Wednesdy 12th August
Waterton to Bigfork
Well here it is the "Good o'l US of A", yes I know Alaska is USA as well but this is the "lower 48". We had a short 20 mile ride to the "Chief Mountain" border and a very painless crossing, a quick check of the passport and it was done. Another 40 miles saw us in the Glacier National Park and on the "Going to the Sun" road, it was anything but, donning the water proofs the road climbs the mountain pass here and is a well used road by tourists and bikers. However the weather was not good for us, we had had good weather all the way up till now, but low cloud hid the reportedly spectacular view and road works made the journey treachourous, travelling over mud and dirt in places while having to stop for the road works for up to 20 minutes. I ended up cold and wet. The weather improved after the pass and we passed large lakes in a wooded area, the route staying the the country side avoiding any big cities and towns.
Miles
Today : 138
Total : 4354
_______________________________________
Thursday 13th Auust
Bigfork to gardiner
Miles
Today : 369.9
Total : 4723.9
_______________________________________
Friday 14th August
Gardiner to Old Faithful (Yellowstone)
Miles
Today : 115.8
Total 4839.7
_______________________________________
Saturday 15th August
Old Faithful (Yellowstone) to Cody
US President Visits Old Faithful
Miles
Today : 273.9
Total : 4839.7
_______________________________________
Sunday 16th August
Cody (day off)
Miles
Today : 0
Total :
_______________________________________
Moday 17th August
Cody to Vernal
Miles
Today : 396.8
Total : 5510.4
_______________________________________
Tuesday 18th August
Moab
(Day off)
Visit Arches National Park
Miles
Today : 72
Total : 5583.4
_______________________________________
Thursday 20th August
Moab to Mesa Verde
Went to the Canyon lands National park (Island in the sky) the veiws were spectular as this plateau stands above all the others affording an incredible view fo all the canyons in the area.
Miles
Today : 370
Total : 5953.4
_______________________________________
Friday 21st August
Mesa Verde to Mexican Hat
Miles
Today : 250
Total : 6203.4
_______________________________________
Saturday 22 August
Mexican hat to Jacobs Lake ( Grand Canyon)
Miles
Today : 290
Total : 6493.4
_______________________________________
Sunday 23 August
Day off - Visit Grand Canyon
No tourists on this dirt road into Grand Canyon North rim, 30 miles to get to entrance then 61 miles of hard off road in, 3 hours to get in with damp sand pits and exposed rock near the end. But the hard riding was worth it as we got right to the edge of the 3000 foot cliff and a veiw few people will ever see. We still had to ride the same way back out!
Miles
Today : 182
Total : 6675.4
_______________________________________
Monday 24 August
Jacobs Lake to Tucson
This is along hard and hot ride, the first part of the Journey (120 miles) was as a group all the bikes running in formation, as we started early (kick stands up at 6.00am) we all stopped for breakfast. After this another 200 miles was done as normal everyone breaking up into smaller groups. The final run was again as a group this was hard as the temperature soared to 42 deg's as and the scenery changed to partial desert, the large cacti appearing suddenly. We arrived in Tuscon but it still took an hour to get to the centre as the city is spralled out over a large area, finially arriving at the hotel we all just got showers food and then straight to sleep.
Miles
Today : 472
Total : 7147.4
_______________________________________
Tuesday 25 August to 29 August
Tucson
Servicing and Prep for Mexican Boarder Crossing.
Miles
Today : 40
Total : 7187.4
Saturday 29 August 2009
Canada - BC and Alberta
Friday 7th August
Stewart to Prince George
This was a long day we had to simply ride, there was little time to stop and admire the scenery. I did notice the increase in traffic as we moved out of the wilderness areas into more populated areas. The woodland became occasionally dotted with small farms/ranches and horses appeared in fenced areas.
Miles
Today : 436
Total : 3279
_______________________________________
Saturday 8th August
Prince George to Jasper
This day we moved out of BC and into Albert also changing time zones, losing an hour, GMT -7.00 . This was a great ride moving out of the busy areas arround Prince Goerge into the Canadian rockies, each turn of the road brought more spectacular scenery. This included Mount Robson towering over the road, white tops apeared on the moutain as he weather got a little cooler. Moving into Jasper National Park we arrived in Jasper, a small but popular tourist town that feel strange when you have been in less well visited areas for a while.
