Our Blog Archive

06.03.2009

Wednesday

Kind of a sad day saying goodbye to Dean and heading out alone but blessed with a beautiful day of riding and a great hotel and dinner in Whitehorse.  It was quite warm and the mosquitos were crazy. Amazing how in just a couple of days they are everywhere. I'm trying to get on the road right now, but this hotel bed is just too comfy and the temps have dropped again so its hard to get motivated.  Dut I have a lot of miles to do.

 

-Lisa

 

Northern Power Sports (NPS)-Fairbanks AK

Yesterday at 4pm the mechanic and I watched the test of the replaced chain. A very ugly noise was coming from the tranny.  My Alaska adventure is over.  The bike is now being shipped home where I have a replacement engine waiting.

Lisa left Fairbanks heading to Whitehorse.  She has my SPOT sat tracker.  She has hotel reservations in Whitehorse.

Her plan is to ride the fastest way home.  Alcan down to Edmonton, Calgary, and I15 through Helena, Salt Lake, Vegas.

This morning I return to NPS to prepare the bike for shippment.  It will be mounted on a pallet and trucked back to CA.

It was hard to see her leave.  She's a very capable rider and kicks my butt in twisties.  Our different styles and personalities complement each other.

-Dean

06.02.2009

Ok so we are finally getting caught up. Our new friend Kevin picked us up at the hotel this morning and drove us to the dealer. The bikes weren't there so Dean called the trucking company.  Very long story, we had to go get them at their dock. My bike had some minor damage but oh well. We basically waited there all day only to find out that Deans bike can't be repaired,  not good. I got my tires switched over and an oil change and tomorrow will head out on my own. Dean will fly home and ship his bike back. He'll swap his motor with the one from the bike I wrecked last year. We're both disappointed but its all good. 
I'll be keeping the spot tracker so you can watch my progress!

Dean will post later. He's drowning his sorrows in hot sake at the same Chinese restaurant we've been at 3 times in 5 days.  Like Beaumont 8 years ago we can't seem to leave Fairbanks.

-Lisa

 

06.01.2009

Monday was a travel day but not the kind we planned. We got up early ate breakfast (of course, after all it was included) and then walked across the street to the airport terminal. Our first flight took us to Barrow, Alaska. Northwest of Prudhoe. Then we took a flight south to Anchorage waited two hours and then on to Fairbanks. Long day in four airports but back here and waiting for the bikes to arrive.  John Ryan called and wanted to meet for dinner so we walked across the street for Chinese again. He brought with him two riders who live in town and we enjoyed a great meal and conversation. Annie and Kevin are so interesting and fun that we talked until 11 pm. time flies when its never dark

-Lisa

05.31.2009

so the ride north was great and uneventful (which is always nice when riding a motorcycle)  it was really interesting that it is  daylight
24 hours a day. the sun never actually rises or sets but it sort of moves around the horizon. the only timeit seemed dark was when the sun was behind one of the mountains

as we got closer to prudhoe at one point I was tempted to tell dean that it was clear we were going to accomplish our goal but I refrained because on these adventures anything can happen. and I was soon to find out that this trip was no exception.

the last hundred miles or so were tedious because the roadwas so dusty and the sun was so low that it was difficult to see.  we passed a few semis and kept moving.

on one long straight stretch  I was looking at the back of deans bike and something seemed to explode near the rear tire and as I asked him what happened he coasted to the side of the road. for a moment we just looked at his bike unsure why it wouldn't move. then he noticed his chain was gone. crap. no good comes of that. he wasted no time running back to find it in hopes we could repair it. I started looking on the shoulders of the road amongst the rocks but all we found were pieces of his chainguard.  going back to the bike the mystery was solved when we located the chain completely wadded up around his case-there was no fixing this on the side of the road either. our only option was for me to go get help.

we were 58 miles from town and it was a long 58 miles. it was really cold the road was covered with ice and the sun was directly in my eyes. I was just concentrating so hard to not make a mistake and praying that I got into town safely.

I rolled into town about 2:30 am and it was like a ghost town - daylight but the only activity was the two graders spreading fresh gravel/dirt mixture on every street.  perfect.

