The R80ST being crated.

Whilst many of you would not be surprised to see my motorcycle being wrapped up so well for protection knowing what I am like, it is actually a standard procedure that Motofreight do when crating all motorcycles for shipping. Fantastic.

And here it is with the crating almost done.

 

Not sure where Alaska is?

 

This is for those who are not sure where Alaska is in the world ! 

The bike...

This is the bike that I will be using for this trip. It is a 1982 BMW R80ST.

I have spent the last 18 months, (on and off) and a few thousand pound, getting the bike ready for this trip but am sure it is now in good reliable shape (which is more than can be said for me), for the task in hand, only time and miles will tell.
I chose this bike because of it's simple mechanics, meaning that it can be fixed relatively easily with the need for plugging into a computer to see what's wrong. As I have just about re-built this bike myself, I know it fairly well and how it all goes together which is a plus point when travelling alone.

 

 

Welcome to my latest blog about yet another one of my motorcycle trips, although this one is somewhat bigger than any other trip I have done before.

The plan, and it is only a rough plan, is as follows...

I fly in to Anchorage (Alaska) as well as my motorcycle on a seperate flight. Once I get my bike out of US customs I will then start my tour of Alaska. First heading to the Kenai Peninsula where I will spend a few days testing the bike before heading north to the Dalton Highway and on to Prudhoe Bay.
From here I can go no further north so I will turn around and go back south as far as Fairbanks where I will then take the Top of the World highway to Dawson City (Canada). From there I will head south again zig zagging my way down to the Rockies and on to Seattle (US).
From Seattle I will take the west coast route along the famous Pacific Coast Highway down to LA.
Continuing further south I will head for the Baja Peninsula (Mexico) before returning back up into the US again heading for the Colorado Mountains and then heading south east to the Deep South of New Orleans. I will then be going north enjoying the music along the way up to Nashville and then on to Michigan. Last leg of the journey will be to New York where I will wave goodbye to my bike as that heads home via sea frieght whilst I fly home.

But like I said, that is only a rough plan and all could change, apart from the bit where me and the bike fly to Anchorage as that is the only fixed part nof the trip. It will be a case of making it up as I go and just let it happen.

Well I hope you enjoy this blog following me on my hopefully spectacular journey.