Texas to Tuktoyaktuk

mightymatt43 · Post by **mightymatt43** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:02 pm

pidgey wrote:You guys did awesome and deserve recognition for making a trip of that distance and posting those superb pics.
Bet you'll have the most miles covered by anyone on 'Steeds this year.

i don't know about that but we did have quite a trip... i loved every minute of it!

mightymatt43 · Post by **mightymatt43** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:45 pm

Entry 21

First, I need to say that we have made it safely back to our home in San Antonio, TX. We really laid off of the reports during our final couple of weeks - it's hard work to keep up with these things!

Anyway, we made our way into Jasper after getting our brake pad situation settled in Whitehorse. The weather was absolutely perfect as we rolled in and because it was so late in the season, there were very few people.

On the way into town, there was a sizable crowd on the side of the road - each with their cameras pointed toward a river on the left. So, being the good tourists we are, we hopped off the bike, and after getting our pictures taken by several people, we saw these guys nearly within touching distance.

We then headed through town to check out some small cabins we had noticed on our way north. It turns out that they were only $110 - which is extraordinarily cheap for Jasper (like I said before, it was there down season). Good for us. We pulled up to our wooden accommodations and saw this from our back porch:

In response, I did this with a beer in hand:

So, seeing as the weather was perfect and because the forecast looked clear, we decided to stay for a few nights. Besides, we had been hearing a horrible grinding sound coming from somewhere on the bike as we were riding and I wanted to check it out. After checking out a few things, I remembered hearing about a few people who had broken springs off their brake shoes. Bingo. I found this in my pusher hub:

How mine looked:

How it's supposed to look:

One of the springs had broken and had caused a considerable amount of damage inside the hub. I'm assuming it's because the wheel is made of aluminum and the spring is made of kryptonite. Either way, I took the spare and put it on my pusher and stole one of the springs from my hack to put in the pusher. It seemed reasonable to think that the pusher brake was a bit more important. I then rode into town, hoping to find some sort of replacement and noticed that the noise was still there. In fact, it seemed worse. I thankfully found a replacement - it wasn't perfect but it would make due until I could get a proper spring for the hack.

Seeing as there weren't many bike shops or auto shops in town, we decided to take in the sights even though the bike sounded pretty awful. We rode up a gondola and after a bit of a hike, we were delighted to find some pretty fantastic views.

We then headed down and spent the afternoon doing some maintenance and relaxing... We woke up the next morning to learn that the weather had turned. Several of the passes that we needed to cross were enveloped in snow and it was raining in Jasper. Not only that, but now both of Kristen's heated gloves had ceased to work. Perfect. We headed onward.

Let me tell you - those passes were cold! And riding in the snow is pretty difficult, honestly. Okay, maybe not difficult but at least kind of annoying. My mask fogged the entire time and so seeing was a bit of a problem. Kristen was a complete trouper - I looked over at one point and saw that she was completely covered in white. I tapped her on the shoulder to see if she was okay and she gave me two, enthusiastic thumbs up! i love this woman....

Here's a quick video of us (yes, again hiding in a porta-potty from the weather) then heading into the snow. I know there are some of you that ride all winter long through tons of horrible weather, and I know that the snow hadn't stuck to the ground here, but I'm telling you it was cold! Especially for a couple of Texans:

http://vimeo.com/7149095

We made our way through the park with minimal pictures as it was pretty nasty weather the whole way through. We headed through the glacier parkway and into Banff, then west through Kootenay. We continued on until night fell and ended up in Cranbrook. It was a long day and we were definitely happy to fall into bed.

propwash · Post by **propwash** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:52 pm

Here is a link with tutorial to make pseudo HDR effect in photoshop. Works well.
http://garmahis.com/tutorials/fake-hdr- ... -tutorial/

Great trip and great photos!

mightymatt43 wrote:
AeroEngineer wrote:Matt, what is your process for taking those HDR pictures?
i don't know that i would define them as "HDR" but i can see how they might fit into that category. my wife uses photoshop for all the editing and the process is pretty much a mystery to me at this point. secret of the trade, i guess???

Heiffelfinger · Post by **Heiffelfinger** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:37 pm

Awesome trip. Lots of great pictures... I'm glad to hear you made it safely back to God's country.

I like your homage to Tenacious D, hehehe...

very funny!

Mr Irish · Post by **Mr Irish** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:06 pm

Glad you two made it home safe. What an amazing journey. I really enjoyed your posts here and showed your web site to several people. Thank you very much for sharing your adventure. The pictures are really great!!!!

mightymatt43 · Post by **mightymatt43** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:18 pm

FINAL ENTRY

We finally crossed back into the US and headed into Montana, back to my Aunt and Uncle's place in Bigfork. I immediately noticed how much cheaper gas had become and suddenly realized that we had spent a fortune and fuel. Wow, I still don't want to look at my credit card bill.

While staying with family, I took the time to do some much needed maintenance and made some disturbing discoveries. At some point, it's hard to say when, my Ural lost the final drive dipstick. For those of you that don't know, the piece I speak of is vented and screws into the final drive. Because of that, I have concluded that I must have checked the level at some point, and then forgot to screw it back in. Either way, a solution was to be had (thanks to some that are smarter than me).

a vent was made through the cork with a long screw.

it fits!

