"Northern Exposure" Bygdawg and Indypup Trip...
- Thread starter bygdawg
- Start date
indypup
Accidents HURT! Safety doesn't
Jay got his rear tire changed today in Bellingham, WA. We were in and out in about 2 hours. We rode US20 across the north cascades NP then took US2 and 95. 462 miles today. Going to ride the lolo pass tomorrow and not sure what else. 
Two Brothers
Walking, Talking, and Smiling!
Wow..... finally caught up on this thread! Enjoy the home streatch!
indypup
Accidents HURT! Safety doesn't
Well we made it together to Livingston, MT and then decided to split up again. I'm going to go ride the beartooth pass a couple of time and then chief Joseph HW and 14/A across Wyoming. From Spearfish to Casey, IL I'm going to run the route that Terry Hammond (ACL) used to run on his way to Glacier NP. I thought that would be a good way to honor Terry.
Jay is going to try to stay up north as much as possible to avoid the heat on his way back to sweet home Alabama. He mentioned maybe checking out the badlands of SD.
It's been a fun trip so far. I wish we could have seen more of Alaska but with the problems we had we just wanted to start heading home. My rear tire split in the middle of nowhere and had to have bike towed in Alaska. Major bucks of course. Jay got a hole in his radiator and busted up his fairing a little. I'm sure the ugly details about this will be talked about later but I'm getting on the road now.
I'm going to go ride the beartooth pass a couple of time and then chief Joseph HW and 14/A across Wyoming. From Spearfish to Casey, IL I'm going to run the route that Terry Hammond (ACL) used to run on his way to Glacier NP. I thought that would be a good way to honor Terry. Jay is going to try to stay up north as much as possible to avoid the heat on his way back to sweet home Alabama. He mentioned maybe checking out the badlands of SD.
It's been a fun trip so far. I wish we could have seen more of Alaska but with the problems we had we just wanted to start heading home. My rear tire split in the middle of nowhere and had to have bike towed in Alaska. Major bucks of course.
Jay got a hole in his radiator and busted up his fairing a little. I'm sure the ugly details about this will be talked about later but I'm getting on the road now. 
TinyL
Wingin It
Can't wait to see the final write up and a ton of pics I hope. Hope you have nothing but smooth roads the rest of your journey...
OP
OP
Star date July 16th 2011:
I left Livingston, MT around 7:30 in the morning. As Roger said, my plan was to stay as cool as possible for as long as possible. As I headed east, I ran into 100 degree temps. On the way, I decided to stop by Custer National Park where the battle of Little Bighorn occurred and got some great shots of the park and the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
After that, I stopped by Spearfish, SD for a bite to eat and a picture op. After that, I stopped by Wall Drug in Wall, SD. I couldn't resist since they had a sign about every few hundred feet for miles leading up to it. It was okay, but it was a bit of a tourist trap. That being said, I didn't spend a lot of time there. After leaving Wall, I decided to stop at the Badlands National Park, as I had never actually ridden through the park. While there, I got some great pictures. After the Badlands, I stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace.
Terry and I had talked about it on several occasions. He had seen it, but I had not. I thought it only fitting to swing by and check it out and snap a few pictures. Since it had been so hot that day, I decided to pull a Terry and ride through the night to get home. He always said you could just ride like crazy to get home and then just crash. Little did I know what was about to be in store for me. I think Terry might have even been laughing a bit over what was to come.
I did in fact ride through the night and through the next day and arrived at home in Alabama at 4:20 in the evening, having been up almost 34 hours and on the road on the bike. End mileage when I pulled into my garage in Vina, AL was 18,121 for a total of 1,921 miles straight for the day. Isn't there some type of Iron Butt thing I can get for that? I have the gas and national park receipts to prove it.
As I made my way home, I ran into detours and construction everywhere, especially in Iowa. Which one of you wise guys forgot to mention that Iowa now has ocean front property? Sorry Iowa. The flooding in that area was severe to say the least. What was I thinking after I finally made it home you ask. WOW! Did I just really do this trip? That is the question that I found myself asking after getting home 34 hours and 1,921 miles later.
