All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go ...

The bike is packed and ready to roll out of the drive way ... two days early.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Motorcycles Unlimited to get my suspension set; then get a hair cut at noon. Wednesday I've nothing to do but rest up and get to bed early.

Thursday around 6 am I'll go meet Tha Perfesser - Paul Pierce - and his wife Audrey - at the Valero station on FM-1488 at I-45 and we'll roll North to Alaska for the adventure of a lifetime.

I don't know how long we'll be gone - a month to six weeks I suspect. We'll take 9 or 10 days to get to Fairbanks. Audrey is flying back from Anchorage on June 22d. I'm running a 5.6 mile race that's part of the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage on the 23d.

My web page has links for the route up and the current plan for the ride back, to follow my ride via my SPOT Satellite Tracker and to my Smugmug album for the ride.

This is a huge deal for me, a ride I've dreamed of for years. It's a lot safer journey than it used to be but still a big undertaking. It's 4,100 miles to Fairbanks from Tomball through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon Territory; the Alaskan, Haines, Klondike, Cassiar and Yellowhead highways and Iceland Parkway; Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Tok, Haines, Skagway, Hyder, Prince George, Jasper, Lake Louise Banff - thoughts of these places and roads have excited me for years - and soon I'll see them.

My wife, Nancy, and I took a cruise from Vancouver BC to Whittier AK then too a train form Anchorage to Denali to Fairbanks in July 2009. At Skagway AK we took the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad to the Yukon Territory. While there I met a motorcyclists that were riding up from Skagway and a couple the had ridden up from the US. Those were the first of many US motorcyclists I'd meet on that trip. "Wow, I thought, "to RIDE to Alaska!"

And in two days and a wake up I'm going to do it.

This is a big deal for me, a grand adventure.

I'm prepared as I'll be. I know there will be some bumps along the way but I have faith in the power of what I call motorcycle angels - those complete strangers that always show up to help you out, or tell you about the road ahead, or to give you advice on sights to see.

Packing for Alaska

I'm done packing the bike ... or as done as I can be.

But there were some challenges along the way this weekend

I ordered an over the dash, instrument shelf from a company that outfits police bikes. I took off my after-market windshield to install it before thinking better of it and deciding to wait. When I put the windshield back on I found it was cracked. Well crud, I like that windshield - it's two inches shorter and tinted a dark black - functional and pretty.

No problem. Better to find it now than Dawson Creek. I installed the stock windshield and found the RAM mount ball on my after market reservoir covers. Huh? Why? Turns out it was because of the two inch handle bar risers I'd added.

No problem. Reinstall the stock reservoir covers, leave the radar detector at home and find another place to mouth the SPOT Satellite Messenger. But I can't find the covers! Two hours of looking and I still can't find them. But my best friend Dreux came through, bringing up his stock covers.

I decided not to use them. I moved the Radar Detector to the inside position and removed the ball from the outside. Just a tad of interference at the very end of the travel and the windshield flexed enough.

Then Sunday, when I put the Cee Bailey headlight covers the instructions said to put the eight dual lock spots on - yet there were only six of them. Hmm. Let's see what's in the storage bins. Problem solved.

That afternoon I got on CalSci's website to see if I how much it would cost to get another tinted shorty windshield shipped 2d day - $60 about $40 more than ground. That'll work if they can ship on Monday. I sent them an email and Mark answered. We swapped a few more emails and he told me to PayPal him $125 and he'd get it to me. I did but told him he must have forgotten the shipping charges as the cost of the screen is $125. No reply so I called this morning. He told me nope, $125 was enough, he is shipping it Express Mail and I'd have it tomorrow - Tuesday. Seem he doesn't like to hear about his windshields cracking in a year and made me one hell of deal.

This afternoon I finished packing and loading the bike. I'll be ready to roll on Thursday morning. I may even be able to get to bed early Wednesday night,

Oh, and I found my stock reservoir covers.