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Brit planning to ride from Houston to Anchorage.... advice please.


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Well, I am packing for the trip to Houston and it looks like my baggage allowance will not be enough so out with clothes and in with tools and camping gear!

 

Most important item is packed!

 

 

 

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It's magic...

ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=6660&filename=april.jpg

rider, hunter/jumper/dressage?

 

We (family) run a livery yard and my daughter is an event rider - I just help her keep the horses fit - the one in the pic is a psychological disaster... not one of our better animals! Nice temperament but nervous and clingy. She (April) was given away and we ended up with her. My wife and daughter are soft and take in all manner of unwanted creatures!

Getting excited now as my wife and I are flying to Houston on Wednesday and picking up the new bike on Friday... :)

 

I have not told her I shall be off riding (solo) most of the time.....

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still cannot work out how to show the pic in a post.... :(

 

I'll show you if you make it over.

 

And I'll make real coffee. Meaning there won't be cream, sugar, vanilla, hazelnut, or other impurities in it.

 

You can buy clothes here cheaper than shipping them over. No worries.

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still cannot work out how to show the pic in a post.... :(

 

I'll show you if you make it over.

 

And I'll make real coffee. Meaning there won't be cream, sugar, vanilla, hazelnut, or other impurities in it.

 

Should all be ok as I have a "welcome to America" email from the nice people at homeland security and flights are all booked and checked in.

 

 

Good man... I do like a spoon of sugar mind you...

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Well, I am now safely in Houston and enjoying some warm weather. Flight from Manchester was great although my wife electrocuted the immigration guy when she touched him! Caused quite a stir and much amusement. She must have built up a few million volts of static and discharged the lot through the poor soul!

They still let us in and I am looking forward to picking up the bike tomorrow!

 

My son has borrowed a US iPhone from work so my communication problem is solved so I just need to fit a 12V accessory supply to the bike, buy a tyre repair kit, and set off on a few rides to try everything out. I am hoping the height of the bike will be ok for me - we shall see.

 

So far ...so good.... but the weather in Houston looks a bit damp next week...I may regret not getting an RT.... just my luck!

 

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szurszewski

Welcome!

 

Glad to hear your flight and customs went well.

 

We are leaving San Antonio in a couple of minutes heading to Galveston. If you had your bike and hadn't just flown the Atlantic and likely messed up your internal clock, I'd invite you to ride down and have dinner with us.

 

Best luck on your upcoming adventure - I hope you'll take a few minutes to put some pictures up here now and then.

 

josh

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Drove a couple of hours to Lufkin to pick up the bike today... all went well until it refused to start... fuel pump buggered! Only 8 miles on the clock and the fuel pump gave up the ghost!

 

The dealer sorted it quickly and I rode it back to Houston in glorious weather - wonderful little bike but no RT!

 

Comfortable and quiet but no idea how it handles as I have yet to find a corner in Texas!!! No bends, no roundabouts... nothing! You have to laugh... now I know why HD's are so popular...

 

Anyway, I think I shall love it and I have already fallen in love with Texas... bank robbers chased by police this morning, cook off tomorrow (whatever that is) and the rodeo parade... life is good. BIG :)

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Welcome!

 

Glad to hear your flight and customs went well.

 

We are leaving San Antonio in a couple of minutes heading to Galveston. If you had your bike and hadn't just flown the Atlantic and likely messed up your internal clock, I'd invite you to ride down and have dinner with us.

 

Best luck on your upcoming adventure - I hope you'll take a few minutes to put some pictures up here now and then.

 

josh

 

Cheers Josh... I have struggled no end with pics... I have loads and I think I shall try and link to somewhere... it is such a pain adding them to a post.

 

I would love to have come with you - find me some bends!!!

 

:)

 

think I have found a solution... try this link.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/ZxSoQph4NM1BwwrTA

Edited by farmerboy
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szurszewski

Looks good! Great day to ride - we made it a whopping hundred miles or so, but it was beautiful down here along the coast. There are few curves, but they keep them locked up in the hill country NW of Austin, and I've heard there are some down near Big Bend as well.