Unfortunately, that was not my only problem. I hadn't really noticed until I reached the town of big fork, but my braking on the rig had become very odd. As I was checking things out, I found that the brake rod from the the pedal to the rear wheel was missing. Not good. I don't have a picture but a cotter pin must have broke or just come loose and released the rod and assembly to the pavement. Again, something that probably could have been avoided had I known to look there. sigh...

At this point, a decision had to be made. Would we throw in the towel or just continue on without a pusher brake (the sidecar still worked). Onward! we decided. We've come this far... So we headed into freezing Idaho.

We don't get this white stuff in San Antonio...

We eventually made into warmer temperatures as we crossed into Utah. It was a relief, to be honest.

Then, without warning, a breaking point occurred. We had been forced to take major highways for our entire time in Utah and as we became lodged in traffic, I threw in the towel. For days, a persistent, friction-type noise had been coming from the sidecar wheel. I had checked it out as best as I knew how, but couldn't seem to make any difference. This time, however, I exited the highway and stopped in a big parking lot to take one, final look. I got the sidecar jacked up and found that the wheel wasn't even turning freely anymore. As best as I can tell, a wheel bearing has gone bad or (more likely) I have done something that resulted in a wheel bearing going bad. Either way, I refuse to put my wife in danger (if the sidecar wheel locked up on the highway...yikes) so after much deliberation I called it quits. Mind you, it was not my proudest moment.

At about that same time, I got a phone call from my dad. He and my mom were on a roadtrip to Yellowstone and just randomly were headed into Utah. I told him what was going on and they both got very excited. "We're coming to get you!" they exclaimed. I have to say that I am not proud that I was rescued by my parents, but it worked out. And plus, we got to spend some quality time with them. (that's what I keep telling myself...)

We headed to some places that Kristen and I had wanted to go on our way back home while our beloved Ural rode close behind.

And so, our trip ends quite anticlimactically. I would have loved to have finished the last 1000 miles or so, but I will not intentionally put my wife in danger just for the sake of pride. I can say, however, that we did unload the bike 20 miles from my house and ride her home. It seemed only fair to our Ural.

Kristen's reaction to arriving back home:

Our trip ended as thus:

Miles Traveled: 9,378
Days Traveled: 52
Average Fuel Economy (based on random calculations throughout): 28 mpg
Worst Problem with Ural: busted valve guide which resulted in the need for a new head
Worst Gear Problem: busted Gerbing Gloves
Best Gear Purchase: Gerbing Heated Jackets -or- tinted visors
Lessons Learned:
1. pack less
2. need lighter camping gear
3. need lockable cases for gear on bike besides trunk
4. straps bought from WalMart are worthless
5. air filter loves to be clean and will throw a fit if dirty
6. riding boots that are not waterproof are worthless
7. my wife is hardcore
8. Rev'it Gear is worth the money
9. being prepared for everything is worth the hassle
10. experience = healthy bike
more trips = more experience = happy matt

Thanks for reading!

mightymatt43 · Post by **mightymatt43** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:20 pm

One Final Video:

http://vimeo.com/7207340

mightymatt43 · Post by **mightymatt43** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:21 pm

Heiffelfinger wrote:Awesome trip. Lots of great pictures... I'm glad to hear you made it safely back to God's country.

I like your homage to Tenacious D, hehehe...

very funny!

hahaha!

mightymatt43 · Post by **mightymatt43** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:21 pm

Mr Irish wrote:Glad you two made it home safe. What an amazing journey. I really enjoyed your posts here and showed your web site to several people. Thank you very much for sharing your adventure. The pictures are really great!!!!

thanks for sharing our trip with others! we had a blast and i honestly can't wait to go again...

Dwight · Post by **Dwight** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:59 pm

I hardly have the words...

It really is a big world, isn't it?

Matt and Kristen, THANK YOU both for letting us tag along on your adventure!

Well done indeed.

Dwight

catfish · Post by **catfish** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:59 pm

Matt and Kristen I was very fortunate to tag along on your great adventure .The write ups and pictures were awesome.To have survived a 52 day trip like this one and still be talking to each other says something about your relationship.I hope you two have many many more great adventures together.
Matt next time depending on the area you're in instead of hiding out in Porta Potties look for a coin self service laundra mat.They usually have bathrooms soda machines and for a buck or two you can throw your jackets boots and sweatshirts in a dryer for maybe 10 minutes and heat them up.It works wonders on a cold ride .Thanks again for the world tour and good luck to both of you.

CATFISH

mapperjay · Post by **mapperjay** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:09 pm

Excellent trip and excellent videos. I've enjoyed them all--some of them often. What video editing software do you use?

T.REX63 · Post by **T.REX63** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:30 am

Hey Matt, I made it over here! Signed the contract and made the down payment for a 2009 Patrol T

Looking forward to gain some insights...

Syzygy · Post by **Syzygy** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:50 am

Video reminded me why I got her in the first place, I'm going for a pre-lunch ride now... thanks Matt and bride!

Peace,
Syzygy

Sarge · Post by **Sarge** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:40 pm

Hey there folks Matt & Kristen will be doing a interview evening online at 7pm EST

here is the link to the site

http://sidestandup.com/default.aspx