I rode everywhere looking for someone to help me but i had no idea 
that Prudhoe Bay is not a city per se bit rather it is a company camp  
so there are no services for tourists - if you live there you live in a camp where everything is provided for you by your company. being ignorant I rode around for over an hour trying to flag down someone to help me. no joy. at some pont I started to panic because dean had been out there over two hours and there are bears everywhere plus it was only about 32 degrees not counting the wind chill. so I pulled over and called 911.

clearly I sounded distressed because the operator in Barrow quickly dispatched two security guards to find me. But taking off my helmet to call had been a huge mistake as I was quickly very chilled.

they put me in one of the trucks and turned the heater on high while asking me questions about dean and his location. they quickly dispatched two trucks to get him and then brought me back to one of the camps where I was fed and given a place to rest. great great people who went out of their way to be helpful

more later.  thanks for following us!!
itouch from the road

 

Part 2:

so after we dealt with all the bike stuff the driver dropped us off at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel. which is kind of a misnomer. its really a 
worker camp self contained nice but VERY Spartan  think old motel 6.  
10x10 room shared bath ( dean on one side and me on the other) tiny tv, old furnishings and all that luxury for only $150 per night but it was totally worth it because it included all your meals. remember there are no restaurants here none at all. and the cafeteria was amazing. anything you could want 24/7. prime rib baked potatoes, salad bar, soup chili,  soft serve ice cream, sandwiches, fruit, chips. 
pizza anything. it was hysterical. we checked in at 915 am and all we did for the next 24 hours was eat and sleep and laugh.  I didn't want to check out and we sure got our moneys worth.  what really sold me was that the workers just throw their dirty laundry in the hall. now I am all over that. why leave? plus the people there were super nice and everyone tried to help us

alan worked hard to get us flights to fairbanks Monday morning

-Lisa

So near yet so far away

I'm leading.  We are  on a great streatch of chip-seal 60 miles from Deadhorse.  So close we can smell it.

There's a slight sound as I loose all throtle power.  I hear and feel silence as I coast to a stop.  Lisa is on the CB "something just fell off your bike!"

I get off and the drive chain is gone. The rear sprocket is barren, chainless.
I had a master link and tool and thought if I could  find  the chain I could repair it.  We searched up the road and found parts of the plastic chain guard.

After closer inspection I found the chain multi layered and jammed in front of the primary engine gear.  There is a pushed in area on the tranny case where the chain jammed up against. The engine starts but I could not shift into neutral.  I removed the bolts of the plate that covers the front gear but could not get it to pop off.

At this point we had been on the side of the road for 30 min. So with broken bike, at 1:30 am (in full sunlight), in mid 30 temps in bear country, I told Lisa to ride into Deadhorse and find a tow truck.

I had wrapped myself in my down sleeping bag and was comfortable.  
After a couple of hours I became concerned about our SPOT now sitting in one extremly remote location at 3am so I thought it would be a good idea to send a "SOS" which has a text message "Dean & Lisa have mechanical problems and are seeking help locally."

 

Well my apologies to all who just saw the SOS.  Lisa got dozens of emails and several calls responding with aid and offers even to come pick me up in Deadhorse.

Over the 4 hours I sat on the roadside, Dozen's of truckers stopped to give assistance. Two vehicles showed up around 5:30 am.  The first was a large hook tower and the second a flatbed pickup.  They lifted my VStrom onto the back of the flatbed, tie me down and I finish the final 60 miles to Deadhorse in a tow truck 4 hours after Lisa finished on her SissyStrom.  I made it safely but with my tail betwen my legs.

Lisa was lounging in the Peak Base Camp, a self contained business community.  There was a huge cafeteria, Internet stations,

We regroup and move 1/4 mile to the Peak Small Vehicle Service It "Peak" services th In hindsight, I made several bad decisions which resulted in me being on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.  This being my first modern chain drive m/c, I thought I could get 15,000 mi on a chain.  I had a Scott Oiler and felt this was giving me the best constant oiling.  Then I learned oil is bad for a dirt covered chain. Good for a wet chain. After this ride I'll know a whole lot more about chains and gears.