As I lay on the couch with my son Kent, I drifted in and out of consciousness as we sand along to "So Happy Together" by the Turtles as it played from my cell phone. While I had hoped to wait until 9:00 PM CST to go to sleep, I couldn't do it, and I decided to turn in. I awoke at 10:32 PM sharp and didn't realize where I was. This was the first time I woke up in my own bed and didn't know where I was. Okay...maybe it happened in college, but this was neither drink nor drug induced. Suddenly, I thought I was back in the Yukon Territory or Alaska somewhere. It all seemed very dreamlike, and I wondered if my long ride home might have all been a dream or nightmare if you consider all of the detours and construction I had to work around to make it back. Then, I realized Jennifer was beside me and that I truly was home. It was at this moment that the vastness and totality of the trip began to sink in. Still, it was as if I was peering back at it through a fogged over plate glass window as the pictures, places, and people we had encountered along the way kept popping into and out of view of my minds eye.
The views/thoughts seemed to be streaming in randomly. Usually being the first person to jump up and put pen to paper, this time I decided to just lay there and take it all in. Perhaps I would remember it in the morning; perhaps not. I wish sometimes that I had a record button in my brain for later retrieval, but that is why I keep a journal with me on these trips these days. At the moment it seemed more important to not disturb the process. As I lay there, I thought about the remoteness and vastness of the lands we had explored and the people we hand encountered along they way from the hotel/motel clerks, to the shop owners, to the Russians we met running a tavern and lodge in the middle of Alaska. I thought about how insignificant it all seemed in the vastness of all that wilderness but also how significant each person was to thee overall experience and area. I even thought about all the faces I had seen on missing posters across both Canada and Alaska. Had the wilderness just swallowed them up or more likely was it the work of some serial killer or multiple serial killers praying on the weak in those vast wildernesses.
I think it was in the Yukon territory where one girl told us of the road of tears or trail of tears because I noted to her that it might not be the best idea to place a missing persons poster in the check-in lobby. I jokingly inquired if by staying there I too might end up on the same poster. This is when she told me the story of all the girls that go missing from hitch-hiking along the road just in front of the hotel. Each of their lives had been important to not only themselves but also to those that loved them. What made me any different? Could I too be swallowed up so easily and end up on a poster so someone could contact the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) if they knew anything about my whereabouts. In short, it's the little things that I missed along the way. I missed not being able to find diet coke. I missed not being able to find sweet or unsweet tea. Instead, they had something they called powdered tea and cans of Nestea I think it was. Yucki! My wife said what about me, and I simply replied that I didn't put her into the class of little things that I missed. She stepped right into that one, and I watched as a smile came across her face. Does any of that make sense? Who knows? Maybe I'm still a bit delirious from the long ride in.
Anyway, I'll probably share more later, and I'll certainly post my pictures up later. I'll probably go into the office and upload some stuff this week, as my dedicated T3 connection there zips over my Hughesnet internet service at home. And to think I thought I lived in the middle of nowhere. lol All I can say is that we saw some amazing things. Sure we encountered a few problems along the way, but I'm sure they paled in comparison to those who must have made that trip when the area was first being somewhat civilized. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I invite you to make the trip yourself. I'm sure you'll walk away with your own thoughts and lessons from the entire experience. I know a few of you have already done it. Mac certainly pops to mind. Just to be clear though, I did not camp in bear country. However, I think I would have made George proud of some of my stealth camping or rather semi-camping. lol However, those are stories for the campfire somewhere down the road.
Ride Safe,
bygdawg
P.S. Bones...As for the Raven that I hit along the way, I'm sure he will quote nevermore. ;-)
I left Livingston, MT around 7:30 in the morning. As Roger said, my plan was to stay as cool as possible for as long as possible. As I headed east, I ran into 100 degree temps. On the way, I decided to stop by Custer National Park where the battle of Little Bighorn occurred and got some great shots of the park and the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
After that, I stopped by Spearfish, SD for a bite to eat and a picture op. After that, I stopped by Wall Drug in Wall, SD. I couldn't resist since they had a sign about every few hundred feet for miles leading up to it. It was okay, but it was a bit of a tourist trap. That being said, I didn't spend a lot of time there. After leaving Wall, I decided to stop at the Badlands National Park, as I had never actually ridden through the park. While there, I got some great pictures. After the Badlands, I stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace.
