Journey After a year of planning, carrying a handful of maps, an atlas and time with a friend, Rick McGovern is back in Highlands after completing the one thing he has wanted to do … ride his Harley from Highlands New Jersey to Alaska!
Rick rode 9,452 miles in 16 days, traveling ,more than 800 miles on three days and another 900 miles on two other days. He traveled through 14 states, British Columbia, the Yukon and two national parks. He also crossed one of the five Great Lakes. He did it all on a 2021 Harley Davidson CVO Ultra Limited, his third Harley in the 21 years since he first fell in love with motorcycling. Since then, and before this trip, he had ridden to 46 of the lower 48 states.
Through it all, Rick’s bike was terrific. Rick had no problems since he had a mechanic he knew and trusted to go over everything first. “No problems at all. My bike handled everything. I did add one quart of oil on the way home at about 9,000 miles.”
The reason for this trip was the quest of doing it,” Rick explained. I have ridden cross country six times, many people have. But from Highlands to Alaska! I don’t know anyone else who has done it. I have been to all of these states before, my first time to Alaska, but it was nice to go to different parts of them. I had been to Haines and Skagway, in Canada, but never in British Columbia or the Yukon.”
This month, when this dream of a lifetime trip now a reality, the retired special education teacher readily admits there are too many magnificent scenes and sites across North America to narrow it down to what is most magnificent. But when pressed, he admits putting the Sun Road at Glacier National Park in Montana, the Ice fields Parkway in Jasper National Park and every other beautiful mountain and glacier he saw as the most unforgettable places of natural beauty he has ever seen.
Besides the natural beauty for his eyes to absorb, there was a special treat for his smelling sense along the way as well, Rick said. “One of the surprises was on the Ice fields Highway; there was about a five-mile stretch where the pine trees were so thick it smelled like Christmas. I Loved that.”
But there was something more surprising and more amazing to Rick than even the wildlife, the experience, the smells, the weather and nature in so many different aspects.
It was the spiritual side of the trip. “All glory goes to God for the success of this trip. I can do nothing without Him. Where do I begin?”
“This trip changed my life with God,” Rick exclaimed. “ I felt I got much closer and looking to only grow closer. This trip really challenged my skills and a whole new appreciation for God’s beautiful works.”
“ The beauty of God’s country. The scenery was incredible. Mountains, glaciers, rivers, waterfalls valleys and sweeping beautiful roads with switchbacks and twisties. A blue sky that seemed to go on forever. The wildlife was wonderful too,” he continued, citing elk, caribou, bison, black bear, brown bear, grizzlies, wild horses, mountain goats, wolves and porcupines.
There were the two incidents when Rick and Marty once again called on God for protection. At one point, the pair stopped to put on rain gear. “When we got back on our bikes and pulled out, about 20 ft in front of us a good size grizzly came out of the woods moving fast in our direction. We kept going and later we pulled over to take off the gear.” But that time, he laughed, ”We took turns keeping watch.” Back on the road, about 50 ft in front of us a momma grizzly and two cubs came out of the woods, and she saw us on the bikes. But as we got closer the road stayed flat and the shoulder went up about 30 ft. We stopped and looked up at her. She didn’t care. She knew we were far enough away, but the cubs loved looking down at us. “ And yes, Rick filmed the encounter .
Rick left Highlands by himself, traveling 837 miles to Muskegon, Michigan to a ferry to Milwaukee where he met his friend Marty Herman. Marty had mapped out the trip from there to Alaska, and Rick mapped out the return trip.
However, about 20 miles outside of Alaska, Marty hit a 20 ft gravel patch in the road, a common problem that far north. He lost control and went down. He was okay and Rick explained that’s because “God sent us some angels to help out. “
Although the two bikers started every day with a prayer for safety, for weather, and in gratitude for all the beauty they were seeing, Marty admitted to being somewhat scared when he went down on his bike.
Both say it was truly a day their faith was tested. Marty said he called out to Jesus when he hit that patch and went off in the ditch and knew his bike was damaged pretty badly, yet he walked away with scrapes and pain. But that wasn’t the end of God’s intervention, both men said.
“Three different groups of people came to help. A pastor, a retired EMT and a motorcycle guy who had a truck and a flatbed trailer,” Rick recalls. “The thing about the motorcycle guy besides being kind and not taking any money, was that he told us for some reason he took this road instead of the other, one of only two roads out of Skagway. I know God sent him.”
He was even more convinced later when he also learned the biker took Marty to a hotel, picked him up the next day to go to the airport and Marty could leave his bike at the guy’s house.”
Still there was more, Rick continued. “This man has his own business and ships things down to the states. He shipped Marty’s bike to him. God came through so many times.”
After Marty’s fall and forced flight home without a motorcycle to ride, there were many little things that reminded Rick that even without Marty, he still had a riding companion. “ I continued my incredible journey home on my own. Just God and I.”
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