 

- Dean Tanji

05.30.2009

We pulled into Northern Power Motosports at 9AM.  We ran M. Anakee's from SoCal to Fairbanks. We carried our second set of tires, TKC80, on the back in the FlatBed Fuel Cells.  NPM had our tires changed in 40 minutes!  The mechanic note two maintenance points, that my chain had some stiff links and to keep an eye on it and my brakes were half worn.  It was a judgment call and this being my first chain drive M/C I felt I could get the Deadhorse and back - 900 miles.

The Super8 has a storage room where everything including our half worn Anakee's stayed.

We left Fairbanks at 12 noon.  The Haul Road/Dalton Hwy begins at Junction aprox 50 mi north of Fairbanks.  Our first gas stop would be Coldfoot.

We had planned on meeting up with Jack Gustafson in Glennallen but he emailed that he was up on the Dalton Hwy and would be back Sunday afternoon.  All weather indicated our window off oportunity was Mon 20% rain & Tue 25% rain.

It was overcast and sprinkling when we left Fairbanks.  30 min past Junction a single rider comes around the bend I wave and slow down but the rider kept moving along.  10 min later Another rider apears on a long straight streatch and he slows down and stops.  As we pop up our face shields we instantly recognize each other with big grins.  It was John Ryan on his iconic FJR.  The rider who passed is moments earler was Jack rushing home to met us.  John said they tried to cross the Atigon Pass after midnight (in but the snow, fog, extreme mud/ slosh prohbited progress.

-Dean

 

well the last two days were interesting for sure. For those of you who dont know already I have very limited dirt riding experience.  in fact 
almost none   but not being one to worry about details off I rode 
toward the arctic ocean. a brilliant strategy if ever there was one.

this actually occurred to me only when we were about 50 miles up dalton highway and the hard rain turned into snow.  hmm this could pose a problem but on we went

words can't adequately describe the landscape. I dont know a word that means Bigger than Vast. but it is. much much bigger. each turn was more amazIng than the last, each mountain more beautiful.  such a treat

we stopped for dinner in coldfoot which is about halfway. we thought about staying there for the night but felt good an decided to try to get over the pass. our minds were made up when we passed a third

Mon June 1


motorcyc list who told us the road ahead was open  Atigun Pass is just fantastic. about 4700 feet of majestic beauty.  very steep grades but all paved the biggest issue are the trucks but they were quite accommodating of the two crazy people on bikes. we talked to several truckers via CB radio and they gave us good info.

we stopped to take a lot of photos showing the fresh snow banks  and then proceeded down the back side which was very slick and slushy but presented no problems and on we went.

more soon

-Lisa

05.29.2009

Day 6

 

Hi everyone.  Sorry for the delay Thursday we rode about 750 miles and ended in Whitehorse Yukon Territory hotel rooms were scarce and after getting turned away from 4 hotels we settled for one without HSIA. Oh well it had been a long ride and we were just happy to find a place

But let me back up a little...we came down early to pack the bikes and found them covered with frost. brr  but other than fog on our face shields things were good as we turned north on cassiar highway dean told me we were going to run out of adjectives as the scenery just seems to get better and better. Every turn brought some new beauty and the wildlife was abundant. We saw caribou black bear and antelope.  Such a treat.

As we reached the halfway point of the cassiar I learned the two most dreaded words -Grader Working. For those of you unfamiliar with the term basically it means they have taken the asphalt off the road and dug up the dirt in the US there would be a flagger and pilot car to help you negotiate the mess. Not in Canada.  Nope.  Instead you are left to your own devices to ride through the muck trying to avoid the huge grader moving slowly. The water truck flooding the area and motor homes slogging through. It’s a real experience lemme tell ya. 
Everything on me and on the bike is covered with mud no wonder no hotels had room for us ha!

Today was another very cold day as we left Whitehorse toward Alaska

-Lisa


Today was Lisa's second day of "road under construction" (or #%*@ gravel roads!).  Yesterday it was a good basic graded road; today it was 4-5 graded roads.  All were, wet, muddy and lots of loose gravel and moving equipment. These road repairs are up to 30km long.  She's up on her foot pegs and picking her best paths at 30-40mph!  She learns very quickly.