Miles
Today : 259
Total : 3538
_______________________________________
Sunday 9th August
Jasper (Day Off)
A chance to catch up with washing clothes and bike maintenance, also to try and fix both the Still camera and the Video Camera. I managed to get the Video Camera working, and an adapter for the "Mini" SD card so I can now read the video files direct to my computer. I took the stills camera to a local Panasonic deals, they checked the computer and could not find the fault listed and told me to send it back to Panasonic. I will have to do that tomorrow as it's Sunday and the post office is closed. One of the other participants have loaned me a spare camera to keep me going till Tucson.
Miles
Today : 0
Total : 3538
_______________________________________
Monday 10th August
Jasper to Radium Hot Springs
This started off with me going to the post office to send the Camera back to the UK. After this I started on the road, briefly stopping to do some bouldering in an area suggested by the local climbing shop. This was excellent as the two very large boulders were surrounded by sand, meaning I didn't need a mat. I moved on after lunch to the Athabascar region, glaciers and such, when I had a problem, I had stopped in a lay-by to put a warm layer on, later down the road I realised I had not got my back pack on. Knowing where I had left it I turned around to ride back for it, I hadn't realised how far it was and when I got there the backpack had gone, probably picked up by some well meaning traveller. I turned around started the ride to radium Springs, this had all cost more than an hour and a half (50 miles each way) and i was now very late. Pressing on past lake Louise just stopping for fuel, it started to go dark, I had to use all my extra lights as deer are known to cause accidents frequently here. I had to dodge a few but made it to the Hot Springs late about 10.30, quick shower, coffee and bed putting an end to a bad day, I had lost some important stuff in the bag.
Miles
Today : 344
Total : 3882
_______________________________________
Tuesday 11 th August
Radium Hot Springs to Waterton
This ride moved us away from the big mountains into flat plains with mountains on the horizon, we stopped for lunch by the claimed Worlds largest Truck. It was huge one of those trucks used for open cast mining. Pressing on towards the end of the ride was a 30 mile side run to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. This is where the ancient native Indians would run herds of Buffalo off the cliff to use as food and materials. The museum was interesting in itself as it is partially buried in the cliff minimising the impact of the building. the whole area is a flat plain except these 20 meter high cliffs with a shallow dip at the top creating the perfect conditions for Buffalo jumps. At the end of the ride was Waterton, just inside a national park we had to pay to get in !
Miles
Today : 334
Total : 4216
Stewart to Prince George
This was a long day we had to simply ride, there was little time to stop and admire the scenery. I did notice the increase in traffic as we moved out of the wilderness areas into more populated areas. The woodland became occasionally dotted with small farms/ranches and horses appeared in fenced areas.
Miles
Today : 436
Total : 3279
_______________________________________
Saturday 8th August
Prince George to Jasper
This day we moved out of BC and into Albert also changing time zones, losing an hour, GMT -7.00 . This was a great ride moving out of the busy areas arround Prince Goerge into the Canadian rockies, each turn of the road brought more spectacular scenery. This included Mount Robson towering over the road, white tops apeared on the moutain as he weather got a little cooler. Moving into Jasper National Park we arrived in Jasper, a small but popular tourist town that feel strange when you have been in less well visited areas for a while.
Miles
Today : 259
Total : 3538
_______________________________________
Sunday 9th August
Jasper (Day Off)
A chance to catch up with washing clothes and bike maintenance, also to try and fix both the Still camera and the Video Camera. I managed to get the Video Camera working, and an adapter for the "Mini" SD card so I can now read the video files direct to my computer. I took the stills camera to a local Panasonic deals, they checked the computer and could not find the fault listed and told me to send it back to Panasonic. I will have to do that tomorrow as it's Sunday and the post office is closed. One of the other participants have loaned me a spare camera to keep me going till Tucson.
