Hi ... I'm Mike Tuccelli and I would like to invite you to join us in 2009 on an adventure ... North to Alaska!!! Just look at the photo below … imagine over FOUR HUNDRED miles of wild desolate beauty to the Artic Ocean! What is an adventure without challenges?
On the Alaska Highway, you will be admiring eagles, bears, wolves, caribou, buffalo, and mountain sheep as you drive. You will be dodging frost heaves, pot holes, and enjoying rest stops at the unique lodges which welcomes you with the aroma of homemade bread and serious coffee.
Once you arrive in Fairbanks, you can drive to Denali and Anchorage and Homer and Valdez. At Denali, you can take the shuttle into the park to spot glaciers and bears, and gaze up at Mount McKinley. The more you see and do in Alaska, the more you will want to join us every year.
This 2009 adventure will leave St. Augustine, Florida, July 1, 2009 (you can join us at any of the overnight stops) and going thru Birmingham, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; Garden City, Kansas; Craig, Colorado; Logan, Utah, north thru Idaho and Montana, then thru Alberta to the TransCanadian highway to Fairbanks, Alaska, arriving approximately July 10. There, we will stay three days, taking in the sites. Bikers can decide among themselves if they want a group or solo ride (please read Darryl's log on the 2007 trip notes) to Prudhoe Bay, to Homer, Anchorage, etc.
The return trip will go through Hyder, Alaska with a day's stay to explore glaciers and watch bears fish for salmon and will head east over Lake Superior, then south through Michigan and Indiana, finally onto the "Tail of the Dragon" to ensure cool weather for most of the route.
You, of course, can jump in at any of the 20 or so check-in points as listed on the 2009 schedule page (coming this Fall) and leave at anytime. Kickstands up by 6 or 7 a.m. each day (meaning get your bikes ready and have had your breakfast) ... this will allow us several hours of "wiggle room" in case of breakdowns, bad weather, etc. so we can get to our destination before dark. As always, you can cut off from the main group and do "side trips" to points of interest en route. You can sleep in late and leave and catch up with us at the next stop.
As you meet other bikers joining us en route, you and others will naturally form groups. This loose organization allows for maximum flexibility and yet the security of having at least one buddy to ensure your safety.
Registration is $100 and includes a ride T shirt and a souvenir DVD. This is a loosely structured trip led by a guide who made seven Florida/Alaska trips the past 7 years. Thirteen bikers were in the 2008 tour and we are making room for 40 bikers in 2009.
One biker asked about costs. Well, aside from the $100 registration cost, it is how you budget. If you are willing to share a room with three others ... your share of the room would be 20 to 40 percent. With the average room at $100, that's $15 to $35 per night. As for me, I am taking a sleeping bag so you can have a nice comfy bed. As for gas, let's plan for a worst case scenario of $5 per gallon for gas. At an average of 500 miles per day, you would buy 10 to 14 gallons of gas. That's $50 to $60.
Now for meals ... most restaurants have their best prices for lunch so if you do as I do ... at evening stops, go to the local deli, pick up some food items, make snacks, put them in your ice chest ... use the hotel's coffee and eat a light snack ... stop for lunch at a fast food place (a double cheeseburger for a $1 or Subway's daily special, etc. or a buffet at, say, $6.99), and then eat take-out pizza or snacks in our rooms at night, I can see this at $20 or less per day. So, your daily costs would be $100 per day at the most and possibly as low as $75.