Its not quite labor day nor the equinox but it certainly feels like the end of summer. Last week my son Andy came to visit for a week and we went camping with Meghan at the Willow Creek Reservoir near Boulder.

On Monday Andy and I rented a motorcycle and rode up Mt. Evans the "Highest Paved Road in North America" at 14,240 feet.

Its been a great summer. Now its time to get back to work.

Its been 18 days since we started and a while since we were in Dawson Creek. We ended up staying another day since we were both exhausted and could not resist the thought of resting in a clean warm dry mosquito free hotel room for a while.

We eventually did start out on the Alaska Highway. It was a great ride that reminded me of a two lane rural road in Blue Ridge. We passed through many towns that were not much more than a gas station or an intersection. Many had closed buildings but it was hard to tell how long it had been since they were occupied.

The highway was being repaired in a lot of places so we rode through lots of loose gravel. One section in particular had some very deep loose gravel and that was tricky to ride through. Not sure what the best strategy is for gravel. Sometimes you feel like you are about to lose control of the bike and are not sure if you are going to fast or two slow.

We've also had to cross several steel grate bridges. These too take a little getting used to but are not nearly as bad as the deep gravel.

We've seen lots of bears, a flock of elk and a giant moose on the road. Several bald eagles.

At Watson Lake we had the entire campground to ourselves. Which was somewhat creepy.

In White horse we went to the sign post forest and I looked around for a bit for a good one to take a photo with.

We rode the "Top of the world highway". which is 100+ mile dirt road high in the mountains where you can cross into Alaska. The view was good but obscured by smokey haze.

In Valdez we walked around the small boat harbor and saw the peter pan processing plant. They take the salmon there to be processed and packaged and they have small store where you can buy fresh, canned, packaged, and smoked salmon.

From there we took the ferry to Whittier which was awesome and slow but gave us time rest and to take pictures from the boat. Saw a bunch of otters and some icebergs

Went to Seward where we went sea kayaking in Resurrection Bay and then on to Homer where we met up with a friend and then went out to the Salty Dawg.

Today we're off to Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks and then we start heading back home.

Day 2 Ouray, CO to Provo, UT

At the end of our first day we camped outside of Ouray, Co. where we had a great view of the mountains. After getting up, packing and leaving at the crack of noon we headed through Ouray and to the "Million Dollar Highway" over Red Mountain Pass. Lots of great views. Passed trough Silverton and Durango then on to Cortez and Utah.

Photos are hard on motorcycle

I wish I had some photos of all the great scenery but its hard to take photos from the bike since you need both hands and especially the right to steer. Even if you stop to take a photo you have to take off a glove, open some compartment to get the camera, remove it from its water proof/resistant case, turn it on etc. ... and when you have limited time, it is hard to justify stopping constantly to take photos.

Besides, there are countless great photos on the internet already. I may not have taken them but they are better than anything I could do in a 5 minute stop and will give you an idea of what I'm seeing.

Southern Utah is red with lots of really strange rock formations. We passed through Moab and then headed north. We came upon a campground but decided to ride a little further which turned out to be a mistake. There were no more campground or hotels till Provo and by the time we got there it was dark and really late.

Day 3 Provo, UT to Butte, MT

Traffic around Salt Lake City was unpleasant but settled down as we neared and crossed into Idaho. Idaho is pretty with rolling hills and seemed a little like what I've seen of Wisconsin but a bit more "western".

We then entered Montana and the rolling hills got a little bigger, steeper and rockier.

Day 4 Butte, MT to Glacier National Park

I love northern Montana

We left Butte and rode around "Flathead Lake", a huge gorgeous lake with sun gathers, boaters and sailboats.

Then headed to Glacier National Park and took the "Road to the Sun". Yosemite National Park in California gets a lot of press but Glacier National Park in Montana kicks ass.