Miles
Today : 0
Total : 3538
_______________________________________
Monday 10th August
Jasper to Radium Hot Springs
This started off with me going to the post office to send the Camera back to the UK. After this I started on the road, briefly stopping to do some bouldering in an area suggested by the local climbing shop. This was excellent as the two very large boulders were surrounded by sand, meaning I didn't need a mat. I moved on after lunch to the Athabascar region, glaciers and such, when I had a problem, I had stopped in a lay-by to put a warm layer on, later down the road I realised I had not got my back pack on. Knowing where I had left it I turned around to ride back for it, I hadn't realised how far it was and when I got there the backpack had gone, probably picked up by some well meaning traveller. I turned around started the ride to radium Springs, this had all cost more than an hour and a half (50 miles each way) and i was now very late. Pressing on past lake Louise just stopping for fuel, it started to go dark, I had to use all my extra lights as deer are known to cause accidents frequently here. I had to dodge a few but made it to the Hot Springs late about 10.30, quick shower, coffee and bed putting an end to a bad day, I had lost some important stuff in the bag.
Miles
Today : 344
Total : 3882
_______________________________________
Tuesday 11 th August
Radium Hot Springs to Waterton
This ride moved us away from the big mountains into flat plains with mountains on the horizon, we stopped for lunch by the claimed Worlds largest Truck. It was huge one of those trucks used for open cast mining. Pressing on towards the end of the ride was a 30 mile side run to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. This is where the ancient native Indians would run herds of Buffalo off the cliff to use as food and materials. The museum was interesting in itself as it is partially buried in the cliff minimising the impact of the building. the whole area is a flat plain except these 20 meter high cliffs with a shallow dip at the top creating the perfect conditions for Buffalo jumps. At the end of the ride was Waterton, just inside a national park we had to pay to get in !
Miles
Today : 334
Total : 4216
Canada - Yukon
Sunday 2nd August
Beaver Creek to Haines Junction
We started early at 9.00am and as we were now on Canadian time 1 hour ahead we had lost an hours sleep. I joined the group going on the dirt trail, one of the guys (Kenny) had his top box come off and it skated down the road like a puck on ice, no damage even though it is plastic.
The dirt trail was 20 miles long, and a lot tougher than the dirt roads we had been riding so far, some of the wet/water sections were very hairy, the bike sliding sideways, it caught out Ed who dropped it in one of the muddy dips. 
At the end of it was a river some of us also opted to go along a side trail to what we were told was an native Indian burial site, though it looked like an abandoned village, very run down. Along this side road I dropped the bike while riding in a very deep and muddy rut, no damage to me or the bike except my pride. The way back was the way we had come in, so another 20 miles of this trail and we were back on the road travelling the wilds of the Yukon in some fantastic scenery, the road sweeping through mountains and around lakes, though a thick haze from the forest fires in the north obscured the views somewhat. 
Mid morning saw us stopping at a café run by a couple in their late 70’s. A real set of characters, with a great banter between them, having spent some time listening to them we had to reluctantly move on.
Miles
Today : 219
Total : 2053
_______________________________________
Monday 3rd August
Haines Junction to Watson Lake (Nugget City)
This ride started once again in great scenery in the upper potion of the Yukon, wending our way through mountains, forests and around lakes. I deviated into the town of Whitehorse to try to buy a soldering iron, the video system had failed due to the usb/power connector breaking and falling inside the unit. As I rode on the scenery was still marred by the smoke from the many forest fires, though hints of high mountains were just visible, about 200 miles down the road, just before Teslin is the Tlingit heritage museum. This is a museum of native American art and culture displaying a wide variety of exhibits and includes an area where they hand carve canoes out of single tree trunks. Having reached the hotel, Nugget city and unloaded the bike, I then rode on to Watson lake where there is the signpost forest, a fantastic area of posts which many travellers have covered in a huge variety of signs some personal some funny some just road signs. Although I had heard of this place it needs to be visited to be appreciate it and I left my own sign (Beerbaron Transam 09) on a small piece of wood at the foot of the post as I did not have a nail and hammer, I hope it stays there!.
