Winter Wonderland Ride Report

AKDuc · 01-08-2007, 09:51 PM

Yep, it's winter up here. I know many of you are experiencing warm weather down there but up here many of us are VERY happy it's a cold and snowy winter! YAY!! Even on TV tonight they interviewed a couple people said they love it and that's why they live in AK!

So my plan has been to go out when it's way below zero F but that's only happening at night and I wanted to get some "winter wonderland" photos. So I headed up into the hills knowing there was a good chance of some killer photos with all the snow and frost we've been getting. I was very very excited to see it, ride in it, and photograph it!

It was the coldest I've ridden in thus far. -4f (-20c) when I headed out around 1pm and colder up in the hills. I'm looking for an easy to read thermometer to put on the bike but haven't found one I like yet. It dropped down to -7f (-22c) by the time I got back home.

For you hockey fans, Scotty Gomez and I grew up on the same street. He kept that house for his summer place and bought his parents a place up in the hills. My brother still lives in our ol house and I'm just a couple blocks away and this rink is just a few blocks away as well. My brothers and I used to go looking for hockey games to jump into almost EVERY night. This is one of the rinks we'd often skate at. Nowadays my dog, Comet, and I still go chase a puck around about once a week.

My next stop was Snowzilla, also in the 'hood. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news...nowzilla_x.htm As I was pulling up there were 4 well dressed attractive young females taking pictures. You could tell they were from out of town. I asked if one of them if she would take my picture. Turns out they were LDS Missionaries!

So up into the hills I go. It's a road that's been called "Stuckagain Height's Rd," "Campbell Airstrip Rd," and "Basher Rd."

Yep, the sun is low on the horizon this time of year and casts a long shadow. That's a steam plume from our local power plant. Can you see Mt. McKinley in the background?

There, is that better? "Mt. McKinley," "Denali," "The Great One." It's about 150mi(250 road mi) north of Anchorage.

I had gained a fair amount of elevation. I started down there near sea level. That's the lovely city of "Los Anchorage" down yonder with Mt. Susitna, aka "Sleeping Lady" in the background.

Oh yeah, I got my first flat coming down outta the hills while rounding an inside corner. The tire tracks led me off the edge of the pavement and I guess I pinched the innertube of the front tire. It went flat within a couple miles! I was able to limp home mainly through some back neighborhoods and parking lots. Good thing it was the front and that those knobby tires have such hard casings! VERY squirrelly ride home! YIKES! Oh well, made it safe and sound anyway. Stayed pretty warm but man did my fingers get cold takin over 40 photos including this "action photo." Well, that's it. See ya, Mark H.

Wheeldog · 01-08-2007, 10:15 PM

Hey Mark, Great report!!!

Never got much above 20 below here....I need to get out and do some more winter riding.

Nocturnal · 01-08-2007, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKDuc

My next stop was Snowzilla, also in the 'hood. As I was pulling up there were 4 well dressed attractive young females taking pictures. You could tell they were from out of town. I asked if one of them if she would take my picture. Turns out they were LDS Missionaries!

Great pictures, gotta love these Alaska threads.

Sadly, I have to deduct some points for not getting any pictures of the A.Y.F.'s.

vegasphotog · 01-08-2007, 11:25 PM

WHoa.....AKDUc...great pics dood...yea, too cold out here in the Valley....GOOD JOB!

GSPD750 · 01-08-2007, 11:51 PM

Great pics.

What's the windchill factor on the KLR when doing 60?

Back in the old days I lived in Whitehorse Yukon for 3 years. When I think back to those long winters "north of 60" ......

I hardly miss them.

Summer time is a different story and I have made it "north of 60" three times in the last 6 years on my bikes. Next trip I plan on exploring more of
your great state of Alaska...and maybe meet some you FF's.

SPEEDSMITH · 01-09-2007, 09:54 AM

Hey there Mark,
Those are some great photos.

It's actually supposed to get up to +8C (+46F) in Calgary today, I'm not complaining.

It's been pretty warm so far this winter, but, it's supposed to get a lot colder in the next few days.
See Ya, Paul.

beamertwin · 01-09-2007, 10:34 AM

Nice photos Mark...

rfx · 01-09-2007, 10:56 AM

I think this photo is front page worthy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKDuc

Hannda · 01-09-2007, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKDuc

I read about SnowZilla in our local paper this morning - never expected to see a shot of it here in Ride Reports.

