As some of you know, I've run 3 trips up to Alaska which have been very successful and everyone has enjoyed the experience which is the main aim. I decided not to run one in 2014 as I needed a break from the trip and it's pretty hard work. I also fancied a nice little run around Yellowstone which will happen in September 2014.
Anyhoo, I've already been asked if I will run Alaska in 2015 and yes I'm going to definitely do it but I want to do something a little different and change the format. There are some very iconic dirt roads up there which really need doing and as we only do the Dalton normally, I'd like to run some of the other. I've started working on it and here are my initial scribblings:
3 week trip (down from the usual 4 as it's easier to get time off)
Airfreight bikes directly into Anchorage Alaska
Across to Fairbanks via Denali National Park then ride the Dalton Hwy up to Deadhorse and back
Down to Dawson City via the Top of the World Hwy
Ride the Dempster Hwy to Inuvik and back
Head south the Watson Lake via the Campbell Hwy which is rarely ridden.
Ride the Cassiar Hwy down to Hyder then the Salmon Tail Glacier.
Down through British Columbia. There are some good dirt roads alongside the main highways.
Into the USA and through Washington State to the East of Seattle on small back roads
Through Oregon across to the coast and then down to Santa Rosa on as many small back and fire roads as I can find.
Bikes loaded into a container and shipped back to the UK
This would be do-able on a big GS but I would think a lighter bike would be better due to the amount of dirt roads we would do. I'm thinking a GS800 of a KTM990 would be ideal for this but any good traillie bike over 650cc would be good. I'd loved to have done this on my KTM640 Adv if I hadn't been stupid enough to sell it!! The big dirt highways up in Alaska and the Yukon can be either fairly straightforward or nigh on impossible depending on the weather so you always have to be aware of this. For example, we ran the Dalton in July in perfect weather but one week later, it was just about impassable due to the rain. The Dempster can be exactly the same but I will always have a plan B just in case.
If anyone fancies this, pm me and I can do a lot more work on it. I realise it is very dirt orientated and won't appeal to everyone so I will do an optional road only trip to run alongside it at the same time.
Oh, I would think the ideal time for this is end of June and into July 2015.
Anyhoo, I've already been asked if I will run Alaska in 2015 and yes I'm going to definitely do it but I want to do something a little different and change the format. There are some very iconic dirt roads up there which really need doing and as we only do the Dalton normally, I'd like to run some of the other. I've started working on it and here are my initial scribblings:
3 week trip (down from the usual 4 as it's easier to get time off)
Airfreight bikes directly into Anchorage Alaska
Across to Fairbanks via Denali National Park then ride the Dalton Hwy up to Deadhorse and back
Down to Dawson City via the Top of the World Hwy
Ride the Dempster Hwy to Inuvik and back
Head south the Watson Lake via the Campbell Hwy which is rarely ridden.
Ride the Cassiar Hwy down to Hyder then the Salmon Tail Glacier.
Down through British Columbia. There are some good dirt roads alongside the main highways.
Into the USA and through Washington State to the East of Seattle on small back roads
Through Oregon across to the coast and then down to Santa Rosa on as many small back and fire roads as I can find.
Bikes loaded into a container and shipped back to the UK
This would be do-able on a big GS but I would think a lighter bike would be better due to the amount of dirt roads we would do. I'm thinking a GS800 of a KTM990 would be ideal for this but any good traillie bike over 650cc would be good. I'd loved to have done this on my KTM640 Adv if I hadn't been stupid enough to sell it!! The big dirt highways up in Alaska and the Yukon can be either fairly straightforward or nigh on impossible depending on the weather so you always have to be aware of this. For example, we ran the Dalton in July in perfect weather but one week later, it was just about impassable due to the rain. The Dempster can be exactly the same but I will always have a plan B just in case.
If anyone fancies this, pm me and I can do a lot more work on it. I realise it is very dirt orientated and won't appeal to everyone so I will do an optional road only trip to run alongside it at the same time.
Oh, I would think the ideal time for this is end of June and into July 2015.