Miles
Today : 389
Total : 2442
_______________________________________
Tuesday 4th August
Watson Lake (Nugget City) to Bell II lodge
This has to be one of the best biking roads in the world, The Stewart Cassiar Highway, almost 300 miles some 30 on dirt, no turn off's, and lots of sweeping bends, the weather was good, cold in morning but warming up in the later afternoon. I stopped midday at a café/restaurant (with the others for food, had a very nice bowl of soup. I wonder how these small stop off towns survive with little traffic even in summer, as the dirt sections still put off the normal tourists.
Miles
Today : 298
Total : 2740
_______________________________________
Wednesday 5th August
Bell II Lodge to Stewart
Short run from Bell II lodge Bell to Stewart, started late by our standards, breakfast at 8.45, ready to roll about 10.am. The run was leisurely, behind Nick, a very disciplined rider. Some spectacular scenery had us stopping often to take photos as I thought we had seen the best of it. Each stop was more spectacular than the last, as we rode over the brow of a hill into another valley what awaited us was mid boggling, I think I said out loud “wow” as the road skirted a mountain and overlooked a brown muddy lake, but the back drop was incredible, a huge glacier white, blue, green hanging off the side of the mountain feeding this lake. A number of others on the expedition had stopped also for photos and we stopped to drink cups of tea and remark on the scenery. (Very English)
Miles
Today : 103
Total : 2843
Beaver Creek to Haines Junction
We started early at 9.00am and as we were now on Canadian time 1 hour ahead we had lost an hours sleep. I joined the group going on the dirt trail, one of the guys (Kenny) had his top box come off and it skated down the road like a puck on ice, no damage even though it is plastic.
The dirt trail was 20 miles long, and a lot tougher than the dirt roads we had been riding so far, some of the wet/water sections were very hairy, the bike sliding sideways, it caught out Ed who dropped it in one of the muddy dips. 
At the end of it was a river some of us also opted to go along a side trail to what we were told was an native Indian burial site, though it looked like an abandoned village, very run down. Along this side road I dropped the bike while riding in a very deep and muddy rut, no damage to me or the bike except my pride. The way back was the way we had come in, so another 20 miles of this trail and we were back on the road travelling the wilds of the Yukon in some fantastic scenery, the road sweeping through mountains and around lakes, though a thick haze from the forest fires in the north obscured the views somewhat. 
Mid morning saw us stopping at a café run by a couple in their late 70’s. A real set of characters, with a great banter between them, having spent some time listening to them we had to reluctantly move on.Miles
Today : 219
Total : 2053
_______________________________________
Monday 3rd August
Haines Junction to Watson Lake (Nugget City)
This ride started once again in great scenery in the upper potion of the Yukon, wending our way through mountains, forests and around lakes. I deviated into the town of Whitehorse to try to buy a soldering iron, the video system had failed due to the usb/power connector breaking and falling inside the unit. As I rode on the scenery was still marred by the smoke from the many forest fires, though hints of high mountains were just visible, about 200 miles down the road, just before Teslin is the Tlingit heritage museum. This is a museum of native American art and culture displaying a wide variety of exhibits and includes an area where they hand carve canoes out of single tree trunks. Having reached the hotel, Nugget city and unloaded the bike, I then rode on to Watson lake where there is the signpost forest, a fantastic area of posts which many travellers have covered in a huge variety of signs some personal some funny some just road signs. Although I had heard of this place it needs to be visited to be appreciate it and I left my own sign (Beerbaron Transam 09) on a small piece of wood at the foot of the post as I did not have a nail and hammer, I hope it stays there!.
Miles
Today : 389
Total : 2442
_______________________________________
Tuesday 4th August
Watson Lake (Nugget City) to Bell II lodge
This has to be one of the best biking roads in the world, The Stewart Cassiar Highway, almost 300 miles some 30 on dirt, no turn off's, and lots of sweeping bends, the weather was good, cold in morning but warming up in the later afternoon. I stopped midday at a café/restaurant (with the others for food, had a very nice bowl of soup. I wonder how these small stop off towns survive with little traffic even in summer, as the dirt sections still put off the normal tourists.
