Greetings, we have been away from wifi etc for a week and half ish so have not been able to get back to here prior, hopefully the following will enlighten you to the hard work and torment we have had to go thru JUST so we can come back and tell you

Friday 25th May

We were originally planning to go to Prudhue Bay with Amy and Jack however with the bike 600 mile service needing to be done, my bike still not running right and no big tank there was too much hanging in the air to confirm.

So in the events that followed, my Safari tank arrived, our bikes were serviced however my bike was still not running right, after a scrap with Suzuki and some stern words from Barb into appropriate ears they “found” some time to take serious look at it to sort it out and that was Thursday night then Friday morning, I am pleased to say my bike now runs like Ellens does and finally acts (almost) like it should.

With not being able to go to Prudhoe we took off to Valdez on Friday avo to camp at King Mountain reserve, great place and great scenery, Dicon and Leslie left after work and soon caught us up at camp.



Ellens new PINK Chair arrived so that seemed to be the camp fire fun for the evening ... weird people.



Leslie had a go...



Dicon sorta had a go...



Then the camera had a go



We were also generously donated 4 Goose eggs to have for breaky as a New Zealanders welcoming present by Nancy the camp host...too cool.



Greta night really without TV .... Food, wine, fire, photos, sleep.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Saturday 26th May

Saturday morning dawned gray, we packed up almost dry and continued on our way toward Valdez .... mum nature decided we all needed a shower .... boy did it rain and it dropped to 32 f or ZERO in the metric world, at that time I thought we had better take off our shorts and carry on in our riding trousers.

On the way Kiwi decided it was too fookin cold behind the screen and jumped off, dumb idea at 70 miles an hour, I turned round went back and picked him up, he was breathing but was hyperthermic, things were serious :cry



So a stop at Glenellen for bike and human fuel, hot coffee and food ... life saver... and time for Kiwi to dry out ... see the stain he left on the seat



We also turned off to Cooper Centre to the newly burnt down building, that was not a good thing to see and sad for the owners who ARE rebuilding.





As we headed to Valdez the weather came and went, this time with mum nature offering views of snowy mountains and beautiful glaciers, it was still fookin cold but looking out the window made it very worth while Thompsons pass being quite spectacular.









Upon arriving at Valdez we were greeted by heavy rain and just above freezing so the weather had improved quite a bit, we faffed around looking at a camp site at which the cost seemed more comparable to purchasing the site rather than just staying there the night so we went outa town to the Airport camp ground.

We got to the camp, it was a matter of finding a site with the LEAST amount of snow on it, we won. We set up and leslie organized snacks fit for a King so snacks, food, wine fire etc, great night.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Sunday 27th May

Sunday morning Ellen went for a run and was confronted by a brown bear, she stood still, the bear eyed her up and down for about 20 seconds and musta decided he didn’t wonna eat Chinese for breakfast and took off into the bushes, I am grateful for that as I don’t know how to change our ride report to “One Moto Kiwi”

The day started as a gray day (surprise) and was not wet then turned to shit BIG time as we were packing up so everything got wet (again), we shot back to town to tank up and go to a shop which was closed so we left Valdez, a little disappointing we could see Valdez in all her glory because of the weather but that is the way the cookie crumbles.

The assault on Thompsons pass turned out to be an assault on us, as we climbed to the summit the rain turned to snow (again) ... this is now becoming the norm for us so we stopped to take photos, saweeet .. met another BMW rider at the summit with an unhappy wife as she did not see the funny side of the snow or freezing temperatures, just as well we were not wearing our shorts or she mighta thought we were weird.







So what is a man to do but indulge in the locale



So from here the weather started to turn in our favour and we found the roads drying and the cloud lifting enough to expose some of Alaskas beautiful mountain sides so we were lucky, we arrived at destination Pippin Lake where Dicon and Leslie carried on back to Anchorage and Ellen and I were heading to Kennicott Copper mine.



We continued to Chitina for a bite of lunch and tank up then carried on to McCarthy on 60 miles of shingle roads with more potholes and corrugations than you can poke a stick at.

We arrived safe and sound and set up camp dry WOHHOH, we some dinner we went into McCarthy township ... this place is a step back in time.



