maddogg
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- Eric
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- Deering
welcome home guys!!! glad yall are back in texas safe and sound.
-
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$4000 for a picture
- Thread starter sparkyphotog
- Start date
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- Jun 19, 2006
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- Denton, TX
- First Name
- Don
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- Davis
BACK CADS!!!!!!!I'm patient.
Do the ride report tomorrow.
M38A1
Admin
Welcome home guys....
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome home. I can't tell you what it feels like to be reunited with family after such a long journey. I got started editing photos this afternoon after lunch with the family, but fell asleep at the computer and finally gave up and crashed for the afternoon. I'm getting a start on it, but I still have to ride home to Houston tomorrow. We have hundreds of photos to go through and many many stories to tell, and we'll get to all of it! Thanks again everyone, it was an amazing ride.
sherob
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- Brighton, CO
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- Robert
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- Hughes
Glad to see you guys made it back! 
- Joined
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- Marty
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- Johnston
Welcome back guys, glad you made it safely.
I can't wait to hear why Bill was on the bike and everyone else was in the truck with bikes on the trailer.
Marty
I can't wait to hear why Bill was on the bike and everyone else was in the truck with bikes on the trailer.
Marty
DFW_Warrior
Hmmmm.....
Simple and not really an exciting story. Everyone else on the trip gets to finish the trip on two wheels(aka riding back to Houston). I however would not since the truck is coming straight to my house. I wanted to finish the ride on two wheels just as everyone else was going to do so we offloaded my bike aways from home and I rode it home.I can't wait to hear why Bill was on the bike and everyone else was in the truck with bikes on the trailer.
Marty
See... told you that it wasn't very exciting.
- Joined
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- Burleson, TX
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- Marty
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- Johnston
Oh, I was one of subscribers to the below reason.
Somebody had burritos for breakfast!!!!
Marty
Gilk51
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- Charles ("Chuck")
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- Gibke
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- Wally
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- Niebel
You guys done good!!
Wally
Wally
Houston to Calgary
Let's see, Passport (check), Swiss Army knife (check), documents (check), Canadian money (check), bike keys (check). I think that's about all I need, time to go!
Met Graeme and Al at Starbucks in Houston for the ride up to Arlington. Starbucks would prove to be a major theme on this trip, as Graeme has an insatiable craving for lattes.
Pretty scary looking bunch, aren't we?
The ride to Arlington was pretty uneventful slab, and when we got to Bill's it didn't take long to get everything loaded up. We even had a bunch of TWTers there to see us off, one of whom tried to stow away.
We pulled an all-nighter that Friday night in hopes that we could get far into Wyoming before stopping for a motel the next evening. By sunrise we were nearing Denver and rang up one of our TWTers from Houston who now lives in Denver, Sherob. We had breakfast at Waffle House which was right next to a hospital, and someone was watching SPOT a little to close and sent a text to Bill asking if everything was alright. Come on guys, we hadn't even ridden yet!
Somewhere in Kansas...
Eastern Colorado at sunrise...
Sherob says Hi!
We actually made it all the way into Montana that day, and stopped for the night in Great Falls. We drove through the middle of a wind farm on the way, and saw some storms over the prairie at sunset.
Gas stop...
Wind farm...
Storm over the prairie...
The next morning we crossed the border in Coutts, Alberta headed for Calgary. But not before lunch at a well known Canadian institution, Tim Horton's, a new favorite of mine to be sure. Love that chili combo! This place would feature as a favorite stop for lunch throughout the trip as well.
The border in Coutts...
Gotta have my Timmie's...
Finally arrived in Calgary on Sunday afternoon...
Olympic Park in Calgary (home of the 1998 Winter Olympics)
In Canada, the motorcycle safety classes actually take to the road
We stayed at the home of a friend of Graeme's, John and Dianne. Two awesome people who not only provided a place for us to sleep, but emptied their garage so we had a place to prep the bikes, and put on a party for us with friends coming over and fresh grilled steaks. Their hospitality was just fantastic and made for an easy start to the ride.