 

Don't worry though - you'll find plenty as you head north :)

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Just a quicky... I ended up in traffic as I entered Houston and I was just about to do my usual "filtering" (riding between lanes of cars) when I recalled hearing that it may be illegal in Texas? Can someone advise?

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its debatable but as the law isn't specific. Generally speaking it is not an accepted practice in Texas. Be careful in Houston. Since it is not practiced some cage drivers think you are cheating and will cut you off. I would not recommend it here even though needed. When I lived in California it was a way of life and the cars expected it...not here though.

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its debatable but as the law isn't specific. Generally speaking it is not an accepted practice in Texas. Be careful in Houston. Since it is not practiced some cage drivers think you are cheating and will cut you off. I would not recommend it here even though needed. When I lived in California it was a way of life and the cars expected it...not here though.

 

Thanks for that... I shall refrain!

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szurszewski

That's basically the same for all other states as well, except California. Anywhere other than California you are best suggested to not filter or split.

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First trip to Walmart this morning (tyre repair kit) and the heat in Houston is unbearable! Showers every 10 mins cool me down... I never thought I would look forward to cooling rain whilst riding!

 

God help me in July!

 

The bike is not big enough to activate the exit gates at the apartment so I have to use my buzzer and leave through the entrance. Traffic is wild compared to the UK and you really do need to keep your wits about you and watch out for huge man hole covers and lumps of concrete between lanes!

Power supply is fitted and works a treat and my son has loaned me an iPhone 6 on a US contract so navigation and communication problem is solved.

 

The bike is really very, very nice and so easy to maneuver in traffic. It will never be anything like as good as my RT but it will certainly do the job.

 

I shall be off on a bit of a ride in a few days time so will have something more interesting to report.

 

Walmart Houston - I now have 130 miles on the clock....

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Looking forward to my return to Houston on the 4th July and then the ride up to Alaska. All the admin seems to be in place and I am legal and fully insured!

 

I shall start a fresh thread with some pics of the trip but for now here is my latest project.... Cagiva Navigator. Bought it very, very cheap from a chap who had started to rebuild it but gave up due to a persistent misfire... whilst checking the radiator was warm I was thrown across the shed by a few thousand volts. Misfire problem found.....it was the HT lead shorting on the radiator....impossible to see! Running sweetly now and I think I now understand why people love a big V twin! (Suzuki TL1000S engine)

 

https://goo.gl/photos/kn94Mc7usKVvix4DA

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sure am but now I have seen what sort of weather Texas has to offer I may not make it!

 

Four hours in searing heat (to Lufkin) to get the fuel pump replaced followed by the mother of all thunderstorms, a burnt neck and burnt arms through the mesh jacket. Damn phone kept shutting down because it overheated and I quickly got lost in a thunderstorm in the middle of Houston...all steamed up, soaked to the skin and ended up outside a Harley Davidson dealers.... service manager saw my plight, made me a coffee, sat me down in front of the air conditioner and brought my bike in from the rain. Gave me a towel to dry myself off and insisted that I waited until the storm had passed. Nice folk in Texas!

Sent from my LG-M150 using Tapatalk

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And it doesn't really warm up here until August

 

Heading north tomorrow so hopefully it will start to get a little cooler! Trip to walmart today to buy sun screen, long sleeve T shirt and a "cool towel" for my burnt neck!

 

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Add bandanas for your neck.

Can wet them to cool.

Keep sun off neck.

Perhaps a mc dealer has evaporative cooling vests?

They ehlp in many conditions.

Stop more often/hydrate. Need an onboard way to hydrate also, many options.

It doesn't get better/easier riding in heat.

You get less mileage as your body fights the stress.

Don't push it.

Soaked?

Don't you have rain gear?

No offense but a critical component of "kit".

Yes, sometimes in the summer the rain is a relief.

But only when you are riding long enough todry out completely.

We rarely stopped for rain other than to don gear.

Around here summer rain was a welcome relief from the heat.Yesterday went from 96 to 76 in hal an hour becasue of thunder/rain storms.

Phone overheating?

Are you relying on it for GPS?

Well...good luck.

