Alaska Trip Preparation no. 2
(published Motorcyle Tour and Travel  Nov. '95)

	  In  June of 1996 I'll be leaving Maine for the far north to explore Alaska
and the Yukon.  1996  marks the one hundreth anniversary of the Gold Rush and I
want to be there for the all the action and festivities.  Right now I feel the
energy that the sourdoughs experienced as they dreamed about wealth and
adventure in the far North.  Hopefully I will fare much better than the vast
majority of them did and return home intact, with my trusty motorcycle beneath
me.  I know that my pockets will be empty when I return.
	Trip preparation makes all the difference between travel success and a daily
string of regular headaches.  My past two columns have stressed various aspects
of gettining ready for the road.
	On this trip I'll be tenting each evening after averaging about four hundred
miles a day, every day, rain or shine.  Three years ago, my travel partner Alan
and I made a pact to carve five to six weeks in '96 to travel to the end of the
road above the Arctic Circle.  We're no strangers to wilderness motorcycling,
with Alan recently practicing his skills on a motorcycle trip  to Belize. Be
sure to reinforce your long distance endurance by gradually taking longer trips
to bolster your confidence in your skills, gear and your machine.  Two years ago
inexperience resulted in one of our party crashing his motorcycle and exiting
Labrador on an jet.  
	The number one consideration for me on this trip is that I start out day one
being as healthy as possible.  I'll stick with an old routine of weightlifting,
biking, running, and stretching.   I have no major health problems, except for
bursitis in my left knee that I've been vigorously treating under the care of my
physician with good results.  But just in case,  I'm packing my
anti-inflammatory  prescription with the medical supplies.  They'll also be
plenty of #15 sunblock for the good times and hydrocortisol cream when the rain
and spit start the itches and rashes flowering.  
	I've been planning my route with a computerized road atlas called Automap,
available for both PCs and Macs.  I've been able to plot my course from home to
Alaska, including side trips of interest.  Automap finds me the shortest,
quickest, and alternate routes on the type of road I want to travel, displayed
on full color maps.  I zoom in for more details and information about any area
along the way.  Automap even prints out the maps along with detailed lists of
directions.  Once I've set departure times and driving speeds, Automap gives me
timetables and mileages.  One of the best things about a home program like this
is that you can quickly make changes.  I have been receiving mail from some of
you that are suggesting some "have to see it" destinations.  Thanks to Bill from
New York, I'm now routed through Banff and Glacier National Park.  
	I've also been using my contacts with long distance motorcyclists like Bill
to assemble the ultimate "parts and tools" package.  One extreme is hauling a
trailer, which I won't do.  Between the factory tool kit and the trailer lies
the zone that I'm most comfortable in.  I'm counting on the dependability of my
BMW motorcycle  to keep me safe from breakdowns.  I don't expect problems with
my new R1100GS, and there's an extended roadside assistance insurance that is
supposed to cover me in the U.S. and Canada.  Being a doubting Thomas, I'm still
carrying tools.  My riding buddy Alan McKinnon and I will split up the tool
chores so we aren't duplicating weight.  We're adding a small collapsible
mountain bike tire pump, extra gasoline cans, socket set, spare tubeless tire
repair kits, bulb kits,  replacement cables, duct tape, cable ties, small
collapsible funnels, oil plug drain gaskets,  a length of gasoline hose for
emergency siphoning, a weather radio and, last but not least, a clean Mastercard
account.
	We're packing food for camping.  What works for me is a food nucleus
consisting of  big can of Rice-a-roni, canned chicken and tuna, canned
vegetables, granola with all the goodies, bagels, nut butter, teabags.  I
supplement this with fresh  local produce.  The plan is for late morning
breakfasts on the road, with the remaining two meals  out of the tankbag or over
the campfire, which in most cases is a backpacker's stove.  
	One area that I'm excited about is communication.  Scheduled phone calls
home to my wife and kids will be a given.  I can get mail and even some packages
sent ahead for me through U.S.P.O. general delivery, which usually hold mail for
thirty days.  But I've got a better idea.  My teenaged son recently connected
our home computer up to the Internet, the world's largest computer network.  A
local phone number connects me with millions of  other computer users, and I
know some of them are reading this magazine.  I have greatly enjoyed the letters
that MT&T readers have sent me, and I've answered them all.   I'd really
appreciate it if you computer network users out there could help me out with
this Internet thing.  Are there motorcycle touring interest groups that I can
talk to?  Online Alaskan travel stories? If you've been to the Yukon, Alaska or
Inuvik and have some advice to share I'd love to hear from you.   My Internet
mailbox is balrog@midcoast.com .  I may even take a laptop on the road with me
in June to keep people posted on what I'm experiencing.   I can check electronic
mail daily and pack Automap along as well.  Stay tuned for further adventures of
the two wheeled networked sourdough.