I'm Back...what ya'all been doing?

[Miles]

Okay, I'm home. The first thing I did was to strip off all my clothes , and then jump into the hot tub for about 45 minutes. That is a lot longer than normal use, but I needed to melt some of the Alaska ice I brought home with me.

 

Ride was interesting, and an experience. The BMW sidecar rigs were fun, and it makes me think about conversion of one of my bikes.

Fairbanks was colder than ^$#@*, and Prudhoe Bay was about 30 degrees warmer than Fairbanks, due to drier weather. It will be some time before I ride to Alaska again in the late Fall, just before Winter sets in. Have done it three previous times, but those were all in the Summer. Now I can say I have scratched that itch.

 

If you want pictures, which I know is one of the first things some of you ask for...

...

...are you still waiting?

 

Well, my brilliant riding partner on the R12GS had his camera in his tank bag, rather than his jacket. And, since he made certain that it was fully charged up before he left, he did not bother to bring his charger. By the time we got to Prudhoe Bay, his camera was almost frozen...to digital death...and would not function at all. We waited until the next morning to leave, and hoped the camera would be thawed out, but when he did try it the next morning, the battery was below functioning level. No way possible to charge his battery, so he...literally...threw his camera into the Arctic Ocean...he was so mad. Say goodbye to one Sony Cyber-shot.

 

I did not take a camera with me, because he said he would bring his.

 

The Super Tenere' again worked excellent, as did his (my old bike) R12GS.

 

BTW, the total trip was 5120 miles, and was done in just under 8 days of riding. Close to half of the riding was done in the dark, meaning...at night, because it gets dark really early up there.

 

Now time to get ready for Christmas.

 

So, what have you folks been up to? Eh ?

[bill in mn]

welcome home and glad your safe and sound.Bill & Crew

[Venturous Randy]

So, what have you folks been up to? Eh ?

 

Well, most of us have been going on with our everyday dull lives while you have been gallivanting all over the country. Glad you made it ok and if you ever make it to east Tennessee, look me up.

RandyA

[AKRefugee]

Glad to hear you all made it back with all your fingers toes and noses. Guess that heated gear worked good for you. Experiencing that arctic cold is something everyone should do at least once. Hard ti complain about it being cold if its not at least -20 after that lol. How you like the Fairbanks ice fogs?

 

 

Ride Happy, Ride Safe

[mraf]

We were wondering if you made it or were polar bear bait. To bad on the pictures. May be you can fill us in on more of what took place on your ride later after your brain warms up. 8 day avg, 640 miles a day, in the cold. OUCH! You gotta love it.

[Rich99]

And I thought a quarter of a million miles was a lot since 1981 on a bike, heck; I probably haven't driven more than 2 1/2 million miles between, motorcycles, cars, and trucks of which being a professiona driver, that only totaled a little better than a million. Started out pretty late with the bike though, and with medical problems, it cut my hobby down by a bunch, or I probably would have driven twice what I put down here for riding the bike. I met one guy at our annual "Star Touring & Riding" in Laughlin just a couple of yrs. after the Venture came out, and he had already put 174k on it; I guess it comes down to where some guys are born to ride and really love it!