Miles
Today : 298
Total : 2740
_______________________________________
Wednesday 5th August
Bell II Lodge to Stewart
Short run from Bell II lodge Bell to Stewart, started late by our standards, breakfast at 8.45, ready to roll about 10.am. The run was leisurely, behind Nick, a very disciplined rider. Some spectacular scenery had us stopping often to take photos as I thought we had seen the best of it. Each stop was more spectacular than the last, as we rode over the brow of a hill into another valley what awaited us was mid boggling, I think I said out loud “wow” as the road skirted a mountain and overlooked a brown muddy lake, but the back drop was incredible, a huge glacier white, blue, green hanging off the side of the mountain feeding this lake. A number of others on the expedition had stopped also for photos and we stopped to drink cups of tea and remark on the scenery. (Very English)
Miles
Today : 103
Total : 2843
It's all going South!
Deadhorse to Coldfoot,
Thursday 30th July
This is it, the real start, we go from here to the very tip of South America in Argentina, an incredible thought. The road out of Deadhorse is better now they haven’t sprayed it with water, so we all make good time running at speed on the compacted road which feels more like tarmac, as we near the mountain pass , myself and Paul are in front when he suddenly slows, as I stop I find out why. He had spotted a bike in the grass below the road, it’s a Harley. The bike is bent out of shape with plastic bags on some of the kit, a pick-up turns up a few minutes later and we find out from the driver, it’s the Brazilian guy we were talking to the night before.
He has been flown to Anchorage and is alive but not well, and the bike is a write-off, a sobering thought, but he was driving a Harley with road tyres on this treacherous road, while we all have dual purpose bikes with full off road tyres on the front and semi off-road on the back. We continued on a little more soberly to the Atigun pass where most of us stopped for lunch, me at the top, the rest below, so I went back down for a cup of tea! The road continued with lots of great scenery, later in the afternoon 
I stopped at a river crossing and took photos, but just before the off I decided to take another photo and my camera reported system error and has not worked since, I had picked the Panasonic FT1 for it’s ruggedness so I was very disappointed having had it only 2 weeks and only 4 days into the trip. After using my spare fuel we arrived back in Coldfoot, later at diner another rider arrived, it was Ian Neville (Yorkshire bloke) who has travelled 141000 miles around the world on his bike and is still going, started in Ushuaia 6 years ago! and only now just arrived. I’m not sure I could spare that amount of time for an overland trip.
Miles
Today : 244
Total : 1124
_______________________________________
Friday 31st July
Coldfoot to Delta Junction
Long hard slog, 178 miles of dirt road, which was very enjoyable despite the smoke from Forest fires obscuring the scenery. I had wanted to find someone to fix the camera so asked Jeff (support van) to take it with him into Fairbanks. The last section of road was long and very straight, a full 15 to 20 mile straight stretch on the run into Delta Junction without any bends at all. Delta Junction was a one street town with little in the way of shops, when Jeff returned he had had no success with the camera so I am stuck without a camera, sorry no pictures, at least I have the on-bike video system.
Miles
Today : 350
Total : 1474
_______________________________________
Saturday 1st August
Delta Junction to Beaver Creak
We are due to cross the border into Canada today but not before an excursion to a town called
Chicken turning off the main road, this was part dirt part rough tarmac, a the end was the town of Chicken an old gold mining town, with displays of old mining and panning gear, 
There was also a huge old dredger beached up the hill high and dry, which used to work the river below for gold. After this was another long slog to the boarder, the American customs just wave you through, the Canadian border customs was about 15 miles down the road, leaving this stretch a sort of no-man's land between, although in Canada. The border crossing was very a quick, a quick look at my Passport and waved though and into Canada and the Yukon territory. Very much still a wilderness area like Alaska, long roads without towns and fantastic scenery, but the tree starting to get taller with more foliage. 
We rolled into the town of Beaver creek which turned out quite lively, having a great pub, complete with pool table, so we ended up with an impromptu "night out" playing pool and drinking some of the very nice local beers (not all lager). I have some pictures now due to another member of the expedition lending me his spare camera, thanks go to Paul.
