[jbsmith78]

Ok, so I've had the wing just a little bit and already have around 10k miles on it and itching for more! Me and Megan really wanted to do a long trip (2+ months) from AR - CA - AK- MA- Key West and then back home; about 14k+ miles... with a side trip from Fairbanks, AK to Prudhoe Bay, AK (I used to work up there for BP)

I wasn't sure when I would be able to do this, but over this past year the Lord has blessed us with a great manager for the company that can be trusted to be left with things for such a long time. So, I am very pleased to say that we are officially going to start planning for this trip in June'ish of 2007... Already getting some extra goodies for the Wing for the long haul.

We're so excited that we're not sure if we'll be able to make it through the winter... seash, just wanna get on the bike and go NOW!!! God is so good to let us do this at such a young age... I just feel very blessed and wanted to share it with my winger brothers!!!

Also, any tips, tricks or help from others that have made the AK trip please speak up- I really like all the help!!!!

I attached a map of the route we're going to be taking... I know it's big so I'll post it as a link: http://bonnybrooke.apexhosting.com/AK Trip Info.htm

 

[UBoat]

From looking at your planned route all you'd need to do is some slight modifications to get to all of the lower-48 states.

 

[MesquiteBob]

If you've got the time, a dip into the states around Glacier, Yellowstone and the Chief Joseph Highway wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Wonderful to hear a young couple give the honor and glory for their success to where it belongs.

Keep us posted as to your preparations - your excitement is infectious!

Mesquite Bob

 

[jcarney84]

I'm jealous. Kristie and I just passed through your neck of the woods (literally, I think) 2 weekends ago and the weather, roads, and leaves were beautiful. Glad to see someone our age on the Wing, too!!
Have a good trip.

 

[goldwinghen3]

Are those yellow numbers points of interest that you are going to see ?...I noticed #5 and #6 are near me,,,,If you rermember,,call me and Iwill try to ride those with you......Looks like SanFrancisco and maybe the "wine country" ?????....Looks like a great trip to go on......good luck, and be safe and enjoy......p.s.....are you putting on new tires and oil change before you leave ? :wink: just a thought....Henry

 

[jbsmith78]

If you've got the time, a dip into the states around Glacier, Yellowstone and the Chief Joseph Highway wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Wonderful to hear a young couple give the honor and glory for their success to where it belongs.

Keep us posted as to your preparations - your excitement is infectious!

Mesquite Bob

We just got back from that trip... it was WOW!!!! We stopped in Jackson Hole for 3-4 days and then headed down to CO and spent a few days riding around!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[jbsmith78]

I'm jealous. Kristie and I just passed through your neck of the woods (literally, I think) 2 weekends ago and the weather, roads, and leaves were beautiful. Glad to see someone our age on the Wing, too!!
Have a good trip.

Hey my father in law just moved up to KC... we'll be making plenty of trips up there when we get some good weather- we'll have to hook up and you can show us the 'good roads' in KC!!!!!

 

[jbsmith78]

Are those yellow numbers points of interest that you are going to see ?...I noticed #5 and #6 are near me,,,,If you rermember,,call me and Iwill try to ride those with you......Looks like SanFrancisco and maybe the "wine country" ?????....Looks like a great trip to go on......good luck, and be safe and enjoy......p.s.....are you putting on new tires and oil change before you leave ? :wink: just a thought....Henry

Will do... I'll shoot you over a PM when we're around! Yeah, those yellow things are just the route, we really didn't add any POI to the trip as the main POI is the trip, but I'm sure we'll get side tracked... as we always do!

Yeah, I think Santa might be getting me a Smart Tire set-up so I'm gonna try and run another 3-4k this winter and then it'll be time for new rubber before the trip! 8)

 

[Bulldog]

JB,

If we are in town, we always have a cup of day old coffee and a stale bun to share with our friends.

Bulldog

 

[bnordt04]

I may be wimpish,but we couldn't do that without a trailer. If you don't have one I would give some serious thought to it. It makes life SOOO much easier. "Have Bushtec will travel" ( My apologies to Paladin)

 

[Guest]

Looking at your route in British Columbia and Alberta I could really help you out as I've been riding that area for 30 years. Do you have Mapsource and a Garmin and if so I could send you a file for downloading to the gps.

 

[PredatorXX]

That looks very cool.

 

[jbsmith78]

Looking at your route in British Columbia and Alberta I could really help you out as I've been riding that area for 30 years. Do you have Mapsource and a Garmin and if so I could send you a file for downloading to the gps.