John and Dianne's home with the bikes out front...
So, we got to Calgary with no worries. Gear is sorted, truck and trailer are parked behind John's house, bikes are packed, the riders are fed and tucked snug in their beds while visions of twisty roads danced in their heads.
More to come...
Let's see, Passport (check), Swiss Army knife (check), documents (check), Canadian money (check), bike keys (check). I think that's about all I need, time to go!
Met Graeme and Al at Starbucks in Houston for the ride up to Arlington. Starbucks would prove to be a major theme on this trip, as Graeme has an insatiable craving for lattes.
Pretty scary looking bunch, aren't we?
The ride to Arlington was pretty uneventful slab, and when we got to Bill's it didn't take long to get everything loaded up. We even had a bunch of TWTers there to see us off, one of whom tried to stow away.
We pulled an all-nighter that Friday night in hopes that we could get far into Wyoming before stopping for a motel the next evening. By sunrise we were nearing Denver and rang up one of our TWTers from Houston who now lives in Denver, Sherob. We had breakfast at Waffle House which was right next to a hospital, and someone was watching SPOT a little to close and sent a text to Bill asking if everything was alright. Come on guys, we hadn't even ridden yet!
Somewhere in Kansas...
Eastern Colorado at sunrise...
Sherob says Hi!
We actually made it all the way into Montana that day, and stopped for the night in Great Falls. We drove through the middle of a wind farm on the way, and saw some storms over the prairie at sunset.
Gas stop...
Wind farm...
Storm over the prairie...
The next morning we crossed the border in Coutts, Alberta headed for Calgary. But not before lunch at a well known Canadian institution, Tim Horton's, a new favorite of mine to be sure. Love that chili combo! This place would feature as a favorite stop for lunch throughout the trip as well.
The border in Coutts...
Gotta have my Timmie's...
Finally arrived in Calgary on Sunday afternoon...
Olympic Park in Calgary (home of the 1998 Winter Olympics)
In Canada, the motorcycle safety classes actually take to the road
We stayed at the home of a friend of Graeme's, John and Dianne. Two awesome people who not only provided a place for us to sleep, but emptied their garage so we had a place to prep the bikes, and put on a party for us with friends coming over and fresh grilled steaks. Their hospitality was just fantastic and made for an easy start to the ride.
John and Dianne's home with the bikes out front...
So, we got to Calgary with no worries. Gear is sorted, truck and trailer are parked behind John's house, bikes are packed, the riders are fed and tucked snug in their beds while visions of twisty roads danced in their heads.
More to come...
Alright! Pictures and story!
flb_78
0
M38A1
Admin
I have to leave for a small party tonight. I'll be home by 9pm CST at which point I'll expect at least a weeks worth of trip report and pictures. OK?
Off to a great start! Truely can't wait to read and see more.....
Off to a great start! Truely can't wait to read and see more.....
DFW_Warrior
Hmmmm.....
See, I knew I shouldn't even start a ride report. Sparky does a much better job than I could ever hope to do, so I'm just sitting back here waiting for the next installment to happen. Way to go Sparky!
BTW Jerry, my fuel can worked just like I wanted it to. It it spill a little (less than an ounce or two) over the course of the entire trip, but the newer models of tourtanks have a vent line that would take care of that problem. Mine is the old style that just has the vented cap and that's where the seepage came from.
BTW Jerry, my fuel can worked just like I wanted it to. It it spill a little (less than an ounce or two) over the course of the entire trip, but the newer models of tourtanks have a vent line that would take care of that problem. Mine is the old style that just has the vented cap and that's where the seepage came from.
Day 1 Riding
So, here we are after a great dinner and a good night's sleep ready to begin the journey...
