On Friday, July 27, we may have a send-off dinner at Jim's Place in Elkton, Florida at 7:00 p.m Departure from St. Augustine, Florida (you can join us anywhere en route and leave at any point) will be July 28 at 7 a.m. from Village Inn, US 1 North. I will be in St. Louis, Missouri at this time and will join the group in Rockford so St. Augustine can be a starting point for bikers from South or Central or East Florida. West Florida bikers may want to hook up with us in Alabama.
This will be a moderate trip (around 400 miles per day with an occassional 500-mile day balanced out by 280-mile days for laundry and rest) for those of us who have a limited amount of vacation time and want to check off BIKE TO ALASKA on their bucket list.
This trip will be a mimimum 7670 miles in 132 driving hours up to 10,000 miles (for those continuing further into Alaska via Cassiar Highway) ... around 18 or so days days on the road, 2 days in Hyder or an extra ten days going into interior Alaska. Many bikers on this trip, based on past history, will form groups either before the trip via emails or enroute and plan separate trips to Fairbanks or other points North.
The return route is only a suggestion and you, of course, are perfectly free to do whatever you want but we hope you will stick with us to Hyder.
Many days the mileage will be approximately 400 miles (most of the bikers in the 2011 trip said they would have liked 400-mile days much better). An extra day will be added to Hyder, Alaska -- in 2011 one full day there simply wasn't enough to enjoy the place.
Chapters will be contacted (HOG and GWRRA) for each day's stop from July 28 to August 3 to see if an event can be organized (i.e. cookout) for us. MamaYeh in Prince George most likely will again have a welcoming BBQ for us on August 3. If you are a member of a HOG or GWRRA chapter, arrange with your organization for you to earn serious points for your chapter by going on this trip!
Tentative Schedule: -- As HOG and GWRRA chapters are contacted, I will ask for lodging and meal suggestions and make revisions as necessary
Day 1 -- July 28, 2012 -- St. Augustine, Florida to Montgomery, Alabama -- 397 miles -- via US 84 to US 231 (rationale: Avoid Atlanta!)
Day 2 -- July 29, 2012 -- Montgomery, Alabama to Madisonville, Kentucky -- 386 miles -- via I-65 North (Previous post had a mistake ... I had listed Illinois instead of Kentucky)
Day 3 -- July 30, 2012 -- Madisonville, Kentucky to Rockford, Illinois -- 431 miles -- via I-39 North Mike Tuccelli will join the group here, coming in from a detour to St. Louis, Missouri
Day 4 -- July 31, 2012 -- Rockville, Illinois to St. Joseph, Minnesota -- 415 miles -- via I-94 West
Day 5 -- August 1, 2012 -- St. Joseph, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota -- 429 miles -- I-94 West, US 52 West, US 2 West
Day 6 -- August 2, 2012 -- Minot, North Dakota to Medicine Hat, Alberta -- 511 miles -- Trans Canadian Highway -- I know this is a 500-mile day but the Trans Canadian Highway will take us across quickly across flat prairies (and simply, there aren't many places to choose from)
Day 7 -- August 3, 2012 -- Medicine Hat, Alberta to Banff or Lake Louise, Alberta -- 270 miles -- Trans Canadian Highway 1 -- Banff will be a bit "pricey" .. you will need to rest well to really enjoy the Icefield Parkway the next day! (At Lake Louise, rent a canoe and admire the unusual color of the water from the glacier!)
Day 8 -- August 4, 2012 -- Banff, Alberta or Lake Louise, Alberta to Prince George BC -- 411 miles -- Icefield Parkway. You will really want to take it easy and enjoy the splendid scenery which will whet your appetite for Hyder's scenery!
Day 9 -- August 5, 2012 -- Prince George, BC to Hyder, Alaska -- 434 miles -- suggest strongly that we have a group dinner at Bitter Creek Cafe that evening as they may be closed Monday.