That would be great... I'm using Microsoft Streets and Trips right now but I'll be getting a using a Garmin system for this trip!!! Any help on the Canada part of the trip would be great, that was the part I wasn't really sure of, I just let the system chose the faster way?!

Thanks again!!!!

 

[jasonJonas]

Any help on the Canada part of the trip would be great, that was the part I wasn't really sure of

there are a number of canada options worth considering.

you could pop up to sault st. marie and ride the northern lakes region through ontario. with all the natural lakes and wildlife, it's a stunning ride. now the ride across manitoba, sask and most of alberta is just like riding across the plains states. i figure you're gonna do that anyway wether you do it in the states or in canada so why not pick canada?

get to calgary and ride the icefields parkway through banff and jasper national parks. the canadian rockies are awesome and you won't be disappointed in the icefields.

farther north, i'd take the alcan on the way up to alaska. some of my favorite spots along the way are laird hot springs and muncho lakes, one of the prettiest lakes i've seen. stop at the sign-post forest in watson lake, but spend the night elsewhere.

on up the alcan, desctruction bay and kluane lake are worth some time. you'll likely spend a bit of time near destruction bay cuz there's some major road construction up that way. kluane lake is another lake you'll want to stare at for a while and thank your creator for the gift of the senses.

i'm not sure i'd encourage y'all to run up the haul road to prudhoe on the wing. you can make it, but if the weather turns on you, it will be a major mess. since you have the luxury of time, consider waiting out any bad weather especially north of coldfoot when you begin the climb up atigun pass and onto the north slope. the best weather window is the last week of may through june. if you've worked in prudhoe and traveled the haul road before, i'm not telling you anything you don't know.

if you don't go up to prudhoe, consider exploring the rest of alaska like valdez and the kenai penninsula.

on the way back south consider taking the cassiar (37) from watson lake to kitwanga. stop at dease lake and, if the weather's ok, consider a ride to telegraph creek. there's about 75 miles of dirt/gravel, but it's worth it. if you went up to prudhoe, your bike is likely toast anyway so the trip out to telegraph shouldn't be a problem.

south from dease lake, consider riding to hyder, alaska along the glacier highway (37A). excellent ride. and if you really feel adventurous, ride north of hyder about 17 miles of dirt/gravel to salmon glacier. gorgeous and worth it.

from kitwanga you can ride out to prince rupert or head east toward prince george. never been to rupert. along 16 smithers and burns lake are interesting stops. especially burns lake with its younger and more nomadic crowd. hehe.

from prince george consider riding south on 97 to cache creek. williams lake is a nice town, but the real treat is the ride through the fraser canyon.

from cache creek tc-1 is a good road south. in the end, though, you really can't make a bad choice.

here's my ultimate coast to coast trip report which chronicles the ride up the haul road:

http://jasonjonas.com/motorcycling/ride ... 200306.jsp

you'll get some more ideas from here. it's a route i took in 2002 through british columbia along the cassiar and the alcan after completing a 49-state run:

http://jasonjonas.com/motorcycling/trips/abc-200206.jsp

i've left out a ton of stuff. suffice it to say, going to canada cannot and will not be a "once in a lifetime trip." you're gonna want to go back... and you will.

 

[wgooden]

congrats on this journey ... many more blessings should come your way!

be blessed!

WG

 

[PODO]

I know your schedule is a little early for this but if you can fit it in some how we would love to see you here in Co. If you can't work the timing out we would still love to meet you and show you some better roads than I-70 through Colorado.

This is the ride that Wingnutzz is putting together in July:
http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/view ... highlight=

 

[Ubon]

jbsmith78

I am available for adoption :lol: .
Good luck on your plans and have a safe trip.
Expect to see lots of pics and a large write up of your travels when ya'll return.

Enjoy.

Dave

 

[jfink]

My three tips:

Drop down into Calgary and through Banff and Jasper National park, ice field road. If you do this, make sure to stay at the Crossing Resort. http://www.thecrossingresort.com

Plan to spend a little time in Whitehorse, very interesting town, I wish I had allowed more time to explore this place.

Do the "Top of the World" highway by going through Dawson City, Yukon Territory.

 

[steve s]

If you come thru North GA. give me a shout. I bet those "Wingstock Mafia" boys would love to show off our mountain twisties to you two. They might even let me tag along.

Sounds like a great trip......wish I could ride every mile right behind you!!

Be careful.

 

[jfink]

Also wanted to add that you should go to Anchorage or Homer, Fairbanks is fine but either or these two would be a much better destination.