Alan Leduc's IBA Experiences

The Iron Butt Association is dedicated to safe, long-distance, endurance motorcycle riding.

Iron Butt Association Membership # 8613

Trans-Canadian Gold
Ultimate Coast to Coast
2004

21, 471 Miles / 35 Days

Personal Challenges / Relationships / Adventure

The Ultimate Coast to Coast

Key West, Florida to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay), Alaska
6944 Miles
12 Days 17 Hours 20 Minutes

My choice of tools for this ride was a Kawasaki KLR 650. This is a single stroke dual sport and most people think your nuts for riding one around the neighborhood. You can imagine what they are thinking when you are talking about riding it 6944 miles in 13 Days. Why would I choose this bike when I have a perfectly good GL1800 Goldwing at home in the garage. The answer is simple. The Dalton Highway. This is the road that goes from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, Alaska. Much of it is gravel and would be challenging for a bike touring bike, although it has been done. I figured it was worth suffering through the interstates on the KLR in order to have the right tool for the job when I got to Alaska.

Day 1 Thursday, June 10, 2004
879 Miles
(Key West, Florida; Fort Pierce, Florida; Wildwood, Florida; Forsyth, Georgia; Ackworth, Georgia)

The ride started at the Circle K in Key West. They had pay at the pump as we had verified by telephone but the receipts did not have a time stamp. $%#* So this made the start a bit more difficult for our little band of crazies. Gary Wothe had volunteered to come down and witness for us. Gary is just a terrific example of what the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum is all about. He had planned a weekend in Key West with his family. Unfortunately the kids were sick but Gary came down to witness our ride anyway. The night before at the banquet, the restaurant had given us one check. We were trying to figure out how to divide the bill. When we finally got it sorted out and went to pay, we found out that Gary, our witness, had already paid the bill. This morning he was busy hustling around signing our paperwork. It is hard to say who's smile was the biggest ours or his. My receipt was stamped 5:45 a.m., June 10, 2004. On the way out of the Keys, I found a pull off and retrieved some sand and water from the Atlantic Ocean. This would be mated with water from the Arctic Ocean to commemorate the ride. I relieved that at this early hour there was very little traffic. The ride out of the Keys was going to be much better than the hot, slow ride into the Keys the day before. I was doing this ride in conjunction with several of my friends from the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum. While this is classified as a group ride, to us that only means that we start at the same time, follow the same route, and end at the same place to celebrate. Riders were already spread out and it would be a rare occasion to site another member of our group during the ride. As I rode past my nephews in West Palm, I once again blew the horn. Now I was even further from their home than I was going south but my goal was to get north of Atlanta and stopping was not on my agenda. My GPS had failed the day before. I remembered that their had been message posted on the MTF that Sam's Club had a special on GPS's. I remembered that my sister-in-law had worked at a Sam's Club in Fort Pierce. I really didn't want to do this ride without a GPS so I decided to try to find the Sam's Club in Fort Pierce. I exited the Florida Turnpike at Fort Pierce and pulled in for gas and instructions. It was now 11:13 a.m. and I had logged my first 290 miles.

As I was searching for the Sam's Club, I noticed a rain wall in front of me. That looks like some serious rain I thought as a rider in tank top and shorts pulled up next to me. Wham!  We hit that wall and I was glad that I was in full gear. That poor rider was getting pelted and those rain drops had to hurt. This Sam's Club did not have any GPS's. I thought I remembered that Best Buy also had GPS's. I asked for directions to the closest Best Buy and was told that I would have to go to Vero Beach. Dumb me. Instead of getting back on the Interstate, I decide to head up US 1. This area had grown up since I had been there many years before and the traffic was terrible. Eventually, I found my way to Best Buy. They had a 2610 but no deals. Folks had been paying $850 for these through the online shops and Best Buy was $1049. I really did not want to do the trip without a GPS, so I coughed up the big bucks. They did have a deal that extended the warranty for to 4 years for $35.00. I figured as much abuse I would be giving to this unit, it would be worth it.