The whole day was blue skies, cloud paths to the horizons, ever-changing mountain ranges.

Each day as we rise north, it gets cooler and sun set gets later.  The Hippo Hand is now a recognized God send!  Cold, freezing, wet hands are not a concern any longer!

-Dean

05.27.2009

Day 4

We got off to a slow start today but it ended up being a great day. 
those of you who dont know dean and I usually start and end our days in the dark. riding so hard and long that we have missed a lot of the 
scenery we ride through   today we took roads ive been on four times 
and saw
things foe the first time. big things like mountains.  beautiful mountains covered in snow.  gorgeous  breathtaking and amazing. so only doing 550 or so was still really awesome.  tomorrow we plan for an early start to try to make up some time

-Lisa

 

Williams Lake, Prince George, Smithers!  It was a another day of new farkle (riding toys and doo dads) adjustment.  In an earlier life I flew hang gliders and for extreme cold we protected our hands with "Hippo Hands".  These were neoprene over gloves that were installed over the control bar that protected gloved hands from extreme wind chill.  With Alaska in mind, we ordered a set for our motorcycles and had them delivered to the Williams Lake motel.

We spent 30 min installing the Hippo Hands then carefully rode getting used to them.  They're just plain ugly!  But riding for hours in freezing cold and rain, they're worth their weight in gold.  We will be the butt of many jokes because of our Hippo Hands!

We ended up on a 30 mile dirt/gravel road today.  Lisa did great!  
Whined alot but did great!  Found an interesting plank bridge in a beautiful hidden valley.

We finished with a late run to Smithers.  Tomorrow it's the Cassiar Hwy!

-Dean

05.26.2009

After a pleasant stay with Will and Gwen which included two hot meals, and sandwhiches to go.  We left at 7am to miss rush hour in Seattle.  Our plan worked as we sailed through in the HOV lane.

We crossed over at Sumas.  I have a history of never making a normal border crossing.  I always have to go inside to get asked all the outside questions again after waiting in line for a half hour.  Then they take my passport and look at it under a microscope for another 20 minutes.

Lisa sails through Canadian Customs with her all American smile and pulls off waiting for me to catch up.

When I get to the gate inspector, he goes through the usual guns, money, leaving anything in Canada then he swipes my new passport, then he swipes it again then he looks at the edge (like I made it in my basement), then once again I get sent inside.
After the usual Q&A and a 15 minute wait, the customs officer comes out and said he's been over at the US Customs looking at my records.  My new passport is missing the bottom line and will not scan.

All this time Lisa's waiting - changing her oil, getting her nails done, replacing bolts that have fallen off.

Lisa's gonna whine about the rest of the day but ... I hate rain!

 

-Dean

 

Holy cow, Dean just spent the entire time we've been at dinner typing his post and I don't understand why he always gets invited to join the border guys inside while I
wait Outside.  No fair


So eventually we were underway. Yay. Then the rain started.  Noah had nothin on us fo sho.  So the good news is now I know which part of my rain gear does not work.  But still a beautiful ride. We arrived in Williams lake a little soggy but good.  Really good.  This earth is a beautiful place my friends.  And experiencing it this way is such a privilege.  A little over 650 miles  a lot of rain. Beautiful scenery nice people a comfy hotel good dinner. What more could you ask?

Tomorrow we explore new roads and go farther north than either of us has  been before so the real adventure begins  and once again try not to kill each other.  But all bets are off on the road...

-Lisa

05.25.2009

Stopping at Brian Roberts in Fernly NV was part of our ride prep day.  
Day 1 on any motorcycle ride results in numerous adjustments and fixes.

Brian adjusted Lisa's clutch play.  I made adjustments to my windshield position and camera mounts.  Then it was a great dinner and relaxing evening with dear friends

Bike was packed by 5am.  Turned on the key and I notice no dash panel lights.  Also not working: CB, Valentine 1 radar detector, aux. volt meter, and turn signals.

Rats!