Days 10 and 11 -- August 6 & 7 -- Hyder, Alaska -- you will want to stay at Ripley Creek Inn! Glacier Inn in "downtown" Hyder and also The Bus Restaurant were our two favorite places in 2011 to have meals. The main reason for arriving here in August is that, based on history, the creeks will be full of salmon and the bears will be in a feeding frenzy (Fish Creek about 4 miles outside of Hyder has a magnificent elevated walk for you to safely watch wild grizzly bears).
Ripley Creek Inn -- a collection of old mining town buildings ... including the Bayview Hotel .. The Historic Bayview Hotel is located above the Bitter Creek Cafe. We currently have seven rooms which provide our guests with comfortable accommodations, great food and unforgettable scenery. There is a common area inside on the third floor, with dining table, and couches.
Most bikers, based on the past several years of experience, may have already made plans (through emails to each other in the months preceding the trip) to go in groups to Alaska via Cassiar Highway (37 North) to Watson Lake, then to Haines Junction, then to Tok, then to Anchorage or Fairbanks and to do tours via bus, train, ship, etc. and return home via Washington State or Montana or Dawson Creek or take the Inside Passage ferry to Washington State. I will be posting suggestions from our 2011 bikers as to where to stop on the ALCAN and in Anchorage and Fairbanks and the smaller communities south of Ahcnorage for those of you who plan to go up the Cassiar Highway from Hyder to the ALCAN and points Northwest.
The below is the return route suggestion for those returning home directly from Hyder. As for me, I may stop the first night in Prince George; the second night in Calgary; the third night in Minot; the fourth night in Madison, WI and do a 1250-miler straight to home, arriving August 12. (I have to get ready for work) Some bikers from 2010 said they enjoyed the South Dakota segment so much, I have put down an alternate route below for those who want to go through the Badlands and see Sturgis.
See below for California return route:
Day 12 -- August 8 -- Hyder, Alaska to Prince George, BC -- 434 miles
Day 13 -- August 9 -- Prince George, BC to Banff, Alberta -- 411 miles -- Icefield Parkway
Day 14 -- August 10 -- Banff, Alberta to Medicine Hat, Alberta -- 270 miles
Alternate Day 14 route -- Banff, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana -- 397 miles
Day 15 -- August 11 -- Medicine Hat, Alberta to Minot, North Dakota -- 510 miles
Alternate Day 15 route -- Great Falls, Montana to Rapid City, South Dakota 540 miles
Day 16 -- August 12 -- Minot, North Dakota to St. Joseph, Minnesota -- 428 miles
Alternate Day 16 route --- Rapid City, South Dakota to Sioux Falls, South Dakota -- 350 miles
Day 17 -- August 13 -- St. Joseph, Minnesota to Rockford, Illinois -- 406 miles
Alternate Day 17 route -- Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Rockford, Illinois -- 498 miles
Day 18 -- August 14 -- Rockford, Illinois to Madisonville, Kentucky -- 417 miles
Day 19 -- August 15 -- Madisonville, Kentucky to Montgomery, Alabama (rationale -- avoid Atlanta!)-- 387 miles
Day 20 -- August 16 -- Montgomery, Alabama to St. Augustine, Florida -- 413 miles
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May I suggest you try the Bitter Creek Cafe at the Bayview Hotel? There is a old Packard car in the dining room ... lots of vintage stuff on the walls ... take a look at the menu! The King Edward Hotel's restaurant also has good food.
I recommend highly you go to the summit of Salmon Glacier -- about an hour's drive up the mounain and then visit the bear observation deck on the way back. Here's John Dickie from last year ... what a photo to email home when your buddies are sweating in 95 degrees and high humidity!!
Many days the mileage will be approximately 400 miles (most of the bikers in the 2011 trip said they would have liked 400-mile days much better). An extra day will be added to Hyder, Alaska -- in 2011 one full day there simply wasn't enough to enjoy the place. 
I recommend highly you go to the summit of Salmon Glacier -- about an hour's drive up the mounain and then visit the bear observation deck on the way back. Here's John Dickie from last year ... what a photo to email home when your buddies are sweating in 95 degrees and high humidity!!
