Well, sort of.

The last 4 days at home really flew by.  Getting my disorganized creeper life in order while I’m gone, moving out of my beloved man-o-cave (Sorry for the mess I left Jeromy, I’m sure the gremlin will take care of it), gathering up the last of my gear, last minute orders of gear from rad companies that we all should love like Old Man Mountain that saved my ass because certain OTHER companies neglected to tell me they didn’t have what I ordered until it didn’t show up with the other gear they shipped over a week late (YOU know who you are FAIL FAIL FAIL!), typing huge run-on sentences, saying goodbye to friends and family and my beloved dog Rosie.

Monday was insane and non-stop, and I felt a strong urge to try some meth to get everything done.  Even with the help of my fantastic friends Jake and Brooke I hardly felt prepared.  I didn’t even have time to pee.  Jamie Lyle came through with a fresh Rio line for my 7wt switch rod pleasure and a loaner Sage VT2 5wt.  I love living near the rep, and the fact that he really is a top-notch help to us local boys.

Enough of the tired babble.  I’ve barely slept the past few days and it’s beginning to show.  Let’s get down to brass tacks.

I’ve been planning this for 3 years.  I’ve been really busting down the doors the past year, and no matter how much I’ve done, I’m still not prepared.

This fact hit me especially hard when I got off the plane at Fairbanks.  I walked past the two giant stuffed bears in the baggage claim and in my insomniac form gave them a nod.  I walked outside and took my first picture of the 2AM sun. Sweet.

I had a flight booked for Deadhorse at 11 AM.  I was excited but as I lay down I got a bad feeling in my gut.  I asked it “What’s Up son?”  And he said “Check it homie, don’t be a hoss.”  I started thinking about the facts.

Fact 1:  -  I was flying to a place hundreds of miles from any bike shop.

Fact 2:  – Since I got a lot of crucial gear at the literal last possible minute, I had no time to do a test run and make sure everything was working properly.

Fact 3:  – If something wasn’t right, I’d be spending a ton of money I don’t have to get it right, and if it went bad out there alone, I’d have no safe way out.

I have a good deal of pride, and I’d like to think an equal part of humility as well.  After laying on that bench for about 5 hours weighing it out, I decided to go with my gut and stay in Fairbanks.

And let me tell you, I’m very, very, glad that I did.

I called my friend Aislynn, who grew up here, and she set me up with her dad Bill Ward.

Bill Ward is the man.  He’s taken me around town and rolled out the gold carpet errr uh awesome tiki bar for me!

I’ve spent Tuesday and most of today running around town getting parts and replacements for some of my dysfunctional gear and the other parts in his garage making my bike work.

So my front rack came with some faulty bolts.  I had to cut them off with a pneumatic saw and re-rig it for about 5 hours.

I had to change out my beefy wheels with my road warriors because they wouldn’t clear the trailer.

Cutting of many other parts, having to pick up some unexpected ones, and after 2 days of toil, I’ve got my big rig in working condition and I’ll be rolling out tomorrow.

If I would have been in Deadhorse, I would have been screwed.

Pretty tired, getting a good night of sleep then rolling towards Tok tomorrow, with some pike fishing in between.

Thanks for the love!
Larry