While I begin removing the seat to get to the fuse panels Brian is there with a VOM meter, flashlight and VStrom repair manual with wiring diagrams.  We begin to isolate the problem which turnes out to be a blown 15amp signal fuse!

We are on the road at 6:10am.

Our backroads route took us up 447 to Gerlach and crossing back into CA onto 395 above Alturas.  In those 200 miles we saw 10 vehicles.

We crossed into OR and took 31 NW past Summers Lake.  There was no traffic.  This was a series of long beautiful valleys with numerous lakes.

We're pleasantly surprised to meet up and have lunch with the Van Santen's in Bend OR.  We went N on 97 up to Biggs avoiding holiday traffic on 197.  West on a very windy 84 to Washougal where we spent the night at Lisa's parents.  Another ending of a good day.

Sent via iPhone
Dean Tanji

05.24.2009

Sunday

What a beautiful day for a ride!! I woke up before the alarm went off and was out the door at 4:30. Good 525 mile day and much needed for a shake down before we get to Alaska. In our rush to get away, lots of things went undone that were going to be problematic. Fortunately for both of us, we are spending the night with friends in Fernley NV. Brian Roberts is an ace mechanic/electrician and is hard at work as I type this. He's rewiring a cigarette lighter attachment that ruined two phone chargers at 4am as I was trying to leave the house.

Dean is enjoying a cold adult beverage and I am getting rehydrated. Our friend Steve Hobart rode up with us today and took a lot of photos with his newest camera. Tomorrow Dean and I head north. It's all good!

- Lisa

 

Great day 1.  Lisa, Steve and I actually stopped and had a breakfast at Olancha on 295.  As long distance riders we normally leave at 4AM and ride way past dark. 

I love riding out of SoCal on 395.  It's a great escape route to the Sierra's, Death Valley, Nevada, Utah and all points north.  Not much traffic for a holiday weekend. 



-Dean

05.23.2009

I can’t believe it. After 3 years of false starts, Dean and I are finally headed to Alaska on the bikes. Our plans have changed since we first talked about the trip and doing a UCC (Prudhoe Bay to Key West) has given way to simply exploring the vastness of the Great White North. 
Just getting ready to go seems to be a monumental endeavor and the last minute scramble is just exhausting. But what doesn’t get done will just have to wait until we return.
We’ll be traveling without a laptop but we’ll try to keep you updated on the adventure. Meanwhile, you can check out our route on the map which will show Dean’s SPOT Tracker bread crumbs.
Hope you enjoy sharing our trip!

-Lisa

Even with 3 years of planning, everything seems last minute!
It should be simple.  Just grab a few things, strap it on and leave.  Perhaps I’m making too much of this Alaska trip.  Way over prepared. 
I’m doing several things wrong according to the Iron Butt Association’s "Archive of Wisdom" (AOW) (http://ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cfm).   Specifically #5.  “Avoid adding accessories or doing maintenance immediately before a trip.”  Violated!  Heated grips installed last night.  Added a 12VDC fused harness with cigarette plug for rechargeable batteries.  Had most of the plastic off the bike but used this as an opportunity to Loctite everything that bolted on.

Our V-Stroms are equipped similar.  Here’s what’s on mine’04 Suzuki V-Strom DL1000
* Cee Bailey windscreen with Laminar lip
* SW Mototech skid plate, engine guard, center stand, handlebar cross bar

* Jesse Odyssey Panniers
* Touratech front Panniers
* (2) Warm & Safe electronic dual heat controllers for Gerbings heated clothing 2 for Gerbing Heated Clothing and 2 for heated grips
* J&M Com System w/2001 CB
* Garmin 2610 GPS w/ Touratech mount
* V1 radar detector
• Michelin Anakee tires
• Continental TKC80 tires for playing on dirt roads
• Flatbed Fuel Cell
• Scott Chain Oiler
• Scott Steering Damper
• Hydration System
• Rocky Mayer Custom Seat
• Adventure style footpegs & folding gear shift peg
We’ll post photos of our rides in a couple days. With minor changes, Lisa’s  2008 DL650ABS is the same.

- Dean