We started west from Calgary headed toward Banff National Park. The morning was clear and bright, and the weather cool. What a difference from riding in Houston in the summer! Oh, and the scenery was nothing short of spectacular! There is no way that I could ever truly capture what it was like to ride through these mountains. As Bill put it, the Rockies in America have nothing on the Canadian Rockies. They may have over all higher elevations, but these mountains, having been thrust upward and carved out by glaciers, have a unique stature. I think it has to do with the difference in elevation between the valley floors and the mountain tops, and their close proximity. Truly awe-inspiring.
Not long after we entered the park, we saw these guys having a snack by the side of the road. They wouldn't be the last that we saw.
Grizzly Bears...
Incredible scenery...
Me...
Glacier...
Enjoying the view...
Spectacular valley...
Mountain vista...
The CADS at the Columbia Ice Fields...
Another glacier...
Panorama of Columbia Ice Fields...
Another beautiful mountain vista...
We met this rider, Ron, at the Columbia Ice Fields. He would later turn up at the same campground as us, and we saw him a few more times days later. This was something that happened more than once. There are only so many roads leading up to Alaska, and so everyone does basically the same route.
Ron...
Stop for a snooze by the roadside in Jasper National Park...
Coffee break just outside of Jasper NP...
We rode from Calgary all the way through Banff and Jasper National Parks, then headed east out of Jasper toward our first camp. The campground we had marked on the GPS had this sign in front of it...
So, we went a little further down the road and found a suitable site. Ron turned up there as well, so we discussed route plans and whatnot with him while we made dinner, then I turned in for the evening to download the many memory cards I filled up this day. I really hoped that I would have more internet access than I ended up getting, and with our schedule the way it was, searching out wi-fi hotspots just wasn't in the cards. And when I did get it, it was usually to slow to upload pics. I wound up just using my laptop on battery power a lot in my tent to download, catalog, and back up the day's pictures and video, then go off to bed. I could do about 4 days work on one battery charge. Here's what my editing station looked like in the tent...
By the way, I have a gallery on SmugMug that will eventually have all the photos from this trip here. I am editing and uploading as fast as I can, but I have nearly 1,000 pics, so it will take some time. I'm doing them by date, so as I have a day finished, I'll upload it to the gallery and post the day's ride report.
More to come...
So, here we are after a great dinner and a good night's sleep ready to begin the journey...
We started west from Calgary headed toward Banff National Park. The morning was clear and bright, and the weather cool. What a difference from riding in Houston in the summer! Oh, and the scenery was nothing short of spectacular! There is no way that I could ever truly capture what it was like to ride through these mountains. As Bill put it, the Rockies in America have nothing on the Canadian Rockies. They may have over all higher elevations, but these mountains, having been thrust upward and carved out by glaciers, have a unique stature. I think it has to do with the difference in elevation between the valley floors and the mountain tops, and their close proximity. Truly awe-inspiring.
Not long after we entered the park, we saw these guys having a snack by the side of the road. They wouldn't be the last that we saw.
Grizzly Bears...
Incredible scenery...
Me...
Glacier...
Enjoying the view...
Spectacular valley...
Mountain vista...
The CADS at the Columbia Ice Fields...
Another glacier...
Panorama of Columbia Ice Fields...
Another beautiful mountain vista...
We met this rider, Ron, at the Columbia Ice Fields. He would later turn up at the same campground as us, and we saw him a few more times days later. This was something that happened more than once. There are only so many roads leading up to Alaska, and so everyone does basically the same route.
Ron...
Stop for a snooze by the roadside in Jasper National Park...
Coffee break just outside of Jasper NP...
We rode from Calgary all the way through Banff and Jasper National Parks, then headed east out of Jasper toward our first camp. The campground we had marked on the GPS had this sign in front of it...
So, we went a little further down the road and found a suitable site. Ron turned up there as well, so we discussed route plans and whatnot with him while we made dinner, then I turned in for the evening to download the many memory cards I filled up this day. I really hoped that I would have more internet access than I ended up getting, and with our schedule the way it was, searching out wi-fi hotspots just wasn't in the cards. And when I did get it, it was usually to slow to upload pics. I wound up just using my laptop on battery power a lot in my tent to download, catalog, and back up the day's pictures and video, then go off to bed. I could do about 4 days work on one battery charge. Here's what my editing station looked like in the tent...