This outstanding property took our interest as it is for sale :evil

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Monday 28th May

Dawned a fine day, couldn’t believe it, the weather Gods had finally taken pity on us and gave us a break and the bears had not flogged our fud



We packed up camp and rode into Kennicott Copper mine, WOW what a place and the history behind it is amazing, we took heaps of pics and sifted around, we met up with Klaus again, a German adventure biker living in Australia and touring for a month in Alaska, hard case and nice guy so that is three of us I know of now.









After we finished at the mine we piled back onto our trusty steads and rode out, Ellen made it in and out of Kennicott without biffing her bike once, I think she will be ready for world moto x champs next week.



We also stopped at the famous Kuskalana Bridge .. it is slightly high!







Then .. .she left me!!! :eek1


On stopping at the Salmon wheels on the Copper river I had to execute our first field repair, I noticed the tank was wobbling and the left hand bolt had vibrated almost out, so I RTVed the bolt and screwed it back in ... sweetas.







We ran outa cash and only had a 5er left so it was time to find a dutchie camp which we did, well the camp turned out to be the best site we have had thus far and it was gratis. We met a dude from Anchorage on a CT 90 who was looking around so we ended up camping together and borrowing his fire as we had an epic fail on our Coleman cooker which we have to fix.

This is his trusty steed a less than 1000 mile old CT90, what a weapon, I suggested he keep it under the covers so the Russians don't see it

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Tuesday 29th May

We woke to a nice warm morning, Ellens good weather mojo had kicked in and life was good, we packed up and proceeded to head back to Anchorage to what was an uneventful trip with a combo of sun and a few clouds a bit windy in a few places but nothing team TMK couldn’t handle.

Liberty Falls on the way out to the main road ... vary noice



Check it out what a day :clap :clap



Some mirror art





And that concludes the Anchorage to Valdez and back again trip, there will be no more reports until the next one.:huh

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Finally we can catch up on some writing, been too busy looking out the window and riding around.

We stayed with Gary and Deb for two nights after leaving Lesleys, the first idea was to go for the Friday evening ride stay then carry on Saturday but with the D2D bar b q on it was established that we were so close we may as well stay the Saturday night as well, easy as. So Friday evening and Gary, Ellen and I went for a ride to Girdwood, Deb did come and meet us later for the return leg, neat ride and great views given we had not seen it on our Homer trip due to the snow and fog.

Saturday morning was a fix it and sort it morning and the avo was a pre D2D safety meeting with all the ADVers at Legions house, n o i c e view from there I might add, we organised to get Ellen’s side stand done after Greg offered to take care of it which meant we could get on the road a day earlier.Sunday morning was leisurely pack up and go to Gregs and time to say goodbyes.



Only one minute from leaving Gary and Debs Ellen took a turn too wide go onto the ball bearings did a tank slapper and derailed off into the veges, I saw it from my mirror, my heart slumped but all was ok luckily, a quick chat on wheel placement and we were on our way (again).



Quiet day and only a small 40 mile ride, we had been offered lodgings and a welder on Sunday to chop Ellen’s stand down another 10 mm, Beezer was going to do it Monday morning but had his hands full fixing a KLR with head problems, Beezer thanks for the offer to help mate, we really appreciated it.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

We stayed with Greg and Len at their home in Chugiak, very nice place and a man cave enough to turn every petrolhead green with envy.





Greg cut another10 mm off Ellens stand and fizzed the base plate back on, (thanks dude), after that Greg took me out for private sitting on his treasured TT 500 and let me take if for a quick spin, without showing my age it took me back to the good old days of kick start and manual decompressor, for non petrolheads reading this that is Cool!!!



Big thanks to Greg and Len for having us for the night, getting the side stand sorted and providing us with a beautiful tea with huge kabarb with half a chicken on each one.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Dickie (Mark) and Elaine from our Wanaka Motorcycle Club in Wanaka New Zealand were over in Edmonton, Elaines mum and dad live there and this was Dickie and Elaine’s last part of their trip in Canada before heading home.

It was decided a couple of weeks prior that we would make the effort and travel down to Edmonton to catch up with them knowing we wouldn’t see them for another two years.

The ride from Jasper to Edmonton was not one we would do again as it was LONG and STRAIGHT so not DR650 country but for us it was the easiest way to get to see them, when we exited Edmonton we took the back roads.

Great catching up with them, plenty of lies and wine was drunk so just like home.