Terry and I had talked about it on several occasions. He had seen it, but I had not. I thought it only fitting to swing by and check it out and snap a few pictures. Since it had been so hot that day, I decided to pull a Terry and ride through the night to get home. He always said you could just ride like crazy to get home and then just crash. Little did I know what was about to be in store for me. I think Terry might have even been laughing a bit over what was to come.
I did in fact ride through the night and through the next day and arrived at home in Alabama at 4:20 in the evening, having been up almost 34 hours and on the road on the bike. End mileage when I pulled into my garage in Vina, AL was 18,121 for a total of 1,921 miles straight for the day. Isn't there some type of Iron Butt thing I can get for that? I have the gas and national park receipts to prove it.
As I made my way home, I ran into detours and construction everywhere, especially in Iowa. Which one of you wise guys forgot to mention that Iowa now has ocean front property? Sorry Iowa. The flooding in that area was severe to say the least. What was I thinking after I finally made it home you ask. WOW! Did I just really do this trip? That is the question that I found myself asking after getting home 34 hours and 1,921 miles later.
As I lay on the couch with my son Kent, I drifted in and out of consciousness as we sand along to "So Happy Together" by the Turtles as it played from my cell phone. While I had hoped to wait until 9:00 PM CST to go to sleep, I couldn't do it, and I decided to turn in. I awoke at 10:32 PM sharp and didn't realize where I was. This was the first time I woke up in my own bed and didn't know where I was. Okay...maybe it happened in college, but this was neither drink nor drug induced. Suddenly, I thought I was back in the Yukon Territory or Alaska somewhere. It all seemed very dreamlike, and I wondered if my long ride home might have all been a dream or nightmare if you consider all of the detours and construction I had to work around to make it back. Then, I realized Jennifer was beside me and that I truly was home. It was at this moment that the vastness and totality of the trip began to sink in. Still, it was as if I was peering back at it through a fogged over plate glass window as the pictures, places, and people we had encountered along the way kept popping into and out of view of my minds eye.
The views/thoughts seemed to be streaming in randomly. Usually being the first person to jump up and put pen to paper, this time I decided to just lay there and take it all in. Perhaps I would remember it in the morning; perhaps not. I wish sometimes that I had a record button in my brain for later retrieval, but that is why I keep a journal with me on these trips these days. At the moment it seemed more important to not disturb the process. As I lay there, I thought about the remoteness and vastness of the lands we had explored and the people we hand encountered along they way from the hotel/motel clerks, to the shop owners, to the Russians we met running a tavern and lodge in the middle of Alaska. I thought about how insignificant it all seemed in the vastness of all that wilderness but also how significant each person was to thee overall experience and area. I even thought about all the faces I had seen on missing posters across both Canada and Alaska. Had the wilderness just swallowed them up or more likely was it the work of some serial killer or multiple serial killers praying on the weak in those vast wildernesses.
I think it was in the Yukon territory where one girl told us of the road of tears or trail of tears because I noted to her that it might not be the best idea to place a missing persons poster in the check-in lobby. I jokingly inquired if by staying there I too might end up on the same poster. This is when she told me the story of all the girls that go missing from hitch-hiking along the road just in front of the hotel. Each of their lives had been important to not only themselves but also to those that loved them. What made me any different? Could I too be swallowed up so easily and end up on a poster so someone could contact the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) if they knew anything about my whereabouts. In short, it's the little things that I missed along the way. I missed not being able to find diet coke. I missed not being able to find sweet or unsweet tea. Instead, they had something they called powdered tea and cans of Nestea I think it was. Yucki! My wife said what about me, and I simply replied that I didn't put her into the class of little things that I missed. She stepped right into that one, and I watched as a smile came across her face. Does any of that make sense? Who knows? Maybe I'm still a bit delirious from the long ride in.
