Day 22 - Fairbanks, Alaska to the Arctic Circle and back to Fairbanks. Day trip miles - 412. Total miles since leaving Indianapolis - 5,271 miles ridden.

Mother Nature decided to smile on the guys today.  Yesterday's rain yielded to a clear, blue sky.  There was a 0% chance of rain in the forecast.

The group's excitement level ran high with the hopes of making the ride to the Arctic Circle.  To make this trip everything must work exactly right.  The weather is absolutely critical, 120 miles of the route that the guys planned to take is hard packed dirt.  It is almost impossible to ride on this surface even with a light rain shower occurring, let alone a long rain.  This area is mountainous.  In a moments' notice the weather can change.  If you make the ride to the Arctic Circle, you must return on that same 120 mile stretch of dirt road in order to get back.  There is no other route.  As excited as the guys were to make the trip, their hearts were heavy too.  A piece of the group was left behind as Stu remained in Fairbanks.

Many motorcyclists come to Fairbanks hoping to make the run to the Arctic Circle.  Bad weather might make them have to wait four or five days, or until, the weather breaks.  Even with the long wait, some still don't get the chance to make the trip.  Given the weather conditions yesterday, along with Stu's injury, today we were blessed with the perfect day.

It was Joe's turn to lead the group today.  They were preparing for a dusty ride.

The road is called the Dalton Highway.  This is known to the locals and truckers as the Haul Road.  This is the only road from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay.  It passes the Arctic Circle.  The Dalton Highway is also the service and construction road for the  Alaskan Pipeline.

The road runs almost parallel to the Alaskan Pipeline.

The guys approaching the Yukon River

Vast, open country.

Six hours, and 206 miles later, the group arrived at the Arctic Circle.

 Joe and David at the Arctic Circle.

Joe has ridden 6,189 miles from his home in New Hampshire.

From Memphis, David has ridden 5,632 miles to this point.

During the geography session, Fred points out their location on the world map.

Fred has traveled 5,475 miles from Canal Fulton on his motorcycle.

 

Proof indeed that Mike reached the Arctic Circle.

Since Mike left Bemus Point, he has ridden 5,631 miles.

 Fred, Mike, David, Ron and Joe

Having arrived at the Arctic Circle, the five were now 5,631 miles from Indianapolis, Indiana, which was the official starting place for their Alaskan adventure.

Documenting that he also arrived at the Arctic Circle, Ron stands by the sign.

Ron and his bike are now 5,216 miles from home in Sunman.

The five guys represent their buddy Stu, at the Arctic Circle.  He was truly there in spirit!
Will somebody please tell Fred and David that their mustaches are on upside down?

Hey Mike!  Did somebody say picnic?

Actually, Ron's been talking about picnics for several weeks now.  

It's a wonder they haven't bound and gagged him over the subject.

Mike, Joe, Fred, David and a swarm of mosquitoes.
  David's smiling with the hopes that RP will finally stop talking about picnics.

Heading back towards Fairbanks down that same long, dusty dirt road.

How many guys, dressed in black leather, does it take to hold up a section of the Alaskan Pipeline?

Answer - This has never been done, so nobody knows for sure.

Everybody else reads the No Trespassing signs!

Busted by the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline Doyon Security Guard.

He has to explain to the guys that the sign meant them too!
These guys really need chaperons.

The guys have made the return trip on that same 120 mile dirt road.  They are back in Fairbanks.

Safety is a must on this road.  There is a fair amount of semi traffic on this road.   Drive it like you stole it, is the motto for these truckers!

Have you ever watched the television show Ice Road Truckers?  Well, if you have, this is the road that they drive on.  Only this road is full of ice and snow.

Day 21 - Dawson to Fairbanks, Alaska. 402 miles today. Total from Indianapolis - 4,859 miles

Today's goal was to reach Fairbanks by evening.  Leaving Dawson, at their usual departure time, the guys found the only way to cross the river was by ferry.  There is no bridge.

David and Fred on board the ferry.

Once off the ferry they started onto The Top of the World Highway.  Normally this "highway" is 116 miles of hard packed dirt with a little gravel  thrown in here and there.  On a nice day travel wouldn't be too bad.

The weather was good for about an hour into the trek across the highway.   As the six adventurers climbed in elevation they reached the rain.

They were high enough to be in the low hanging cloud cover.  Visibility was poor.  They could only see about 50 feet in any direction.  

Travel was extremely slow.  The guys were only able to go as fast as 5 - 10 mph.  

At approximately 10:00 a.m. the group crossed the border from the Yukon to the United States.  The border agent didn't seem all that glad to see them returning.  He did take the time to warn the six of the weather and poor road conditions.  They thanked the border agent and headed on.

Just into the United States the guys found an area of road construction.  One of the construction workers, in a pick up truck,  stopped at the group and struck up a conversation with them.  The worker told the guys that the road wasn't good and that the visibility was even worse.  He offered to lead them through the construction.  Taking him up on his offer the guys followed the truck, with its 4-way flashers on, as far as that truck could travel before having to turn off and around.

That worker also informed the guys that within this construction area, there was a one mile stretch of fresh fill dirt.  The fill area was extremely soft with deep ruts and covered with almost three inches of mud.  Riding this section downhill the guys would soon find this to be worse than they had imagined.