We also checked out a RSV4 Tuono that Dickie was keen on. ... suits you sir.!! :clap





So for us it was a change the oil, meet up old mates, make new mates and see the old mates leave Canada without flogging anything ... it worked.:evil

The after match function from the final family do turned into quite a session with Cam (from NZ) and his girlfriend Jodi joining in with family and friends and the drunken bums and kiwis overstayers.





A final goodbye and photo (we were here) before we put on all our riot gear and rode off to our next destination ... place unknown.



Great to catch you guys, nice little touch of home, many thanks to Collin and Elma for putting up with us and having us stay.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

We knew we were in for a treat having seen some amazing pics, for us the stars aligned and mum nature ticked all the right boxes for what can only be described as perfect motorcycle and tourist weather with late 20’s to early 30’s everyday most without a cloud to see.

For us to have the trip down the icefields highway was simply magic and to have the perfect weather was second to none.

We arrived at the park to be greeted by Mount Robson, no cloud whatsoever which apparently is a little rear... how cool is that as we got to see it in all its glory.



I had to do a dangerfreak run to the middle of the road as we an almost clear section for a minute so I took advantage of that.



The road was clean and clear but there was fresh evidence of the rampage that mum nature had unleashed on the area only three weeks prior, brand new sections of tar seal replacing that which was blown away by the huge water deluge.

On arriving at Jasper it was approx 32 deg c ... hot!



We found the restaurant where Mel from Fort St James friend worked, we had a lite lunch and coffee and left our riot gear there, I wanted a belt for my shorts and discovered the totally groovy Moose beanies so I had to have one.



Later on in the afternoon we rode up to Pyramid Lake where Ellen had a swim and I sat down in the sun and relaxed....just hard work.



From there we went to Meligne Lake park, we were greeted by black bears, sheep with rolly horns, Elk, Deer etc so pretty neat to see the wildlife up close, we wanted to travel in the evening as it was cooler and it turned out to be the better viewing time.

Electric Psycho sheep and Ellen creeping up quietly



Bear just strolling along, he just kind walked past lifted his nose and said "chur bro" then carried on





Some general pics,

Lake Meligne



Sunset pics, about 10.00pm at night





The park ride we finished at around 10.30pm so we went to Snaring River camp for the night, it was 11.00pm when we arrived and set up.

In the morning we discovered that we had set up in a mozzie party zone and they were extremely hungry, Ellen said lets just pack up and have breaky at the Meligne Canyon, after 30 seconds for me standing outside and getting about as many bites it was not a hard decision.

Meligne canyon is great, really neat water falls and canyon and comes highly recommended, it was very hot when we were there so again it was a treat.





From the canyon we headed to Edmonton to catch up with Dickie and Elaine, see separate sub report for for this.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

This section of our RR Diary is the open heart part, not necessarily the bit everyone wants to read but we are normal people (well Ellen is) living our life on the road, you see the glamorous pictures and fine weather.

But the camera doesn't usually come out in the heavy rain or the hard winds and it never turns up while having a chat over navigational differences as the camera quite simply does not convey that emotion unless you have a professional cameraman and a hollywood set right at hand .... we don't.

So please realize there is some heart content in here, good and bad, so no photos in this one, just a big read for those who want to.

For the rest of you shallow bugga's like me who can't be assed reading and a picture is worth a thousand words you will be treated in the next installment of Two Lucky Kiwis.

How Andi Sees it

Highlights Non Motorcycle

The people, first off the people who made us very welcomed and gave as great information and help along the way, something that when you are on the road makes your day, something you don’t really appreciate until you don’t have a home.

We find ourselves comparing Wanaka were we live in New Zealand, a good and bad thing to do in some ways but people always compare what they had to what they have, we are human too ... or at least Ellen is.

Alaska all over, pretty cool on the groovy meter.

Snow, views, grandeur, wildlife.

Cost, mostly way cheaper than NZ.

Selection (except metric bolts) is huge across the board, it is not “do you have one” it is “how many colours do you have it in”

I know there are many more but simply can’t remember every one of them, acid test, would I come back to Alaska again? ... HELL YEAH!!

Lows Non Motorcycle

Ellen not riding a little more in NZ to up skill and practice on my bike at home without house and contents on board, once loaded (and we are not heavily loaded) they are more difficult to manouver.

This has created 10 fold more work for me, I expect her to drop it now and then with off camber ground and that is motorcycling but many falls could easily have been avoided and not caused trouble, my main concern is against the odds Ellen is using up her “avoiding injury” credits fairly quickly, the bike will take it and can be fixed easily, she can’t.