Miles
Today : 360
Total : 1834
Thursday 30th July
This is it, the real start, we go from here to the very tip of South America in Argentina, an incredible thought. The road out of Deadhorse is better now they haven’t sprayed it with water, so we all make good time running at speed on the compacted road which feels more like tarmac, as we near the mountain pass , myself and Paul are in front when he suddenly slows, as I stop I find out why. He had spotted a bike in the grass below the road, it’s a Harley. The bike is bent out of shape with plastic bags on some of the kit, a pick-up turns up a few minutes later and we find out from the driver, it’s the Brazilian guy we were talking to the night before.
He has been flown to Anchorage and is alive but not well, and the bike is a write-off, a sobering thought, but he was driving a Harley with road tyres on this treacherous road, while we all have dual purpose bikes with full off road tyres on the front and semi off-road on the back. We continued on a little more soberly to the Atigun pass where most of us stopped for lunch, me at the top, the rest below, so I went back down for a cup of tea! The road continued with lots of great scenery, later in the afternoon 
I stopped at a river crossing and took photos, but just before the off I decided to take another photo and my camera reported system error and has not worked since, I had picked the Panasonic FT1 for it’s ruggedness so I was very disappointed having had it only 2 weeks and only 4 days into the trip. After using my spare fuel we arrived back in Coldfoot, later at diner another rider arrived, it was Ian Neville (Yorkshire bloke) who has travelled 141000 miles around the world on his bike and is still going, started in Ushuaia 6 years ago! and only now just arrived. I’m not sure I could spare that amount of time for an overland trip.Miles
Today : 244
Total : 1124
_______________________________________
Friday 31st July
Coldfoot to Delta Junction
Long hard slog, 178 miles of dirt road, which was very enjoyable despite the smoke from Forest fires obscuring the scenery. I had wanted to find someone to fix the camera so asked Jeff (support van) to take it with him into Fairbanks. The last section of road was long and very straight, a full 15 to 20 mile straight stretch on the run into Delta Junction without any bends at all. Delta Junction was a one street town with little in the way of shops, when Jeff returned he had had no success with the camera so I am stuck without a camera, sorry no pictures, at least I have the on-bike video system.
Miles
Today : 350
Total : 1474
_______________________________________
Saturday 1st August
Delta Junction to Beaver Creak
We are due to cross the border into Canada today but not before an excursion to a town called
Chicken turning off the main road, this was part dirt part rough tarmac, a the end was the town of Chicken an old gold mining town, with displays of old mining and panning gear, 
There was also a huge old dredger beached up the hill high and dry, which used to work the river below for gold. After this was another long slog to the boarder, the American customs just wave you through, the Canadian border customs was about 15 miles down the road, leaving this stretch a sort of no-man's land between, although in Canada. The border crossing was very a quick, a quick look at my Passport and waved though and into Canada and the Yukon territory. Very much still a wilderness area like Alaska, long roads without towns and fantastic scenery, but the tree starting to get taller with more foliage. 
We rolled into the town of Beaver creek which turned out quite lively, having a great pub, complete with pool table, so we ended up with an impromptu "night out" playing pool and drinking some of the very nice local beers (not all lager). I have some pictures now due to another member of the expedition lending me his spare camera, thanks go to Paul.Miles
Today : 360
Total : 1834
Sunday 9 August 2009
A Pause for thought and a swim
Wednesday 29th
Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay)
This was a day off the bikes, the town is here solely for the oil industry and looks like an oil terminal, there is nothing of a real town, only one shop/hardware store /post office and one hotel mostly catering to oil workers not tourists. I spent time buying bits and pieces and posting cards. We then went on the tour to Prudhoe bay itself, the only way to the Arctic Ocean is by the tour bus operated by the oil company, when we arrived, we all took the opportunity to swim in the Arctic Ocean, by tradition we had to skinny dip (not a pretty sight)! it was also very cold !!! but a great laugh and making the start of the journey south, some feeling this was the proper start or our journey.
I also had stayed up late the previous evening to witness the midnight sun, it does not set here in the Arctic circle very strange.