I'm not setting under a very small tree in the hot Florida sun unwrapping the GPS and getting ready to install it. What I thought would be a few minute job turned out to be a bit more challenging. Garmin had changed all of the power cords and the mount was different from my old GPS. More than an hour later I finally had a mount and power arrangement that I hoped would get me to Alaska and back. I have wasted several hours at the beginning of my ride and I would still like to make it through Atlanta so I would not have to deal with Atlanta traffic in the morning. I launch the GPS and head toward the Interstate. Several miles later the GPS is still searching for satellites. For those that don't know the Garmin GPS's come locked into Taiwan. It takes a while for the first initialization and I had been too impatient. I decide to pull in to a service station and see if I can get the GPS to hone in on the satellites. I go in to get a soda and hot dog and ask for directions to the turnpike. I find that I am going to have to travel several miles out of the way to get back on the toll road. This little detour had taken on a life of its own. I go back out to the bike and the GPS is still searching for satellites. I finally decided that I should call Garmin. They advised me how to reset the unit and told me to set there up to 15 minutes until the unit locked into the satellites. I took the time to whine about the power cords and mount. Garmin agreed to send a MC mounting unit to my home at no charge. Garmin's support as has been reported by many was exceptional. About 5 minutes after resetting the GPS, it had locked in on the satellites and I was ready to get started again.

My next stop was a Wildwood, Florida. This was one of the few mandatory stops that had been established by the MTF to be sure that all riders took essentially the same route. It was 5:59 p.m. and I had logged only 449 miles according to my odometer in slightly over 12 hours. I was averaging a whopping 37 miles per hour and Atlanta was still 430 miles away. This could be a long first night if I decided to push on to Atlanta.

I decided that I needed to get focused and stay in the saddle. The next leg was 325 miles and ended in Forsythe, Georgia at 11:18 p.m. I stopped and had a cup of coffee and some conversation with the locals. The conversation usually went something like, "Are your riding that bike on the Interstate?" "Yep, I'm heading to Alaska." "On that? That's crazy."

It has been a long day, but I decide to push on through Atlanta. I stop at Ackworth, Georgia. My gas receipt says 2:01 a.m. and I still have to find a hotel. I spot a Super 8. I'm too tired to eat and just check in for a good nights sleep. I'm not trying to set any records on this ride, but I do have an appointment with my friends in Wasilla (all I saw backwards), Alaska. June 20. This allowed roughly 9 days of travel from Key West to Wasilla. I hope the next several days are less dramatic than this one. I set the alarm for 7:00 a.m. I normally set the alarm for 6:00 but this is going to be a long ride and I decide the extra hour of sleep might pay benefits the next day.

Day 2 Friday, June 11, 2004
709 miles
(Ackworth, Georgia; Antioch, Tennessee; Lebanon, Illinois; Sweet Springs, Missouri)

I stopped at a rest park somewhere south of Nashville. The folks at the rest park were talking about Bonaroo. I did not know what Bonaroo was at the time but I now know that it is a very large rock concert held near Manchester, Tennessee. The talk was that the interstate was closed and that traffic was backed up for about 30 miles. A short stop at the rest park turned into a full fledged investigation. I interviewed as many southbound travelers as I could find with each giving me a different story. I finally decided to forge ahead keeping an eye on optional routes. As it it ended up, traffic was backed up several miles. However, the state police had moved the traffic going to the festival to the shoulder and both lanes were open and only slightly slowed due to folks gawking and wondering what was going on. The intersection at Manchester was closed and folks were abandoning their cars on the shoulder. I was glad I would not be attending and thankful that the state police had done such a great job of controlling traffic. My first gas stop of the day was shortly after in Antioch, Tennessee (just south of Nashville) at 12:59 p.m.

I arrived at Lebanon, Illinois (a St. Louis suburb) at 5:15 St. Louis time. I decided to give rush hour traffic a chance to dwindle while I had a sandwich at Subway. This was a good call. I sailed through St. Louis and with the help of the GPS even got through without a wrong turn.

Yesterday's long day was taking it's toll. I was was getting tired. I had established a goal of averaging 800 miles days in the States so I could slow down and enjoy Canada and Alaska. I found myself watching the trip meter looking for 1600 miles. I needed to either get refocused or stop. I pulled decided to stop at Sweet Springs, Missouri for gas and make an assessment. The service station had a Sonics and there was a cheap motel behind it. I decided to call it an early night. There really was no need to press on as the banquet in Alaska was already set and getting an early start up the Dalton Highway was not feasible. The milk shake was much needed but I can't stand those Sonic hamburgers. I ended this day at 9:30 EDST and only 8:30 local time. This gave me time to relax and look at the next days route. I set the alarm for 6:00 a.m. local time and slept well.

