Badge of Honor

As a follow-on to our adventure I've compiled a few photos and notes on equipment performance and mementos left on the bikes:
Both of the new LED driving lights on the BMW had lenses and plastic protective covers broken from flying rocks and gravel on roads under construction (destruction). We shipped replacement parts to Brookings, but really needed the lights for the dark mountain road between Grant's Pass and Brookings following the blowout on the Drifter. This was the only real "night" operation for the trip, as Alaska was enjoying 22 hours of daylight during our time there. The designed placement of the Lexan cover directly onto the glass lens seems to contribute to the breakage by preventing the cover from flexing while absorbing impacts.
Still working with Pirate's Lair to get another rain cover for the Bags Connection tank bag damaged by the hailstorm on day one. No rush... The clear packing tape I applied to both sides seemed to work through some fairly heavy rains over the remaining 21 days of the trip.
The Lexan headlight protector from Cee Bailey absorbed a ton of bug and rock damage and kept the $500 headlight lens intact. Good investment, but now unnecessary for normal roads.
The Fenda Extenda did a great job of keeping rocks from damaging the radiator on the BMW, but was eventually chewed away by gravel and road debris.
This is the front of the right pannier on the BMW. Most of the forward-facing components on both bikes took a few chips and nicks from the gravel sections of road. Interestingly the Dalton Highway, which was my biggest concern going into the trip, was mostly asphalt or dirt and has relatively few sections of loose gravel.
The is the front-right side of the Drifter's fuel tank.
The left fork-slider on the front of the Drifter took at least one hit from a rock large enough to bend the upper cover. The resulting dent left a stripe where the two parts now scrape against each other as the suspension flexes.
My normal reaction to chips and scrapes on the bikes would be to start ordering replacement parts for the damaged components, but at this point I'm more inclined to take a few weekends to clean the bikes up, repair the Drifter's fork slider, remove the fender extension on the BMW and view the remaining dings as a Badge of Honor from our adventure.

Thank you Christopher for taking three weeks out to join me on this adventure. I truly enjoyed your company, your sense of humor, and your writing!

Thank you Kaytie, for lending me your husband even though it placed you thousands of miles apart on your second anniversary.

Thank you Rick for assembling all of the research and reservations along the way.

Thank you FC, Scott, and Biju for flying up to Alaska and joining us for the final miles to Arctic Circle. Good friends are hard to come by, and you are some of the very best.

Thank you Nita, for fostering the dream of this trip and encouraging me to "find a way" when plans changed and and success looked unlikely. Your love and support make each day a treasure.