Thank you!
Yes! Yes very nerve racking. The road kept changing, a little detail -
The Dalton Highway is 414 miles one way. Starts north of Fairbanks and ends in Prudhoe Bay.
My first day on the Dalton would begin in the Yukon. In Beaver Creek, 20 south of the Alaskan border.
My plan is to ride to Coldfoot, AK to get back on schedule. This will be a 566 mile ride and will include the first 174 miles of the Dalton Highway.
I leave early and start my ride to Coldfoot. First a border crossing and then gas in Tok, AK, Fairbanks, AK and on to the Dalton Highway.
I arrive at the Dalton Highway road sign and meet two riders. I take pictures for them, get my pictures and continue on.
The beginning seems easy but you have to be careful of the dips in the road. If you hit them to fast they will throw you off the bike.
I hit a dip that bottomed out the bike, it threw me out of the seat and was standing straight legged on the floorboards. Wow! Time to slow down.
Within 10 miles there is construction and a steep descending hill, at the bottom is rutted mud. Already the front tire wants to slide out from under me.
I have only gone 10 miles and I think I may be in over my head. This may be too much for me and the Vision. Somehow we make it through.
This was the surprise to me. The Dalton Highway never stops changing.
It could be a paved road with deep dips, pot holes, frost heaves that look like a little volcano breaking through the road and then change to loose gravel without warning.
The gravel may be small or large stones, dry or covered in mud. Some parts of the road were just small rocks, depending on the stage of construction.
There were hill climbs followed by a descending mud covered road. You never touch the front brake. You let the engine do the braking.
Just when you thought the road was getting a little easier there would be a tanker truck spraying water. I hate water trucks.
It was construction season on the Dalton and they can work around the clock. Watch for red flags and cones. There will be something bad.
When it was dry there would be blinding dust and blinding sun at 3:00 am. I also had rain and just south of Prudhoe Bay there was light snow.
There is also a ride through the mountains. It never stopped changing and you get to do it twice. On the way back a hill climb turns into a descending road.
You also have to deal with the large trucks, construction equipment and work zones. It’s their world, you are in the way.
Most of the time there was one lane down the center. No one wants to be by the edge. Trucks always get the lane choice.
The two riders that I met at the Dalton Highway sign I would meet again just north of the Yukon River crossing. This was still south of Coldfoot.
One rider was standing and the other was sitting in a lawn chair in the road. I thought this was odd. I stopped and asked if they were taking a break.
The rider in the lawn chair had gone over the side, was injured and was waiting to be airlifted to Fairbanks. The next day in Prudhoe Bay I found out from a
truck driver that the rider broke 3 ribs and his shoulder. The truck drivers know about everything that happens on the Dalton.
After that I didn’t take many pictures. I didn’t want to take a chance and conditions change too quickly. Plus I needed to stay on schedule.
I made it to Coldfoot and got gas, dinner and a room. The small room was $199 a night and includes nothing.
I got up at 2:00 am Alaska time and was heading north by 3:00 am. Heading north at 3:00 am and into the sun? The plan is to ride 240 miles to Prudhoe Bay, get what I need and come back.
This would be a long day but the weather looked good. It’s 240 miles to Prudhoe Bay. I fueled up in Coldfoot and the next gas stop is Prudhoe Bay.
The 240 miles of the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay was the toughest. More of everything. Plus now there are Caribou in the road.
It took 7 hours and 27 minutes to cover the 240 miles to Prudhoe Bay. An average speed of 36.9 MPH.
In Prudhoe Bay I got a receipt to stop the ride clock. Witness forms were signed. Pictures taken. Bike fueled – 5.536 gallons.
I had lunch at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel and headed back. The weather looked good. 100 miles later it was raining, just before the rain there was light snow.
Rain changes everything. Everything is scary now. Easy on the gas, easy off. Don’t touch the front brake. Never stop watching the road.
I was hoping that it wouldn’t rain but it’s good to know that the Vision could still make through.
The bike is covered in mud and now more construction areas. More mud. Hill climbs and the mountains.
I made it back to Wiseman, AK. It had been a very long day. Wiseman – WOW! That’s another story. When I finally went to bed that night I had been up 22 hours.
The next day I found out about a rider that was with another group I had met. He had crashed 10 miles south of Prudhoe Bay and also broke ribs.
He was airlifted to the nearest hospital in Fairbanks. That’s a 500 mile ride. $$$$$$$$$