For the stretch from Swan Valley, ID to the Canadian border, Kris's and my oldest brother Matt will be joining me. Matt lives in Idaho and has been a helicopter pilot for 20 years. In the summers, he flies a fire helicopter for the US Goverment fighting wildfires, and in the winter he performs air rescue with Portneuf Life Flight in Pocatello, ID. Here's a pic of Matt in action:
Matt has ridden motorcycles most of his life, and will be renting an adventure bike for this ride with me. I'm looking very forward to seeing Matt and his very cool wife Alicia.
Equally as exciting, our first cousin Kevin is flying to Alaska, renting a motorcycle (a BMW GS like mine), and meeting me in Fairbanks, AK for the homestretch of the journey. I am really stoked to have someone there with me to share this incredible achievement, and possibly even more excited I won't be riding the Dalton highway by my lonesome... it is one of the most remote areas of North America.
Here's a pic of Kevin with one of his hooligan toys:
Kevin and his wife Jenny are avid Ducati fans, but he is willing to "rough it" on a non-Italian sport bike for a few hundred miles. After all, it is in the name of charity, right?
Kevin knows first-hand the rigors of cancer, as his father (Kris's and my uncle) lost his battle with colon cancer over twenty years ago. In some ways, making it to the Arctic Circle will also be a tribute to Uncle Mike's legacy.
IN OTHER NEWS... the first box of "Long-Distance-Adventure-Touring" bits and pieces arrived today. Just a few items from TouraTech to carry spare fuel, oil, and drinking water. Here's Broccoli and me with the loot:
That's the excitement for Monday here in the ATL. Stay tuned... more big news coming soon!
So much fun!! It'll be nice to have some company along those great areas. Love the MSR fuel bottles. Seen them mounted on some other GS boxes. They just look tough. :)
ReplyDeleteDaniel, this is amazing! We think of Kris everyday and pray for her full recovery. Your website looks amazing! I hope you don't mind, I was going to post a link on facebook so that Suzie, Tricia, et al can see it. They have been keeping Kris in their thoughts as well. Although I am completely mechanically challenged, as you know, please tell me what I can do to support you! We love you!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to ride brother, wish I could go all the way. Work just keeps getting in the way of my good time. Maybe next we should take horses across the Oregon trail?
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