Alaska Motorcycle Adventure 2-Up: Post #15

It is August 11, 2019. A lot has happened in the past three years, to derail another trip to Alaska each year, but Audra and I have recommitted ourselves for 2020. We will resurrect all the planning that is detailed and outlined in all the early posts from 2016. (Go back and read those if you are interested, as I will not repost them.)

Here is a timeline of the past few years......

In 2017, a new job got in the way. Going in to 2018, the company that I had co-founded went to market and I was completely covered up. Then over Memorial Weekend, I took a dive that resulted in a broken neck, broken back, 5 broken ribs, torn MCL in the left knee and over-all general body and brain trauma.

Turning 50 years old in 2018, I have to admit that it takes a little while longer to heal than when I was in my 20's. Heck, I even lost my whole ski season for 2018-19. But now, 12+ months later, I am ship-shape and ready for more adventure.

2019 also brought us a new steed! More and more the electrical Gremlins reared their ugly heads on the BMW. After being left stranded on local trips, for the 3rd time.... I was done. Up on Craigslist went the bike and I wished her bye-bye to the new owner. Research and shopping then began. I eventually landed on a new Honda. Unknown to most enthusiasts, Honda built a big adventure motorcycle for several years, a HUGE hit in Europe. In 2016, it was brought to the USA. In every respect, the VFR1200X is a straight-up competitor to the BMW-GS, even having a shaft drive, spoked wheels, and 19" front wheel. It was an instant love affair and I snagged her, brand new, off the showroom floor at Apex Sports in May of 2019.

Having some serious, adventure wanderlust, I planned a trip to Montana and Canada for the summer of 2019. I felt it would be a good test for Audra and I to see if we still had our "Adventure Mojo". I had always dreamed of retracing the steps of my father, Joe Lane, as he and his best friend made a trip to Banff and Lake Louise right after their Freshman year in college... in the late 40's. We drove our Ram pick-up and camper up to outskirts of Glacier National Park in Montana, setting up a base-camp. We then rode the Honda into British Columbia and Alberta. Three days we explored the Canadian Rockies, before heading back to Montana. It was a 1,000 miles on the Honda and we did great and had a blast.