Arrived in Anchorage worn out 28 hours of flights and airports. Snow still tops all the mountains surrounding Anchorage, very spectacular. A bit of a hitch upon arrival, i was told that the shipper wanted another $430.00 or Herbert would not be released. At first i thought about posting bail but then decided how much trouble can a motorbike get into. I made my way to Carlile transport and found the people could not be more helpful, a few calls and the $430.00 was waived it sometimes pays to be nice and non confrontational. I was given a wad of paperwork and sent off to customs about 15 minutes away where once again the customs officers were really wonderful 1 hour later after chatting and recieving tips from the officers i made my way back to where Herbert was waiting patiently.
About 3 hours later Herbert was together with help from the people at Carlile. Ready to go thumb the starter, nothing! What an anticlimax. Ok start stripping her down again, problem solved a bad connection. Power great, the engine turned over but no life yet for Herbert as i flattened the battery. A charger was duly bought out and an hour and a half later the 650cc heart fired into life. As i waved goodbye to the friendly people at carlile transport a chill wind blew up over the snow capped mountains oh oh forgot my gloves even with freezing hands my first ride was amazing i couldnt stop smiling the part of my adventure that i have been waiting for, the part that seemed would never arrive has begun.
