July 14

There is no breakfast in Wiseman so we had the typical biker breakfast—cheese crackers and an orange that I had from Tok. We pooled our snacks—granola bars, trail mix, etc. We walked around Wiseman and met George, Jim, and Lloyd. They filled us in on the origins of the town. Gold mining was the beginning in the earl 1900’s. Left around noon and headed toward Fairbanks. It was a lot easier now that we were experienced “haul road” veterans—we waved at the bikers headed north with a knowing smile. We stopped again at the Hot Spot. Definitely get the pulled pork bbq sandwich! Mrt Mike who is Bicycling to Deadhorse. Now that’s a feat! We wised him all the best.

The roughest sections were not as difficult and we finished up around 7. Stayed at the 7 Gables again. Celebrated at the Red Fox. Became good friend with Patrick who promised to take us snowmobiling if we returned in the winter.

Fairbanks is great--internet and cell phone. It's late but her's an update on the blog. The connection is slow--so text only. Will try and upload some photos in the morning.

July 13

Woke up to overcast skies … hoping that it will clear. Two other motorcylists arrived during the night—7 bikes total 2 V-strom 1000, 1 V-Strom 650, 1 Honda 750 Shadow, 2 KLR’s, and a 1200 GS.

Took the tour to the Arctic Ocean. Several took the plunge ... It was definitely refreshing!

We packed and I left my Tri-DOD motorcycle shirt in a special place to let some lucky person find it—wanted to leave proof that we had motorcycled to the northernmost point. It was fun! Prudhoe Bay was great.



Left around noon for the return. We had the benefit of experience ant it made all the difference for me. I only felt like I was going to crash once—a grader was pushing gravel in our lane. We had to go over a berm to get to the next lane. I was following Jeff … he did it so I figured—no problem. I was wrong. However I was able to keep the shiny side up and continued. We were able to avoid the rain until Atigun Pass—then the rain hit. It was more of a challenge in the rain, but no problem for experienced motorcyclists like us.
Our accommodations were at the Boreal Lodge in Wiseman—the best yet! A most excellent cabin with a loft. I slept like a rock. After breakfast of cheese crackers and an orange we were on our way back to Fairbanks.

July 12

Left Coldfoot enroute to Deadhorse—244 miles amid great weather. Stopped by Wiseman to book accommodations for the return. Saw a moose cross the road in front of us—she was going from the river, across the road and into the woods. One of many wildlife sightings during the day.

Antigun Pass was spectacular!!! A long winding road uphill to snow covered mountains. Took some photos—in awe of the scale of everything. Started the descent into the Brooks Range—wow!

Stopped for lunch by a stream crossing near the pipeline. A swarm of mosquitoes immediately descended upon us. “Off” was our primary defense. Lunch was peanuts, beef jerky, cheese crackers, and water from our Camelback—the best lunch ever!

The road narrowed and we pulled over to allow a truck maximum room to come up the hill. We were in the dreaded mud … almost had my first crash sliding amid the ruts. Was also “dive bombed” by a mad seagull—must have thought my white helmet was a large egg!

It was a most challenging day of riding … a lot of slippery mud and deep gravel. I feel fortunate not to have crashed several times. Jeff continued to lead the way with much skill riding 2-up with Olivia. Joe also made it through unscathed—who would have thought that a cruiser bike do so well in the dirt—must be the rider ...

We had one brief rain event. We were headed for a rain cloud. You could see the rain from a great distance. It was weird because blue sky was all around the cloud. As we drove under the cloud it became much cooler and windy. The rain was coming down harder and being blown horizontal. After the rain we saw a most unusual phenomenon--a broad flat rainbow that filled the sky.

Checked into the Arctic Caribou Inn—buffet dinner and walked around Deadhorse. Flew my kite for fun and retired for the night … Actually there is no night … its 24 hours of daylight—the sun will not set again until August 2!

Looking back it was a great day, spectacular scenery and good friends to share it with. We’ve traveled more than 5000 miles to the northernmost road in Alaska—the end of the line, as far as you can go. We’re satisfied …

Tomorrow we start to head back (older and wiser)—filled with new experiences, insights, and stories. We’ll return over the same roads but we will experience them anew from a different direction. More to come!

July 11

Made the final preparations for the run up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse, (updating our wills, final phone calls to home, etc.) We left in ideal conditions, sunny and warm. I took this as a good sign, but I was wrong.

The Haul Road has a reputation and I had many emotions—anticipation, excitement, and fear. We asked people about the road they would tell us about accidents, flat tires, trucks running you off the road, and the construction areas with mud. Then they would express surprise that you would do this on a motorcycle. They would say you must be crazy and I was starting to believe it. It was too cool!!!

We took photos at the beginning of the Dalton. The mosquitos were ferocious. As soon as we stopped they swarmed all over us—even though it was raining. Then we started. The road immediately turned to mud. We all were sliding around in deep mud and ruts. It was difficult to keep the bikes upright. The flat section was followed by a long climb uphill, 450 miles of this in the rain seemed impossible. However conditions improved, the rain stopped, the road improved and we were in blue sky. Our spirits improved and we had the confidence of experience knowing that we had met the first challenge.

The rest of the day was blue sky and magnificent scenery. In particular one valley—spectacular fire weed in bloom. The valley and up into the mountains were covered in purple.

We stopped for obligatory photos at the Artic Circle and then it was on to Coldfoot for the night. Met several other crazy motorcyclists, had dinner and prepared for the next day—the Antigun Pass, the Brooks Range and on to Deadhorse. Hoping for good weather—this will be our most challenging test.