North to Alaska

First, I want to give Stew kudos and a big "Thank You" for a great tour. It was his idea, planning, organization, work, energy, enthusiasm and leadership that made this trip possible. Thank you for inviting me. Most memorable for me will be the awesome landscape, the group camaraderie, the friendliness of locals and travelers, and the wildlife. Most of the population in this region is centered around the major towns and cities, so we experienced minimal traffic for most of our tour which was a real treat for us Californians.

Our trip started with three nights in Juneau, followed by a ferry to Skagway where our group of nine met up with Stew and Jim who spent 5 days driving the truck containing all our bikes and equipment. The truck, with shared driving which also serves as a rest day, would be our sag vehicle during the 12-day tour carrying our luggage and essential road supplies, mainly food and water. From Skagway, most of us caught the scenic narrow track train up White Pass to the outpost station of Fraser where the riding began. Our bike route traveled through British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and Alaska ending in Anchorage with an 100-mile bus shuttle ride on the 13th day. In total, we rode about 693 miles over 12 days with 27,771 feet of elevation gain. Although the weather was ever changing from sunny to rainy and everything between, which had me constantly adjusting my clothing for comfort, it was decent and not extreme until our last day of riding when a 2 day cold storm front arrived. We survived and it was memorable. Thanks Stew, it was a great tour.

Kay joined me in Anchorage and my travels in Alaska continued for another week with trips by vehicle to Seward on Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage, and north to Denali National Park and Fairbanks. Click on the link below the subsequent picture to see all the pictures in Picasa; the pre-tour activities, the bike tour, and my post tour activities. It's pictorial journal, so there are a lot of pictures.

From North to Alaska