American excess, everyone drives a huge V8 pickup, SUV etc, even mums picking up groceries at the supermarket have a monster truck. In New Zealand a V8 is wow, here they are everywhere ... so Americans... don’t want to hear any of you fellas grizzling about the cost of fuel while looking at what you drive!! 8-)

I qualify this by saying we understand if it is a towing vehicle or commercial unit where size and power is needed but for some bread and eggs.....

Rice and Asian food ingredients, way more expensive than NZ

Our ipad, 4 weeks old and some oxygen thief flogged it from under our noses in the University Of Fairbanks Library, makes you mad but it is only a material thing that can be replaced.

Motorcycle Highlights

If you want to organize things or get sorted in Alaska on the motorcycle side then Alaska Leather are the only words you will need, see Barb and you know it will be done and done right, thanks to Barb and her team.

The roads, not as twisty as NZ, a lot better condition across the board, big distances in miles caught us out a few times, gotta remember to x 1.6 8-) but all roads have been great even at 32 degrees F with rain.

Challenging and winning with the Dalton, we had everything thrown at us which kept the level of entertainment up, it made for hard times and good so everything an adventure should be.

Bezzer and Greg for helping with Ellens side stand while we got her high settings sorted, you guys are Honorary Kiwis.

Me, going to give myself props as our luggage and bike setup has come up trumps and is working very well for us, our bikes may not be sprayed with glossy touratech stuff and look “coul” but we have narrow luggage with low windage and some groovy crash bars which have paid their way, we have room to spare for bits and pieces.

All in all very happy with the setup and tuning Ellen’s height issues as we go (now sorted as at writing this ..YAY)

Motorcycle lows

My bike which was running like shit from day one was disappointing then to top it off I made it my problem to try and fix cos I didn’t want to whinge, I should have given it straight back to the stealership day one and said sort it rather than try and sort it myself, remember these bikes were brand new.

So, if you want a meaningless argument with unhelpful people and poor service, be talked down to and to be treated like an idiot we highly recommend Alaska Cycle Centre, sorry guys but the way we were treated and the run around you gave us this is a good as I would give you, in fact you still have the warrantee speedo cable clip for Ellen’s bike that was never on the bike and you wanted to charge us for!!!, despite our calls to get it we still don’t have it, I don’t like dissing down on things but after all this time on the road you guys are still worth a mention for other riders to consider and choose when they get to Alaska and more so Anchorage ..shame on you!!!

It took Barb ringing Alaska Cycle Centre and issuing harsh words to the owner to get us sorted, it should not have to come to that, once again Alaska Leather (Barb and crew) with their positive attitude towards getting things sorted out come out shinning.

How Ellen sees it

Low Points

It was our last day in Alaska, June 19th 2012, tomorrow we will head to Dawson City
The trip is lot harder than I anticipated. I knew it was going to be tough, but don’t know how tough it going to get.

First, the weather. Although we started in late May, hoping that the weather was going to be warmish - wrong. We had snow almost every trip we went on. Not just snow, also the wind and rain. The first trip from Anchorage to Homer was hard enough for me to say: “If the rest of our adventure like this, I’m going home.”

Second, road condition. I have to say the Alaska roads are mostly nice, wide and smooth, less twisty than NZ road. They also have lots of signs to warn you: gravel, road work, dip, road damage. You won’t get too many surprises. However, the road works made the road very hard, specially for our motorcycles. They are also very long. In NZ, we have road work for a few hundred meters, here in Alaska, they have it from a few Ks, the longest one we had was nearly 40ks.

Third, my riding. I didn’t do much riding before the trip. I was scared to fall which will destroy our trip. I was hoping when I start to ride, I will pick it up quickly - wrong again. I should have done more practice, doing figure of 8 and turning, stopping and starting.

For the first few weeks of riding, my turning and stopping was terrible, I can’t turn around. It has caused a lot frustration especially on a busy road. Andi blames me for not listening, he had told me what to do when turning and stopping, I seemed not to master what he thought it’s a simple task. On top of that, my bike is still a little too high for me, I am still on tip toes when stopped, that has meant that Chiwi dropped many times on my stops.

The Denali Highway trip, almost turned Two Moto Kiwis to One Moto Kiwi.

It was our last day in Alaska, June 19th 2012, the next day we would head to Dawson City. The trip is lot harder than I participated. I knew it was going to be tough, but don’t know how tough it was going to get.