Day 3 Saturday, June 12, 2004
864 Miles
(Sweet Springs, Missouri; Crescent, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Midland, South Dakota; Bell Fourche, South Dakota)

The first gas stop of the day was at Crescent, Iowa just north of Omaha, Nebraska at 11:06 a.m. EDST. As those that have been on this stretch of road know, it is rather unremarkable. I'm just droning out miles. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is a mandatory stop. I obtain my gas receipt at 1:42 p.m. EDST. I will now be heading due west on I90 across South Dakota which has a 75 mph speed limit. That is about all the KLR will do so speeding is not an issue. Roll the throttle to full on, hit the throttle lock, and rock on. My next stop is Midland, South Dakota at 6:09 p.m EDST. The days are getting longer so I still have plenty of daylight left. I take a few minutes to look through the souvenirs. Have a soda and candy bar and call my wife. As I approach Spearfish, South Dakota I know that I have a decision to make. I can either stay on I90 which loops a bit southwest before heading back north or I can take U.S. 212 which cuts on the diagonal across the Indian Reservation. I made this decision when heading to the Iron Butt Rally in Missoula, Montana in 2003. I opted for U.S. 212. I make the same decision today. I arrived in Bell Fourche, S.D. at 8:08 local time. It was still light but I now remember that when doing this route the year before, there had been what seemed like herds of deer on the road at night. I remember counting 20 deer in one 5 mile stretch and those were only the ones that I could see. It was early and but I was at about 2452 cumulative miles and had averaged my 800 miles per day. I saw a hotel advertised for $22.00 per day. I decided to take a chance on the Ace Hotel. This was a locally owned hotel and was neat as a pen. I parked the bike and walked several blocks to the local truck stop to partake in a buffet. I returned to the room and had plenty of time to repack and look at the next days route before turning in for a good nights sleep.

Day 4, Sunday, June 13, 2004
522 Miles
(Bell Fourche, South Dakota; Alzada, Montana; Billings, Montana; Boulder, Montana)

As I headed out of Bell Fourche to US212 I soon realized why I had thought there were herds of deer on US212. That's because there was. Stopping in Bell Fourche he night before had been a good decision.

I stopped at Alzada, Montana for gas. I had saw a sign for Devils Tower and inquired about how far I would have to go out of my way to get to it. I decided that I should stay focused and save Devils Tower for another day. Soon I would discover that US212 was under major reconstruction. I had encountered some of this construction in 2003 when I was riding at night. I now understand why that ride was so challenging. The road had been completely removed and was now in various stages of construction from sand to hard pack. There was lots of traffic and many motor homes. Travel was slow and tedious. As I approached the Interstate I see a sign to Custer National Cemetery. I decided to stop. I met a couple of riders from the east who were about to head east on US212. I gave them notice of what they were about to encounter. They decided it might be fun. I took a short ride through the park and then continued on to Billings, Montana arriving at 3:09 in the afternoon.

There was a mandatory stop in Butte, Montana which is at the intersection of I90 and I15. I turned north on I15 figuring that I would get gas at the first exit. Much to my surprise the first gas was about 50 miles down the road in Boulder. Who would have thought there would be not gas at the intersection of two interstates? It was only about 7:00 p.m. but I needed to do laundry. I decided to stop for the night. I was directed to the "Best" hotel in town, the Castoria Inn. As I pull in the lot, I'm a bit concerned about the quality of the Castoria Inn. The parking lot was dirt and the inn looked as if it was in a bit of disrepair. I went to the office which was also obviously the home of the owner. I was told that the had a room available but they did not take credit cards; however, they would take a personal check. I wrote the check for $37 and change and was directed to my room. The room had been recently renovated in early fisherman. Obviously this was a theme motel. LOL. I discovered the laundromat was several blocks away, sorted out my laundry, and started out for a hike. The owner offered a ride so I accepted. I loaded the clothes recognizing that I should have had Brenda (my wife) retrain me before leaving home. What the heck, those boxes must be the right proportions. While the clothes were being washed, I decided that I would walk into town and get some dinner. . It is now about 8:30 p.m. on Sunday and all of the restaurants are closed. Huh? I finally found a bar and was able to order a sandwich. Back to the laundromat. I move the laundry from the washers to the dryers and more waiting. Looks like someone could at least show up so I would have someone with which to talk. I think next trip, I will use the throw away method. I walked back to the hotel and soon learned that all water must have run through my bathroom. Seemed like pikes were rattling the whole night. I didn't get much rest but it was definitely and interesting experience.