VIVID1 · 01-09-2007, 11:58 AM

All that white stuff sure looks pretty up there

40 pics? so where is the rest?

GB · 01-09-2007, 12:11 PM

Looks great.. the snowzilla photo may be front page worthy, but need to be a bit bigger, if you're able to post a larger image, I will pass it on to the boss!

RDJEff · 01-09-2007, 01:11 PM

Good on ya! If you want to try riding in some real cold, come on up! We haven't seen the high side of -30 for several days. Let me know when you come up, and I'll be sure to watch!

AKDuc · 01-09-2007, 01:19 PM

Thanks for all the compliments. Hi Anna!

And hello up in FBKS, Jeff! Yeah, I've thought about some longer trips but probably not quite that long. It is a lot of fun and oh so pretty!

"Front Page worthy!?!" A silly snowman and a KLR? If you really want to.

You ask for a larger Snowzilla, I give you a larger Snowzilla. See ya, Mark H.

CruisingRam · 01-11-2007, 08:32 PM

Funny- I live real near Mark- I actually run into him (not literally now)- my roommates in the truck didn't understand me I think the first couple times when I said "hey, there is mark, on the motorcycle"- but he was riding up with a low front tire- pinch flat if I recall-

That snowman is right behind my house BTW

Big Bad Bob · 01-12-2007, 03:12 PM

Be careful out there Mark...Don't want to lose any appendages to frostbite...BRRRRR!!!!!

01-08-2007, 09:51 PM	#1
AKDuc ^OP Alaska Born Ducatisti Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Oddometer: 6,085	Winter Wonderland Ride Report Yep, it's winter up here. I know many of you are experiencing warm weather down there but up here many of us are VERY happy it's a cold and snowy winter! YAY!! Even on TV tonight they interviewed a couple people said they love it and that's why they live in AK! So my plan has been to go out when it's way below zero F but that's only happening at night and I wanted to get some "winter wonderland" photos. So I headed up into the hills knowing there was a good chance of some killer photos with all the snow and frost we've been getting. I was very very excited to see it, ride in it, and photograph it! It was the coldest I've ridden in thus far. -4f (-20c) when I headed out around 1pm and colder up in the hills. I'm looking for an easy to read thermometer to put on the bike but haven't found one I like yet. It dropped down to -7f (-22c) by the time I got back home. For you hockey fans, Scotty Gomez and I grew up on the same street. He kept that house for his summer place and bought his parents a place up in the hills. My brother still lives in our ol house and I'm just a couple blocks away and this rink is just a few blocks away as well. My brothers and I used to go looking for hockey games to jump into almost EVERY night. This is one of the rinks we'd often skate at. Nowadays my dog, Comet, and I still go chase a puck around about once a week. My next stop was Snowzilla, also in the 'hood. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news...nowzilla_x.htm As I was pulling up there were 4 well dressed attractive young females taking pictures. You could tell they were from out of town. I asked if one of them if she would take my picture. Turns out they were LDS Missionaries! So up into the hills I go. It's a road that's been called "Stuckagain Height's Rd," "Campbell Airstrip Rd," and "Basher Rd." Yep, the sun is low on the horizon this time of year and casts a long shadow. That's a steam plume from our local power plant. Can you see Mt. McKinley in the background? There, is that better? "Mt. McKinley," "Denali," "The Great One." It's about 150mi(250 road mi) north of Anchorage. I had gained a fair amount of elevation. I started down there near sea level. That's the lovely city of "Los Anchorage" down yonder with Mt. Susitna, aka "Sleeping Lady" in the background. Oh yeah, I got my first flat coming down outta the hills while rounding an inside corner. The tire tracks led me off the edge of the pavement and I guess I pinched the innertube of the front tire. It went flat within a couple miles! I was able to limp home mainly through some back neighborhoods and parking lots. Good thing it was the front and that those knobby tires have such hard casings! VERY squirrelly ride home! YIKES! Oh well, made it safe and sound anyway. Stayed pretty warm but man did my fingers get cold takin over 40 photos including this "action photo." Well, that's it. See ya, Mark H. __________________ My Ride Reports of Alaska & The Yukon AKDuc screwed with this post 01-29-2007 at 02:03 PM

01-08-2007, 11:25 PM	#4
vegasphotog Las Vegas Cheechako Joined: Jun 2005 Location: Covered in Desert Dirt Oddometer: 3,248	WHoa.....AKDUc...great pics dood...yea, too cold out here in the Valley....GOOD JOB! __________________ "I would rather ride my motorcycle on Sundays and think of God, than sit in church and think about riding my motorcycle..."

