John's Alaska

John's Alaska Day 17 Part 3

2011-12-19T20:12:00.001-05:00

Day 17: Didn't Say Goodbye

Sunday, June 26, 2011 Day 17 Part 3

I don't know if I pulled a "shitty" on Nick and Ivanka. I woke up early, around 0530 and I know they sleep in until 0730 every morning. I felt like it would be a long good bye for some reason and I would have not got on the road until after 0900 or so. I am not in a rush to get home or anything.

They were heading back up the road to Route 37A to Hyder for a day or so, its about 50 kilometers away. So I just wrote them a note saying that I had a real great time with them the last few days and I hope they have a great journey together on the motorbike. I also left them a challenge coin from my work.....

Read more here: http://www.johnsalaska.com/2011/07/day-17.html

But the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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John's Alaska Day 17 Part 2

2011-12-18T21:13:00.001-05:00

Day 17: Didn't Say Goodbye, Sunday, June 26, 2011 Day 17 Part 2

Read more here: http://www.johnsalaska.com/2011/07/day-17.html

But the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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Music: "Gold Rush Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"

Southern Border Ride

2011-12-11T23:32:00.001-05:00

Southern Border Ride

The project is called the "Southern Border Ride: Dual Sport truth on the Mexican Border". Its going to be a off road/Dual sport motorcycle ride following as close to the USA/Mexican border fence as possible. Starting from the gulf coast in East Texas and following the border fence all the way to California to the pacific ocean.

This is an unbiased report of what is actually happening on the US side of the border as I ride along, the immigrants coming in to the country and the drug smugglers delivering their loads. Its also a way to find a viable off road trail and meet the landowners who have to deal with this complex issue everyday. There will be a eBook about the journey and blog/photo/film updates as I travel.

My start date will be around September 2012

Follow along at www.SouthernBorderRide.BlogSpot.com

John's Alaska Day 17 Part 1 Video

2011-11-23T01:27:00.001-05:00

Day 17: Didn't Say Goodbye

Sunday June 26, 2011 Day 17

Read more here: http://www.johnsalaska.com/2011/07/day-17.html

Buy the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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John's Alaska Day 16 Video

2011-11-21T23:08:00.001-05:00

Day 16, Thirteen Card Brag, Saturday June 25, 2011

I woke up around 0715 hours and started packing up everything. At 0730 he came running over in his shorts and said "ready for a swim?" They were both up and already dressed in their swim clothes! I thought they were kidding!!

"ok", I said, and quickly grabbed my swim trunks, changed and headed over. We all took a quick swim in the lake, it was cold but not bad. It took your breath away for a few seconds.......

Read more here: http://www.johnsalaska.com/2011/07/day-16-thirteen-card-brag.html

Nick and Ivanka's Blog: http://www.bootsboatsandbikes.co.uk/

Buy the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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John's Alaska Day 15 Video

2011-11-18T23:57:00.001-05:00

Day 15, Nick and Ivanka

Friday June 24, 2011 Day 15

I woke in the morning and got dressed quickly, no breakfast and hit the road. It was a pretty un-eventful day really for the morning. Just put in some miles and got gas. The roads in the Yukon are pretty bad usually, with road construction every few miles or so it seemed like. They have frost heaves and pot holes throughout.

In the afternoon I stopped for gas and talked with a guy on a bicycle. There seemed to be a lot of bicycle people out on tours of alaska. They seem to be gone for months at a time. This guy I talked too was from Texas, he retired on August 1st and was on the road on August 6th with his bicycle. He told his wife that he would be gone from 3 months in infinity.......

Buy the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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John's Alaska Day 14 Part 2 Video

2011-11-17T21:52:00.001-05:00

June 23, 2011 Day 14 Part 2: I need cheap protein....

I woke up and said my good byes to Taylor and Mr Goldwing. They pushed off early and I hung around until about 0930 hours. The sky was pretty clear where I was, so I opted to not put on heavy warm clothes and rain gear. A choice I was going to regret later. Mr Goldwing said that there was a nice coffee shop in the IGA grocery store at Delta Junction with Wi-Fi. That was going to be my first stop since the wi-fi at the RV park wasn't working that well.....