What happened was Andi saw two cyclists, one who had a flatty and they were on the side of the road, Andi stopped to ask if they need any help. I was following far behind so in theory I should be able to stop safely no problem. But I applied my rear brake a bit late, not dear to touch the front brake in fears of sliding on gravel road, then my front wheel just touched his bike wheel, I dropped the bike again.

I hated every time I dropped the bike, and Andi was taking a picture of it doesn’t make it better either. I was furious, so I shouted to him why did he stop. He helped me pick up the bike and took off. Left the two cyclists stunned. I was still angry, but have to concentrate on the road.

After about an hour later, I saw Andi pulled over on the road side. I pulled over and he started his serous talk with me. He said: “Tok, or ticket home”, you choose. If you are going home, there will be no Two Moto Kiwis and no Andi and Ellen ANYMORE.” He went on about the ipad and I nearly lost the laptop case in the morning, plus my riding has frustrated him as every time I drop my bike he has to help which increases his work x 4. He is supposed to enjoy his life time travel, but at the moment, he doesn’t. My shot at him in the public just tipped him over.

I started crying, I know I have been very bitchy in the last few days. I have behaved not the normal “Ellen”, I know that. On my side of the story I have hurt my elbow when we cleaned the garden before we left. Its been haunting me every day now. My fitness has dropped since we started the trip, not enough regular exercise which used to make me happy. I admit, it’s not Andi’s fault, and I blamed him and at worst, in public. I apologized.

But I’m not going to give it up. I have been putting up with lots of harsh conditions, inconvenience, discomfort, put myself out of comfort zone for this trip but it was my idea to get my license and do the trip together after talking with other female adventure riders.

We have met great people here and have seen lots of nice scenery. Lots of people have told us a trip like this has broken up a few couples. I will prove this is wrong as so far with our difficulties taking us to the edge and back we are stronger now. Sorry Andi, please forgive me, if I hurt you, I didn’t mean it. I promise to practice my ride and get my skills upgrade quickly.

High Points

Anchorage

Mark flew us over the glacier, Andi even flew airplane on the way back for a while.
Tom took us on his hover craft over Lake George

Homer

when we got through wind, rain, snow and hale, Homer welcomed us with brilliant sun shine and a moose wondering in the front yard and our host Charlie who was second to none.

Valdez

I saw a brown bear while jogging outside the camping ground, the good point was he ran away and I went back to campsite safely.

Fairbanks

Soak in Chena hot springs

Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse)

Rode Dalton highway successfully
Dip toes in the Arctic Ocean
Saw caribou on the road
Grizzly bear with her cub


Impression of Alsaka

Language

Guess what, with strong South Island accent, people understand my “Chinglish” better than Andi’s NZ English. I have been translating his “ NZ English” into “proper English.” Still, there are lots of differences, here are some examples (NZ English is in front):

petrol - gas; rubbish - trash; tea - dinner or supper; herb - erb (American do not pronounce H); bum bag - fanny pack; Bloody Mozzies - Damn Skeeters.


Camping difference

Their camping ground is huge but more set up for RV - hard stony ground rather than grassy for a tent. So far we have broken five pegs and bent a few more. You pay camping fees by site not by person - makes single travel more expensive. Less facilities compareed to NZ camping, you pay $20 with no shower or kitchen. But every site will have a picnic table and fire pit. You can buy or bring your own fire wood.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Gear Review

ARAI XD 4, mint, perfect for road, adv riding, keeping rain off.

The adjustable height peak making life easier, in the low sun pull in down as a sun shade, same in the rain, you can still have the front vents open in the rain with the peak down and you won’t get wet, great design.

Lift the peak up for better venting and looking at HUGE mountain tops.

The only thing I don’t like about the XD4 is having to take it off as that means we have stopped.





KLIM gear, Keeping Large Insistent Mozzies out, this gear is outstanding, the only grizzle I have is my Adventure Rally jacket does not have great inlet venting at the front so I had the two front pockets opening on the inside and meshed so I can use them for a pocket or vent, these work incredibly well now.

Across the board extremely happy with it and believe it will more than do the distance.
Icebreaker, the best, nothing short of excellent whichever way you look at it, we have 100 % icebreaker and for hot or cold it is a winner, wear a T shirt for 5 days straight rinse and wear again without stinking, perfect adv gear for the undergrowth.



