Alaska & Beyond, ptxvi

This was a thing that was accomplished, not a ride to the store. I only say this because I’m slightly amazed I made it. And I got to do it with people that were strangers a week ago, friends from here forward.

I need a beer…

July 10, 2019 (personal journal)

I got up really early today, like 8am early. Felt great, too. Still riding the accomplishment high I guess. 

Busted camp, ate, etc. All before the other two woke up. 

Sort of a weird day, just retracing our path. Nothing super eventful happened. Just kidding, things happened.

I don’t actually remember if it was before (most likely) or after (less likely) Yukon river, but Drew had a problem… obviously (Drew – I know you’re reading this, and there’s nothing but love here… mostly). He hit a bump pretty hard, causing his bike to shed everything strapped to it. The scene looked like a rummage sale on the Dalton. Not a great spot for it. I was wishing I had price stickers, though.

While things were being gathered I noticed water. All over the group, his left boot, and the side of his bike. Crap. Not good. It wasn’t actually water, it was coolant. Less good. Because we were in a bad spot (basically on a blind crest) I told Drew to limp to safer ground. It was there we learned the radiator was cracked. YAY!

It was before Yukon River I remember now. I know because he limped it in, his brother followed, and it allowed me to check a few side roads for fun.

In Yukon River Camp we formulated a plan… Drew would just ride, keep the bike from overheating, and Matt & I would eventually catch up. First we needed naps. Obviously. It turned into a fun ride out. I’d haul off, let Matt think he could catch me, and shatter his dreams. 

I have to say, though… he has become very confident, approaching fast, on the surfaces we’ve been running. For a guy with little to no gravel experience… it’s impressive. He’s also been really receptive to my input, so that’s neat.

We missed the fancy ‘Dalton Highway’ sign on the way in so stopped for pics this time. The smoke was getting really bad again. These fires are awful, literally burning along the road.

We’d heard of a brewery in Fox, just north of Fairbanks, so we stopped or food and beers. Not too bad, but I can’t think of the name. Going to rewind this morning real quick… to while we were waiting to go to Fairbanks. We met a guy (old crazy guy, looked like a miner sort of) that told us about some cabins in Fox. Steve (that’s his name) had been to Deadhorse, but didn’t get a sticker. Matt had an extra one for him. 

Back on track, said cabins happened to be across the street from the brewery, so I called. They had room. It was fairly cheap to sleep all three of us in two cabins. In.

It turns out they’re attached to a bar. They’re dry (no running water… plenty of booze), and the communal restrooms are sort of far. BUT! They’re attached to a bar!

Did some drinking. Closed down the bar. Made camp food in a thunderstorm. All totally normal, right?

Anchorage tomorrow…

Odo Start: 20,210
Odo End: 20,470
Daily Miles: 260
Cum. Miles: 5,907

P.S. Steve is here. He’s the self-proclaimed ambassador to the ‘Howling Dog Saloon’. Ralph owns it. He’s building a moto park. He has a lot of bikes. I sat on his BMW Paris-Dakar. So rad!

July 11, 2019 (originally on Facebook)

Today I went to Anchorage. Just kidding. I didn’t go anywhere. Still in Fairbanks. Still at the bar/cabins.

I did DO things, though. I “washed” the bike. I saw some pipe. Worked on a KLR a bit, sort of. I pointed at a few things. Fixed the hinges on my panniers.

Listening to music. Hanging out. Anchorage can wait for tomorrow.

I did decide that I’m going to Homer after Anchorage. End of another road.

Since not a lot happened today, I’m going to appease Jason’s request for more info on the rest of the people. I don’t have pics, or a lot of info, but here goes.

The four guys are all friends from Jersey originally. I met them in Carmacks, Yukon Territory.

Marshall lives in Colorado. Tuk is the ultimate destination.

Lukas lives in SLC. Tuk is also the goal.

Drew lives in Colorado. Roommate to Marshall. Brother to Matt. Tuk is cool, but Deadhorse is on the list.

Matt lives in Jersey. Rode from Key West. Deadhorse is the goal. Iron Butt challenge. Absolutely nuts. I mean, who the hell would go to Florida on purpose?

Anyhow, they were on a buddy trip I crashed. Luke & Marshall did the whole Dempster. Drew, Matt, and myself have stuck together through the rest of the ride.

That’s about that. Majority of our conversations have revolved around scooters, so not a huge amount to tell about each one. Plus, I’m not making a profile of each.

Have a great night, friends.

July 11, 2019 (personal journal)

The original plan was to head to Anchorage today, but that didn’t happen for a few reasons, all logical.

Matt is planning to sell his bike in Anchorage, so Drew wants to swap radiators. The plan makes sense. Going to add stop-leak to the broken radiator.

I wanted to was the Dalton off my bike, and run a few errands, so more reason to stick around. So stick around we did.

Drew ran to the auto parts store for coolant, stop leak, etc. While he did that I organized some things. Matt… slept, maybe? Probably.

After Drew got back I rode to town looking or a self-serve car wash. Got distracted in a Walmart first, grabbing a few things. Some cleaning stuff, ratchet strap, snack. Nothing super interesting, I don’t think. Clearly nothing memorable.

Finally made it to the wash. Spent nearly $10 to get the bike less dirty. I would never call it clean, just got the bad stuff off I hope.

I did notice that the parts of the center stand facing forwards when folded got completely sandblasted by the gritty dust on the haul road, and are all rusty. Will have to repaint it later, maybe. 

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 29, 2019): I haven’t done that yet… maybe I still will.

Back in Dawson City I had noticed a massive, F550(?) based expedition vehicle from Texas. It looked incredible. I have a huge desire to have one of those European over-landers one day. This was definitely the American version.

I’d seen the truck nearly everywhere we went since Dawson City, and it pulled into the wash while I was finishing. Had a talk with the couple. They were spending a few months on the road in total style. We swapped some info before I headed back (HI, Great White Roamer!).

Their rig was built by EarthRoamer in Colorado, in case you wanted to take a look.

I didn’t go straight back, of course. Stopped at a really cool pipeline viewing spot. Took a few pictures. Learned about pipe pigs that serve various functions. By the time I made it back Drew was nearly done with his radiator swap. I was having issues with my pannier latches, so I fixed that. Cleaned a few things. Put a bunch of stickers on (yes… I did). Took a quick nap.

Drew went with Steve to the wash, so Matt & I found food. A very late lunch, but it was great. The bar has good food. There was a car club meet, which was cool to see.

After that was ‘jam night’. Basically, it was open mic for instruments. Bit interesting if I’m being mostly honest. A good time at any rate.

More drinking. More late night camp food. Very enjoyable.

Anchorage tomorrow for real…

 

P.S. Another awesome storm rolled through late.