Buy the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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John's Alaska Day 14 Part 1 Video

2011-11-16T23:24:00.001-05:00

June 23, 2011 Day 14: I need cheap protein....

But the eBook on www.johnsalaska.com for 99 cents. Available on the Amazon Kindle.

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John's Alaska Motorcycle Roadracing Part 2

2011-11-15T20:25:00.000-05:00

Here's another edition of my race experience:

April 2005: I stored my bike over the winter season at my friend’s house. I broke it out early march and began to get it ready for the first race of the season. I met some good people at the yahoo NEAR group. Which stands for Northeast Area Racers. I secured a garage space from a few guys and agreed to share some costs, about $40 for the weekend in the garage. Garages are hard to come by and they are generally reserved for the whole season. Usually a group of guys chip in and split the costs.

I had minimal preparation for the race weekend. I was still using my Bridgestone street tires, BT012’s. The forecast for the weekend was Rain. I arrived at Loudon and the rain was coming down. There were puddles on the track at various parts and it was difficult to ride. I signed up for 3 races that weekend. I set up my tent in the camping area and dropped off my bike at my Garage. I met a few of the guys that I would be with for the weekend. They were nice, but not too friendly at first.

On Saturday, there was morning practice. The street tires were awful in the rain and I was really not doing well at all. Guys were dropping left and right because of the rain. So I stopped practicing and just waited for the races to start that afternoon.

While I was waiting, I met another first year racer, Mike McDermott. He arrived in a 40-foot trailer, 5th wheel style, and his used R6. Mike just bought the R6 from another racer, Jeff Greenwood, who was one of the fastest guys at the track. Mike had stuffed the bike in the rear of the trailer and needed help to get it out and getting his bike back together so, I stayed to help him. He had minimal tools and I had the few he needed.

This was my first introduction to the great atmosphere that surrounds the garage area at Loudon. We got a few other racers to help get Mikes bike together and he was ready for the Saturday afternoon races. We need to replace the chain on his bike. I just bought a chain breaker from eBay and I promptly broke it changing the chain. Note to self…..read the instructions before use.

By the start of the races, it was really coming down hard. I got suited up in my street rain gear, which was over my race suit. I lined up for the out lap. We started out and as I did my lap, I saw that the puddles had gone larger. My Bridgestone street tires were working ok in the rain but I was sliding and did not feel good. I pulled in and decided not to race. I parked my bike in the garage and got undressed. I was soaked. I ended up watching the race from the top of Mike’s trailer. I took some great photos from the trailer of the puddles at the bottom of turn 10.

So I was up again for another race, I got dressed again and headed out for the next race. Again, I lined up and headed out for the race. The rain was still really heavy and I pulled in after I decided not to race. I was really pissed, I did not have rain tires and I just lost $100 for my entry fees. I talked to one of the guys in my Garage, Ted Temple. He is a fast guy that has been racing for over 5 years at Loudon. He had an old set of rain tires that would fit my GSXR, and for me a deal at only $50. Well I jumped at them and had them on my bike for the Sunday practice. Meanwhile I slept in my tent for the overnight hours, it rained all night but I stayed very dry in my dads $600 Swedish tent.

Sunday morning came and I did my 3 practice sessions on the rain tires. They were Pirelli tires and they felt great. It makes such a difference with the rain tires compared to street tires. I lined up for the afternoon races and went out. There was one guy on street tires. We made our out lap and lined up for the race. It started and I did my 8 laps around, I wasn't trying to go too fast but just to finish the race and get some experience in the rain. The guy on street tires, I ended up lapping......The race ended and that was that,. Was it a waisted weekend? It sure felt like it.....

John's Alaska Day 13 Part 2 Video

2011-11-12T08:40:00.001-05:00

Day 13 Part 2, Live from Coldfoot!

Woke up in Deadhorse around 5am, called my wife on Skype. They had a really good internet connection which was nice for a change. I wanted to upload my pictures and video to the blog. I talked to my wife for about an hour on Skype, she seemed well and was happy that her son Tyler had finished High School. She went to the graduation ceremony the night before......

Music: "Dirt Rhodes Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"