I HAVE CHORES to get done today, except I’m more inclined to let them hang while I flip through my journal and cull a few things you might find interesting. Things I didn’t write about at the time.
In Tok, Alaska, I shared a campsite with Steffi and Karsten, young German adventurers at the start of a 2-year overlanding trek from Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego.
Here’s a pic Steffi snapped in recent days, in Hyder, Alaska. I rode up to this point to see Salmon Glacier but it was hidden in cloud cover, zero visibility off the edge. Steffi and Karsten hit it on a better day.
Their overlanding rig, a heavy-duty, all-wheel-drive monster they call Dino, as in dinosaur. They laughed when I dubbed it The Battlestar.
Somehow I neglected to write down this guy’s name. He camped with us as well. A smart, gregarious sort, also from Germany, and also headed to South America. He was riding solo, the only way to go, in my opinion.
It’s fun to ride with others for a stretch here and there, but I like the idea of being out there on my own. Don’t want to wait for anybody, don’t want anybody to wait for me…
Can’t remember what kind of bike he was riding but this looks like an F800GS nose.
He said his mother was into the papal abracadabra, insisted that his bike carry a talisman. Here it is right where he can see it.
But don’t look at that, man, eyes up & on the road, that’s your best best.
This guy was cool, a madman, Mr. Balls to the Wall, ride anywhere. David, from Georgia.
That’s a Wing F6BX, a highway cruiser in the iron piggy’s weight class, about 900 lbs. in traveling trim. Except he rode it more than halfway up the Dempster Highway. Rode the length of it on the Yukon side and crossed Wright’s Pass just far enough to say he’d made it to the Northwest Territories.
Up and back from Dawson City that’s close to 600 miles of mud and gravel. Quite a feat on a Wing.
He said the only reason he turned back instead of trying for Tuktoyaktuk is it was so windy north of the pass he got tired of pushing the Wing back up on its wheels every time it blew over.
Mud stuck to his front tire and jammed the wheel against the fender, split the fender in half. He stitched it back together with zip ties.
He’s a darksider. Big fat car tire mounted on his rear wheel. A run-flat tire.
A 2013 Wing, 134,000 miles on the clock. The man’s a rider.
Closer to home, I see a one-eared doe browsing in the backyard most every day. Normally the local herbivores can’t get into the yard.
While I was gone an 80-foot locust tree blew down in a storm and took out our back fence, which is still down, so… tree removal, fence repair… put that on the chores list.
She has a fawn with her.
There’s other news going on here, some kind of medical hoorah, or maybe more like a hubbub. I’ll tell you about it when I have facts to go on.
For now, dig Steffi and Karsten’s travel pics at your pleasure. Really great kids—on the adventure of a lifetime!
There’s no rich uncle in the picture (yes, of course I asked, I was a reporter once upon a time you know), they just set their minds to it and made it happen.
Click here to see their Instagram collection.
If you prefer Boy Wonder Zuckerberg’s other baby, the world’s leading mass-misinformation source, go here.
Cheers to all.
Tony DePaul, September 4, 2019, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
Those huge overland Unimog rigs the Europeans seem to like, would like to see the inside sometime. They don’t seem to have many windows. Maybe have a skylight to brighten things up?
Nice wrap up of the Arctic ride.
The doe must have lost part of that ear in an accident, the fawn looks normal. Glad you’re getting critters visiting the Old Homestead. Your girls must love seeing the deer.
No skylights, amigo, just a couple of small windows for natural light and lots of LED lighting. It was ultra-compact in there, well thought out, struck me as highly livable and pleasant enough. Seemed secure, too, a rolling fortress.
Hey Tony! David here on the F6BX. So the guy on the GS 800 we camped with, his name is pronounced Yens. Cool thing was he met the young German couple driving Dino for the first time in Alaska and they learned that they lived 5K from each other back home!
I had your name in my travel notes right below his with the revelation that I did not have to go back to work after lunch. How cool is that?! I’ve reminded myself of this a few times and smile when I think about you. I even let my assistant know the new score just in case. I also now know you can go to sleep on your motorcycle at speed and live. Just incredible! I’m not taking any chances though.
Enjoying your blog and wishing you many more happy miles in the breeze. Look me up if you come to Georgia.
Cheers! David
Yes, of course! Jens, pronounced “Yens.” Thanks, David.
I didn’t know you were following the Nickels. It’s a pleasure to discover you’re out there, man.
Love this Blog!!
Thanks for reading, Tone. Ride safe out there on the Wing.
I’m glad you made it back in one piece, Tony. What a great adventure. And what interesting people you met. (They’d probably say the same about you.) Enjoy your chores and your grandkids.
Take care,
Tim
Thanks for the good word, Tim. And for following the scribble. Hope to see you one of these days soon.
Nice drone shots by Steffi and Karsten. You should get a drone and just have it flying above you as you ride!
d.
Dave, did you see the link I posted on June 25, drone footage shot by Pierre the amazing bicycle-pedaling Frenchman? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8chId2bR9TA
He’s in Nevada now, still pointing his bicycle at South America. I sent him a note just this morning to urge him to check out the drone regs south of the border. Posts on some of the motorcycling forums claim drones are illegal in some Central American jurisdictions. They get confiscated at the border. That’s the blab, anyway, I urged Pierre to look into it and find the facts.
See photos of Pierre here http://www.tonydepaul.net/tuktoyaktuk-northwest-territories/
Whoops… wrong YouTube link. That’s everything before the Dempster. Try this one for aerial footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgjOHzUcFjQ
Aren’t their (the couple from Germany) photos striking? You meet the coolest people. Probably of all the things you show and tell us, I enjoy your take on the people you meet most.
Chores. Not fun, but once done, the reward seems satisfactory to me, at least. The little ones must enjoy the deer who roam in the unfenced yard.
Zuzu the girl cat is interested in the deer. She sits by the screen in the basement sliders, watches every move they make. It’s Reality Cat TV to her.