"The Right Tool for the Job..."

Most non-riders, when they get around to asking the question "Just exactly how many motorcycles do you own?" (and they always get around to it sooner or later), can't seem to grasp why I need more than one. I do my best to explain that it's a matter of having the right machine for the task at hand. Sometimes they get it ... sometimes they just think I'm spoiled rotten, like a kid with too many toys. When I tell them that a lot of my friends own even more motorcycles than I do, it just confirms that I hang out with a buncha nuts!

I'm not sure anything explains it better than this story about a group of 48 Harley riders who decided to take their bikes to Deadhorse, Alaska and Prudhoe Bay. Not that riders haven't done the infamous Haul Road (otherwise known as the Dalton Highway) before on Harley-Davidsons and other motorcycles ill-suited to that sort of riding, but clearly this group didn't know what they were letting themselves in for:

The caravan of bikes — in various stages of disrepair — pulled back into Fairbanks late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. During the trip, windshields were broken, engine guards were lost, fork seals were damaged. Holes were punched in oil tanks, belts were torn and metal frames were bent.

One bike spontaneously burst into flames on the road, and another $10,000 ride was totaled when it hit a soft gravel patch and flipped. Two riders sustained broken bones and were forced to abandon the trek and head for home.

Yikes! That whole "burst into flames" thing sounds like absolutely no fun at all! Fortunately, the group had several "support vehicles" following them ready to pick up their flotsam and jetsam, the dead mounts, and the exhausted riders. If only I were so lucky when I travel. I'd be happy most of the time, just having someone else to pick up my little dirtbike for me!

The complete story, if you're interested, is here.