01-08-2007, 11:51 PM	#5
GSPD750 Adventurer Joined: Feb 2005 Location: Calgary, AB Oddometer: 1,217	Great pics. What's the windchill factor on the KLR when doing 60? Back in the old days I lived in Whitehorse Yukon for 3 years. When I think back to those long winters "north of 60" ...... I hardly miss them. Summer time is a different story and I have made it "north of 60" three times in the last 6 years on my bikes. Next trip I plan on exploring more of your great state of Alaska...and maybe meet some you FF's. __________________ 1999 XRV 750 Africa Twin 1996 XL 600v Transalp "Almost no other bike has the road presence of the Africa Twin and cars seem to melt out of its way, once they see the angry glare of its lights in their mirrors." ...

01-09-2007, 09:54 AM	#6
SPEEDSMITH Sh!t Disturber Joined: Aug 2006 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Oddometer: 497	Hey there Mark, Those are some great photos. It's actually supposed to get up to +8C (+46F) in Calgary today, I'm not complaining. It's been pretty warm so far this winter, but, it's supposed to get a lot colder in the next few days. See Ya, Paul. __________________ SPEEDSMITH "It's not what you ride - It's how you ride it." "Bite my shiny metal ass!" ~ Bender "Racing makes heroin addiction seem like a vague wish for something salty." ~ Peter Egan "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." ~ Mark Twain

01-09-2007, 10:34 AM	#7
beamertwin Paul Joined: Aug 2005 Location: the end of the rainbow Oddometer: 1,035	Nice photos Mark... __________________ "Fate will inevitably catch up with those who run away from it." Kai-'Jade Warrior' Pancreatic cancer stinks

01-08-2007, 10:15 PM	#2
Wheeldog Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Wasilla, AK Oddometer: 1,613	Hey Mark, Great report!!! Never got much above 20 below here....I need to get out and do some more winter riding.

01-09-2007, 11:58 AM	#10
VIVID1 Ducatistanna Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Oddometer: 1,620	All that white stuff sure looks pretty up there 40 pics? so where is the rest? __________________ BLOG: excessivelocity.blogspot.com XT225 \| ST3 \| 954RR

01-09-2007, 12:11 PM	#11
GB Mod Squad Joined: Aug 2002 Location: Toronto, ON Oddometer: 53,498	Looks great.. the snowzilla photo may be front page worthy, but need to be a bit bigger, if you're able to post a larger image, I will pass it on to the boss!

01-09-2007, 01:11 PM	#12
RDJEff Stromn Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Fairbanks, Alaska Oddometer: 985	Good on ya! If you want to try riding in some real cold, come on up! We haven't seen the high side of -30 for several days. Let me know when you come up, and I'll be sure to watch!

01-09-2007, 01:19 PM	#13
AKDuc ^OP Alaska Born Ducatisti Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Oddometer: 6,085	Thanks for all the compliments. Hi Anna! And hello up in FBKS, Jeff! Yeah, I've thought about some longer trips but probably not quite that long. It is a lot of fun and oh so pretty! "Front Page worthy!?!" A silly snowman and a KLR? If you really want to. You ask for a larger Snowzilla, I give you a larger Snowzilla. See ya, Mark H. __________________ My Ride Reports of Alaska & The Yukon

01-11-2007, 08:32 PM	#14
CruisingRam Frankenbike builder Joined: Nov 2005 Location: Pahoa, Hawaii Oddometer: 480	Funny- I live real near Mark- I actually run into him (not literally now)- my roommates in the truck didn't understand me I think the first couple times when I said "hey, there is mark, on the motorcycle"- but he was riding up with a low front tire- pinch flat if I recall- That snowman is right behind my house BTW

01-12-2007, 03:12 PM	#15
Big Bad Bob Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Oddometer: 243	Be careful out there Mark...Don't want to lose any appendages to frostbite...BRRRRR!!!!!

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