Anyway, I'll probably share more later, and I'll certainly post my pictures up later. I'll probably go into the office and upload some stuff this week, as my dedicated T3 connection there zips over my Hughesnet internet service at home. And to think I thought I lived in the middle of nowhere. lol All I can say is that we saw some amazing things. Sure we encountered a few problems along the way, but I'm sure they paled in comparison to those who must have made that trip when the area was first being somewhat civilized. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I invite you to make the trip yourself. I'm sure you'll walk away with your own thoughts and lessons from the entire experience. I know a few of you have already done it. Mac certainly pops to mind. Just to be clear though, I did not camp in bear country. However, I think I would have made George proud of some of my stealth camping or rather semi-camping. lol However, those are stories for the campfire somewhere down the road.
Ride Safe,
bygdawg
P.S. Bones...As for the Raven that I hit along the way, I'm sure he will quote nevermore. ;-)
Lanny
Former Rider
Glad you're home safe Jay. Me and the boys want to watch some caveman TV with you and get the whole story. Ron & Mike have been asking if I knew anything about your trip...
OP
OP
Tell the guys I said hello. And tell Ron that I managed to keep my top box on this time, even on the Alaska Hwy. Of course, that is thanks to the new sturdy CNC machined top mount plate that I added. Now, I need to invest in a radiator cover. I always thought I'd never need one of those. Boy was I wrong. Swing on by anytime. If you do it soon enough, I'll tell you stories while you help me scrape the Alaskan bugs and wilderness off the bike. lol
Jay,
Congratulations on the trip. Sounds like it was quite an adventure. Looks like you need to update your signature map!
JohnConner
Congratulations on the trip. Sounds like it was quite an adventure. Looks like you need to update your signature map!
JohnConner
Glad you're home safe and sound, Jay!
Patty
Patty
TinyL
Wingin It
Congrats on not being eaten by a bear...can't wait to see the pics!!!
You need witness forms for the start and finsh as well as the receipts to complete the Ironbutt ride Jay. I always say the paperwork is harder than the ride, nice story.
CWDUSMC
Site Supporter
Just read this start to finish and all I can say is WOW! Glad you made it home safely.
indypup
Accidents HURT! Safety doesn't
I made it home last night about midnight after stopping by my parents house in Indiana. I'll have to sort though my pictures and post some good ones for you guys.
I'll have to sort though my pictures and post some good ones for you guys. 
Nice write up already, Jay. Glad you and Roger have both made it home safely. I envy you guys who have made this trip, while at the same time, not sure I'd want to go through some of what you experienced. Can't wait to see the pics and hear the stories. Save a few of them for the Blue Ridge Gathering.
Bill
Bill
OP
OP
Thanks guys. It was certainly a wild adventure. I'll certainly have some tales to tell around the campfires at SToc events.
OP
OP
All of my pics. are up. Some of the files did not save in the proper order. So, you'll have to deduce the progression by the titles of the folder. You should be able to follow the numbers too, but if you just want to look at the pics. without the headache of trying to sort it all out, feel free to do so here:
http://pics.midsouth-mr2.com/Default.aspx?aid=753
It took a while to get them to upload. So, I won't be doing any rearranging anytime soon. Enjoy. I'm still working on the Flip videos. Who knows when those will all be up. In the meantime, a few of them are up on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee
http://www.youtube.com/user/bygdawg1000?feature=mhsn
bygdawg
http://pics.midsouth-mr2.com/Default.aspx?aid=753
It took a while to get them to upload. So, I won't be doing any rearranging anytime soon. Enjoy. I'm still working on the Flip videos. Who knows when those will all be up. In the meantime, a few of them are up on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee
http://www.youtube.com/user/bygdawg1000?feature=mhsn
bygdawg
Jay
Glad you all made it back safe. Been checking the thread often to check on your progress and see how you were getting along. Haven't had time to check out all the pics but will do so soon. Look forward to listening to a few trip tales around a fire over a couple drinks. Until next time...Cheers!
Glad you all made it back safe. Been checking the thread often to check on your progress and see how you were getting along. Haven't had time to check out all the pics but will do so soon. Look forward to listening to a few trip tales around a fire over a couple drinks. Until next time...Cheers!