Day 5, Monday, June 14, 2004
470 Miles
(Boulder, Montana; Great Falls, Montana; Vaughn, Montana; Seeley Lake, Montana; Columbia Falls, Montana, Cardston, Alberta)

I had decided to stop at Great Falls to have my oil changed at Sports City Cyclery. I didn't have an appointment but they worked me in. I ask them to change over from dyno oil to synthetic so I would not have to worry about changing on for the rest of the trip. They marveled at the fuel cell and other gadgets on the KLR. The guys at the shop ask me if I was going to ride through Glacier National Park.  I really wasn't familiar with Glacier but I should have plenty of time and their excitement convinced me that was worth the detour. I would have been better off to have made this decision earlier in the morning but what is a few extra miles on a trip like this. Great Falls is waypoint 16. As you can see it was necessary for me to head back south in order to get to Glacier. I stopped in Vaughn, Montana (waypoint 17) to verify that the park was open and specifically that the Going to the Sun Road was not snowed in. All was well so I continued on the detour. There was a bit of traffic on part of the route to Glacier but for the most part this was good riding. I saw a sign to Hungry Horse Dam and took a small detour up to the Dam. The view into the valley was very pretty, the dam was a dam.

I stopped for Gas at Seeley Lake and then again at Columbia Falls. While stopped at Columbia Falls, I decided to splurge and have an A&W Root Beer and a hot dog. When they rung up the bill there was no sales tax. I was told that this particular area was exempt from sales tax because it was a tourist area. In Indiana, we have a tourist tax of up to 10% when we think we can get the tourists to help pay the tax bill. It was now 6:49 p.m. The days were long so I thought I should have plenty of time to get through Glacier but checked at the guard station to make sure figuring I could spend the night in Columbia Falls if necessary. The guard assured me that I should not have any problems getting through before dark and that the  Going to the Sun Road was open. Yahoo. Now is the time to see what these guys were talking about. Below are a couple of pictures in the foothills of the park. Beautiful. Simply Beautiful.

As I was taking the second picture it began to rain. I was about to get on the bike and a pickup truck coming down out of the mountain stopped and ask if I was going to the top. I said, yes and he told me that I should turn around as it was snowing up there. To show you how little I understood the mountains, I advised him that the guard had just advised me that everything was clear. Little did I know that things can change quickly. I ignored the warning and headed to the top. As I approached the peak things were beginning to look pretty bad and about 2 miles from the top it began to snow. I was going uphill and the snow was very wet and slushy. I was comfortable enough to continue. I was the only person on the road and you can see from the picture to the right that the weather was not at its best. The snow was really coming down. I was constantly having to wipe snow from my face shield as it was sticking like glue. There is a rest area at the peak but the lot was empty. I pulled into the lot and like someone hit me on the head, I suddenly realized that if there was snow for two miles going up the mountain, there was also going to be snow for two miles going down the mountain. Holy crap! What kind of mess had I gotten myself into? I decided to deter no longer and proceeded down the mountain. I'm sure the grade was no steeper than the uphill climb but it sure felt like it. I had both feet down and was proceeding as slow as I could with a constant grip on the front brake. As I looked down the hill I was approaching a curve and was barely able to maintain my reduced speed. I started thinking about what I might do if I couldn't keep my speed down in order to make the curve. I know how dumb this sounds now, but I was scared shitless. I finally made it out of the snow and the cold rain brought a smile to my face.

I was really stressed as I left the park the cold rain had sucked the heat right out of me. I decided that I would stop as soon as I could find a room. All of the rooms at St. Mary were booked. So I decided to stop and get some coffee and food. I really wasn't hungry and stopping for the second time in the day to eat was unusual. But I was freezing and needed that coffee bad. I had a cup of coffee and a slice of pizza and still was not warm. The folks at the restaurant indicated that I probably would not find a room until I crossed the border. I should have put on my electric jacket liner but didn't. Darkness made the cold rain feel even colder. I  reached the border, and I thought maybe I had met Jason Jonas' angel who he had encountered at the Canadian border the year before. I later learned that this was not the border, but her warm smile was welcome on this cold night.

