The hubs needed to cross his 50th state off the bucket list, so we found ourselves planning a summer trip to Alaska. It was our first visit and was made even more memorable with a perfect July riding day thanks in great part to AMA. In the weeks leading up to our trip, Nancy was very helpful via email. We arrived on a Monday morning and Keith had everything ready, explained all the legalities, and walked us through the bikes. The lawyer in me appreciated his thoroughness with regard to laws and safety, and the tourist in me appreciated his friendly banter and route suggestions.
The hubs and I took the 12GS Rallye (AMA's "flagship" bike) down to the Kenai Penninsula with one of his college buddies, who rode the smaller 650GS. AMA provided the helmets and jackets and they had a good variety of both (I brought my own helmet and jacket because they fit perfectly and I rarely get to wear them, but I would have been fine had I left them at home). We provided our own gloves. For most of the trip, the summer weight gloves were great, but later in the day, it was nice to have the winter weight for the cooler temps and crosswinds. AMA also provided us an aluminum pannier for the back of the bike, which was excellent as a backrest for me and also held all of our gear including a tire-repair kit provided by Keith. Our buddy's 650 was equipped with side panniers.
We had no issues with the bikes whatsoever. We stopped for breakfast in Girdwood, checked out some bald eagles on the road to Seward, found a rocky beach in Hope, and ate fresh crab and halibut in Seward. At one point on the ride home, our buddy was dive-bombed by a bald eagle, which was one of the hilarious highlights of the trip.
It was nice to keep the bikes overnight because we lost track of time under the midnight sun with our many sightseeing side trips to check out the local shops and eateries. There was also a little construction, which let us really slow down and take in the beautiful scenery. The beemer was comfy and solid as one would expect. Next time we are definitely doing a full week! read more
