What Cops do when not protecting and serving.

[Jbay]

great pics & story

 

[Tourmeister]

Awesome...

I never understood why everyone got the bug to go see Alaska... Now I get it

 

[Viejo]

Ya, its an unforgettable experiance. If you ever get a chance to do it just once, your gona end up doing it again because there is so much to see and all of it is fantastic. Remember, we are only half way through this story and the best is yet to come.

 

[Viejo]

For those of you who like Big Trucks check this thing out. It is used up there for moving very large loads. Everything in Prudhoe bay comes in by truck. The buildings are all modular. They said this can haul a couple hundred thousand pounds right across the Tundra. There is only 10 psi in those big flat tires.

The picture is just of the tractor. It don't show the trailer.

 

[Viejo]

Its early in the morning on June 15th and time to head back home. Its another beautiful sun filled day. Acutally its still day time from the day before. The sun never sets this time of year up here. We made great time through that thick gravel I was talking about earlier. The Caribou are thick as theifs.

Its a long lonley road. Its damp from recent rain but not muddy. We are moving along at speeds upto 70 mph. No dust. What a difference a day makes as far as road conditions.

One thing that is really bad here along the Arctic Tundra is the mosquitos. When ever we stopped they would come and attack by the thousands. I don't understand where they all came from. Its not like there are a lot of blood providing animals up here. Just the Caribou and the occasional motorcyclist. It only takes seconds for them to find you when your not moving.

We had hoped to just make it back to Coldfoot for the night but we were making such good time that we were in there a little after noon. So we kept going after stopping for fuel, burgers and you guessed it, Beer.

Next stop was back to the Yukon River Crossing for gas, and then a landmark called Finger Rock.

Our last obstacle on the Dalton Highway was that same construction area I mentioned earlier. It was worse this time. Not because of the mud but because of the rock road base they were putting in. Tony and I tried to navigate through rocks the size of grapefruit they had just thrown down for the base layer to support the heavy trucks that use the road. I don't have a lot of off road experiance but this really threw me for a loop. I just stood up, leaned back and went. I just knew I was going to go down, and all I could think about was how much it going to hurt. This lasted about 2 miles. I should have taken a picture but I just didn't think of it at the time. This is the kind of unexpected road conditions that pop up and is where a Dual Sport bike rules. I really don't think a Harley or Goldwing would have been able to get through those rocks.

We made it to Fairbanks by around 8:00pm. 500 miles on a mostly dirt road in 12 hours was makeing some really good time. Exhausted we camped in the same place we stayed at a few days earlier.
Tony had noticed that his brakes were acting up and makeing a funny noise. We went to Trails End BMW where we found George. He has got to be the most charismatic BMW mechanic out there.

This is George getting ready to work on Tony's bike. The rear brake pads were not just gone, but so was half the steel plate backing on the pads. The front pads were ok. George has been around a long time up in Fairbanks but is getting ready to retire. I was told the local Honda-Harley shop was going to take over as the BMW dealer as well. Like I said everyone has to use the same front entrance and I did not see a security guard or Police Officer working the entrance. In fact when I purchased those tires a few days earlier they asked if I had made previous arraingments to buy them from George. They did not want to take any business away from him which I thought was pretty nice. I hope he is still around when I go back up in the future. It would be nice to talk to him again.

After getting new brakes it was time to go find Dave and Raul. We arrived at Denali National Park around 5:00 in the afternoon.

We set up camp in the entrance camp ground. Dave, Aaron , and Raul were no where to be found. About 7:00 pm we found them walking back to the camp ground with all their gear looking for a place to set up. They were very exited about how much fun they had back in the park. These are some of Dave photos of the park.

The only way back into the park is either by hiking or taking one of the park buses.

They stayed at Wonder Lake Camp ground which is a 80 mile, 5 hour bus ride. Now I know that sounds terrible, but believe me its the best bus ride you will ever take.

Not a bad camp sight. When the clouds break, Mt. McKinley is there.

Wonder Lake Beaver Lodge complete with Mosquitos

These guys were treated to a rare view of Mt. McKinley. I have heard that this view is only visible on average 25 days a year.

How would you like to wake upto this in the morning.

Here is the master camper getting ready to catch the bus back.

 

[Manfred]

It's a grand trip and a great report! I am not comforted by the knowledge that cops think it's OK to drink beer at lunch and then hit the road again. I enjoy a good beer at the end of a day, but think - no, I know - it's plain dumb to drink and ride.

