Blastoff to the Arctic Circle (Wiseman AK to be exact) is Saturday 6/5. I's are crossed, T's are dotted, and dithering around has reached a fever pitch. A fresh rear tire is on its way to Fairbanks, that must mean it's ON! The plan is to hopscotch there via Talimena, glorious S UT, US50 in NV, and the best of N Cal to meet Mary in Seattle. Cool my jets on the ferry then ride most of the paved roads with some 2-night stops to play normal(?) tourist. Mary'll fly home from Fairbanks, ride S via the Cassiar, N Cascades, US2 etc, & limp home after the COG rally in WI. Ai-yi-yi! I must be stubborn or something. There's no good reason to use my VERY tired 186k Conc on this schlep. If this trip doesn't put it into Rat Bike mode, nothing will. I've taken it on a few 10k+ trips but frankly have lost some confidence in it. Then again, taking a new scooter may be even dumber, what with the gravel, mud, gunk, & shaking loose new fasteners on the lousy roads. We'll see what happens. See youse guys in ~6 weeks... 01 Conc, Mijami Floriduh OTP 06: http://tinyurl.com/2vk9o2 route map: http://tinyurl.com/4p7pmd