Alaska 2011 FZ6-Forum Event

[DefyInertia]

Plus I don't like the thought of carrying extra gear on the bike just for camping.

Oh man, I get giddy at the thought of camping gear on my bike. Freedom!

It's a little intimidating. I'm looking at 8678mi round trip shortest distance. I can do 21 days which means that I have to average at least 413mi per day if I'm to ride the whole way.

Is that really feasable? Even if you string a bunch of 700 mile back to back mind numbing highway days together at the beginning and end you won't be left much of any time for rest, repairs, detours, pictures, twisty roads, changes to the plan, etc.

Forcing 8700 miles into 21 days sounds dangerous and stressful and NOT twisty. Maybe on a goldwing....

 

[Guitar Man]

Oh man, I get giddy at the thought of camping gear on my bike. Freedom!



Is that really feasable? Even if you string a bunch of 700 mile back to back mind numbing highway days together at the beginning and end you won't be left much of any time for rest, repairs, detours, pictures, twisty roads, changes to the plan, etc.

Forcing 8700 miles into 21 days sounds dangerous and stressful and NOT twisty. Maybe on a goldwing....

Yeah. It would definitely be nice if I lived a little closer. Being all the way south like I am doesn't help matters.

I would have to stay on major highways most of the time. I could tack another 7 days on to it, but I don't want to burn up all my vacation. That would average out to about 310 miles per day on a 28 day trip. I'm thinking that there would be too much stress involved. I could always see where I'm at on day 10 or 11 and decide if I needed to head back home. I didn't realize how far this thing was till I started crunching the numbers.

 

[Norbert]

Is that really feasable? Even if you string a bunch of 700 mile back to back mind numbing highway days together at the beginning and end you won't be left much of any time for rest , repairs, detours, pictures, twisty roads, changes to the plan, etc.

Forcing 8700 miles into 21 days sounds dangerous and stressful and NOT twisty. Maybe on a goldwing....

Yeah. It would definitely be nice if I lived a little closer. Being all the way south like I am doesn't help matters.

I would have to stay on major highways most of the time. I could tack another 7 days on to it, but I don't want to burn up all my vacation. That would average out to about 310 miles per day on a 28 day trip. I'm thinking that there would be too much stress involved. I could always see where I'm at on day 10 or 11 and decide if I needed to head back home. I didn't realize how far this thing was till I started crunching the numbers.

WTF is going on? Stop being wussies and get your asses out there. :Flip:
You can definitely make this trip. Go !!!!!!!!
You got to see it through!

 

[mxgolf]

Yes I have been thinking the same thing. I really have not done an iron butt ride so that would be too much riding for me. I would however maybe ride with you Kenny and whoever North from Oregon for a few days? Wing it a bit. Or what ever.

 

[DefyInertia]

WTF is going on? Stop being wussies and get your asses out there. :Flip:
You can definitely make this trip. Go !!!!!!!!
You got to see it through!

If iron but stuff is your thing, that's cool. But if I'm going on a 9,000 mile trip I want to be hitting good roads, good places, and I want to be able to go on detours, get lost, stay put, etc. etc. Having to stick to a strict plan for 21+ days straight with no room for spontinaity or whatever is not my idea of a good time. If I'm heading out for that distance, I'll be back when I'm back. Know what I mean?

 

[Norbert]

If iron but stuff is your thing, that's cool. But if I'm going on a 9,000 mile trip I want to be hitting good roads, good places, and I want to be able to go on detours, get lost, stay put, etc. etc. Having to stick to a strict plan for 21+ days straight with no room for spontinaity or whatever is not my idea of a good time. If I'm heading out for that distance, I'll be back when I'm back. Know what I mean?

yeah. it's always a compromise between that and some over-arching goal of the trip.

you can do a mix of slab days and twisty days to get to alaska. put the good roads and places on a google map and see how it all fits in.

i saw a lot of great places on my trip, but for the most part, we blew by them all. we wanted to maximize time in Alaska, and once there, we had to make sure we didn't miss the ferry back to BC.

unfortunately, with careers, family, etc., most of us have to deal with time constraints, which leads to compromises such as riding 700 miles to cover a lot of ground.

i was just trying to motivate people before the plan falls apart.

you can still have a good trip, though !!!! at least you dont have the midwest to ride through.

 

[Guitar Man]

I'm thinking now that 5 weeks minimum would be a good time frame for me. I just don't have that time. I need vacation for a couple of other things this year also. I'm thinking of maybe just making this a northwest ride and hitting Canada. It will still be a good ride and I will be able to enjoy it. There are some states and places that I haven't been that I've always wanted to see. Go to Yellowstone, Banff, places like that.