 

[Kidder]

It's a grand trip and a great report! I am not comforted by the knowledge that cops think it's OK to drink beer at lunch and then hit the road again. I enjoy a good beer at the end of a day, but think - no, I know - it's plain dumb to drink and ride.

It says they bought beer, it didn't say they drank it and then got back on the bikes. It could be interpreted either way, I guess. My take was they were just getting supplies for the end of the day.

 

[Viejo]

Well it looks like I have been called down on the drinking and driving and I owe an explanation. Yes I did drink a beer during lunch on several occasions during this trip. I never however, drank more than one while there was still road to be traveled. My riding buddies, though not yet heard from in this forum, will attest to that. Beer is a hobby of mine. I brew my own and have learned a great deal about beer. I am always trying a new beer that I have not tasted before. Alaska is all about microbreweries. There are many up there. Many brands and styles that cannot be found anywhere else. Most of these mom and pop roadside restaurants carry them. So I try them. As a Police Officer I assure you that I do not condone driving while intoxicated. Nor do I do it. Drinking a beer does not constitute intoxication. I'm smart enough and responsible enough to know better than to put my life or that of my friends or anyone else in danger from driving while intoxicated. If I understood you correctly your issue is with drinking and driving and I respect your belief that it is dumb to do it. Although I don't agree with you. It is not illegal to drink and then drive unless you are intoxicated or drinking while you are driving.
I guess thats enough said so I'm off my soapbox now. Thanks for bringing that up. It’s very worthy of discussion. On with the report.

 

[Viejo]

Denali National Park is the Serengeti of North America. When you travel into the park you will see wildlife like nowhere else that I know of. It is also one of the most beautiful places there is. I was there in 2006 with my Daughter and her husband along with my brother Dan. I will post some pics here just for your enjoyment. No stories

This was in August.

I was inside the bus when I took this one.

This Grizzley just killed a sheep and we watched a pack of Wolfs steal it.

These Wolf pups were part of the same pack that took the sheep away from the Grizzley Bears a few days before.

I said I wasn't going to tell a story here buuuuutttttttt. This is something few people get to witness. As our bus was traveling down the road we heard over the bus' radio
that there was a Grizzley kill of a sheep. As fate would have it this was in the same area we were in. Within just a few minutes we spotted the Bears. The did have a Dahl Sheep and one of the Bears was dragging it across the river rocks. Then we saw several wolfs circleing around them from the back. One of the Wolfs had a radio collar on. He charged the Bears to get their attention. All 3 Grizzlies chased after him a short way. The big Bear went back to his kill. Several more Wolf's then charged the Bears. They chased them again only this time the Wolf in the back snuck up and grabbed the sheep when the Bears were not looking. He ran up the mountain with the Bears in hot pursuit and ran into some thick bushes. We continued to watch for about 20 more minutes until we had to go. The Bears were still searching the brush for the Wolfs. That was amazing to see. We also shot video of this encounter. I'm thinking I might post it on youtube. I have already posted a video slide show of the Dalton Highway ride titled Road to Prudhoe. I don't like the music though. thinking of changing it. Tell me what you think. http://youtube.com/watch?v=bNaMMt5FlWY
The music is fitting but I'm not a big fan of this style of music. It's 6 min long and basicly just the same pictures in the post set to music.

Next post off towards Anchorage

 

[BexarWolf]

There's just no escapting IA is there? Wait til the review board gets a whiff of this. You're going down, buddy!

Kidding, of course. It's amazing that even on an internet forum, a cop lives in the proverbial fishbowl.



Less judging character, more ride report and pictures!!

 

[Viejo]

Oh I agree, we definatly are always under the microscope. But you know thats Ok. We should be held to a higher standard. I have worked at APD for 30 years. Never been suspended once. Thats not easy to do. You know I still look forward to going to work. Ya just never know whats going to happen. Thats what makes it interesting.

 

[BexarWolf]

Oh I agree, we definatly are always under the microscope. But you know thats Ok. We should be held to a higher standard. I have worked at APD for 30 years. Never been suspended once. Thats not easy to do. You know I still look forward to going to work. Ya just never know whats going to happen. Thats what makes it interesting.

My Pops was in leo for 33 years. I bailed after 17. Things changing too fast and not in a postive direction (in my opinion).

Thumbs up to you and your career and positive attitude.

Hijack ended. Waiting for more pics!! Great ride report, sir.

 

[1042rider]

Anytime you want to drink a beer and ride down the Alaskan deserted dirt highway is fine by me...about the closest place to the middle of nowhere I can think of. Maybe the forum critic should attack the many happy hour parking lots or those many deer hunters that are toasted as we speak, carrying high powered rifles. Can't we all just get along? Never ceases to amaze me...ok, on with the story Viejo!

