Ride GuideAlaska: Go there yourselfGreg Frazier wrote the book on Alaska Grant Parsons
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riding the pipeline800 miles of Alaskan history The famed Trans-Alaska Pipeline is an impressive engineering accomplishment that has to seen to be believed. The idea of pumping crude oil through a 48-inch pipe for 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, crossing three mountain ranges and 800 streams and rivers along the way, was an ambitious undertaking that took more than two years to complete. The pipeline is a constant companion along one of the most storied roads in all of North America: the Dalton Highway, starting north of Fairbanks and continuing all the way to the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. Originally called the Haul Road, this route was once off limits to most traffic. But these days, it’s a designated state highway that’s even paved on some of the southern sections. Although it was closed by forest fires when we were there, anybody can ride the Dalton Highway today, crossing the Yukon River and the Arctic Circle, and ultimately going as far north as you can go on a road in America. Just remember that it’s 490 miles from Fairbanks to the north end of the road, quite a bit of it on gravel. If a trip to Prudhoe Bay isn’t on your Alaska itinerary, you can still see the pipeline. It parallels much of Alaska Routes 2 and 4 from Fairbanks down to Valdez, and there are dozens of places where you can take a gravel side road off the highway and ride right up to it.—Grant Parsons ---------------------------------------------------------- Getting it on videoSee the trip on your TV Sometimes, reading about a place isn’t enough. Luckily, we’ve got another way for you to experience all we saw and did in Alaska. Thanks to the efforts of Lloyd Liebetrau and Larry Toby of L&M Productions, you can get a video of our Alaska adventure in a tape or DVD, “Ride Guide Alaska.” The video is the latest endeavor by Liebetrau, who has been offering trail maps and videos of places throughout the West for years. The idea is to encourage people to visit some of the country’s highlight riding areas. “It’s simply an effort to help people understand places they might want to visit, and give them a better idea of what they might encounter,” Liebetrau says. Then there’s the secondary benefit, especially of the trail maps and videos: They help preserve not only the history of an area, but the riding opportunities. “A lot of places in the West are under attack by people who don’t like motorcycles,” Liebetrau notes. “But once we document the trails, it’s difficult for other groups to say they don’t exist, or attempt to classify them as non-motorized trails.” The good news is that in more than 15 years of doing the guides, not a single trail Liebetrau has documented has been closed. For the Alaska video, though, the purpose is much simpler. It’s just designed to get you thinking. “A lot of people have the dream of one day riding to Alaska,” he says. “We want to help them turn that dream into reality.” As with previous projects, a portion of the revenues will go to help riding efforts in the area. Get your copy, on DVD or VHS videotape, for $9.99 by calling (303) 77-RIDER; or visit www.lmproductions.com —Grant Parsons ----------------------------------------------------- Thanks, folksDoing this takes help By the time we forced ourselves to return to reality following the best Ride Guide yet, we had covered about 1,600 miles over five days and shot nearly 1,000 images without any snags. And we never could have done it without a lot of help. There’s no way we could have pulled this off without the enthusiasm and support of Kawasaki’s Mel Moore. It was Mel who lined up the bikes, packed them in a shipping container and waved goodbye to them from California’s Long Beach harbor several weeks ahead of time. Unfortunately, a motorcycle accident a week before our departure made it impossible for Mel to accompany us as planned, but we’re happy to report that one of the best-liked guys in the industry is recovering. We really wish you could have been there, Mel. Tapped at the last minute as Mel’s replacement, Karl Edmondson proved that you don’t need a long lead time to be an enthusiastic traveling partner. Lloyd Liebetrau and Larry Toby brought their usual “get ‘er done” attitude to Alaska. It came in handy from the moment we arrived and discovered that while we had a full complement of bikes, we had no keys. Many visits to a locksmith later, they had us on the road, and they kept us going all week. We also couldn’t have done it without Don Rosene, who allowed us to take over much of The Motorcycle Shop as we dismantled key cylinders and loaded bikes. Dr. Greg Frazier proved an entertaining traveling companion, regaling us with stories of traveling the world and egging on Grant’s plan to bail and open a barbecue restaurant in McCarthy. Thanks, also, to Mark Brelsford, for graciously allowing us to tell his many fans the rest of his story. Lastly, thanks to all the locals, tourists and assorted characters who make Alaska such a cool place. We can see why some people never leave. © 2005, American Motorcyclist Association |
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When it comes to global travelers, you won’t find any who have been around the world more times on a motorcycle than Dr. Greg Frazier.
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