 

[DefyInertia]

Guitar man, you could certaining have a great two week trip covering the mountain states over a 2+ week period. :thumbup:

you can still have a good trip, though !!!! at least you dont have the midwest to ride through.

I was never considering riding to Alaska.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

While I was on my roadtrip last summer, I noticed that Most motorcyclist that I saw or met had camping gear with them. I asked myself why am I the exception?

I asked a rider one time during a fuel stop why motorcyclist always has camping gear with them and his reasoning was that you never know where you end up. There is no set destination, no set route, simply you just ride so you never know where you end up. Made great sense to me if you set your trip that way. And I think this is the mindset that Defy has.

I on the other hand, I have everything planned out. The benefit is that it limits the amount of gear you have to take with you. You're not overloaded with this and that. May not be the most economical way, but it has it's advantages too.

 

[Guitar Man]

Guitar man, you could certaining have a great two week trip covering the mountain states over a 2+ week period. :thumbup:

I did AZ, NM, CO, and UT this last summer over 17 days. It ended way too soon. This won't be my first trip, but it will be the longest yet.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Guitar Man,

As far as Alaska, you could always ship your bike to Portland, or Seattle and fly up and meet up with your bike. Samething with the return, this would save you at least a weeks worth of riding and thousands of miles.

The cost to ship the bike would be a wash, as the cost for fuel, food, and lodging whether it's a campsite or hotel would accrue to a point that the diffrerence would be minimal, assuming that the cost of your flight wasn't too much.

I'm guessing it's around 2000 miles to Seattle from Houston. It will roughly cost you $150 in fuel, and three days of riding which you would have to budget for food and lodging/camping which could run you anoher $150. That's at least $300 dollar to ride to Seattle. If the shipping company charges $400, that's only a $100 difference. But again, you have to pay for the flight, but the cost of the flight is made up by the amount of vacation days you wouldn't have to burn up.

 

[Guitar Man]

Guitar Man,

As far as Alaska, you could always ship your bike to Portland, or Seattle and fly up and meet up with your bike. Samething with the return, this would save you at least a weeks worth of riding and thousands of miles.

The cost to ship the bike would be a wash, as the cost for fuel, food, and lodging whether it's a campsite or hotel would accrue to a point that the diffrerence would be minimal, assuming that the cost of your flight wasn't too much.

I'm guessing it's around 2000 miles to Seattle from Houston. It will roughly cost you $150 in fuel, and three days of riding which you would have to budget for food and lodging/camping which could run you anoher $150. That's at least $300 dollar to ride to Seattle. If the shipping company charges $400, that's only a $100 difference. But again, you have to pay for the flight, but the cost of the flight is made up by the amount of vacation days you wouldn't have to burn up.

I have entertained that thought briefly. Not enough to actually look into it. I work for Continental and can probably fly for free. I should look into it, surely can't hurt.

 

[lonesoldier84]

+1 to the camping gear sentiment. It's not truly man vs. world until you are a self-contained element with everything you need on you.

Now, Kenny, after you get your camping gear on there, you just need to make room for 15 liters of filled supplemental fuel cans, spare tire.......

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I have entertained that thought briefly. Not enough to actually look into it. I work for Continental and can probably fly for free. I should look into it, surely can't hurt.

Even better. You nail down a date I'll do my best to join you. I do know that I definately want to take the ferry up from B.C, just like OMG-WTF did last summer. It's a 24 hour ride so you get a little break from riding.

 

[Aray]

Is there any tentative dates for this trip?? I know Vegasrider was talking late July early August, has that changed? How far north were you guys planning in AK?

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Is there any tentative dates for this trip?? I know Vegasrider was talking late July early August, has that changed? How far north were you guys planning in AK?

Everything is wide open at this point. The only thing I now that I would want to do for sure if I go is to definately take the ferry from Prince Rupert to Haines and probably the sameway back.

If Guitar Man is serious about going, I would probably try to schedule my trip around his, or if anyone else decides to pull the trigger.

 

[Guitar Man]

I'm flexible as far as the dates go. Still thinking about it.

I haven't looked it up yet, but about how much is the ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Haines?

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I'm flexible as far as the dates go. Still thinking about it.

I haven't looked it up yet, but about how much is the ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Haines?

Check out the link within the link about the ferry system.

The Alaska State Ferry Info Thread - ADVrider

 

[Norbert]

it's ~$420 round trip with no cabin (both ways).

dont forget about the pioneer hostel in prince rupert.
nice clean place w. inexpensive rates.
good place to crash while waiting for the ferry.
we gave ourselves an extra day in p.r., just in case.

 

[Guitar Man]

Check out the link within the link about the ferry system.

The Alaska State Ferry Info Thread - ADVrider

Great thread. Thanks.