Danimal

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

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 !!!

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!

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.

Correction: the second crash (the one I photographed the remains of) was as a rider from Michigan who survived and in critical condition in Whitehorse Yukon https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2024/second-motorcycle-collision-week-the-dempster-highway

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

I’m in Dawson City Yukon, at the entrance of the Dempster Highway. Tomorrow morning I’ll depart in an attempt at making Tuktoyaktuk NWT in three days at the Arctic Ocean and then returning. There are hundreds of Moto-travelers here attending the Dust to Dawson rally. I won’t be alone in my attempt, which is good. The Dempster took another motorcycle rider’s life yesterday in a head on with a gravel truck. He was trying to change “slots” in the deep gravel as he saw the oncoming truck. He lost control while trying to go through the deep stuff. Aside from trepidation and fear, I’m having a great time meeting people I’ve known online and making new friends. I took a flight above the Yukon River and filmed the famous ferry taking vehicles to Alaska

Today I made it to Dawson Creek British Columbia, the official start of the Alaska Highway! tomorrow it’s onward to Fort Nelson BC, named after Admiral Nelson and an early fur trading post in the area. from the Fort Nelson museum’s webpage: Fort Nelson, named after Admiral Nelson, was established as a fur post in 1805 and is the gateway to the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. Life in Fort Nelson began to change drastically in 1941 and 1942 mainly as a result of World War II. The Northwest Air Staging Route established an airport in 1941. The population of Fort Nelson increased substantially in 1942 with the arrival of US Army troops to begin construction of the Alcan Highway, now called the Alaska Highway. With so many people working on the highway, it only took 9 months to survey and build the 1500 mile stretch of road. after that its two solid days ride to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. There I have a new rear tire waiting for me. My rear Mitas E-07 is toast. Sure hope it makes it. My host last night in Prince George BC, Larry Sievill. Great guy!

DR650 first expenditures for a man your size B should be suspension. Then a quality seat. Enjoy the pig

https://youtu.be/ixld3o72K6U?si=QecBzbSgnE-_fW3E

https://youtu.be/ueSJHI69vCQ?si=_WbV5EtDqdj7gFGD

Montanaflight3.mp4 Montanaflight3.mp4

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.

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

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

Ya. You’d think that for BMW money they would be color matching

Are those big green panniers behind a special accessory? Waterproof liners?

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