Each man was riding in the lowest gear possible and traveling an estimated 3 miles per hour. In an effort to avoid a collision with another one of the guys that had temporarily stopped in that muck, Stu chose to lay his bike down.  Unfortunately his foot was caught and pinned under the weight of the bike.  He heard the crack.

Having helmet headsets the guys were able to work together to get safely to the side of that roadway.  They up-righted Stu's bike.  Next they had to stabilize that ankle.  They found a steel rod in their gear and duct taped it to the lateral portion of Stu's ankle.  

Stu with the makeshift splint

 Being the tough guy that he is, and without other alternatives, Stu gutted out the conditions and injury and went on to ride another 320 miles to Fairbanks.  

The rest of the day the guys rode in steady to moderate rain.  The weather had become terrible.

The guys stopped in the town of Chicken for lunch.

Chicken was a town founded on the gold rush.  Early miners wanted to name the town Ptarmigan, after the bird the frequents the area.  The town residents couldn't exactly agree on how to properly spell Ptarmigan.  So, after some time they decided to just name the town Chicken.

The population of Chicken in the summer is roughly 50.  In the winter, the census drops to 6.

Ron moves Stu, and gear, into the hotel in Fairbanks.  Ron said, "we cleaned him up a little, called a taxi and sent him off to the hospital."  The ER physician did confirm a fracture of the fibula and put Stu in a boot cast.

The Arctic Circle is the destination for tomorrow!

Day 20 - Whitehorse to Dawson. Mileage today - 339 miles. A total of 4,457 miles have been ridden since the start of the trip.

You know you're way up north when the source of internet communication is satellite.  The fellas are having some difficulty emailing photos.  The satellite internet is wicked fast for text but not for large files such as images.  The  photos are being emailed one at a time.  They have also reduced the resolution of each photograph to make sure that they are received after hitting "send."  The images will appear smaller than they have in past posts in order to maintain a higher quality.  Still, technology is amazing.

Security system and air conditioning - view from inside the room.

This is the entry door to David and Joe's motel room!  The air conditioner in the room did not work.  Maintenance wasn't able to fix the unit.  The temperature in their room was...well, hot.  It was so uncomfortable there was no way they were going to be able to get a decent night of sleep.  There were no more rooms in the inn.  So, those two decided to MacGyver themselves right into a better situation.

They took the shower curtain down, rod and all, and put it across the doorway.  This way they could leave the entry door to their room open yet still have a little privacy.  The hotel kindly provided David and Joe with a fan.  The guys added that to the right of the doorway to exhaust the heat out of their room and into the hallway.  The bottle of Crown Royal held the shower curtain in place on top of the fan.  For security they put the ironing board on the opposite side of the opening.  Here's their theory - in the event that someone wanted to "break in" they would make noise tripping over the ironing board thus, alerting the guys to a state of wakefulness.  The entire contraption did cool their room considerably and they had a decent night's sleep.

The sun was brightly shining as the group departed Whitehorse this morning.  They were headed straight North.

The scenery continues to be gently rolling.  The guys noted a smell of smoke in the air and could see a haze of smoke in the air.  News reports tell of 86 separate fires burning in the Yukon.  Some of these fires are being allowed to burn themselves out since they are located in the "wilderness".  Lightening strikes have been the culprits of these blazes.

The haze is smoke.

The guys ride into some low hanging smoke on the road.

Bugs!  They are getting worse.  Flying insects are everywhere and make a real nuisance of themselves at every stop and seat break.  Maybe that forest fire smoke will help keep the pests in check.

Moose Creek Lodge

Mike outside the Moose Creek Lodge

This little lodge was in the middle of nowhere!  There was only a table or two in the restaurant.  The owner came from Switzerland.  The fellas all agreed this was the best lunch they have had in quite a few days.  Possible even for the entire trip!  The remote location means baked goods are fresh and made from scratch.  The menu depends on what is fresh and available.

There are no rooms inside the lodge but there are small cabins available.
 These cabins have no bathrooms in them, those are located nearby.  Given all of the wildlife the guys have been seeing, wouldn't that make a nighttime trip to the loo interesting?

Stu tried to negotiate a lower rate for this toupee, I mean wolf hide.  His bartering skills were no match for the owner of the Moose Creek Loge.

The guys reached Dawson!  Every street in the city is still dirt.  Many of the old buildings in town are being restored.  Buildings still sport the facades of yesteryear.  Dawson was the epicenter of the Klondike Gold Rush.  Today the economy is supported by gold mining and tourism.  The climate here is subarctic.  In the winter time the city of Dawson is accessible by dogsled or snow machines.

While in Dawson City, the fellas took in the show at Diamond Tooth Gertie's.  She was a real gold rush dance hall queen.  The old building is also a non-profit (yeah, right) gambling hall.  The floor of the building hosts the gaming tables.  A U shaped balcony surrounds the perimeter of the hall giving a great view of the stage where the show features Diamond Tooth Gertie and her dance hall performers.  The hall is decorated in large black and white images of historical photos of prospectors and early inhabitants of Dawson City.

The guys have reported seeing many motorcyclists in the city of Dawson.  There are very few roads in the areas where they have been traveling.  Many towns have one way in, and one way out.  It has been common for them to see lots of bikes in the towns where they have been staying.

Stu's idea of touring around town.

David, Fred and Joe checking out the city of Dawson.

Tomorrow's quest is Fairbanks!