Ray's 2023 Moto-Alaska

Part 1

11 days, 3,000 miles

Part 1 Map

The morning of departure, photo by Jenny.

On my way at last.

After my first full day of riding, I'm camped at my usual spot at Trail Creek. I've camped here maybe 15 times, and always enjoy it.

The tarp that Jenny made me for this ride, has a blue beak on one end, and a gold beak on the other end. (We ran out of gold.)

An early morning visitor.

Usually these wild animals are afraid of humans and keep their distance - but not always. It depends on the circumstance, but mainly on the person and whether he or she is putting out threatening vibes. I have no intentions of harming this beautiful young doe; she knows it, and is curious about me.

After going over Stunner Pass, I reach Elwood Pass.

"Hell's Gate."

Canero Pass.

Reaching Cochetopa Pass is usually problematic because the road is often muddy. For some reason the road is not covered in gravel. But this time the road was dry.

Waiting for a storm to move off Marshall Pass in Sargents, I sat talking with this gent for half an hour. He was bicycling across the country, and started on the California coast 40 days ago.

Marshall Pass

I reach my camp at Bassam Park Pass at the end of a full day. I've gone over six passes today (Stunner, Elwood, Canero, Cochetopa, Marshall and Bassam Park).

South Park, and building storm clouds.

Boreas Pass

Good view of the Ten-mile range, while descending into the town of Breckenridge.

Lunch break in Silverthorne (Map) On this trip I'm sourcing my food from Mexican restaurants and grocery stores. At the restaurants I order meatless, and at the grocery stores I buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Williams Fork Reservoir

North of Steamboat I encountered three "little" pigs on the road. They behaved more like friendly dogs. I drove slowly off, and they ran behind me. So I stopped again, and let them mill around the bike. I wanted to dismount and take photos of them, but was afraid they might knock over the bike. They looked like young Hampshires, and weighed maybe 200 pounds. One of them started chewing on my boot buckle (but no harm done). I enjoyed the visit, and maybe one day I will raise a couple of these myself.

I call this place "Ray's Camp" and it is located here, in the Medicine Bow. It's no longer on the Tour Divide route, but it is still on the GDR mountain bike route. I usually golloe yhr TF, but wanted to see the place again, and wanted to see the new road from Aspen Alley to Rawlins (Sage Creek Rd 801/401).

The nearby road is called "Stock Driveway" and true to form, early the next morning a band of sheep came driving through, herded by one lone shepherd on horseback and six or eight working dogs. One dog kept its eye on me the whole time, until in a few minutes the commotion had passed.

I'm relived that the road construction crew left Aspen Alley alone - thanks to public outcry. This is an historic feature, and the road widening would have ruined it.

In the Red Desert, I'm taking a break by a snow fence. I camped here once.

The middle of Red Desert and the wind Rivers are coming into view. Ahead of me are two cumulonimbus, one behind the other. The first one pelted me with rain, but I got though without problems. The second one proved to be something of a nemesis.

The road turned muddy, and I had to pull off the road and ride through the sagebrush on three occasions to avoid the worst sections. I barely made it through. The problem was due to the graders that had scraped off the gravel from the road, for the 10 miles between the Sweetwater River and Atlantic City.

From Atlantic City the road was dry.

Reaching the pavement (Highway 28) I opted out of the GDR, because more cu-nims where hammering the next stretch to Boulder. So I slabbed to Lander in a heavy downpour. The city park offered free camping, so I found a spot and settled in. More people arrived, and more people, so even late at night I had loud talking neighbors close by, and a few people tripping on my guy-lines. Not an enjoyable night, and I was so distracted I forgot to take photos of my camp.

Early the next morning, I loaded up, but the bike wouldn't start. So I wheeled it to a more private area and unloaded it. Running though the possible scenarios, it suddenly occurred to me that I had turned on the hidden kill switch the night before. Duh! I flipped the switch and the bike started right up.

I was far off route, so I slabbed it, in beautiful weather, to Dubois. Riding though town I saw a sign reading "Showers and Laundry" so I stopped there. With clean body and clothes, I proceeded over Togwotee Pass and reached Teton National Park.

Jackson Lake Overlook

Fuel stop at Flagg Ranch.

I've been through Yellowstone maybe 25 times, and if there is one place I always stop, it is here - a boiling mud pot at West Thumb. It's in the parking lot, but away from the crowds, so it is always quiet. I spent an enjoyable summer working at West Thumb, during my high school years.

Parked in the shade by the mud pot, enjoying lunch in the shade - in an otherwise no-shade and crowded parking lot.