By the way, I have a gallery on SmugMug that will eventually have all the photos from this trip here. I am editing and uploading as fast as I can, but I have nearly 1,000 pics, so it will take some time. I'm doing them by date, so as I have a day finished, I'll upload it to the gallery and post the day's ride report.
More to come...
Well, thanks Bill. But, even though I have your pics, I'm not going to post them. You need to write your perspective and show us your pics. This story is about all of us, so you need to give us your point of view as well. Besides, who else is going to tell about me dropping my bike - certainly not me
Awesome! Keep it coming!
Day 2
Before I get started on Day 2, I forgot to post the mileage for Day 1: 297
We broke camp bright and early and made our way northwest along Alberta 40 to Grande Prairie (no not the one in Texas). This 160+ mile highway traverses the eastern foothills of the Rockies, and there is only one community, Grande Cache, along its route about halfway to Grande Prairie. There were some amazing vistas along the way, though nothing as spectacular as Banff and Jasper. Still, it was astounding to me to ride along a ridge line and look out to the far horizon 30 or 40 miles away and see nothing but forest covered hills and mountains, with not a single sign of human activity except the road we were on. Literally millions of acres untouched.
Today we also saw our first moose, a cow and a calf. Graeme was leading and had to get on the binders pretty hard - the cow was already across the road, but the calf was right in our lane. I've seen moose before as a kid in Yellowstone, but I don't remember them being this big. They are as big or bigger than a horse, and the calf was bigger than most Texas deer. Man, I'd hate to hit one of these! We also saw a few black bears by the roadside munching on berries and whatnot. They just look up and sniff when you go by then go back to munching. Most of the time they were in the ditches or on the berms along the roadside.
After lunch in Grande Prairie at, you guessed it, Tim Horton's, it was on to Dawson Creek and mile "0" of the Alaska-Canada Highway.
The CADS at mile "0" of the ALCAN...
That was the "official" mile "0" of the ALCAN. There is another marker in the center of town that a lot of people take their photos by, so we did the same.
From Dawson Creek we started up the ALCAN toward Fairbanks. After a while, some of us needed a break, so we stopped by the side of the road. The building had this on the side of it...
Moose!
We rode about 100 miles or so further on and it was getting late, so we found a campground behind a gas station and made camp for the evening. We managed to get one campsite with electricity so I could charge up all my camera and laptop batteries. By the way, these pictures were taken at 11:00 PM. You can tell that we are getting pretty far north at this point. Sleeping in the dark will soon become a thing of the past.
Today the immensity of what we are doing really sunk in. I looked at the map and realized that even though we've done over 700 miles in two days, we've done nothing. We have a long, long way to go.
Mileage for Day 2: 442
More to come...
Before I get started on Day 2, I forgot to post the mileage for Day 1: 297
We broke camp bright and early and made our way northwest along Alberta 40 to Grande Prairie (no not the one in Texas). This 160+ mile highway traverses the eastern foothills of the Rockies, and there is only one community, Grande Cache, along its route about halfway to Grande Prairie. There were some amazing vistas along the way, though nothing as spectacular as Banff and Jasper. Still, it was astounding to me to ride along a ridge line and look out to the far horizon 30 or 40 miles away and see nothing but forest covered hills and mountains, with not a single sign of human activity except the road we were on. Literally millions of acres untouched.
Today we also saw our first moose, a cow and a calf. Graeme was leading and had to get on the binders pretty hard - the cow was already across the road, but the calf was right in our lane. I've seen moose before as a kid in Yellowstone, but I don't remember them being this big. They are as big or bigger than a horse, and the calf was bigger than most Texas deer. Man, I'd hate to hit one of these!