Heat/water not friendly.

Can you get audio?

Perhaps put it in waterproof and listen.

Do you have a tankbag w/map window?

Paper, or better yet plastic, maps still work.

When in doubt use tape and permanent marker to write turns and stick on someplace you can see it,jacket sleeve, whatever.

Start early, stop early, have fun.

Best wishes.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Just arrived back today! I could not get reliable web access enroute (phone and computer problems!) so I have made notes and taken loads of pics and I am sat in Houston writing it all up now...

 

My God this country is awesome - in the real sense of the word! It has blown my mind and I have had the trip of a lifetime and met so many lovely people.

 

12,000 miles from Houston to Anchorage with a few diversions enroute and the little Versy has not missed a beat! I changed oil once with the help of realshelby and then twice again in various car parks and have had to replace 2 tyres but otherwise it has been flawless. Well done Mr Kawasaki!

 

I have put the bike up for sale and hope to pass it on to someone who will cherish it! The local dealer (Houston Cycle Exchange) has offered me $4250 cash or will put it on consignment at $6000 if I can wait... apparently it is a bad time of year to sell a bike. If anyone wants it give me a call. It will be cheap!

 

I am busy trying to get all my notes together and get google maps to show my route but it is a slow process.

 

Highlights...

 

1. meeting Realshelby and Skywagon! (seat cover has seen a lot of my backside but has survived!)

2. Crossing the desert to Tonopah and running out of fuel!

3. Rattlesnake grade - somehwere near Oregon I think?

4. Crater Lake near Klamath Falls

5. Glacier national park

6. Jasper national Park

7. Forest Fires in BC

8. Cassiar Highway to the Yukon

9. Road to Telegraph Creek - never again!

10. Tok, Chicken and Anchorage.... crazy towns!

11. Bear tooth pass - it snowed!

12. Dead Indian (Chief Joseph?) pass?

13. Yellowstone

14. Million Dollar Highway

.......and so much more!

I saw more bears than you can shake a stick at and nearly rode into a moose an elk a bobcat and deer! Only fell off once trying some stupid off road stuff and enjoyed roads and scenery and people I had only dreamed of.

 

I love this country! My only complaint is the furnace they call Houston... riding the final 400 miles from Sweetwater nearly killed me off and the traffic here has not improved!

 

Still smiling and so glad I did this trip of a lifetime.

Many thanks to those that offered advice and support... it is really appreciated. I am sorry I was unable to make updates enroute but the damn technology beat me!

 

a few pics as far as Crater lake...

https://goo.gl/photos/k35MXnaSZ7AXEtNG9

 

and the first bit of the route...

https://goo.gl/maps/2N8dxUW8LER2

 

 

Edited by farmerboy
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Great to hear you had a time!

 

#3 Rattlesnake Grade - your map location is a bit off I think; the commonly known place of that name is on highway 129 near Asotin, WA - it is just in the south east corner of WA and leads into Oregon; towns named Joseph and Enterprise are in the area and common moto destinations you may have passed through.

 

#12 Dead Indian/Chief Joseph pass - I'm guessing by where it is in your list that you are talking about the the pass on the Chief Joseph Scenic byway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Indian_Pass

 

I offer the above not in correction but only with the thought it might help you putting your map and notes together.

 

Your highlights list is fantastic - some of my favorites of the whole country/continent are on there :)

 

josh

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Been wondering about you! Yes, your trip must have been something. Just coming to the US/Canada area where everything is so far apart was one thing. Seeing some of the sights you saw were some of the best around. Beartooth Pass is another world to itself. I could go on and on. Glad to hear the bike done its job so well. Cannot wait to hear more about the trip.

 

You know you are welcome anytime!

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I have just discovered that google location services was switched on my phone and it looks like google has kept a detailed record of my progress! Just about all my riding (except where no cell phone signal) and walking and all the fuel stops! I only came across it by accident and yes I have made a few geographical errors!

 

I need to return the sheepskin seat cover to skywagon and have pm'd him but no response. If anyone knows his whereabouts or any contact information that would be helpful....... ta. (I have lost his number)

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