RTTMS May 26, 2011

Time for an update of my preparations for my ride to Alaska..

I received the handlebar mount for my SPOT Tracker and here is a picture of the device mounted on my bike. This will be my office for the next few weeks while on this adventure.
The items in the picture are my Garmin GPS located at top center. Below that is my motorcycle instrument panel. Below that is my XM Satellite Radio ( a must for long rides). The bright orange device on the right is the SPOT Tracker. On the left of the XM Radio is the temperature control for the heated grips on the motorcycle. Being warm is important. Located below the grip heater control is a electronic cruise control (I didn't get it in the picture...sorry).

I also received my new heated socks. They are powered by the motorcycle's electrical system so that while riding in cold weather....below about 45-50 degrees, my feet will be warm. I also have a heated vest, once again powered by the motorcycle's electrical system. Since it has been over 90 degrees here in Florida for the past few weeks, the heated stuff isn't needed but as we go North, we are likely to hit some much cooler weather. It is presently 37 degrees at Prudhoe Bay, which is my ultimate destination so warm clothing will be a must.

I also did some route planning using my Garmin GPS software today and created some alternate routes just in case the weather forces us to make some changes.

That is about it for today.

Mike

Ride To The Midnight Sun, May 24, 2011

Well, hello folks. It is time for me to begin posting about my next motorcycle riding adventure for 2011.

I was not planning on making the ride to Alaska this year in order to "get my ducks in a row" for a ride next year, however, things have changed.

I received a call from John Thompson, a BMW GS Adventure rider here in Tallahassee, asking me if I wanted to ride with him to Alaska in June. John has to make a business trip to Kenai, AK. (near Anchorage) John stated that if I did not agree to ride with him, he would fly but if I wanted to, we would ride motorcycles to Alaska. I mulled it over for a day or two and decided that maybe this is the time and situation to make the trip.

I spent some time with John to discuss several aspects of the trip and one of the major pluses for me to go is that he wants to get there quickly...somewhat long ride days on the way up and another is he has friends in Kenai and Fairbanks that I will be able to stay with and greatly reduce my travel expenses.

It just seemed to me that this opportunity came at the right time, so we agreed to make the trip together.

Now that the decision has been made to go on the ride, I have been trying to organize everything on my end in preparation for the trip.

This is the beginning of the ride reports and hopefully I will be able to provide you an interesting travelog of our ride.

I have activated the SPOT GPS Locator that I received from my sons for Christmas so you will be able to see our riding progress daily on Google Maps. I have a link to the Spot Tracker webpage on this blog (on the right side of the page) so all you have to do is click on the link to see where we are and were we have been for the past 7 days.

Please try to connect to the SPOT Tracker website and let me know if you have problems so I can get it resolved before I leave town.

For now that is about it for the first post....more to come.

Mike