What I Want Now

I have been using a soft side tail bag when I go on solo motorcycle camping trips for a while. It carries plenty of stuff for a few days camping, and overall, I have liked it. But when I see my husband's bike ready to go on a longer trip and he puts on his panniers ( he has Micatech bags ) I have to admit to feeling a pang of jealousy. His bags have a great mounting system, you can't even tell his bike has mounts when the bags are off, and the bags hold a ton of stuff. The problem for me is that they are heavy, too heavy for me to be able to comfortably mount and dismount on my own. Since he is gone so often, and since it humiliates me to have to rely on someone else for such a basic function, I'd like to have my own panniers that I can use without assistance. After doing some research, I'm pretty much settled on caribou cases. The system uses Pelican cases that are lightweight, but virtually indestructible. My ultimate setup would be panniers with a small tail bag that has protection for a camera and a couple extra lenses. That way I can keep an old camera in my tank bag for quick shots, but still have relatively easy access to a nicer camera and accessories where they can be protected. I don't know how long it will take to get the cash together to put add these panniers, but I am definitely looking forward to it.

Denali Highway

The Denali Highway is one of my favorite roads in Alaska. The road is always bumpy, and is either dusty or muddy. Rarely is there a happy medium. I prefer the ride from the Paxon side to the Glenn Highway side. This report is from a ride we did in September 2006.

We had no urgent work for a few days so we decided to make a two day mid-week trip down the Denali Highway. We left Anchorage on Wednesday about noon and gassed up in Palmer. For those of you not familiar with the Glen Highway, it runs along the Matanuska River and offers some spectacular views of the river as well as of the Matanuska Glacier. There are also some nice twisties to keep you entertained when you don't feel like just admiring the scenery. We ate a late lunch at Sheep Mountain Lodge, and spent the night in Glenallen.







Thursday we rolled out around 9:00 in the morning in heavy fog. The thermometer in Glenallen said 38 degrees. Brrrr..... Thank goodness for Gerbings! Just outside of Glenallen we turned onto the Richardson Highway heading up toward Fairbanks. The fog was still heavy, and this is caribou migration time, so we had to keep the speed moderately in check.

The fog had burned off by the time we hit Paxon and turned off onto the Denali Hwy. We were stopping for LOTS of photos, so we weren't making the best of time. The first 21 miles of the Denali is paved, and thank goodness there wasn't much traffic. I spent so much time gazing at mountains and the fall colors I probably wouldn't have made it on gravel.




We stopped for an early lunch at Tangle Lakes, right at the end of paved road. The lady there told us it had been down to 28 degrees that morning. By the time we came through it was almost 50. I hadn't been over the Denali Hwy in about 5 years, then it was in horrible shape, ruts, potholes, you name it. This time it was much better. Cages were still doing the 20 mph thing, but we were able to go much faster, just slowing down when we hit the BIG loose gravel.

The views on the Denali are awesome, and always changing. I don't know how many times I've been over this stretch of road but there is always something new to experience. Anyone traveling Alaska who misses riding this road, has missed what would have been a high light of their trip. The Denali Highway isn't the easiest ride, nor is it the hardest, but it will stand out as one of the most memorable.

Motorcycle Camping

It's funny how much stuff I used to carry when I went camping. A huge heavy tent, cookstove, big bulky sleeping bag, and the list goes on. I still have my old backpack, and remember many trips when it was full and I had a sleeping bag strapped on the outside. Now I laugh. I can fit a weekend camping trip into my 10 year old daughter's backpack that she carries to school every day, and I camp in more comfort now than I did back then. Learning to carry everything we need to live on the road for a month or more on a bike taught me a few lessons. Like an extra rain tarp is a lot more useful than an extra pair of jeans and sweatshirt.

My husband and I now use a Big Agnes 2 man tent. It takes one person about 5 minutes to set up, even in the wind. We also have Big Agnes sleeping bags with the integrated mattress pad. They are warm and comfy even at cooler temperatures, but I still like a silk liner that I can tuck in around my neck and shoulders. It is less for the warmth, which it does provide, and more for the homey feel of a blanket. We have Big Agnes inflatable pillows that suit me alright, but that my husband doesn't think are big enough. I guess the difference is whether you just want something to lay your head on, or whether you want a pillow you can hold on to.

Rather than carrying a huge camp stove like I used to do, I now carry a Jetboil and Mountain House dinners. The Jetboil heats up water fast enough that I can be drinking my second cup of french press coffee before the Mountain House dinner has finished cooking. I've seen other options, but the Jetboil cup is the perfect size for one person, and it is such a compact system that I can use the extra space for something else.