Yellowstone Park was more crowded than I've ever seen it, by a wide margin. There were cars and trucks lining both sides of the road for miles and miles. My west-bound lane was generally clear, so I made it through without much delay.

As mentioned, my preferred type of restaurant is Mexican and this one, in West Yellowstone, takes my prize for the best one on the trip. And not only that, the cook rides a motorcycle and we had a nice chat.

The pitch is sloppy and too low to the ground, so I experienced a lot of condensation during the night. The main distraction was gunshots going off somewhere nearby. Then just about dark a big gunshot sounded very close, so I walked to the nearest dirt road, and then to the edge of town - where I discovered the gunshots were actually fireworks. The folks in town were celebrating the Fourth of July.

Red Rock Pass. To be honest, I'm not on a journey of discovery; most of these places seem like my back yard. For example, I've camped here maybe 10 times.

Taylor Mountain in the beautiful Centennial Range. Jenny and I hiked along the spine during our CDT trek.

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

Stopped for water at the Refuge Headquarters. They have the best tasting water ever.

I've managed to ride over the Gravely range only once, though I've tried many times - and this was one of them. En route I encountered large, deep mud holes in the road, difficult to go around. So here I'm riding the Blacktail Road to Dillon.

Hungry for lunch in Dillon, I found that my favorite Mexican bus was closed. And so were the other two Mexican restaurants. So I shopped for produce at a large grocery store.

Along the Pioneer Scenic Byway is another one of my favorite camping spots. I call it "Lacy Creek Camp."

At Lacy Creek I use the same tarp support trees every time.

This is my idea of a perfect camping spot - quiet, secluded, and pristine. It's a little slice of heaven, away from the rat race (and internet).

The highpoint of Highland Road, coursing though the Highland Mountains, south of Butte.

Riding though Butte, I stopped at a large grocery story for produce. Ready to move on, I discovered I couldn't cross the road because of the Fourth of July parade. After much trial and error, I finally found a way around.

I took the wrong road, then while making a very slow U-turn I did a little whoopsie-daisy. Before I had finished unloading the bike, this gent happened along and offered to help pick the bike back up. Much appreciated.

I had made the classic mistake of applying a little front brake while leaned over. Of course I was dabbing, so of course the bike went down on my foot. But the hard pannier boxes saved the day, preventing the bike from going all the way flat on the ground; so I was able to pull my foot out and stand right back up.

I re-loaded the bike, then another fellow happened along, standing on the other side of the barbed wire fence. He wanted to talk, so I walked up to the fence line and stood talking with him for 15 minutes. Shovel in hand and dog by his side, he was clearing a small canal that apparently irrigated his property. He explained that this canal has been here for 100 years, and was dug by hand. He used to ride, and was curious about my bike and present ride. "When are you going to return home? At the end of the summer?" he suggested. "Been doing trips like this all your life?" he asked in parting. Nice as they come, like many or most people who live in the rural areas of the West.

My farthest north campsite of the trip. I took a rest day, and stayed here two nights. This is my only photo of the place, and that's as far as I got from the tarp. Mostly slept all day. (This road behind camp is lightly traveled; I saw only two vehicles on it, during my zero day.)

My route back home took me 2.2 days of beautiful and interesting riding. Here, I'm passing by the Crawford Mountains (near Randolph, Utah), where I spent a lot of time hang gliding. It was one of my favorite places to fly.

Wilson Arch, south of Moab.

The only photo I took of me - is a beaut! (Just kidding.) A refection in a window of a c-store.

Riding through the desert just after dawn can be a magical experience. The calm and the lighting are sublime.

Passing by Shiprock in the early morning. (That's my glove on the ground; the wind blew it off the seat.)

Coming home, I always re-fuel at the same gas station in Gallup, and afterward visit the Navajo Sheep that someone is selling.

Riding off-road for so many miles takes a toll on the bike. It's not like riding slab, where very little maintenance is required. So before the next ride, I have to make sure the bike is in good working order.

After Part-1 Ride - Preventive Maintenance for the next ride:

(2023-07-10) Check Engine Valve Clearances:
- In: L: .08, R: .09; Ex L: .27, R: .29 Looking good.
New Coolant Pump Impeller, Shaft and Seals.
Engine Flush, New Antifreeze.
Change Engine Oil, new Oil Filter.
Change Fork Oil.
New Tires (Heidenau K60) front and rear. Used the old tubes, they looked fine.
New Rear Sprocket.
Remove Swingarm, Repack (grease) the Linkage Components Roller Bearings (they needed re-greasing).
Flush Brake Fluid, front and rear.
Change a burnt-out light bulb in the dash.