Northern Apex

It ended up taking me 6 days to get to Anchorage from Payette, Idaho - the last day being a laid back 350 mile ride from Tok. I'm not sure when or if I'll ever be able to ride from coast to coast on a motorcycle - I know how lucky I was to be able to do that twice just in the last year. For those that dream of doing something like that, it is both easier and harder than you realize and the best part of the trip will not be the scenery or the wildlife, it will be the people you meet along the way. Listen to their stories for they are dying to tell you them. Don't boast of your achievements, just bask in the fellowship of the road and listen. My favorite encounter occurred in Tok, the last night of my trip. There were two brothers, ages 73 and 65, who were on BMW motorcycles and camping like I was. The older brother didn't begin riding until 1999, and bought his BMW RT touring bike new in 2003. He had 77,000 miles on it and had earned the Iron Butt Association award for visiting all the national parks in a year, and also the 4 Corners Award for hitting the four corners of the United States (Maine, Florida, Washington and California) in less than 10 days. On my rides across the United States I have always missed my brother, but these two guys gave me hope that our time would come to get our riding in eventually. It was an inspiring evening of friendship on the road. Love you bro, and hope we can do the Prudoe to Patagonia trip someday - even if we're 73 and 65 . . . . .