Kicking Things Off

Since I was old enough to remember, bicycles and motorcycles have been a big part of my life.  From riding shotgun behind my grandfather on his Hondas in the 70's to my own cross-country moto trips, and all sorts of moto and bicycle racing in-between, two wheels have been THE unbroken constant in my life.  After years of lusting after them, I finally picked up an "adventure" bike a few years ago (a BMW R1200 GS Adventure) and hit the road a week later for a ride through the Canadian Rockies.



I did a daily blog of that trip...that I almost finished (you can read it here)...and now, on the verge of what I hope to be another great trip, I've decided to do another.

The two guys you see in the picture above are me (left) and my good buddy, Jason.  I met Jason in 2012, shortly after moving to Colorado, at a multi-day dualsport ride.  Those few days of riding would turn out to be pivotal for me, as they brought me into the world of offroad motorcycle riding.  Over the last few years Jason and I have become great friends, and we've already logged quite a number of days and miles together, both on- and off-road.  Jason secretly wishes he lived in Colorado, and takes every opportunity he can to visit, so between his trips up here and mine down to Texas to race, we get to see and ride with each other pretty often for a couple of guys who live over 600 miles apart.  It helps that we have very compatible riding styles and preferences, and that we seem to have developed an ability to put up with each other...something that's not easily found for either of us!

About a year and a half ago we realized that we both had the same goal of riding our ADV bikes -- Jason has a Triumph Tiger 800XC -- up to Prudhoe Bay, where the Alaskan Pipeline starts.
 This isn't an uncommon "bucket list" goal for adventure motorcyclists around the World, as the Haul Road (aka Dalton Highway) is one of only two North American roads that'll get you up to the Arctic Circle.  We made a half-hearted attempt to pull the trip off last summer, but in the end found that our schedules wouldn't allow it.

This blog will chronicle our attempt to pull off our dream of making it to the end of the Dalton (and back!) on two wheels, while riding through beautiful parts of our continent that most will never see.  Although I could write endlessly about the trip, to your great relief this won't be a daily blog.  As we continue our preparations for our late-June departure I'll hope to post every week or two, and once we're on the road our connectivity and schedule will dictate how often I'm able to update.  Please feel free to share it with anyone and everyone, as my hope is that it will entertain a few and inspire and inform a few more!

Until next time...

-Brian