Forma ATV boot, great boots but my right hand boot is coming apart, I wrote to Forma and nothing !!!!! not a sausage back from them so a little disappointing to be fair.



First Gear, Ellens, Kilimanjaro jacket and TPG Escape, very good gear and very nicely cut for female riders, they are waterproof so far and Ellen love the inner pants can be warn as normal pants so dual purpose. The only complains from Ellen is the black pans getting too hot in the sun, a lighter colored ones would be just perfect.



Barkbusters, a must, nothing more to say than they are the best, we had tortured them in New Zealand on my bikes and now Ellen has taken them to the end and back, her last spill she went down heavily, they are straight and although looking slightly second hand from being road bashed and rashed they are still fully functional and in remarkably good condition.



Screens For Bikes, again another mint product for ADV riding, the shape and height across the board makes these very nice to sit behind.





Having a screen is a subjective topic, when it is sunny and warm you don’t want one, when it is pissing down and blowing it needs to be twice the height and width and preferable with a roof attached.

All is all they work very well and we are stoked with them.

Garmin 660, we have had trouble with my GPS sending us down goat tracks that go no where causing us up to 1 hrs turn arounds, we have contacted Garmin and at first we given the brush off, I persisted with a stronger email and to be fair they are trying to sort it out, same GPS, same model, same firmware, same updates, same settings two vary different directions given, hopefully with the reinstalling of the new updates my will start to behave the way it should.

The Bikes, we after a big scrap (see above) with Alaska Pshyco Centre the bikes are running well, mine has a hesitation in the middle still but not enough to haul it all apart for, next service with tank off I will raise the needle a notch and think this will fill the hole.

Sargent Seats, bum saver supreme, they have softened up over the course of the travels thus have become more comfy, the shape is superb compared to the stocker shocker and after 8500 miles they are pleasure to sit on.





Hilliberg, Keron 4 GT, nothing more to say other than get one, strong, quick to put up, great space and vestibule, my only grizzle is the pegs are poorly engineered, will email Hilliberg on this and give them some suggestions.

Coleman 508B, pooed itself three weeks into the trip, still heats ok but the lower or simmer settings have gone so it is all or none.

Yoda Star Wars Chair, kids chair and my bum fits in OK, very lite and looks cool as, compact to take on the bike, we have the power of the force with us so thatmust be a good thing.



Ellens Pink Walmart Chair, looks nice and girlie, small and lite and cheap which is what we want, not as cool as Yoda tho.

AME Heated Grips, we are both on our second set having both sets fail within a week of each other, love the feel and good heat but think the electronics is a bit fussy, I would recommend not six settings individually programmable but one central mounted decent switch with off, med, high on them. AME, you have nice feeling grips but I can’t help but think fussy electronics will survive the test of time, heat and vibration, watch this space.

Safari 30 L Tanks, simply the best for the Long Haul, with a theoretical milage of nearly 700 km these are a must, for the most of the time you could get way with less but the one time you don’t and having to push your house and contents to a petrol station would leave me wondering why.

For us it is one fuel cell, no extras or jerry cans, we have our Motion Pro fuel tap on the side to fill our cooker, perfect.

The only grizzle is the Acerbis locking fuel caps, again both of ours failed on the Dempster by causing a vacuum lock, my bike stopped right in the middle of a huge thunderstorm so I had to undo my cap to equal the pressure, they are also a sod to line up to avoid cross threading and these have large threads!!! very unimpressed with these to be honest so it is back to the std caps.

Happy Trails Highway Pegs, best $50.00 you will spend (other than on booze), to be able to rest the legs in a new position, also opens your trouser leg for venting on the hot days.

Very happy with these to say the least.

Delis Tools LED marker lights, through Delis Tools (bro), visibility is king and many people have commented on these, they are not driving lights, just marker lights on our Barkbusters and they are visible from a long way past the DR candle.



Kincrome Cases, (the big visible yello ones) these are great cases for strength, the full length hinge we believe is stronger than the Pelicans at two hinges, they are waterproof at this stage, all cases have had a beating so far and they are standing up well.



Tough!!



The Pelicans though we believe had better locking handles, not stronger but easier to use, the Kincrome Cases are sharply finished which has led to a coupla cut fingers.

Home Made Tool Tubes, Delis Engineering Wanaka Division, these have worked out great, they don’t hang below the bashplate line, they have had some pretty harsh conditions thrown at them and stood up unscathed.