My luxury item is a Kermit Chair. It is a completely collapsible director's chair (fits in a bag about 22 inches long and 4" by 6". It is also one of the most comfortable chairs I have sat in. Much better than our full size lawn chairs that we use on the deck at home.

For a month on the road I have my riding gear plus two pair of pants and three shirts. Everything possible is micro-fiber so it washes and dries quickly. My test is whether the clothes can fit in a helmet bag. If it's too bulky to fit in the bag, something comes out. It means I don't dress up much, but that's ok. I can do the dressy route at home anytime, the road is for adventure, excitement, and challenges.

I Am a Biker Chick

I am a biker chick. Do you have a picture in your mind of who I am, what I look like? I bet you’re wrong. I am a retired trial attorney, mom to three girls, and wife to an awesome guy. I don’t have any tattoos. I prefer Pinot Noir to beer.

Motorcycle riding isn’t just about Harley Davidson and Honda Goldwing anymore. The new breed of rider prefers dual sport motorcycles designed to perform equally well on the highway or on a bumpy off-road trail in the middle of nowhere. We ride ATGATT, all the gear, all the time. My bike of choice is a BMW F650 GS. Riders have taken this bike literally around the world, from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. From Shanghai, China to Cape Town, South Africa.

My lifestyle at home is typical suburban American. I drive my kids to and from school in a VW Jetta, sit at the computer most of the day, go running or work out at the gym, then hang out watching television with the family in the evening. Life on the road is where things change. Everything I need for days and even weeks on end has to fit on the back of my bike. At home my closet looks like most women’s. I like clothes, and I like shoes. On the road I only have my riding boots, and room for one pair of shoes. In summer I take sandals, in shoulder seasons I take a pair of Dansco clogs. Since packing room is limited, my non-riding wardrobe is paired down to two pair of pants, and three t-shirts.

A typical day on the road from a recent six week tour of the Western United States might include waking up in a primitive campground with a river behind our campsite, and redwood trees and giant sequoias all around us. Making coffee with our Jet Boil French press attachment then packing up the tent in the rain. Heading out and finding a dirt or gravel road to explore, seeing the less traveled side of the Redwood Forest, or Death Valley, or the Grand Canyon.

We try to find a local out of the way spot for lunch, like the unnamed cowboy bar we stopped at in New Mexico where chickens roamed around the dirt parking lot and even inside the little general store, the place where everyone in the place stopped talking and looked at us like we were from Mars when we walked in wearing riding gear and carrying motorcycle helmets, or Fat Mama’s in Natchez, Mississippi where they advertise “knock you naked margaritas.”

Our afternoons we spend either continuing the morning’s explorations or riding secondary roads to the next area we want to see. Sometimes we ride miles where the air feels soft and warm and smells of pine needles or freshly cut grass. Other times the wind blows us around the road, rain bouncing off our helmets, or snow building up on our windshields making riding slick and challenging. But no matter the weather, riding a motorcycle makes you feel alive. In a car your mind can drift away, on a bike letting your mind drift can kill you. Every sense is focused on your surroundings, experiencing the feel of the road, the tingle of adrenaline always keeping you in the moment.

In the evenings we decide if we want to camp rustic, or in a KOA Kampground, or maybe treat ourselves to the unimaginable feeling of luxury a hot shower and clean sheets bring after a long day in the saddle. Do we feel like cooking over a campfire and watching the stars come out like we did in Death Valley, or going to a world-class restaurant like we did in New Orleans?

I’m a biker chick. I love riding the twisties, feeling the power of my bike as I lean into the curves. I love the thrill of riding a muddy road full of potholes. I live for the joy of experiencing nature, rather than just riding through in an air-conditioned car with the radio on. Yeah, I’m a biker chick, and I’m loving every minute of it.

November Days

It was fun posting up that old trip and reliving some of the memories. In the many thousand miles since then I have learned so much about riding it scares me to think I rode from Seattle to Anchorage as a complete noob. That first summer I remember the challenge and excitement of the curves between Anchorage and Girdwood. Now I ride that same rode and enjoy the scenery. The road feels a lot straighter now that twisties are something I look forward to. I'm still short and my bike is still big and heavy, but I've learned to slide off the seat so I can reach the ground. Stopping isn't a challenge any more, and the number of pictures I take has gone way up. I still get a silly grin from ear to ear almost every time I ride.

Now that it is November, and the bike is in the garage for the year I have to sit back and relive my rides. Most of my posts during these non-riding (for me) months will be old ride reports, with the occasional motorcycle related thoughts thrown in from time to time. Once I get going on the subject of riding gear made for real women adventure riders, not teeny boppers, and not leather and fringed up Hell's Angel wanna be's...watch out! It is a huge pet peeve for me that most women's gear is just sized down men's gear or jackets that fit a size 000 and end at the waist. But I'll save that rant for another time.