PTL, the sponges are finally gone

Just kidding.
Mark survived Brian and me going at it in even more than our normal fashion. Had there been any way to get off the bus there may have been an extra seat along the way but we all managed to part company with handshakes all around.

After 40 years we all know which buttons to push and when to push them for the greatest effect. Luckily after all these years we can laugh about it after. Make sure Dug gives you his impression of Brian starting and riding his bike and Brian can do his impression of me impatiently waiting to get the train moving again. Multiply that times a thousand and you have one day of the trip.

The Haul Road wasn't as tough as everyone made it out to be but then again we had great weather. The only mud we encountered was from the watering trucks. It was nice to keep the dust down but it definitely added another dimension. We could either be sliding around as the trucks passed ar be blasted with rocks and dust so you couldn't see or breathe till it all cleared. All doing 50+ and trying to remember that we were a miilion miles from anywhere. One of the best parts of riding on the loose stuff is standing up, especially going up a hill, and some of hils go on forever. You get better traction and you can more comfortably let the ass end of the bike do what it wants. Again, at 50-60 it's quite a trip.

So even though the challenge wasn't as tough as we were told to expect, it was still quite a gas and i'm glad we got to ride as far north as you can ride in the good ole u s of a.