Alaska - The ride report

[bikeama]

Welcome home to California. Glad the weather gave you a warm and dry welcome. Already miss your trip reports.

 

[two wheel tramp]

Oregon looks like a nice ride.
Probably take me a week to get there given my daily range limits.
I suspect a proper riding pants would make a world of difference.

Or bike shorts. I washed Nate's.

 

[tzrider]

Or bike shorts. I washed Nate's.

Was he in them?

 

[Blankpage]

Or bike shorts. I washed Nate's.

Bicycle shorts? I might give that a try.
I have an old pair of Klim dirt biking padded shorts kicking about somewhere. Should dust them off and make one more long run before winter winds start blowing.

 

[two wheel tramp]

Was he in them?

Obviously.

@Blankpage that's what they looked like. Makes sense. I have an ample backside so most seats agree with me. I use an Alaska Leathers sheepskin on my bikes sometimes, though.

 

[CDONA]

Now we get to the "kiss & tell" part of our excursion, , ,
Pix are evidence, none shown.

Please stay tuned,

 

[N4teTheGreat]

I got one more short report on the ride home yesterday in me, but also I guess I'm gonna go to Hawthorne after all, so I gotta prep for that first.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

So anyway, I should close this thread out, no?

It was raining when I woke up in Eureka, as predicted. I made some motel coffee and started rounding up my stuff to get packed, after a bit of posting on BARF of course. By the time I was ready to hit the rode the rain had stopped and while the road was damp I decided to skip the frogg toggs.

My initial plan was to ride a bit of 36 and then take Alderpoint Road but as I got to 36 that whole area was enveloped in some nasty looking rain clouds. Not that I was hesitant to ride in rain at this point, but wet corners on 36 didn't seem worth the effort so I decided to take 101 to 1 instead. Not to long after I caught up with this mornings storm and pulled off to don my Frogg toggs after all.

I decided to take the avenue of giants because I like that road and it hasn't been open the full length the last few times I'd been up this way. Finally took a picture too.

Redwoods are a great place to be in the rain. It was light rain and very little of it was making it to forest floor.

It was lightly trafficked due to the weather and being a weekday so I didn't have any issues getting clear road. I did eventually need to stop again to pee, but also it was pretty out.

Seen while peeing...

It seemed to be getting lighter, but the lighting in the redwoods always feels very airy to me.

I made one more stop to do a bike to tree size comparison because there are a number of very large trees right along the roadway and with the light traffic I felt parking in the lane of travel for a shot was low risk.

I made a u-turn to get a shot of this river / clearing

As I got near Miranda I smelled the waft of the devils lettuce and noticed a group of scrawny tourists standing in the trees smoking a bowl, typical hippies I thought, but also, yeah smoking in the redwoods would be nice. Shortly after that I rolled into town and realized those scrawny tourists where high schoolers and it was apparently lunch hour and the town was overrun with 'em. I guess Miranda must be where all the surrounding communities kids go for high school because the town felt like some sort of summer camp, no lawn was safe. I found the least child infested spot and decided I took would take a lunch break. Coffee and a Calzone it was.

The place was pretty good.

Satiated I got back on the road. The weather had mostly cleared so it was blue skies and clouds down 101. I got to Leggit and took 1 and was ready to rail those corners. The whole stretch was freshly paved, and apparently so fresh as to still have oils from the asphalt being lifted by the rain. After having a few slips of the front and rear around a wet corner I lost my nerve and backed my pace off, so not the best run at that stretch, but I'll be back soon enough I imagine.

I stopped in Mendocino to see about coffee and the fog was really interesting. It felt like the barrier was basically the shore and I noticed later on that you could feel a 5 or so degree temperature shift depending on which side of the fog line the road was on.

No coffee open at this hour on a weekday so I kept going, but needed to stop for a Van Damme beach for a bio break. Fog was pretty cool looking as well.

I peeled off 1 at 128 to head inland to Booneville because it's a fun road and it would be a reasonably efficient route home.

I found a coffee shop in Booneville and had an affogato

The sun came out as I left town and 128 was looking pretty, I had most of the road to myself, but stopped a few times when I was catching traffic to snap a shot.

After that it was 101 all the way home. Quick gas up in Marin and a heads up to Jules to be ready for a photo op. I stopped at the bridge to get a shot as well.

When I got into SF I had Jules meet me outside before taking the bike to the garage for a quick shot. I wish it showed the backpack better but it seems like a good way to close out this ride report.

Of course I promptly got approval for Hawthorne, gave the bike a quick bath and was back on the road the day after I got home, because why not? I suspect it'll be parked for a least a week now. I should probably work on the DRZ and KTM as well...

 

[budman]

A most epic ride report my friend.

I already asked at dinner at Hawthorne what was your fav day was and I was a bit surprised by your answer, but very cool.

So reframed question. What was your favorite day riding?

