Florida to Alaska 2019

[LaughingBuddha]

Taking the new Ural from Florida to Alaska, Anyone here done that? Suggestions? Recommendations? Advice? I have been riding for 25 years and ridden around the country. This will be my first trip in a Ural and a long one. June 15th departure, returning to Florida mid September

[Marine Corps Codu]

Where in Alaska are you heading? I went to Fairbanks a couple years ago on my BMW R1200GS with Expedition sidecar. Outstanding trip!! I was gone 1 month from NW Washington State.

I suggest you carry extra fuel as, at times, either stations are out or closed when you want it. I only had to use my extra can 1 time as I had planned pretty well and never missed a chance to fuel up when it was available.

Please keep us apprised of your progress and if you are in NW Washington State let me know. Be safe!

[Lofty]

Best of luck as your departure date approaches.

With your accumulated riding and cross country experience, you could likely offer suggestions and such to some of the members here.

Anyway, having done a bit of interstate touring myself, there's a few universal thoughts that come to mind:

-Don't pass up the opportunity to refuel the bike, or yourself.
-Heated grips and Gore-Tex riding gear have no practical substitutes, full stop.
-How you begin each day, mentally, will affect how each day concludes.
-The ability to be your own mechanic, nurse and muse may, in the end, be the only thing that allows you to complete The Trip. Know at least a little bit of everything. Specialization is for insects.

And, of course:

-Pictures, or it never happened.

Be safe. Be healthy.

[Marine Corps Codu]

When I went I went in August missed the majority of the mosquitoes! They can be ferocious, so please plan ahead. Also the "no see ums" aren't too fun. I used a mosquito head net, which turned out to be the best money ever spent!!

There are 4 motorcycle dealers in Fairbanks. The BMW dealer changed out a tire and did a service for me. I took the spare tire for the pusher. Don't know that you will need anything more than the spare that comes with your bike, but having one and not needing it is certainly better than needing one and not having it!!!

[LaughingBuddha]

Where in Alaska are you heading? I went to Fairbanks a couple years ago on my BMW R1200GS with Expedition sidecar. Outstanding trip!! I was gone 1 month from NW Washington State.

I suggest you carry extra fuel as, at times, either stations are out or closed when you want it. I only had to use my extra can 1 time as I had planned pretty well and never missed a chance to fuel up when it was available.

Please keep us apprised of your progress and if you are in NW Washington State let me know. Be safe!

Thank you, yes I plan on taking extra fuel (5gal) .
I'll be going into Anchorage, Kenai and Homer. My route includes a pit stop through Washington.
Yes I heard the mosquitoes are no fun. We have the no-see-ums here as well... I will have a full face helmet plus the net.

[LaughingBuddha]

Best of luck as your departure date approaches.

With your accumulated riding and cross country experience, you could likely offer suggestions and such to some of the members here.

Anyway, having done a bit of interstate touring myself, there's a few universal thoughts that come to mind:

-Don't pass up the opportunity to refuel the bike, or yourself.
-Heated grips and Gore-Tex riding gear have no practical substitutes, full stop.
-How you begin each day, mentally, will affect how each day concludes.
-The ability to be your own mechanic, nurse and muse may, in the end, be the only thing that allows you to complete The Trip. Know at least a little bit of everything. Specialization is for insects.

And, of course:

-Pictures, or it never happened.

Be safe. Be healthy.

Thank you Lofty, I actually plan on doing a youtube channel this time. All those years of riding and never filmed it. Saved it for the big event. There will be lots of pictures and videos.

[Marine Corps Codu]

I might suggest you consider the headlight and driving light mesh protectors from https://www.hemisphereoffroad.com/products. I also covered mine with plexiglass to keep the dang bugs off as plexiglass is MUCH easier to clean.

[LaughingBuddha]

And of course they are on vacation so I wouldn't be able to get anything on time anyways.

[Lokiboy]

CC Jon did the ride from Key West to Prudhoe Bay Alaska back in 2010. Find his post, I’m sure you’ll find a lot of very interesting information there.

[LaughingBuddha]

CC Jon did the ride from Key West to Prudhoe Bay Alaska back in 2010. Find his post, I’m sure you’ll find a lot of very interesting information there.

I think I saw his youtube slide show.

[davek]

Best of luck. Sounds like fun, but I'd probably be too paranoid to do it alone

Did anyone mention bear spray? I remember coming back from Hyderseek in 2003 and stopping to see a sign that said something to the effect "in case of bears stay in vehicle". I thought to myself, yeah, I'll do that.

[Marine Corps Codu]

Taking bear spray over the border? - Canadian Rockies ...
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g ... spray_over...

Apr 19, 2012 · I took my bear spray over the border from Canada into the US in October 2009 and then back into Canada. I didn't volunteer any information about having it, and the border guards never asked. The information I had googled in advance was similar to what C_W said - in Canada, it has to be labelled as bear deterrent.

[Lokiboy]

CCjon had about four different post about his trip. Here’s one of them.

He had a blog at the time, which he may still have, where he posted the day-to-day trip.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=27249&p=325554&hili ... ay#p325554

[LaughingBuddha]

Yup, plan on having bear spray. It's legal to take it across as long as it doesn't say pepper spray. Bear spray are half the potency of the human defense OC spray.

[harryball]

So, if we ever make the trip, I can take my shotgun so long as I have Bear Deterrent engraved on the stock. Got it!

We have considered a Georgia to Alaska run for some time now, the problem is getting enough contiguous time free to make it. I envy your trip, good luck and be careful.