We also saw a few black bears by the roadside munching on berries and whatnot. They just look up and sniff when you go by then go back to munching. Most of the time they were in the ditches or on the berms along the roadside. After lunch in Grande Prairie at, you guessed it, Tim Horton's, it was on to Dawson Creek and mile "0" of the Alaska-Canada Highway.
The CADS at mile "0" of the ALCAN...
That was the "official" mile "0" of the ALCAN. There is another marker in the center of town that a lot of people take their photos by, so we did the same.
From Dawson Creek we started up the ALCAN toward Fairbanks. After a while, some of us needed a break, so we stopped by the side of the road. The building had this on the side of it...
Moose!
We rode about 100 miles or so further on and it was getting late, so we found a campground behind a gas station and made camp for the evening. We managed to get one campsite with electricity so I could charge up all my camera and laptop batteries. By the way, these pictures were taken at 11:00 PM. You can tell that we are getting pretty far north at this point. Sleeping in the dark will soon become a thing of the past.
Today the immensity of what we are doing really sunk in. I looked at the map and realized that even though we've done over 700 miles in two days, we've done nothing. We have a long, long way to go.
Mileage for Day 2: 442
More to come...
It has to be asked:
Who took/packed the extension cord?!?
BTW, will you guys (note the plural use) be posting up a review of your bikes and gear on this trip?
Who took/packed the extension cord?!?
BTW, will you guys (note the plural use) be posting up a review of your bikes and gear on this trip?
Day 3
The morning was clear and cold, and we continued up the Alaska Highway toward Fairbanks, still days away at this point. We stopped for a break and gas in Fort Nelson, then continued up into the mountains.
We ran into some rain as we headed into the mountains, enough that I had to don my rain gear. There were also several what we took to calling "grate" bridges. The road surface on these bridges is metal grating. It likes to grab front tires and shake them from side to side a bit. It wasn't too bad for most of us, but Graeme was running a TKC-80 on the front, and the grating really grabbed those knobbies.
As we headed through this one mountain pass toward Toad River, we saw some bighorn sheep right by the roadside. The descent down the other side of the pass was pretty steep with a rock wall on one side and sheer cliff on the other. I don't have a lot of pics from today as I was mostly shooting video. I plan to make a movie of the trip as well, but that will take some time to put together.
We pulled into Toad River for fuel and a bite to eat. There is an interesting story about how the town got its name. When they were building the highway, vehicles had to be towed across the nearby river, so they took to calling it "Towed River". Well, someone apparently couldn't spell, or thought they meant the other kind of "Toad", so the name stuck. The population is 75, and there is a school. Kids come from as far as 50 miles away for class, using horses, dog sleds, snowmobiles, airplanes, 4-wheelers, and just about any other means of transport available. The local economy is supported mostly by the highway, with many people employed maintaining the road or the people traveling on it, though there are some hunting outfitters in the area as well.
After we finished lunch, we came outside and saw this guy pulling in.
That's a 1908 Buick that was being driven from Fort Nelson to Whitehorse and back to celebrate 100 years of Buick. Very cool old car with as near as I can tell original engine, wheels, etc. Awesome!
The bikes at Toad River...
We pushed on to Watson Lake, and encountered several huge buffalo on the roadway - the bull had to weigh at least 2000 pounds. Along the way I started to not feel very well. Apparently the Buffalo burger I had at Toad River wasn't sitting well. We stopped and looked in the first aid kit for the "do not **** pills", only to find they weren't there. At the first aid class we did, those were the first thing on Graeme's list, and they weren't there! Luckily, Al had some. By the time we got to Watson Lake, I was feeling miserable. It was the fifth long day on the road (third on the bike), I was overwhelmed by the distances we had yet to travel, I was a little homesick and missed my family, and I was physically ill as well. This was probably my worse day of the whole trip. In Watson Lake, we pulled into a campground and I told the guys I needed a motel for the evening since I was sick. They agreed that would be best and we set a meeting time and place, so I left them and went on into town and found a nice room for the night. This was the one and only night that I didn't stay with the group, but it was much needed as the illness continued into the night.
