Alaska Trip – Texas Stem Cell

The soft hum of two motorcycles drifted down the Alaska Highway, entering the Arctic Circle. Green grass and soaring mountains surrounded the pale grey road. These men were a long way from Texas, but had just embarked on of the most memorable journey of their lifetime.

The familiar saying Practice what you preach comes to mind when thinking of Tyler, Texas physician, Dr. David Fletcher. With an office dedicated to helping patients live younger, Doc Fletcher follows his own advice. In July of 2011, he, along with long-time friend, Tim King, embarked on an adventure of which most souls could only dream. A motorcycle ride across the states, ending at the beautiful Arctic Circle.

The men had pointed their bikes north out of East Texas on the sixth of July, traveling a total of two weeks toward the Arctic Circle. The men would not see the tall green pines of East Texas again until their return on the fifth of August.

Docs passion for thrills started out at a young age while growing up in Waco. His father owned a Cushman dealership, quickly sparking the interest of the young boy in two-wheel locomotion.

When I was little, my daddy owned a Cushman dealership; I cut my teeth on those things when I was just a kid, Doc said with a reminiscing tone. I raced motocross for a number of years, then I quit when I was about 40. His love for pushing the limit didnt stop there; he then took up long-distance running.

About a year ago, I got to thinking, Doc said. At my age, it would be fun to try to go to the Arctic Circle and back.

They did just that. Doc and his long-time cowboy friend Tim King took off on a 10,000-mile trip, traveling up through Colorado, Yellowstone and then up through Canada, passing through a number of national parks and forests. The bikes roared on up British Columbia and then through the Yukon Territory. The sights the men witnessed were breathtaking, and at times, terrifying. The mens original plan was to camp out Gunsmoke cowboy style at night, but they quickly changed their minds.

We were going to camp out, but by the time we got to Colorado where it was cool enough to camp, it started raining. It rained for the next seven days solid, and by that time we had seen so many darn bears, and there were all kinds of reports in the paper about these bears eating people. We decided that if our wives would keep on paying the visa bill, wed try to find a place to stay that was on the inside, Doc laughingly said.

Bears wouldnt be the only things the men needed to keep a watchful eye for. During their first homeward bound day of traveling, Docs BMW motorcycle skidded off a cliff. He and the bike went end over end down toward the Chilkoot River 500 feet below.

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Alaska Trip - Texas Stem Cell