We see a bear

In the park we see deer, mountain goats, big horn sheep and a black bear. The deer, goats and sheep were on the road and in the mountains. The young small black bear was no more than 100 feet from the raod and seemed to be eating or playing with a bush.

Day 5 Glacier National Park to Banff National park

Nice ride where the biggest issue is mike and get separated for a few hours. I was following Mike and he took a turn that I missed. It took me a few minutes to turn around and get back to the intersection. In the mean time he thought I might be having mechanical problems so he doubled back to find me and somehow we missed each other and he ends up thinking I'm still back on the route we came from and I thought he was up ahead on the route we were planning. Then it started raining.

We finally caught up with each other at Banff after a few hours and few missed calls and voice messages.

Day 6 Banff National Park to Jasper National Park

Rode through the "Ice fields highway". Saw a glacier. Broke out the cold weather gear. Got some groceries in Jasper and then had some issues finding a camping site so ended up eating at 1 in the morning.

We see more bear

2 more bear and elk and a moose on the highway. Plus lots of deer.

Day 7 Jasper National Park to Dawson Creek Canada

Not a bad ride but the weather was not great. Some rain and some hail.

Got to Dawson creek and the start of the "Alaska Highway". We've gone 2600 miles since Colorado Springs and have another 1400 to go to Alaska.

After more than a year of planning I can't believe I'm on the trip now. Mike and I started out of Colorado Springs two days ago. The first day was scenic drive in southern Colorado and the second a more focused attempt to get going back in the right direction (north).

Much of the time leading up to the trip was hectic with my trying to finish up work projects, buy everything I needed (tent, bags, etc) and then figuring out how to pack it. I expected to feel excited about starting out but instead was overwhelmed by everything I need to do to prepare and all the options and decisions related to packing and route planning.

Day 2 was a lot more enjoyable since many of the decision had been made and we were underway. And now at the beginning of day 3 I'm really looking forward to getting on the road. We should make it to Northern Montana today and will be in Canada soon. I'm excited to see what lies ahead.

I've been swamped with work lately and have not done much planning for my Alaska trip. I leave in a little over 2 weeks but am no where near ready.

I did decide to replace my great little blue Suzuki V-Strom with a gorgeous red BMW R1200GS. The new (to me) bike is in great shape and I bought it from someone here locally in Colorado Springs

I'm sure the Suzuki would have been fine but I always wanted an R1200GS and you only live once. I'm really psyched about it and can't wait to spend a lot more time on it during the trip.

I'm looking for a BMW R1200GS for a trip to Alaska this summer. Prefer low mileage and good shape. I'm ready to buy and have cash. Also have a 2004 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 for partial trade if you happen to be interested.

I'm in Colorado Springs, Co and am willing to travel for the right bike.

Let me know if you have or know of one for sale.

I wanted to ride my motorcycle from Colorado Springs, Co to Austin, Tx for SXSW mostly to get some experience on longer rides. The weather can be unpredictable in Colorado any time of year and March is works than normal. It had been in the 70s the week before I left but turned much colder as my departure date approached. Still it didn't look impossible so I decided to give it a shot.

On Wednesday, I got a late start but it was sunny and it was in the high thirties when I left the springs. I took the back roads and stayed off the interstate for various reasons. I did not get as far (225 miles) as I had hoped because I had to keep stopping every 1.5-2 hours to get warm and the wind kept my speed way down. They came from 3 o'clock as I headed east and then 11 to 1 o'clock when I turned south. I was estimating winds of 20 mph based on the wind socks and flags that I saw standing straight out. When I finally stopped the weather station said they were having winds of 25-35 mpg.

The wind also killed my gas mileage and I had a scary half hour when I noticed I was running really low on gas and the next town was still far away. I had estimated my range based on prior trips and was focused on the weather so did not realize I how low on gas I had gotten. I slowed down a bit and crossed my fingers and made it to the next town.

It was a tough start to the trip and I thought it was because of the temperature but it was definitely the wind.