 

[Gilk51]

OK, I have some questions:

What piece of clothing did you leave in Chicken? ( maybe I don't want to know! )

What happened to the dog with the porkupine quills?

You indicated that the GW was totaled - but did it get ridden home?

(nevermind if your story telling style intended to tie up all the loose ends at some point in fine, cliff-hanger style!)

 

[Manfred]

Anytime you want to drink a beer and ride down the Alaskan deserted dirt highway is fine by me...about the closest place to the middle of nowhere I can think of. Maybe the forum critic should attack the many happy hour parking lots or those many deer hunters that are toasted as we speak, carrying high powered rifles. Can't we all just get along? Never ceases to amaze me...ok, on with the story Viejo!

Gosh, Batman - the beer drinking cop cleared up his previous comment; he and I respectfully have slightly different views on having A beer before getting on 2 wheels. I am encouraged that he has a responsible attitude and understands that cops are always in the public eye.

I ride a motorcycle and am interested in how this hobby/pass time/whatever is represented to the ignorant public (those who ride in cars).

I don't hunt, don't golf, and myriad other activities; so they are not near and dear nor are in even in my "field of vision" for the most part. That doesn't mean I condone drunken hunters with bows or guns or rifles in their hands - same way as I don't want Gerald Ford style golfers on public fairways.

Motorcyclists ought to encourage safe behavior. This is a great thread about a grand trip most of us will never undertake. I'm glad I "spoke up" about the beer and doubly glad to "hear" the response from viejo. Ride on coppers!

 

[Viejo]

One other thing I would like to clear up about this drinking question. Dave does not drink, period. So please don't think that his wreck in Chicken was in anyway assocciated with having a beer at lunch.

 

[Viejo]

I am afraid that I did not bring enough clothes with me on this trip to justify giving it away for display. So you won't see my undies on the wall.

The owner of the poor dog with the porcupine quills

was just getting ready to put the dog under with something he got from the Vet and then pull the quills out. You know that dog was feeling it.

Daves Wing was indeed totaled. The damage was all cosmetic. There was not a single piece of plastic on that bike that was not damaged. The fairing alone probably cost over $2000 to replace. Mechanically the bike seemed fine. Fairbanks Honda looked it over, replaced the windshield and deemed it ok to ride. So Dave rode it all the way back to Austin with Aaron and the trailer. I will try to get him to post something on how the bike handled on the way home. He ended up with a brand new 1800 GW that is pearl white. Beautiful bike.

 

[masssheltie]

One other thing I would like to clear up about this drinking question. Dave does not drink, period. So please don't think that his wreck in Chicken was in anyway assocciated with having a beer at lunch.

Of course it wasn't the beer. Must have been the chocolate donut getting his hands too sticky.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Thanks for sharing the blog and the pictures. I only wish you wrote more. The trip looked fantastic.

C

 

[gotdurt]

Daves Wing was indeed totaled. The damage was all cosmetic. There was not a single piece of plastic on that bike that was not damaged.

Hmmm... Goldwing Streetfighter...

 

[RedPill]

This has been a great ride report.

 

[kurt]

Folks, it's his story, let him tell it. Let's keep the personal opinions out of this thread please.

 

[Viejo]

Oh, I forgot about the North Pole. Raul and David stopped by there after they Left Fairbanks for Denali. It is about 10 miles outside Fairbanks and is a great place to stop in and pick out some unique souvenirs. Rudolph was there too.

Now that all of us are back together again we start heading south toward Anchorage. The road takes us through the Alaska Mountain Range and of course its beautiful.

Anchorage is a great city. About half the people who live in Alaska live in Anchorage. My brother has a real nice apartment there and since he is out on the Kongacut River with Bruce, Its ours for a few days.

We used this time to clean equipment, clothes and ourselves up. I noticed that I blew both front fork seals and had fork oil dripping out. Probably happened back on the Dalton Highway. I figured it wasn't a big deal since the GS has the Telelever suspension with a separate shock for it. Other than spewing oil everywhere it did not seem to effect the handleing and it wasn't fixed until I got back home.

We had some good food in Anchorage. I strongly suggest Humpies which is located downtown. Best fried Halibut in town. Also the Mooses Tooth has great Pizza.

