Day’s distance: 271 miles
Total trip distance: 3,613 miles

Sunny skies with afternoon clouds and temperatures in the 60s and 70s, it was a beautiful day for a ride out to Seward, a coastal town south of Anchorage.

With my schedule continuing to overlap that of the trio Dennis, Steven and Isabelle, we met up in the morning to ride to Seward together with one proviso.  Steven’s KTM may need new fork seals and Dennis’ front wheel may need rebalanced.

The Anchorage BMW/KTM dealer was nearby and our first stop once we departed the hotel. I took the opportunity to pick up a liter of oil for my bike on arriving at the shop.

I also discovered the GS with the broken drive shaft that I came upon in Yukon with a broken shaft had been repaired at this shop and was now ready.  Apparently Gary got a ride all the way into Anchorage with the two guys who picked him up in the truck. He rented his own truck and trailer and drove back, some 450 miles, to get his bike and trailer it here, to Anchorage, for repairs. Good for him!

The bad news was that the shop wanted to keep both Dennis’ and Steven’s bikes for the day. I would ride to Seward alone.

The ride down to Seward took about two hours. The roads were in good shape and, while there was traffic, it was fast moving. Alaska Hwy 1 travels south along the bay.

It starts out scenic and just continues to impress as the mountains get closer.

The water gets shallow and is eventually replaced by large mud flats as I reach the town of Portage. The satellite image of the map shows these clearly.

From Portage, Hwy 1 weaves through some glacial canyons and between some very beautiful country.

Summit Lake and other small bodies of water add to the beauty. The photo below a home located on Lower Summit Lake.

As Hwy 1 continues to Homer, I turned on Hwy 9 to Seward. On my arrival, I topped off the tank with premium and found the Sea Bean Cafe and stopped for lunch.

I can recommend their coffee and the Quinoa and Kale salad.

Afterwards, I rode around the small town, focusing on the waterfront.

The information on the boards mention miners blazing trails from Seward to gold fields in Central and Western Alaska. A system of pack and sled trails, wagon roads and railroad beds became the famous Iditarod Trail.

Obviously, some folks arrive these days by cruise ship.

Before returning to Anchorage, I took a quick ride to see the Exit Glacier, inside the Kenai Fjords National Park.

The current size of the glacier is much smaller than in the past, but still impressive.

Signs are located in the park that indicate the past boundaries of the glacier. Here’s one from the year 1899 with the Exit Glacier in the background above it, approximately two miles away.

On my return to the hotel, I met up with the gang of three from Los Angeles and we walked to the 49th State Brewery for dinner.

I sampled two different ales with my Yak burger. The place was crowded, and the photo only shows one of the four or five floors to this place. We talked again for hours before heading back to the hotel.

Tomorrow I head back to Tok along Hwy 1 north. It will be my last full day in Alaska.