Motorcycling.

[stig]

We find ourselves a bit bewildered that we have never yet been to Alaska, as we both have always had a strong hankering to do so...but are making plans to rectify that glaring omission sooner rather than later, Stig.

Going up the AL-CAN highway is a fine, if slightly long, trip.
I hitch hiked up that way sometime in the 80es. Met lots of nice people and a shit load of bears.
Camping out in Alaska one can grow weary of bears.

Denali is out of this world, if the weather is good.
Highest mountain in the world, base to top, and when you hike around it, it is just such a presence.

 

[Burnham]

Been exploring this outfit, as another way to see some of Alaska.
http://www.pacificcatalyst.com/

 

[Fiddler]

Nice article my cousin ran across on my Dad's oldest brother...He was President of Charleston chapter of AMA for several years. Thought the biking crowd might like the read...


http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20140926/DM06/140929504/1420

 

[stig]

That looks excellent, Burnham.
Small enough to be cosy.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Our neighbors just got back from Alaska. Drove from Montana in a pickup with a slide in camper. They got back and sold the pickup and slide in camper. They hated the drive up there. They said all you could see was the road ahead of you, dog hair timber on either side.

 

[stig]

To each their own, I guess.
I loved it. Tons of wildlife, interesting old mining towns and on the way south in late fall, a bit of Aurora borealis. Camping out at night, sitting around the fire and listening to the wolves having a concert.
Went through Jasper and Banff on the way up, that is quite some scenery as well.
I've always liked driving. The whole feeling of being on the move. Never got bored with it, so the long drive up there didn't bother me, except for a stretch where I rode with a couple of christian missionaries who saw me as a converting challenge.
I always found western Americans to be very hospitable towards a young waywards dane, but up there, even more so. Met a lot of great people up there.
Later I wanted to go back and fall timber, but there was a recession on and nobody was hiring, so i misssed out on that one.
Would have loved to spend the summer in a logging camp in Alaska.

 

[McGuarantee]

I had 1978 honda hawk 400...but could never get it to stay running. Here's me on my 1994 Yamaha xt350. It was an enduro, street legal and a joy to romp around off road. It was stolen from my driveway about 2 weeks ago. Loved riding it to work and around town. Great bike, I miss it. Damn thieves.

 

[Dave Shepard]

To each their own, I guess.
I loved it. Tons of wildlife, interesting old mining towns and on the way south in late fall, a bit of Aurora borealis. Camping out at night, sitting around the fire and listening to the wolves having a concert.
Went through Jasper and Banff on the way up, that is quite some scenery as well.
I've always liked driving. The whole feeling of being on the move. Never got bored with it, so the long drive up there didn't bother me, except for a stretch where I rode with a couple of christian missionaries who saw me as a converting challenge.
I always found western Americans to be very hospitable towards a young waywards dane, but up there, even more so. Met a lot of great people up there.
Later I wanted to go back and fall timber, but there was a recession on and nobody was hiring, so i misssed out on that one.
Would have loved to spend the summer in a logging camp in Alaska.

If I believed in god, I would say he must have been giving them a lesson in futility.

 

[Burnham]

 

[MasterBlaster]

Damn Aaron, that sucks!

 

[Bodean]

Yeah Stolen bikes suck.

 

[woodworkingboy]

A bike you like that was lifted, that must really hurt. Sorry, man.

 

[Burnham]

Yeah, that cuts deep.

Frankly, getting ripped off of anything you care about is painful, way beyond the value of the loss itself.

 

[Bodean]

A bike is pretty integral to a daily rider's soul...like a girlfriend or some other kinda love.

 

[Bodean]

Like the lone ranger's horse dieing. Old silver giving up the ghost.

 

[Burnham]

Word, Deva.

 

[McGuarantee]

haha thanks guys. yeah, it sucks. hard to replace. but somehow, the lone ranger shall ride again!

 

[stig]

When I was 17, I bought a 1938 Danish Nimbus motorcycle
I kept that thing running for 3 decades almost, storing it through my travel years.
On it's 50 year birthday I did a TOTAL renovation job on it, inside out.
Later I brought it with me to california and rode it along the west coast, then shipped it back to Denmark when i got kcked out of the US.
I loved that old bike.
Coming back from our failed emigration attempt, my wife and I were dirt poor. After some years we had saved up enough ( barely!) to buy an old house.
It came down to going through the winter without heating, or selling the bike to pay for a furnace, so I sold the bike.
A Danish/American film maker living In Malibu beach, Ca. bought it and took it to California with him.
That is about 16 years ago.
Last week somebody told me about an American club of Nimbus owners.
I looked them up on the net and started browsing through their gallery.
And lo and behold, there was my old bike!
It is the one at the left, kinda cream/old ivory coloured.

So, while I never got to live in California, my old Nimbus made it

 

[Thor's Hammer]

great story Stig.

 

[Burnham]

 

[top_notch]

Don't know what I would do without my bike...Best thing I've bought in a long time! Here's a recent pic from the top of Hahns Peak in CO.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I never got a pic of my bike, a DR650. It was a bit scratched up there at the end.

 

[Cobleskill]

That cool old structure on the mountain top a fire tower?

 

[top_notch]

Ya, I believe it used to be one.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

That is a beauty of a bike Stig.