I did make the end cap waterproof and the door has butyl rubber seal for waterproofing which is waterproof enough to let the water in and hold it!!! ... not sure how that works, so each tube now has a 6 mm hole drilled in the bottom on the left so it can drain when ever on the stand.

GP Custom Bashplates, a must and well made, very happy to be running these, seem to be better built with more protection that one you buy over here.



Wallmart 38 cent glue bottle, ditch the glue, used for daily chain lube, simply turn the top and lace the chain with a nice thin strip of oil, we are using chainsaw bar oil, nice and thick mixed with a combo of spare new engine oil from oil change leftover.

Motion Pro fuel tap, used for filling our multifuel Coleman cooker, makes it very easy to get fuel for the cooker, no spare bottles required, neat and simple, no pulling fuel lines off and on.

Ricor Intiminators, these are brilliant, we put in 5wt oil and 500mls per tube, stock spring and teh combo works very well with the intiminator reducing the dive and the 5wt oils allowing the wheel to be very supple over corrugations or washboard.

YSS rear damper, great shock, the stock shock is pretty soggy in the damping and this works a treat, I machined the collars to fit a factory spring, I have used my factory spring against some advice from other RTW travellers.

I prefer my wheels to do the dancing rather than the bike and me, Ellen at 52 kg this works out perfect for her.

We also have to remember we are not seeking 6ft jumps, rough single tracks and racing circuits so we need to hit the happy medium between weight carriage and a nice suple ride on the rough, I believe we have accomplished this.

Icebreaker, nothing else to say other than superb, the Merino Wool is an Adventure bikers buddy, we go for days at a time without a shower (uwh I know ) and the Icebreaker holds it own and simply does not smell, even after a few stinking hot days I simply dumped my shirt and gruds into the water for a quick rinse and bombs away .. good for another year JK

Also the warmth and also the ability to keep you cool on hot day we simply do not wear anything else.


Icebreaker, nothing else to say other than superb, the Merino Wool is an Adventure bikers buddy, we go for days at a time without a shower (uwh I know :evil) and the Icebreaker holds it own and simply does not smell, even after a few stinking hot days I simply dumped my shirt and gruds into the water for a quick rinse and bombs away .. good for another year :eek1 JK

Also the warmth and also the ability to keep you cool on hot day we simply do not wear anything else.

Pictured here with Naomi and Alberto from Salt Spring Island, Vancouver, even they are total converts.



T-Mobile http://www.t-mobile.com/?cm_mmc_o=Vz...CPyzEpCjCW%2f- it would be fair to say the coverage we have had is very very good, even in Prudhoe Bay I rang home to New Zealand to tell family we have fulfilled the Arctic part of our trip and that we were in Deadhorse, the reception was very good, also on the Copper River near Chitina, I couldn't believe we were able to get out from there so T-Mobile get the huge thumbs up, thank you for a good usable product.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Ok, we have just left Edmonton ... quick eh!

The main road from Jasper to Edmonton was long and straight thus we decided to take backs roads via Leduc, Lodgepole, Cadomin and back up to the last little bit of main drag before heading to Jasper.

As we got out of town and into the rural area we were riding through small backroads in between paddocks of rape (Canola Seed), stunning colours.



The trip was uneventful and far easier than the main drag, we stopped at Lodgepole for lunch in the shade of an oil pump station shed, not the most epically beautiful place but it was shady which made it nice.

After lunch was the mystery ride part of our trip, we called into an industrial workstation and asked if we were on the right track, turns out we were.

This turned out to be a mini Dempster, we thought it looked like a nice quiet back road but it turned out to be anything but with logging trucks and traffic galore, that with the dust and the heat we started to question our methodology but it was scenic.

The road varied from nice hard pack to riverbed soft and bouldery, Ellen managed to get to the off cambered shoulder and into the very deep and soft stuff at which point Chiwi lay down for a rest at 90 degrees to the road, Ellen was ok, Chiwi had some pretty good scuffs but once again the Bark busters came through shining as did the Kiwi hardwood crash rails which are looking decidedly second hand now.

I stopped at a small river to wait a minute for Ellen to catch up, we got talking to some people who were camping there, very friendly (and don’t bite) so we decided to stop for the night and set up, they invited us over to their camp with a fire and some drinkies, very nice evening chatting and drinking.