The next day, Thursday, was colder but not nearly as windy so was much more pleasant. I waited till 10 am for the temp to get to 27 and to make sure any rain in the south had evaporated. I also changed my route to go south and then east rather than southeast to try to avoid some weather. It was not bad at all and warmed up to the low 40s by the end of the day. I went just over 400 miles and physically could have done a lot more but stopped early because the dark clouds and sudden temperature drop seemed threatening.

I had thermals, fleece, and the liner with my pants and jacket. My chin and face got a little cold and my toes too but I could wiggle them around and it was not too bad. The worst part by far was my hands but luckily Meghan had told me to take some chemical hand warmers she had. I activated them and shoved them in my gloves and that made a huge difference.

Friday I woke to freezing rain. It warmed up a bit to just above freezing but I did not want to chance it. I knew that bridges, diches and parts of the highway could get icy and wanted to stay away from that. So I forced my self to do the safe thing and stay in my cheap hotel an extra night. I had my laptop with me so I could work, though I have to admit I took a long break and watched too many old cop show reruns.

I walked to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and took a couple of photos with my phone. I wish I had a better camera with me.

Its supposed to stay cold and even snow tonight but then warm up quickly tomorrow. I'm about 8 hours away from Austin and will leave here as soon as I think the roads are warm and clear of snow and ice. I've enjoyed the trip but it will feel good to finally be at SXSW.

Later this week I'm leaving Colorado Springs and riding to Austin for South By South West (SXSW). It will be by far the longest motorcycle trip I have taken to date. I want to avoid highways as much as possible so Google maps says it will be 873 miles and almost 20 hours.

I'll split the ride up over 2 or 3 days and will leave Wednesday or Thursday. Till then I'm busy working as well as packing and preparing myself and the bike for the trip.

I'm not sure where I'll stay between here and there but if you are on the route or if you will be at SXSW let me know and we'll meet up for coffee.

The weather in Colorado changes quickly and drastically. It can easily drop 20 degrees during the day and the highs can be in the 30s and 40s for most of the week and then shoot up to the high 50s. That's what happened this last week and luckily the warm day was on Saturday. So I went for a long ride in the mountains. It was a little over 200 miles and 6 hours including a long lunch break. And even though it was in the high 50s in town it was at least 20 degrees colder in the mountains. This photo is at Wilkerson Pass on Rte. 24 about an hour west of town.

First I got up incredibly early this morning and managed to finish all my important tasks in time to watch the inaugural speech.

That was amazing. It was awesome to see a nation celebrate the promise of hope and openness.

Then, since it was warm (56 degrees) I decided to celebrate a little myself with a motorcycle ride. Everything was perfect till I took a wrong turn, made a bad decision to stick with it and ended up on a dirt road. The dirt wasn't so bad but then that became a mud, snow, and ice road. By that point I felt I was pretty committed and going back was as unappealing as going forward which ended up being pretty challenging.

My motorcycle and I got it through it fine (minus two turn signals) but it got me to thinking. This is what I re-learned today.

1. Plan carefully but be willing to improvise - You never really know what lays ahead. Try to be prepared for anything but realize you won't be.
2. Learn to admit a mistake and backtrack when appropriate - Note you most common blind spots and failure modes and try to address them.
3. Relax - Tensing up does not help anything and neither does having a death grip on anything.
4. Focus on where you want to go - If you stare at the big rock or block of ice, you will hit it.
5. Don't let the challenges distract you - Ignore the rock wall to one side and the canyon to the other. If you stay on path they are not an issue.
6. Have faith that you'll make it - You may have miles of ice road ahead but have faith that if you get through the next 30 feet and then the next, eventually you'll make it.
7. Its okay to take it slow and easy - You may be behind schedule or worried it is going to get cold and dark before you finish but you'll have a ton more experience and have sharpened your skills immensely.

I guess that is it for now. It is supposed to get cold again. In the mean time I need to get two blinkers for the bike and I'll be out again next time the weather warms up.