Miles
Today : 0
Total : 880
Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay)
This was a day off the bikes, the town is here solely for the oil industry and looks like an oil terminal, there is nothing of a real town, only one shop/hardware store /post office and one hotel mostly catering to oil workers not tourists. I spent time buying bits and pieces and posting cards. We then went on the tour to Prudhoe bay itself, the only way to the Arctic Ocean is by the tour bus operated by the oil company, when we arrived, we all took the opportunity to swim in the Arctic Ocean, by tradition we had to skinny dip (not a pretty sight)! it was also very cold !!! but a great laugh and making the start of the journey south, some feeling this was the proper start or our journey.
I also had stayed up late the previous evening to witness the midnight sun, it does not set here in the Arctic circle very strange.Miles
Today : 0
Total : 880
Monday 3 August 2009
The Journey North continues
Monday 27th July;
Fairbanks to Coldfoot
Started early and made some changes to bike, namely moving the fuel can from the side to the top on the pillion seat at the suggestion of the more experienced riders. I put the tool kit on the side tray to keep the weight down low as we were to riding dirt roads today. We started early, 8.30 am and rode out of Fairbanks and along Highway 3, we stopped at the oil pipeline display area where the actual trans-Alaskan pipeline was visible. We then rode most of the morning on normal roads till getting to the turn off to the "Haul" road or Dalton Highway, which was only fully opened to the public in 1994. This is when the proper dirt roads start and I took it easy to start as I needed to get used to riding with full panniers. The initial part of the road had a lot of gravel sections where the bike would get loose sliding sideways in an unnerving way, the road the improved and I could up the speed at points getting up to 60/70 on the better sections. Some of the road was paved though this would lull you into a false sense of security as regular patches of the road would suddenly be gravel or very bumpy tarmac. The road continued through some fantastic scenery, till we got to the Yukon River crossing were we took more photos, had lunch and re-fuelled. After lunch we continued along the road remaining as part dirt and part tarmac, until we got to the Arctic circle, marked by a small stopping area and a large sign, again we stopped for group photos and a cup of tea. It was surprising how many people were driving this part of the road, tourists and such but a lot of bikes were travelling in the opposite direction, obviously having been to the end of the road and back. The most surprising thing were the numbers of large low ride custom style Harleys and GoldWings travelling on these difficult roads.
After the Arctic circle we made the 70 more miles to Coldfoot, our stop for the night, little more than a collection of porta-cabins and a fuel station (two pumps in the rough gravel area in front of the main shop and dining unit). We stayed in the cabins some distance across the parking area for trucks, the rooms being very small but at least clean.
Miles
Today : 266
Total : 636
_______________________________________
Tuesday 28th
Coldfoot to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay)
I had to start early 8.00 as the next section of dirt road was to be more difficult, having fuelled up the bike the previous evening and filled the two 5 litre cans, strapped to the pillion area on my bike, started out on the 240 miles to Deadhourse on the shore of Prudhoe Bay. There is nothing between and so we have to have enough fuel to get the distance, there are no stops, no shops, nothing. The road started OK as before, but soon got more difficult with more gravel around and no tarmac, there were a lot of large trucks hauling stuff to and from Deadhorse, as they passed they had a habit of throwing large rocks my way, I had to duck many of these as I think they would have made a severe dent I my helmet! We all met up just before the Atigun pass were we put on the thermal clothes and linings as we were warned that it could be cold. The Atigun pass goes up to 4500 feet, it was also wet and muddy so the climb up was especially difficult and slow with the bike sliding about, once over the temperature rose and we had to take off the warm gear. The weather was pretty good to us and as we got more northerly it got warmer. The land flattened out and some miles along we met our first “graders”, this is the equivalent of laying tarmac, but using dirt instead, then tip load of dirt and soil and then compact it, to keep the road above the Arctic tundra. I met the roadwork first and had to follow the “pilot car” we stopped for a while and then had to move to the other side of the road, however the other side was a least 2 feet higher, bounded by a soft earth bank that had just been tipped there. As I rode the bike up the bank the front wheel dug in and the back could not get traction, so down I went. No damage just a dent and scratch on the panniers, and a lot of embarrassment. The rest of the ride was OK for me but for the last 5 miles the road had been sprayed with water and was treacherous. One of our riders came off at 30 mph and damaged his pannier and his wrist though not broken. Deadhourse was not what I expected and looks like an Industrial work area rather than a town, all industrial complexes, containers, machinery and vehicles.