Ellen had gone to bed a bit earlier, I am pleased I didn’t as we were treated to Northern lights for about 5 - 6 minutes, no blues or greens in colour but the lights were on.

I rushed back to the tent and dragged Ellen outa bed, she got up in time to see the halfmoon of light recede and the fingers extend out across the ski, I have to admit to seeing that beauty put some small tears of appreciation in my eyes as we see nothing like this in New Zealand.

No photos sorry, just the memories in our mind.

The following morning we had a round of Coffee with Baileys with our groovy neighbours, that set the new benchmark of exotic camping!!, from there we packed up and left for Cadomin.

This is Cadomin general store, you think you are in the styx then a huge bus pulls up and 50 people pile out!!



The road was improving all the time and we had a new found appreciation for tarseal again ... something we all take for granted everyday, on the way we were treated to more wild life.



Cadomin was cool and not to far from tarseal, we went through a couple of tunnels on the road which were quite cool, the road at this point was perfect.



From the main drag we headed back to Jasper, along the way we were greeted with stunning scenery and textbook perfect weather.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

On arriving at Jasper we tanked up then headed toward the Icefields Highway, first stop was the secret Edge Of The World that everyone knows about, WOH HOH, breathing taking views and scenery, note to one self to stay back from the edge, one slip was certain death.

It is quite a climb to get up there which you only appreciate when you look over the edge :eek1



Us in love but a little nervous .. not of Ellen but of the dropoff she could throw me over



A beautiful waterfall graced our ears and eyes, very special place.



With sweaty hands we took photos as close as we dared then went back to the Chiwi and Hobbit who were patiently waiting
for us, look to the background to see our elevation.



We carried on down the highway, so much to see, so much to photograph and so much to want to stop and just look at with huge hanging basins and glacial fronts looking right at us.

Only a coupla pics as we don't want to bore you to death knowing how many pics have been put on here.



Grandeur is the only way to explain it..... the sticker I mean





We only made it as far at the Columbia Icefeilds building glacier so set up camp the night there in a tent only camp, superb place with epic views.

We ended up having a wine and cheese evening around a camp fire with our neighbours and great chats about life.

The following morning we headed back to the Icefields building, we left our riot gear there in the main office and walked across to the clacier .... outstanding.





On our return to the building there was a lineup of bikes in the carpark ranging from Two Skunky Kiwis dirty beaten up DRs to 12 hundy Tenneres that were shinier than new, and there were some Harleys.



One Harley had what appeared to be a coffin for luggage, we went to get a photo but missed them by a minute.

Heading on down toward Banff we were treated to views second to none and hot weather, we were only doing 60 km/hr looking out the window and stopping for photos, very memorable day indeed.





Lake Louise, slightly beautiful and very touristy





Huge Hotel, the people there were very nice in concierge and looked after our riot gear while we treated ourself to a coffee and snack and wee stroll around the lake, 5 star it was and very warm .... not bad I have to say :clap



In Banff we were to catch up with Grif and Lisa from Gippers Travels Gippers Travels

We had modeled quite a bit of our setup on their bike and Grif had been wealth of information in helping us get packed and sorted so to meet them was a treat for us.

It was a meet and catch up, factory fork lowering, fixed my leaking sump plug, clean air filters, sprocket change try and sort my GPS which was still telling lies.

Left is Lisa, back is Grif and well you probably can tell Ellen and I apart.



Having had RTW riders/travellers use our facilities and tools at home and the huge thanks and appreciation we were given I can see their point now we are on the road and are seriously appreciative of doing what in essence are simple things in your own workshop and surroundings.

The mighty fork lowering job on Ellens bike ..



It actually looks like we know what we are doing!!



Steady does it



Massive thanks to Grif and Lisa for having us, showing us around Banff, giving maps and up to date info on South America so stuff you just can’t buy off the shelf, we stayed in Banff 4 nights, relaxed and took the mountain bikes out for some exercise.







Part of our MTB travel took us past this lake which our local Lads from Wanaka will appreciate, to me when I first saw it I read it as Mini Wanker .. not quite right of course but hey!





Ellen and I at the waterfall which with the high water was in full force



On completion of all the above, having showers, toilet, getting washing up to date and now riding the report as we are a little behind we finally set off west towards Vancouver.

Grif and Lisa, thanks guys and it was truly a pleasure meeting you both, we will cross paths again and we look forward to it.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere