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I made it to Tuktoyaktuk NWT today. It was by far the most difficult road I’ve ridden to date. Now I’ve been as far north and south as you can ride in the Americas!

Nine days on the road (so far). Touring Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum tomorrow then heading to GA. Next up, cherahola skyway, deals gap, BRP, the snake and back of the dragon

Spent all day Saturday going over all three bikes. Servicing, going over bolts and fluids and a deep detail of them. So all three are as clean and ready for the season as they could ever be. Time to log the miles. Even though I've already had a Gap trip under my belt a few weeks ago and ready to make trip #2.

It's official. I have informed the company I am retiring the end of April.

Well, I can't say I did it today, but after years lovingly wrenching on my older bikes, chucking money aside for the better part of a decade, I bit the bullet on a machine I can trust to not leave me stranded, hammer my spine on bumps or be hopeless when gravel appears. I just completed installing the major farkles I wanted on this bike and so far, I love it to death. Claims it's boring are vastly wrong. Also, hey, I haven't been on this board in a long time. The last few years have been kind of...weird.

I’ll be heading back to Dawson and then taking the ferry over to Alaska. I’ll do the Dalton then, so I’ll be through Tok. Too bad you didn’t have time. It would have been a trip to run into you Nevin. And thanks. This has been a crazy road. Still not sure I want to do this last stretch to Tuk tomorrow. My leg still makes it hard to even walk. One fuck up and it could be bad. It’s probably stupid for me to be doing this shit still. It’s all I know now, and one of the few things that make me truly happy.

Picked up a new retirement project bike to ride the backwoods this fall.

Amanda and I had our maiden voyage on the RT. We took OH-212/93 to Roscoe Village for BBQ and then came home via 60/62/83 into Smithville/OH-21. Good weather. Good roads. Good food. Good day.

Weather for the start of the Arctic Circle journey was looking iffy so I did two things: I delayed the start a few days so I wouldn’t be riding through rain to start the trip, and I also booked a small cabin at Cannabis Creek Cabins in Luther Michigan. They are as affordable as a motel and includes a nice gift bag with some tasty treats! Should be a great end of the first full day’s riding on the 15th after an overnight stay at my Father’s. Sunny 2.0 is completely loaded and champing at the bit to get going. You’ll be able to track my progress through the Yukon and Alaska with this link to my Garmin Inreach Mini satellite tracker! https://share.garmin.com/HWJA4

Just back to Ohio where I’ll begin prep for YT and AK departure on the 12th. I attended the Horizons Unlimited travelers meeting near Appomattox and had a great time hanging out with like minded people that don’t think you’re crazy for cashing in and leaving “normalcy” behind to create your own normal. On the way home I was hosted by Lauren and Paul Brenner at Rainbow Farm near the New River Gorge in WV. Aside from running an organic chicken farm and riding the world in their spare time (check out their YT channel “the other end of the Rainbow) they run the Appalachian Motorcycle Adventure tour company. Lauren took me for an awesome 250 mile loop through some crazy WV dirt roads. They cater to all skill levels up to hard enduro (they have one day ride with over 100 water crossings!). If you’re interested in using their services (highly recommended), their web page is here: https://www.appalachianmotoadvtours.com/ Some pictures from my last week Mystery hole! friend and we’ll-known motorcycle travel author Sam Manicom publisher Michael Fitterling

Took the wheels off the Versys. Went to IP for a pair of Roadsmarts 3 to replace the knobbies. Bought new helmet. Expensive trip over $600 for everything.

Congratulations! I plan to inform my company next Friday. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a potential retirement gift for myself.

Home. 2468 miles, 5 states one province, two countries and 5 casinos.

On our third day of five days to the Ozark. Mrs. Durk is killing it averaging close to 500 miles a day. No complaints about speed or cornering too hard. She gets a little green feeling at times so does request at times to back it down a bit. MO 125, AR 125, AR 123, AR 7 are some good roads. Peel ferry is a cool deal, can’t believe it’s free. Did take a route around Lake of the Ozarks that was a nice cruise and had a fun little loop from Camdenton down towards Devil’s Elbow and back up to Bridal falls this morning.

Got it fixed! First I planned to pull the oil pan which meant draining the oil that had less than 50 minutes on it. Then I had to remove the exhaust and the lines to the oil cooler before the pan came off. The only useful thing I could see up there was that the part I needed to access was in the clutch compartment. So now on to removing the clutch cover and clutch basket. I probably could have realigned the shift shaft gear without removing the clutch but, WTH, I'm already this far... After removing everything, it was a simple job to align the shifter end and spring. Shifting seemed like Iike it was good, so I put it all back together. New oil and a ride around the neighborhood confirmed that it's fixed!

I’ve been off grid for a while, riding the Denali Highway and camping. This is something you folks should make a bucket list item. It’s doable on a road bike if careful. Stunning scenery everywhere you look. Camp sites as far as the eye can see. I have lots of pics and video to download. Here is a cell phone photo from my tent last night Before hotels and motels Alaska had “Roadhouses”. There are some still around. Tonight I’ve got a room at Meier’s Lake Roadhouse near Paxon Alaska at the end of Rt. 8, the Denali Highway its raining hard. Relaxing and wondering what’s to come. Tomorrow it’s into Palmer Alaska and reuniting with a girlfriend I haven’t seen since 1989 !!!

Been on the road since May 5. Should be home tomorrow. Twisted sisters in Texas, cherahola skyway, dragon, moonshiner, blue ridge parkway, snake, back of the dragon. Whew. Who knew there were so many roads with funny names 🤣

Rescued this little guy from deep slumber in @bowdogs garage. so far we’ve established compression, spark and air but the fuel isn’t getting to the cylinder. ordering a carb rebuild kit, and air filter and have some snapped plastic anchor points to repair but should clean up and run good.

Went ahead and ordered a new converter because I was convinced that was the issue.... Hard launch might have worked the inside somehow. And what a difference between the stock 12" and the new 10" But as soon as I pulled the pan I was unpleasantly surprised with this mess. A whole lot of bushing material in the fluid....like.... A WHOLE LOT so I went ahead and with no previous experience I ripped the transmission apart. Initial inspection hard parks all looked good except the rear planetary, clutches are toast and every bushing is trashed. Ordered an overhaul kit, all three painless accumulators and a rear planetary rebuild kit. I really have no idea how the transmission was functioning properly outside of just noise and vibration. With the way the clutches look I would have expected this thing to be slip city. But then again I've only ever worked on dirtbike clutches before this 🤣

Finally it stopped raining long enough to get outside and change Sunny’s oil. Im leaving on the 21st for a week long trip down to Appomattox Virginia to attend the Horizons Unlimited Traveler’s meeting. There in addition to camping and hanging out with like-minded vagabonds, I’ll also be giving my first solo public presentation about my travels, and will also be doing a reading from my chapter in Sam Manicom’s travel anthology “the Moment Collectors”. Then the next day I’ll be doing a seminar on modifying and maintaining DR650 for extended international travel! nervous as hell but I’m sure it’ll be fun. And yeah Tony, this spring has sucked bad. Very few nice days. Really looking forward to the ride down. Staying at Mark Swepston’s in Kingston Ohio the first night out. Second night will be at the Koolwink!! hope everyone is doing ok

Worst spring ever!

I informed my company on Friday that I am leaving effective 3/14. I did give them an option to pay to retain me as a (very) part time consultant for 90 days to ease the transition. 50/50 if I want to stay on as a consultant or just be done. Wheels are in motion.

Bought this 2013 Kawasaki Versys. I am the 2 nd owner. 34,000 miles. Loaded with S & W moto extras. He had it set up for dirt. It has big block knobbies on it. Going to turn into a good street bike that can do back roads, but no off road. It’s 200 pounds less than my FJR.