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Hard to pick just one. The day I crossed into British Columbia was one, first time on the Hyper outside of the US, good weather and I'd always wanted to visit BC. The Cassiar Highway which was several days, because it was so remote, absolutely spectacular views some good corners. The day from Fairbanks to Cantwell, short ride, beautiful fall weather and views of Denali from the distance. And Wasilla to Tok again, perfect weather, got to see a glacier and yet another day of mind blowing mountain views.

The ride to Haines and out of Skagway, despite the wet weather in both cases, both delivered epic views, crazy fog and felt very adventurous, plus I did a ferry ride which was also a first.

Plenty of firsts. Probably the least fun day, which was still fine, was Cantwell to Wasilla as it was overcast and raining most of the day so no views and very wet, but still enjoyed the side of the road sights here and there.

As for just good roads, I'd say the best pure riding from a let er rip standpoint was the sea to sky highway from Cache Creek into Whistler, lots of corners, some interesting pavement to keep me on my toes and views were great when I had time to look.

 

[TunnelVision]

Beautiful pictures and scenery. Really a treat to see, and inspiring to boot. Making me plan my own (much shorter) jaunt. Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[bikeama]

Thank you for taking us along for the ride of a lifetime. Should be headed to Best of Barf.

 

[Tally Whacker]

Well, done, Nate. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Thanks all, glad folks enjoyed the report! Also realized I forgot to post a pic of me at the end, I am kinda disappointed I didn't look more grizzled. Guess I'll have to try harder next time.

 

[Grissom]

Should be titled “Nate’s Most Excellent Adventure “
Thank you very much for the photos and ride reports as I enjoyed reading each of your posts on this adventure

 

[TowerRigger]

Nate, It was really awesome getting to chat you on the routes thru BC and Yukon. It was an honour to meet you and Blankpage in person and share a beer and meal! You are welcome to come back anytime you want to see more of that Scenery on the 99 Sea to Sky.

Thank you Barfers for letting me join and follow along on this ride! Feel free to reach out if anyone else is planning to tour around BC, Yukon and Alberta Rocky Mountains, i'm happy to share local knowledge in these parts.

Nate you really need to put some of this out in a blog, maybe with the Cat too, so that the rest of the motorcycle community can read if they plan this kinda trip in the future. The Photos are incredible... is there a Calendar or Coffee Table book in the works? Maybe send some of these to Ducati subject ... "the appropriate Bike for this kinda adventure" lol
Thanks again for taking us along on this one...as now we are waiting for your next one! Randy

 

[Sofa88]

Very awesome! Thanks for sharing, written in a way that made me feel like I was on the trip too. Great read!

 

[Escape pod]

N4te, I believe your bike choice for the ~ Alaska ride report turned out to be excellent: I now measure bikes as to how well they would do in this thread.
May you have Fair weather in your travel together with find a fine cigar.
armoniosamente

 

[budman]

Nate you really need to put some of this out in a blog, maybe with the Cat too, so that the rest of the motorcycle community can read if they plan this kinda trip in the future.

They can read it now if you link this thread to BookFace groups or other places. In a way I think that would help barf too.

N4te does have a fun commentary style and the pics are fabulous. You can tell he thinks it through.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Nate, It was really awesome getting to chat you on the routes thru BC and Yukon. It was an honour to meet you and Blankpage in person and share a beer and meal! You are welcome to come back anytime you want to see more of that Scenery on the 99 Sea to Sky.

Thank you Barfers for letting me join and follow along on this ride! Feel free to reach out if anyone else is planning to tour around BC, Yukon and Alberta Rocky Mountains, i'm happy to share local knowledge in these parts.

Nate you really need to put some of this out in a blog, maybe with the Cat too, so that the rest of the motorcycle community can read if they plan this kinda trip in the future. The Photos are incredible... is there a Calendar or Coffee Table book in the works? Maybe send some of these to Ducati subject ... "the appropriate Bike for this kinda adventure" lol
Thanks again for taking us along on this one...as now we are waiting for your next one! Randy

I was thinking about hitting up Ducati since the bike survived. Maybe they'll give me a sticker or something also feel free to keep participating in the forum, you are a rider and there is a bayin Vancouver, so, it works! Also, assuming I have a runner, you are welcome to hop on my KTM or DRZif you find yourself in the SF Bay area.

Very awesome! Thanks for sharing, written in a way that made me feel like I was on the trip too. Great read!

Thanks!

N4te, I believe your bike choice for the ~ Alaska ride report turned out to be excellent: I now measure bikes as to how well they would do in this thread.
May you have Fair weather in your travel together with find a fine cigar.
armoniosamente

Thank you, it did turn out to be a fine choice, I guess a motard can tour.

They can read it now if you link this thread to BookFace groups or other places. In a way I think that would help barf too.

N4te does have a fun commentary style and the pics are fabulous. You can tell he thinks it through.

Good idea actually, I'll drop a link in that there book face group I am aware of...