We went to a place called Alaska Leather. This is the place that sells the sheepskin seat covers. They will give you a oil change bucket so that you can change your own oil in their parking lot. They also sell tires at a reasonable price but you have to remove the wheel from the bike. They will mount the tires and then you put the wheel back on. This saves some money and they are very nice folks. I purchased some Tourance's to replace the TKC80's. There is no way the TKC's would last to get me back home. There only good for about 3000 miles. Highway driving really eats them up. Even though they were not worn out yet I was not sure where I could replace them at along the way in Canada. So I decided to do it here in Anchorage.
Good move because we had trouble finding a motorcycle tires for Rauls Wing on the return trip. Another story for later.

Our plan was to purchase tickets for the Alaska Marine Highway system and take the ferry from Whitier to Valdez. Then drive to Haynes, Ak and catch the ferry down to Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert would drop us off about halfway back to the US border and save about 1500 miles of riding. To be honest we were looking forward to the break from daily riding. When Dave and I did this trip in the past there was no need for reservations. They had plenty of room. Not so this trip. The Ferries were booked from both Whitier and Haynes. After realizing we were not going to get on the boat we now had to ride all the way back. Making reservations in advance would have been difficult because we were not sure when we would be in Anchorage. We originally planned to go down into the Kenai Pennensula and check out Seward and the Kenai River area which is beautiful. We ahd to change our plans and skip the Kenai. Here are some pictures of the Kenai from previous trips.

Kenai River has some of the best Salmon fishing around. Especially where the Russian River comes in.

Right after catching this guess who comes along wanting it.

Cute little guys, but I didn't want to argue with em.

If you want to fish for Salmon or river rafting this is the place. Ok, this picture brings up another story. Near disaster. 4 of us were in that raft. It has a Orr platform in it and being a cop, I don't like anyone driving me around. Even if I don't know what I'm doing. The Kenai River runs pretty fast. We came around a bend and there was a bridge going across with 1 small little cement piller in the middle. No way was I going to hit it. Only problem was I was set up backwards and was push rowing not pull rowing. No Power.
I didn't have time to turn around. Amy and Stan didn't say a word, probably too scared. But Dan was screaming like a little girl at me. I told him don't worry I see it. We hit it.
Fortunatly it was a glancing blow. The raft came up on its side and if we had not leaned back into it we would for sure have been upside down. We were all wearing waders that would have filled up with water and pulled us down. Very lucky

We left Anchorage and headed east on Highway 1 toward Valdez.

 

[Viejo]

Now its time to really start for home. Time is running out. Some of us have to be back by June 28th. Highway 1, also called the Glen Highway, travels through some of the best mountain scenery we have seen. The glaciers cut all through these mountains.

This is the Matanuska Glacier and it is only a few miles off the Glen Highway. We stopped to take these photos but felt we did not have time to go down to it. This is a great place for Glacier hiking. There is a tour company at the base of the Glacier that will take you out for a hike or train you in ice climbing then let you rope up and climb. Kinda pricy but how often do you get a chance to hike a glacier. $70 a person including equipment for the hike.

 

[Viejo]

Valdez was on the original plan as a destination. Since we couldn't get on the Ferry we skipped it because we were running out of time. We did make it to Valdez on the 98 trip. Valdez is my favorite town in Alaska. Its right on the coast and is the end of the Alaska Pipeline. The oil tankers pick up the oil from here. Beautiful beyond compare.


This is Bridal Veil falls on the way into Valdez

This awsome stream was near the oil terminal

The Salmon spawning up stream were so thick you just reach down and pick them up.

This big fella was getting his fill of protein. He didn't seem hungry enough to pay any attention to us.

Ok, when your in Valdez a must do trip is on the glacier sight seeing boat. The boat will take to see things you will never see riding on a motorcycle.
Amazing stuff. I highly recomend taking the LU LU BELLE. The Captain and crew were magnificent.

We saw alot of these little puffins.

and Otters

We start getting closer to the Columbia Tide Water Glacier.

As we got closer and closer to the Glacier the ice got so thick we couldn't go any further.

This looks like a giant Martini to me. The water temp. was actually below freezing. The Captain would not sit still in this water
out of fear we would get stuck.

Captain said the ice was thicker than usual this day and 4 miles is all the closer he could get.

Ok back to the story. We have now circled back around to Tok again and back to the Alaska, Yukon Border along the Alaska Highway. We missed this border crossing on the way up. Here is a map of Alaska showing the places we were at.

One last departing shot of the ice burgs.

The next post will be the trip back through Canada. This time we took the Cassiar Highway.

 

[Rick572]

I don't know if I have ever read a ride report as good as this one. I'm not planning to go to alaska, but I really enjoyed reading about your trip. Thank you so very much for making the effort to put together and share your trip with us. I will be looking for your trip home

Thanks, Rick