Rode it to work Thursday and found this when I got home. Saturday I patched it.

Got New rubbers at wheelers

Yesterday I took Mystery for a ride up Hatcher Pass not far from their home in Palmer where I’ve been staying while resolving issues on the bike. With all systems go now, it’s time to explore a bit. As we ascended and descended the pass, I handed the Nikon to Mystery and she was the trip photographer. Summit Lake at the top of Hatcher Pass AK watching hang gliders descend afterwards, live music at the Palmer Alehouse

Made it to Seward Alaska and the best crab I’ve ever had!

Today Work on my new DR.650 Project. 1. Wind screen 2, Bark Busters. 3.Bar risers 4. Skid Plate 5 Peg/Brake lever Lowers. 6. Center stand 7. Rear Rack. 8. Sealed rear Rim & Installed Mitas E-o7 tire https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsBAaDfZkbxULiV3c5MohnA

Sorry couldn't update here as the forum was not loading for me. Some kind of error , ty again for coming out in the cold @Gpaw @durk @B-Mac so nice to meet familiar faces again. we got back Saturday night itself. It was a fun day getting to meet yall and riding with you again. Hopefully get to do it again in fall. missed meeting you @Tonikand @Pauly till next time

Done and done. Thank you Michelle! Thank you Procycle! So far I’ve only ridden probably 3-400 miles of dirt roads in the last week, and on only a few were under dusty conditions where I was following a pickup. I was surprised how much dirt made it into the fork seal area with those cracked boots. Much better now. Confidence restored. Heading NW towards the Carway border crossing tomorrow

There are friends I don’t hear from much anymore that still frequent this site, and their signatures on my bike are a steady reminder of fun times in the past. So I’ll keep updating here as well So I decided to stay an extra night here in Pettibone ND at Chris’ cabin in order to do a maintenance day on Sunny. There were a few things to address, namely getting the horn working and a few other things. Well, things never are as simple as that are they? During cleaning and inspection I see multiple cracks all over both front fork boots. These boots are criticize keeping dirt and grime away from the fork seals. I contacted Procycle and they are shipping no cost a new set a day ahead of me where I can do the install (which requires both fork legs to be removed). So guess where I’m heading tomorrow? A long day SW to Custer South Dakota where I’ll be visiting and staying with friend and Moto-author (and fellow contributing author with me in the Moment Collectors book) Michelle Lamphere !! I last saw Michelle when leaving Denver heading back to Ohio right after getting out of the wheelchair! Also will be visiting friends Shana Sanderson and her husband Eugene where I can do the work changing out the fork boots. So all in all a productive day. Horn repaired Chain cleaned and lubed Carb breather filter cleaned Small section of fuel line replaced with one the correct length Two pounds of bug guts removed. Yuck lol. Highway peg pivots cleaned and lubed so much blood disassembly begins horn now works again

Random campsite in MN near the ND border. One week out

Got the rear planetary rebuilt with the Sonnax kit on Friday morning, spent most of the day waiting on last minute tool orders to show up so I could start rebuilding the rest of the transmission. then struggled with the springs in the valve body since I just kinda....plopped everything out for cleaning, the manual and rebuild guide definitely showed different parts and the trans go instructions helped but most of the color on the springs had worn off....So HOPEFULLY I got that all put back together properly, Then I struggled with the thrust bearing on the rear planetary the rebuild guide looked like it was showing a smaller diameter bearing so I was using on that the rear planetary spline stub was riding on, and that prevented the low/reverse snap ring from going in.... I pulled it all apart SEVERAL times, measured everything several times, checked it against the stock clutch pack and then finally realized I was using the wrong bearing..... After that though it all went together rather quickly and without much fuss. I got rid of the "truck" yoke oil seal? since the S10 yoke is sealed it was just and extra part. ended up using no shims on the servo, test fit with one had the band locked up tight and even with no shim it's still pretty tight to turn the output shaft. I did test fit the new converter and spin the pump over, felt smooth but did have some resistance on the input shaft. just gonna chalk the resistance up to the high energy frictions, they were really grippy during installation after soaking for 2-3 days in DEX VI, turns in reverse with very little resistance like before, and I did check the movement on all the apply pistons during assembly and they all actuated properly and no leaks. Waiting on a sonnax 1-2 accumulator spring since I forgot the trans go springs don't work with the pinless pistons.. but its all ready to go in the truck tomorrow and HOPEFULLY it works....