I stopped at the first motel that I came across in Cardston, Alberta. I was cold and tired for such a short day of riding. What started out as a great ride turned miserable pretty quickly. I unloaded the bike and started taking of the gear. The heat was controlled by the main office and it didn't seem to be working. I called Brenda and here first words were someone is looking for you. We had 10 other riders stretched out somewhere between Key West and Wasilla and all I could think of was that there had been a problem. I really didn't want to deal with that right now. "Who's looking for me I asked?" Bob Moore was the reply. Bob and his friend Mark Busch had shipped their bikes to Las Vegas. Mark was short on time and was going to ride back home to Kentucky but Bob planned on riding up to Wasilla for the Alaska BBQ. Where's Bob? He's in Prince George and he wants to meet you in Dawson Creek. My plan was to go through Jasper and Banff the next day. So I told her that I would try to call Bob and work something out. I called Bob and he was somewhere near the border over near the west coast and about 730 miles from Dawson Creek. I had a mandatory stop in Leduc, Alberta and was about 690 miles from Dawson Creek. But I didn't want to commit to being in Dawson Creek the next day because of my plans to go through Jasper and Banff. I told Bob I would call him the next night and see if we could get together somewhere along the way..

After a short call to my wife I snuggled underneath the covers. I was shivering and it didn't seem that it was going to get any warmer. I was too tired to repack so I suffered through the night getting very little sleep. 

Day 6, Tuesday, June 15, 2004
690 Miles
(Cardston, Alberta; Crossfield, Alberta; Leduc, Alberta; Little Smokey, Alberta; Dawson Creek British Columbia)

If you looked at the above summary, you have figured out that I made it all the way to Dawson Creek this day. Now the rest of the story. The rains were intermittent but the winds were not. The KLR was a challenge with these severe cross winds and were very fatiguing. I decided that I didn't want to go to Jasper and Banff if it was all fogged in and decided that I would take a shot at that area on the return trip. My first gas stop for the day was at Crossfield, Alberta, just north of Calgary. I called Brenda and told her that I was not going to Jasper and Banff and ask her to call Pam, (Bob's wife - as a side note Bob and Pam had just gotten married after many years of companionship so Bob was on his honeymoon.) and have her make a room reservation in Dawson Creek. I would call later to get the room information and if Bob called in to Pam he could get the information. If Bob was not going to make Dawson Creek that night, I would just wait for him at the hotel the next day.

Leduc, Alberta was a mandatory stop. Leduc is a suburb of Edmonton but I thought Leduc sounded better than Edmonton. I hit Leduc at 1:13 p.m. I stopped at the visitor center to see if I could find some souvenirs for the family. While there I talked another visitor into taking a picture I called Brenda to see if she was able to get in touch with Pam. She said Pam had made a reservation at the Ramada Inn in Dawson Creek and that Bob would meet me there that night. I spotted a Pizza Hut across the parking lot. They had a buffet and that sounded pretty good so I decided to pack in some carbs before chunking out the miles to Dawson Creek. While I was gulping down pizza and pasta, it began to rain again. I thought maybe I would miss this summer shower and all of a sudden marble size hail started coming down in buckets. If you look close in the picture you can see the hail on the ground.

The cross winds are still whipping me around pretty good. But Bob is counting on me being in Dawson Creek so I push on. I stopped in Little Smokey, Alberta for gas at about 6:41 p.m. This should get me all the way to Dawson Creek. I reached Dawson Creek at about 8:30 p.m. As I rolled into town I come to a four way stop. I look to the left and there is another bike. It wasn't just another bike, it was Bob. We had arrived at Dawson Creek at exactly the same time. How is that for timing. We pulled into a parking lot and chatted for a few minutes and then went looking for the hotel. We got checked in and Bob mentioned that he had saw Jon David Powers bike at a hotel up the street. We rode back and found Jon. We had a good chat. Bob and I were on our way to eat but Jon had already eaten. We agreed that we would meet the next morning and ride up the Dawson highway together. I like riding alone. But I have met a folks on the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum that have become terrific friends. Bob is one of those. It is always fun to share the road with him.