Florida to Alaska and Back on a Honda CBR125R

A 65-year-old man from Windsor, Ontario, Canada is attempting a cross-continent ride from Key West, Fla., to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and back, on a Honda CBR125R.

Bob Munden of Windsor is attempting to set the record for the smallest motorcycle to make the trip from the southernmost accessible point in North America to the northernmost point, and back. A print shop owner with a stable of five motorcycles, Munden will attempt the trip on the 124.7cc single-cylinder four-stroke Honda CBR125R, an entry-level sportbike model Honda offers in Canada.

Munden’s eighth-liter CBR is specially modified for the trip with extra fuel storage and plenty of additional storage for food and water, emergency gear, tools, camping gear and clothing for both warm and cold weather riding. All lighting except for turn signals have been converted to low-energy LED lights so that he’d have enough power for to heat his vest and gloves.

The cross-continent tour, dubbed the Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge by the long-distance motorcycle riding organization the Iron Butt Association. Munden will follow the Iron Butt Association’s rules, using the same motorcycle for the entire ride and stopping for gas at least once every 400 miles. Each one-way journey must also be completed in 30 days or less.

The entire two-way trip will span over 15,000 miles and will include a side trip on the return trek from Prudhoe Bay to Hyder, Alaska, to complete the Iron Butt Association’s inaugural Alaska North South Insanity challenge and become the first to ride across Alaska from north to south on a motorcycle. And if that isn’t long enough, Munden still needs to get to Key West from Windsor.

“It’s a challenge, like any other thing. Climbing a mountain. Running a marathon,” Munden told the Windsor Star. “There’s a personal sense of satisfaction, like any other sport, when you accomplish something, especially when you accomplish something nobody’s done.”

Munden will be accompanied by fellow Windsor resident Charles Fider who will ride a 1982 BMW R100RT motorcycle with about 250,000 miles on the odometer. Fider will be trying to set the record for the oldest motorcycle to make the trip. (EDIT: thanks to the reader Gord, who pointed out the R1200RT didn’t exist in 1982. Fider is actually riding a R100RT)

To follow Munden on his journey, visit http://tinyurl.com/bobmunden for GPS satellite tracking via Spot Navigation Tracker beginning June 1 when he plans to leave Windsor.

[Source: Windsor Star, Bob Munden’s blog]

By Dennis Chung