After having the camera fail on two iPhones attached to my handlebars I went with a 5” CarPlay unit. It survived my three months trip through the Yukon NWT and Alaska without issue, and that included all three “D’s” (Dempster, Dalton and Denali highways). It was a Carpuride model. Less than $100. Now my iPhone is safe and sound, plugged in and in my tankbag. And I also am running Fobo2 TPS sensors that are linked to my phone and CarPlay compatible, so I get my tire pressure on screen. Works fine with my Klim Dakar gloves

I retired in Aug '22 as soon as I was eligible for Medicare. I'm holding off on collecting SS until I'm 70 and can get the max payment. I had planned to not work and bought an $800 project bike to keep me busy. Then I started getting offers for jobs... My last employer asked me to come back as a 1099 contractor doing my old job (machine controls software) but I wanted nothing to do with that - I left that place for good reasons! I landed at a small scale (<10 employees) automated machine builder and I've been having a blast working around 20 hrs/week on 1099. My advice for coping with retirement is to take a month or 2 and consciously work on detoxing from being employed. Learn to enjoy relaxing, drink your morning coffee in the back yard listening to birds, and avoid going to stores on weekends.

Nothing like a first thing in the morning blast across the Skyway. No one is down here, it's empty.

Less flamboyant relative of the Boom Chachalaca

Following Tonik's theme:

I made it into the Arctic Circle!! I’m riding with a couple of Johns on big Beemers that I met at the D2D Rally. We have conquered multiple sections of the infamous Dempster Highway together already. Dawson City to Eagle Plains. Eagle Plains to Fort McPherson. There to Inuvik where I am. Two of the locations were out of fuel. Many bikes stranded. And the fuel truck carrying two tanks nearly took me out when he passed going the other way! And it indeed deserves its horrid reputation. Two motorcycle deaths in the past week I rode past the remains of one of the BMWs laying in the ditch. The Police tape wrapped on its remains caught my attention. I’ve had several close calls with Semis coming the opposite direction. Thank God for the new knobby tires. Seriously. I don’t care how long they last. They’re worth their weight in gold. Now we are stopped in Inuvik where we got gas and are waiting for John 1 to catch up. We were separated at the McKenzie River ferry. There were two ferry crossings today. Nothing like wet steel ramps and fresh dug dirt hills to start your grand exit. We may get rooms here and attempt to ride to Tuktoyaktuk and back to here again tomorrow. Or we may regroup and ride to Tuktoyaktuk tonight. We’ll see. It doesn’t get dark at all anymore. RIP GS pilot

Southern edge of Nelsonville on the old main drag. 2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast & coffee for $7!

WoW! Like old times. Thank you Doc for the ride. Had a great time. Only thing missing was Jshaft on his Ninja and me on my Z1K. I tried to represent the aging V-Strom community by chasing you tourist from the south. I even had a stuffed toy on my top case for the GW-ers.

Arrived in Red Lodge MT last night. Sadly, Beartooth pass (the reason I’m here) was also closed again last night near the MT/WY border due to two feet of fresh snow. Onwards towards Great Falls tomorrow and then the border crossing at Carway.

This is it! I give you Casey IL. They have pretty much the biggest and largest everything.

Ok, to start the biggest and largest day we start with big cats at this cool exotic feline rescue in Indiana.

I rode it around Bolivar area to let it get used to me. Stopped in Sherrodsville for fuel and some Gatorade. Should have done this a few years ago.