Normally I’m very excited and full of expectations on motorcycle trips, but this time I felt only the invigorating chill of inevitable adventure. We'd heard the tales of bike-swallowing mud, moose attacks and man-eating mosquitoes. It's also well known that on the Alaska Highway roadside assistance is performed mostly by grizzly bears, and if you happen to be unfortunate enough to require emergency medical services, the odds favored vultures over Life Flight by several hours.