4 weeks out!

Time is boiling away. But there has been progress, I’m happy to say! Spring is now in full swing,  which gets me excited to think of the future to come, now that i wont be riding in 20 degree weather. Though the 50 mph sidewinds of spring do slow you down. Also I’ve been able to experience mud  driving with the bike, now that the whole state is a giant mud bog. Surprisingly easier then i thought it would be, the KLR is a beastly machine. I took it on the first solo camping trip this year to a lookout point over a beautiful lake down a small footpath, and its amazingly agile. 

We picked up the Chevy van from the shop that will be making the trip up to Alaska behind me, after having 1000$ worth of work done to it. Certainly an improvement in a few things about it. Of course when we got it back, the start froze up... But it's all part of the fun! The big behemoth doesn't like to go faster then about 65, so that will add some character to the trip. You can read more about Julie and her trip with her van Here

On the bike I’ve put on tool tubes, LED brake light, new top box, progressive front springs, subframe bolt upgrade kit, dash panel and extended shifter peg. Still have some things left to put on it including the doohickey, rear spring, power plug ins and driving lights. At least the list of things to buy is getting shorter.....

The part I needed to fix then sell my BMW motorcycle is on back-order from Germany so that most likely will not get sold before I leave. Not sure about this particular ordeal yet. I’ve sold the Kawasaki Ninja to a nice woman as her first bike, sold a few small things from home & started a GoFundMe page. If you’d like to make a donation, please go HERE

Because she needs to get to Chickaloon, AK by a certain date for her job, she will be making a beeline there. This is the route I will most likely be taking there, going with the van. Liable to change tho, if the highway proves too dreadful to take that long. Map Link

My good friend Jeremy also bought a KLR, and is considering whether to take the van or the bike up to Alaska. Could have a fellow biker with me! Which would be great, it’s harder to relate with someone driving a flying sofa across the country! Hard to say whether he’ll be coming or not due to some family responsibilities. 

I’ll be uploading a complete list of gear I’ll be bringing on the trip with pictures soon, once I’ve organized it enough. Fingers crossed for no major last minute problems!

Cheers for now

TDG

6 weeks out!

Time continues to creep down the calender. I do believe I am now feeling the pressure. 

For those of you that don't know me personally, I'm a list fanatic- always making lists of stuff to do, parts to get, etc etc. So I guess I'll start off the firs blog list, of general things to do:

• Order, receive and install new rear end on 2009 BMW G450X
• Sell the BMW, hopefully for $4200
• Sell 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, hopefully for $3000
• Sell odds & ends around house, to free up space and organize things
• Finish installing modifications to the KLR, including front & rear suspension, driving lights, LED brake lights, dash panel, tool tubes and power adapters
• Purchase riding boots, digital "tough" camera, riding pants 
• Insurance dropping class- 3 days before departing

Today I took the bike out for the first real ride of the year. Got a bit of everything- mud, snow, ice, dirt, rock. Spring in Vermont. I certainly can tell the bike will have some good weight to it with all the gear, and that the suspension upgrades will be necessary. This happened, from the bike tipping over so easily due to the suspension being bottomed out. I hadn't even adjusted the stock shock for the extra weight either.

Bikes have feelings too, right? Got excited when it smelled the fresh air. 

Anyways, there's plenty to do- research what spare tires to bring, organize music for the mp3 player (Taylor Swift already taken care of) and do something about the mail going to the house- junk mail has to go somewhere of course.

Well out for now. Bikes sitting outside getting covered in tonights' snow blizzard. Makes getting out and about interesting. Cheers!

 

8 weeks out!

Well spring is slowly making its way towards us up here in the very tip of Vermont. Down in the valleys, mud season is starting. Up in the mountains, the wind continues to whip and the clouds to snow. I got some work done on the KLR, with some aftermarket parts I would need for the trip, and had my friend record a quick video of me introducing them. 8 weeks now stand between now and the leaving date of May 9th. There's still much to do- i have a jeep, snowmobile and two other motorcycles to sell before then for general funding. A few choice pieces of gear are left to order, and I'm still working on wrapping up things at my home to be empty for an unknown amount of time.
Camping every weekend continues as well. Last night on Mount Hunger almost cost me my toes, but it was a great trip. Always bring extra socks, kiddos.
Good luck, for now!
Watch the video here!-
Introducing some of the KLR upgrades

First entry!

So this is the first entry onto my newly created blog. I'm pretty new to this type of setup, but hopefully I catch on quickly. At this stage, I'm ordering the very last of the gear needed for the trip, finishing up details at home before I leave, and continuing to add places to the already enormous list of places i plan to visit. It's looking like the first stop will be my long-lost brother in New York, after which i will head up towards the Great Lakes. Of course, with the crazy lifestyle comes the quickly changed schedule, but the initial date is setup for May 20th. To keep myself busy, I've been doing some great camping trips in the beautiful New England region- which has certainly led to some great memories, and cool pictures. Until next time!

cheers,

TDG

Photo- Camels Hump, Duxbury, Vt