The road was later open to the
public and plans to widen and pave many sections are underway; however, the
road is still mostly dirt. It is
treated in many places with Caltrite - which harders the road into a pavement
like substance when it is dry but a slippery muddy mess when it is wet. It boasts steep inclines with names like
Beaver Slide, Oh Shit Corner and Ice Cut.
Most of the heaviest hauls - upwards of 300,000lbs - happen in the winter months when the road
is literally iced-over. The adding of
water and freezing of the road actually makes it stronger in order to disburse
the heavy loads which would otherwise cause the road sink into the tundra. It's a hell of a road and it was a hell of an
adventure.
The first 85 miles out of town are actually on the Stesse and Elliot
Highways. The Hilltop Truck stop is
considered to be one of the final jump off points for cyclists and truckers
alike.
Alaskans can be a little weird about their lawn care - or more correctly -
small functioning junk yards.
Roadside Toilet Break!
The town of 'Joy.' A great stop
along the way - one of the few places left in the world that serves free
coffee. The owners of homestead here
raised 23 kids - most of them adopted.
When they took their children out of public school in Livengood for home
schooling - they actually had to close the school. They are still there taking care of their
grandchildren and travelers along the Elliot.
Some people along the road are not so welcoming to travelers.
I thought it was difficult to maintain roads in Wisconsin with all the
freezing and thawing - but here they have the added difficulty of the
permafrost heaving and sinking.
My first day out from Fairbanks I rode the 85 miles north to start of the
Dalton Highway and camped by a pipeline service road. This was where the pavement ends and the
dirt began.
The following day the weather had taken a turn - which can happen very
quickly out here. Fog can be very
thick up here.
Getting up close with my first real good view of the pipeline that I would
end up following for the next 400 miles.
That first day of the Dalton was definitely one of the more
challenging. The road goes up, the road
goes down, up and down - steep - very steep.
It had rained all day and the road was turning into a mud slide. The mud had gotten into everything - my
breaks, shifters and my gear. I looked
like I had just gotten done doing marathon mud slip-n-slide. I was so relieved when I saw the bridge going
over the Yukon River. The bridge is a
made of wood and boasts a 6% grade.
Unfortunately, when I went to slow myself from the long descent down to
the river, I discovered that my back brakes no longer worked due to the
mud. When I hit the slippery wood
planks - my bike slipped out from under me and I hydroplaned all way across the
bridge. I was SO LUCKY that there was
no traffic coming!
On the other side of the bridge sits the Yukon River Camp. I spent many an hour drying out and sipping
coffee. I can finally caught up with
the group of French cyclists that had started in Brazil and were finishing up
their tour of two continents. They
headed back out into the rain and I thought I'd be right behind them - but when
I set out later - I found out that my back derailleur - or shifter - was no
longer working properly. I could not
shift at all. I rode the next 4 miles
to a BLM camp ground with no gears.
I spent the next two hours out of
the rain inside a toilet trying to fix my bike. I am not a mechanic, but I am okay
tinkering on a bike.... for the life of
me I could not figure out what was going on!
I decided to call it a day and
dry out in my tent. The next day the
rain would not stop. It just kept
coming. I was cold and wet and
miserable and I could not bring myself to leave the comforts of my tent. So I didn't. I spent the day sitting in my tent reading
and eating myself silly. That night a
black bear came into camp and I had to scare him off. This same bear had gotten into other peoples
food and had torn apart a trailer....
I have to admit that I was ready to quit....
The next day the rain had finally stopped.
I spent a few hours taking apart all the cables on my shifters and
cleaning out all the mud and re lubing.
The bike was working better - at least the shifters finally started
functioning again. Figured I could at
least try to make it the next 60 miles to the Arctic Circle and carried on.
Dive flag? I miss the ocean...
Finger Mountain
The starting to dry out and the riding was getting better. On the top of the hill before the Arctic
Circle I found I can on Mountain Dew!!!!!
I can only assume it was for me.
But first I had to get down the steep and sloppy Beaver Slide.
Arctic Circle!!!! 66 Degrees north. This is the southern most point on the
Summer Solstice that the sun will not set.
Having had such a great day getting here, I decided to carry on again
and try for Coldfoot - the last stop along the highway before heading north 250
miles to Deadhorse/Pruhdoe Bay
Oh Shite Corner. Many a trucker
has lost a load here - hence the name.
Dietrich River
Having made it to Coldfoot with no problems and with a good weather forecast
- I decided to not bail on the road and try for Deadhorse.
Why did the caterpillar cross the road?
The farthest north spruce tree - well - before it died. From here out it would be nothing but
tundra.
The climb up to the Chandalar Shelf.
Looking up the hairy road to Atigun Pass - 4,800
ft and the highest road pass in Alaska.
This is also the Continental Divide and separates the Yukon or Atlantic
Ocean watershed from the Artic Ocean.
Atigun Pass!!! Downhill from
here!!! Well, not really....
Camping along the road.
Most of the truckers are considerate of the cyclists -although they have to
admit we are a safety hazard on the road.
Most slow down as to not rock us -their tires with their heavy loads and
speed tend to send rocks flying in all directions. All you can do when you see them coming is
get off to the side, put your head down and hope nothing comes your way.
Coming off the pass, the road follows the 'Sag' or Sagavanirktok River all the way to the Artic Ocean at Deadhorse.
Jeff - a long time worker orgininally from Wisconsin - pointed out a great
camp spot along the river for me.
Thanks for the pizza as well!
The sun never really sets here this time of year and it is always light
inside my tent. Makes sleeping
difficult; however, after a long days ride I can usually pass right out. I rode my first day over 100 miles here -
118 miles down from the pass and to the Sag.
Only 34 miles left to Deadhorse.
Deadhorse / Pruhdoeh Bay - or the North Slope as it is commonly known is a
working community. No one really lives
here. There are upwards of 4800 people
living and working here to support the drilling activities. Most people do 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off,
pulling 12 hour every day until the day they fly home. Food and accommodation are provided so that
the employees can focus on work.
Deadhorse was a whirlwin tour for me. I made it to the Inn where a good portion of employees have their meals... immediately I found Jeff from Cruz and he helped me find a trucking company to help me get a ride back down. Lucky for me, Carlile - the famous Ice Road Truckers company - follows Alaska's good Samaritan law and got me on a truck heading south an hour later! I would have liked to have spent more time up there tooling around, but I was not going to turn down a ride.
They arranged for me to ride with Tony - a 18 year Dalton Highway veteran- all the way to Fairbanks. He's been driving the road year round and had a great many stories to tell. I have to say that getting to ride the road back down with a truck was a great experience. Felt like I got the full Dalton tour - it's a hell of a ride bouncing along in a truck pulling a load. In good conditions and a lighter load it is 12 hours in a truck to make it back down.... we left around 7 and road thru the night all strung out on coffee until about 7ish the next morning.
Her's a shot of Tony unhooking my bike from the back of the truck - it
blends in quite nicely with all the mud.
He took it to the yard and washed her off nicely. Thanks again Tony for the ride and letting
me crash at your cabin while you hauled another load!
Anywho, that was my Dalton experience in a nut shell. It was a hell of a journey - one that I dont
think I'll ever repeat on a bicycle!
;-)
From here I plan on heading south to Tok and up and over the 'Top of the
World Highway' into Canada. Got my bike
checked out in town and after a new chain and set of brake pads she is
surprisingly in good condition and ready to roll. Also got my taste of civilization in Fairbanks hanging out at The Marlin with Fazal and Johnny.
Off to the next part of my tour - finally
going to start actually heading south!