Mileage for Day 3: 461
More to come...
The morning was clear and cold, and we continued up the Alaska Highway toward Fairbanks, still days away at this point. We stopped for a break and gas in Fort Nelson, then continued up into the mountains.
We ran into some rain as we headed into the mountains, enough that I had to don my rain gear. There were also several what we took to calling "grate" bridges. The road surface on these bridges is metal grating. It likes to grab front tires and shake them from side to side a bit. It wasn't too bad for most of us, but Graeme was running a TKC-80 on the front, and the grating really grabbed those knobbies.
As we headed through this one mountain pass toward Toad River, we saw some bighorn sheep right by the roadside. The descent down the other side of the pass was pretty steep with a rock wall on one side and sheer cliff on the other. I don't have a lot of pics from today as I was mostly shooting video. I plan to make a movie of the trip as well, but that will take some time to put together.
We pulled into Toad River for fuel and a bite to eat. There is an interesting story about how the town got its name. When they were building the highway, vehicles had to be towed across the nearby river, so they took to calling it "Towed River". Well, someone apparently couldn't spell, or thought they meant the other kind of "Toad", so the name stuck. The population is 75, and there is a school. Kids come from as far as 50 miles away for class, using horses, dog sleds, snowmobiles, airplanes, 4-wheelers, and just about any other means of transport available. The local economy is supported mostly by the highway, with many people employed maintaining the road or the people traveling on it, though there are some hunting outfitters in the area as well.
After we finished lunch, we came outside and saw this guy pulling in.
That's a 1908 Buick that was being driven from Fort Nelson to Whitehorse and back to celebrate 100 years of Buick. Very cool old car with as near as I can tell original engine, wheels, etc. Awesome!
The bikes at Toad River...
We pushed on to Watson Lake, and encountered several huge buffalo on the roadway - the bull had to weigh at least 2000 pounds. Along the way I started to not feel very well. Apparently the Buffalo burger I had at Toad River wasn't sitting well. We stopped and looked in the first aid kit for the "do not **** pills", only to find they weren't there. At the first aid class we did, those were the first thing on Graeme's list, and they weren't there! Luckily, Al had some. By the time we got to Watson Lake, I was feeling miserable. It was the fifth long day on the road (third on the bike), I was overwhelmed by the distances we had yet to travel, I was a little homesick and missed my family, and I was physically ill as well. This was probably my worse day of the whole trip. In Watson Lake, we pulled into a campground and I told the guys I needed a motel for the evening since I was sick. They agreed that would be best and we set a meeting time and place, so I left them and went on into town and found a nice room for the night. This was the one and only night that I didn't stay with the group, but it was much needed as the illness continued into the night.
Mileage for Day 3: 461
More to come...
Last edited:
It has to be asked:
Who took/packed the extension cord?!?
BTW, will you guys (note the plural use) be posting up a review of your bikes and gear on this trip?
The extension cord in that photo belonged to the camper in the next campsite over. We shared the power outlet. I do wish I had a mini power strip so I could charge stuff simultaneously, but as it was, I had to do the batteries and laptop one at a time.
As far as the bikes and gear, I'll try to incorporate that into the story. Most everything worked great, but I did have a few glitches. You'll just have to wait until I get to that part of the story.
DFW_Warrior
Hmmmm.....
Actually Elzi, that was one of the first things I was going to do. I figured that Bryan could hold over all the people that wanted to see pictures, so I could focus other things at first. I'll post a review of my stuff here shortly.
Re: Day 3
By the looks of the driver, I'd say it includes the original owner as well...
That's a 1908 Buick that was being driven from Fort Nelson to Whitehorse and back to celebrate 100 years of Buick. Very cool old car with as near as I can tell original engine, wheels, etc. Awesome!
By the looks of the driver, I'd say it includes the original owner as well...