Miles
Today : 244
Total : 880
Fairbanks to Coldfoot
Started early and made some changes to bike, namely moving the fuel can from the side to the top on the pillion seat at the suggestion of the more experienced riders. I put the tool kit on the side tray to keep the weight down low as we were to riding dirt roads today. We started early, 8.30 am and rode out of Fairbanks and along Highway 3, we stopped at the oil pipeline display area where the actual trans-Alaskan pipeline was visible. We then rode most of the morning on normal roads till getting to the turn off to the "Haul" road or Dalton Highway, which was only fully opened to the public in 1994. This is when the proper dirt roads start and I took it easy to start as I needed to get used to riding with full panniers. The initial part of the road had a lot of gravel sections where the bike would get loose sliding sideways in an unnerving way, the road the improved and I could up the speed at points getting up to 60/70 on the better sections. Some of the road was paved though this would lull you into a false sense of security as regular patches of the road would suddenly be gravel or very bumpy tarmac. The road continued through some fantastic scenery, till we got to the Yukon River crossing were we took more photos, had lunch and re-fuelled. After lunch we continued along the road remaining as part dirt and part tarmac, until we got to the Arctic circle, marked by a small stopping area and a large sign, again we stopped for group photos and a cup of tea. It was surprising how many people were driving this part of the road, tourists and such but a lot of bikes were travelling in the opposite direction, obviously having been to the end of the road and back. The most surprising thing were the numbers of large low ride custom style Harleys and GoldWings travelling on these difficult roads.
After the Arctic circle we made the 70 more miles to Coldfoot, our stop for the night, little more than a collection of porta-cabins and a fuel station (two pumps in the rough gravel area in front of the main shop and dining unit). We stayed in the cabins some distance across the parking area for trucks, the rooms being very small but at least clean.
Miles
Today : 266
Total : 636
_______________________________________
Tuesday 28th
Coldfoot to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay)
I had to start early 8.00 as the next section of dirt road was to be more difficult, having fuelled up the bike the previous evening and filled the two 5 litre cans, strapped to the pillion area on my bike, started out on the 240 miles to Deadhourse on the shore of Prudhoe Bay. There is nothing between and so we have to have enough fuel to get the distance, there are no stops, no shops, nothing. The road started OK as before, but soon got more difficult with more gravel around and no tarmac, there were a lot of large trucks hauling stuff to and from Deadhorse, as they passed they had a habit of throwing large rocks my way, I had to duck many of these as I think they would have made a severe dent I my helmet! We all met up just before the Atigun pass were we put on the thermal clothes and linings as we were warned that it could be cold. The Atigun pass goes up to 4500 feet, it was also wet and muddy so the climb up was especially difficult and slow with the bike sliding about, once over the temperature rose and we had to take off the warm gear. The weather was pretty good to us and as we got more northerly it got warmer. The land flattened out and some miles along we met our first “graders”, this is the equivalent of laying tarmac, but using dirt instead, then tip load of dirt and soil and then compact it, to keep the road above the Arctic tundra. I met the roadwork first and had to follow the “pilot car” we stopped for a while and then had to move to the other side of the road, however the other side was a least 2 feet higher, bounded by a soft earth bank that had just been tipped there. As I rode the bike up the bank the front wheel dug in and the back could not get traction, so down I went. No damage just a dent and scratch on the panniers, and a lot of embarrassment. The rest of the ride was OK for me but for the last 5 miles the road had been sprayed with water and was treacherous. One of our riders came off at 30 mph and damaged his pannier and his wrist though not broken. Deadhourse was not what I expected and looks like an Industrial work area rather than a town, all industrial complexes, containers, machinery and vehicles.
Miles
Today : 244
Total : 880
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)