rivers were overflowing as we kept pushing towards Haines, AK. We stayed with my friend's brother in a mobile home adjacent to the only golf course within 500 miles in any direction (supposedly). The entire golf course gets flooded in 5-10 ft of water due to the adjacent river on a regular basis during the river. Bears and moose also tear it up and break the flag poles. Pretty incredible to watch bald eagles eat from the river as you play 9 holes though. He has a hell of a view in the morning.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...IMG_6131-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...IMG_6135-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...IMG_6136-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...IMG_6137-1.jpg |
The bears this time of year are particularly dangerous due to the salmon run. Since my IQ is stunningly high, I ran to the front of a traffic jam (that's when more than 3 cars are stopped in the same area in Haines, Alaska) and took a picture of this bear. The locals thought (knew) I was an idiot for getting so close. Little did they know my true idiocy was already revealed by the fact my license plate on my 200hp ZX14 said "Texas"..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6138.jpg We went crabbing and got dinner. We each had a couple huge blue dungee crabs. I have never paid for crab again after knowing how easy it is to catch. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6145.jpg It also erased any desire I might have had to become one of those fisherman on the discovery channel. If you think riding around near the arctic on a motorbike is bad, try sitting/walking/living on a boat constantly getting splashed with ice cold water and at risk of falling in. No thanks. This is a unique shot of towns along the coast, only accessible by boat when the weather is decent (it isn't more often than not) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6153.jpg We took a ferry south for one night so we could ride a different section of Canada than we did on the way up. We landed around Prince George. We stayed near the coast all the way down. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6149.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6147.jpg Nearing Fairbanks I noticed my friend's rear tire was nearly bald. Not good when it's cold and wet while traveling through poorly maintained roads in remote mountainous areas. After deep contemplation, my friend decided to wait until Canada to get a new tire. No shops in Alaska had one and it takes weeks for a shipment to come in; weeks we did not have. We got off the ferry in Prince George at about 4am. We had to average about 55mph to make it to the shop with our tire in the interior before it closed for the weekend. It was pouring rain and in the low 40's all morning, afternoon, and night. How my friend managed to stay upright on that bald tire I do not know, but we made it to the "shop" and he got his tire. The shop was a back alley with a garage door. We hauled ass down the coast due to the much better weather and tarmac than we had for the last 3-4,000 miles. We reached San Francisco within a couple days and hit all the standard spots (101, red wood forest, etc.) on the way down. |
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6184.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6180.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6198.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6204.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6207.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6171.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6174.jpg Stayed with buddies in Portland and in Eugene. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6164.jpg Lost my wallet (with my emergency money in it) on the highway between Portland in Eugene, OR. There is an amazing story associated with that but you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you. Further south.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6189.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6192.jpg Up until this point my bike had been flawless. My tires, which I expected to replace when we reached Alaska, were still the same ones I left on 8000 miles ago and in decent shape. On the other hand, my friend's bike and met the pavement multiple times, broken and bent several non-essential parts, and had two flat/bad tires. Then I met the desert.. somewhere along the way I hit something and damaged my radiator. In Death Valley my machine began to overheat but it stayed below dangerous temps. Not long after, I became stranded dead center in the Mojave Desert in late August; temps >110 degrees and no shade for 50 miles in any direction. I was in black leathers with limited water; I had used a couple liters to keep the radiator full. My friend had ridden on and didn't know the severity of my issues; I had no cell signal. I would bake in the sun for about 30 minutes before riding the bike another 6-8 miles, at which point it would over heat again and I'd have to pull over. I couldn't pin point the leak. My friend patiently waited until dark when the temps dropped and we headed somewhere to camp. I tore the bike apart and checked everything I could. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6214.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...IMG_6211-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...IMG_6210-1.jpg But even when contemplating a blown motor or having to give up a mere 1200 miles from home, the sunset gave me hope. That and the 40oz. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6212.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/IMG_6160.jpg |
I had installed an additional cooling fan prior to leaving on the trip. In the middle of the woods I redid the wiring for the aftermarket and OEM fan to ensure they were working properly. Although bubbles in the coolant system could technically cause problems as severe as I was having, I wasn't too confident that was it. Nor was the system losing water quickly enough to actually go below the proper level before I caught it.
It's difficult to test if the fans are working correctly while riding the bike. I put the bike back together and hoped for the best. The next day the bike drove fine (no blown HG or engine damage fortunately) but the temps were still abnormal. After riding a motorbike for 10-14 hours a day for 3+ weeks, you start to know if anything is even slightly out of the norm. 10:30 AM came around and the bike couldn't take the heat. Once again I was stranded but this time at a decently hospitable place with some shade. I called a friend in Las Cruces, NM and told him I was going to show up at his place tonight. I would wait until the temperature dropped, probably around 8pm, and drive all the way to Las Cruces. We would arrive at around 4 AM if my bike would make it. My theory worked and the bike stayed cool all the way there. It was an extremely long and exhausting night; at one point we rode through the middle of a sand storm. Cars were abandoning the road but we pushed on. The mental exhaustion of constantly monitoring my bike's temps while riding was taking its toll as well. Now 700 miles from home reality began to set in. I was a partner at a firm and needed to be at work at 8am on September 1st. We were well ahead of schedule until the overheating issues ruined two days of riding. Today was the last day of August. The best I could hope for was to pull the radiator out and take it to a radiator shop to weld/fix the damage; if that was even the issue since I still had not located a leak. I wasn't confident I had every tool I needed to do that and didn't have time for a shop to look at it. It was summer and the shops I did call said the best they could do was look at it within the next few days. I decided we would roll the dice one last time. We'd ride all night and make it to Austin before it became warm enough to affect my bike. Both of our bikes were beat to hell and our bodies weren't in much better condition. We'd leave as soon as I felt the bike could take the temps; it would take 12 hours if we made no other stops besides gas. I had taken this particular route dozens of times and knew the roads were all in good shape and traffic would be near non-existent. One issue we'd encountered the night before was that in remote areas of TX and NM, most gas stations closed at reasonable hours and did not offer any service after hours. We almost ran out of gas the night before and after methodically checking online for 24 hour gas stations, it was clear we'd be in the same situation tonight. 12 hours later we stopped for gas just outside of Austin. It was about 7:30 AM. We almost hit several deer and almost ran out of gas a couple times, but we made it. The bike's temp gauge began to climb about 10 minutes from my house. I had had enough and road on the shoulder the last few miles home. I quickly changed clothes at was at work by 8:30 AM. After a good cleaning.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/sahtt/zx7.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/sahtt/zx2.jpg (Myself included) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3..._8315455_n.jpg |
Austin to Alaska
I have a 2006 ZX-14, I'm in San Francisco. I have made several rides to Jasper Canada. I have also made the full loop through Beartooth, so a lot of your route was familiar on the US side.
My girlfriend has a BMW 850 GS. We want to ride to Alaska. I prefer taking the ZX-14. can you private E-mail me. I read your thread and have some questions. 1. From San Francisco do I just ride to Jasper and go west or do I just go straight North. |
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