once there was a bike called Ragamuffin...

Go! See! Do!

Transalp Page

I bought my Transalp in January '99 to ride it to Alaska in 2000. It was in pretty rough shape. When viewed next to pristine Transalps it looked downright raggedy; perfect for a hellride to Alaska! I christened her "Ragamuffin." Since then, I've taken a couple of nice tours on the 'Muffin. The first was a quick dash into eastern Canada as sort of a shakedown run. I wanted to test out the upgrades and modifications I made to the bike over the summer. Also, Nova Scotia was on my list of places to go while I lived in Connecticut and I was running out of time. I emailed Jay, a fellow I met at the '99 New England Transalp Rally, and asked if he wanted to go along. Jay is a retired teacher, Transalp rider, HawkGT rider and a fun riding buddy. He's always up for a tour so he rode up from PA and we headed north in September '99.

Ragamuffin finished the shakedown run with ease, so I started planning my ride to Alaska. When I mentioned the trip to Transalp rider J., he told me he also had a plan to make the trip. So we decided to do it together. I read books, studied maps, daydreamed and talked it up to my buddies. I figured that if I talked enough trash, it would be harder for me to back out at the last minute. While discussing the trip with my friend Ray, he asked how long it was going to take. Two months, I replied. He looked surprised. He said that he figured it would take closer to three months to ride to AK, then work my way to New Orleans and visit my kinfolks then return to CT. Hmmm.... I hadn't planned a detour to the bayou, but it sounded like a good idea. In fact, I bought the VFR800 Interceptor in '98 with the intention of riding around the lower 48 states; one lap clockwise. I eventually ditched that idea in favor of Alaska. After thinking about it for a minute or three, I elected to combine the two trip ideas. I could visit some of the Rocky Mountain states on my way to AK and see the rest on my way from AK to LA. Then I could motor through the Appalachian states as I headed back to CT. But upon further review, I canned the return to CT. I would end the trip in LA. That way, I could store my belongings and move out of my place when it was time hit the road. By doing so, I would avoid paying rent while I was away, thereby freeing up money which would be better spent on gasoline, food and lodging. I would get my Appalachian High by riding the HawkGT from CT to LA for storage before taking off to Alaska. Hey Moms, guess who's coming to town!

Coincidentally, at about that time, I'd been reading about Mexico's Copper Canyon. I wanted to see it. Clearly, a quick border hop was in order while I meandered eastward through the southwest desert. My previous experience south of the border was limited to Tijuana. I figured that hole of a town was not a fair representation of Mexico and I wanted to see more. Then I began to read about other motorcyclists who have ridden far beyond the Copper Canyon. I read a book about riding throughout northern Mexico and became interested in doing a loop north of Mexico City before heading back to the US. I read still more about riding deeper into Mexico, as well as Central America and South America and I was intrigued. I had to go further, but didn't have the nerve to do it solo. J. wasn't interested so I had to look elsewhere for a riding buddy. I located a website for dual-sport tourers and posted a message. I got a few responses but my timing only worked for one guy, Chris from Phoenix. Chris was finishing grad school and wanted to get some playtime/stress relief before beginning a new career, which was a familiar song to me. And as a former Peace Corps volunteer who spent a couple of years in Africa, he had some experience operating in Third World countries. After numerous emails flying back and forth between us, it became clear that we would cross the border with the same mindset and would probably be good travel companions. We both wanted to take our time and savor the experience and not rush to reach a destination just to say we'd been there. Chris had two months to work with so we settled on Panama as our goal, though we were not dead set on getting there before he turned into a pumpkin. We wanted to smell the roses. So with our agenda etched in sand, we decided to hook up at his place in August for the trip south.

As the departure date drew near, J. became a victim of Life. A new career and a new home conspired to make a trip to Alaska unrealistic, at least on the planned dates. And the only thing written in stone for the entire trip was my departure date. I needed to get going. We considered options whereby he might join me later, but in the end it was not to be. Instead, he planned the Y2K New England Transalp Rally to coincide with my departure so I could wave hasta la vista to my local riding buddies as I headed west.

Always Ready Jay offered to ride partway with me. He'd been to Alaska by automobile and was not interested in returning by motorcycle. But he had friends and relatives to visit in Washington and could join me for part of the journey west. He was also interested in the Hawk Flight South and decided to accompany me as far south as Georgia to experience MotoMecca on a sporty, little twin for himself.

Finally, there's the transplanted Canadian Pete, who resides in Georgia. J. introduced us when Pete had a Transalp to sell and I was looking to buy one. We later met in person at the '99 HawkGT rally in North Carolina. Pete owns many a motorcycle and loves to go places in the saddle as much as anyone. He found out that I was going to the races in Wisconsin and offered to join me for the beginning of the trip He happened to have friends to visit in Wisconsin. He's also a race fan and we both were looking forward to our first trip to Road America for the AMA Superbike races.

So after all of that, my simple, two-month Alaskan Adventure had snowballed into a five-month Tour of North America. Eventually, the preliminary coordination and planning came to an end, the bike was ready, the Canadian shakedown was complete and Go Time arrived. Let the games begin!