Dalton Return.

We left the Caribou Inn around 10 am to avoid the sea ice fog, there was still a heavy fog around the bay, with temperatures around freezing. A little tired and nervous about the return trip we slowly inched our way out of the safety of the Camp ( camp is a term they use for a temporary settlement, even though they have been there for years and there are nearly 7000 people there at any given time. We knew there was deep mud and then deep gravel to contend with as we had passed there only 12 hours before. The mud/ calcium had dried somewhat and was not a problem and the stones were the same but our new found confidence and skills fueled us and we drove quicker and more confidently. Our MOJO was so strong we even started to look for deeper stones so we could drift the back of the bikes more. We must of been a strange sight two motorcyclist stood up on their pegs screaming with delight shooting up the haul road. In what felt like no time we were through the Atigun Pass and arrived in Cold Foot. We met some other bikers Mike Twist and David Owe, who had been right behind us all the way, had a bight to eat and then got a room for the night. The following morning we ambled around like off road gods. Our Kung Fu was strong! Back on the Haul Road we sped to the Yukon River Bridge were we stopped briefly for lunch and then continued to push on. We felt like heros, we were nearly at the end, safe in the knowledge we had done the worst parts......... Then the rain came, I mean landed. It rained so hard we couldn't even see. The track we were on became a moving river of mud. The last section had been dug over to be worked on which made our passage even harder. In my head I laughed at the fact the the Dalton wanted us to know it had let us through, graced us with its good nature, because if it had rained like this the whole way it would of been a thousand times harder... Eventually we landed on tarmac, lightening struck the near by hills and we made the best speed we could in a torrential down pour. Arriving in FairBanks both Taz and I were full of joy and very wet. We had completed the challenge and had enjoyed it. Thank you Dalton for being so nice to us we know it could of been worse. We called in at Dan and Shawn's place to tell them our stories with time to dry out clean the bikes and get a room back at the Uni.

Dalton: Day 2. Coldfoot to Prudhoe

Our night at Coldfoot was surreal, the Motel is in a truckers yard surrounded by what seems to be a scrap yard, broken down cars and bits of metal surround the dust filled yard. During the night we awoke to howling, I presume by dogs but we couldn't tell, maybe wolf's, in the morning we could try and find out. Our broken sleep left us groggy and slow to rise, no issue because it doesn't get dark this time of year this far North. As we loaded the bikes that morning a lone Husky strolled and stopped ten feet away and looked on, were you the one keeping us awake? he seemed to be heading somewhere and he turned and strolled off into the distance. We looked at each other and took the hint, lets get moving. This part of the Dalton was supposed to be the hardest with the infamous Atigun Pass, a warning of deep gravel and mud just outside Prudhoe. Nervously we left Coldfoot and started the trail. The going was good and our success from the previous day fueled us and we stormed on. We hit the Atigun Pass and with little difficulty we made it through. The roads were very dry, dust plumes in the distance indicated the on coming trucks like an approaching army in a film. We were brimming with confidence. Pretty soon after the pass we started hitting the deep gravel; some the size of golf balls, the bikes snaked and fish tailed and we aimed for the smother sections formed by trucks flattening a little of the gravel, as the trucks passed we had to get to the sides, that meant crossing a ridge of gravel, lean back and power through... Standing for an hour or two we worked hard. Until we hit the mud! It was caused by the construction workers spraying a formula that helps the road to adhere. Unfortunately they hadn't compressed it yet, we had found what all those other riders had been talking about. The bikes felt out of control, slushy mud like ice threatened to spill us. The urge to slow had to be beaten; speed was the key. We powered on. knees clenched to the seat, hands loose. Snake and slide. After ten miles we made it through and rode triumphantly in to Deadhorse. Caked in mud and with less than a cupful of fuel in Taz's bike. A quick tour to the Arctic Ocean. Shower and then bed because tomorrow we have to do it all again to get back to Fairbanks one road in one road out.. Good night.

Ice Trucker Road, The Dalton......Day 1

Fairbanks to Coldfoot.
A short hop; 70 miles out of Fairbaks you join the Elliot Highway and follow that until the end when you jump on the Dalton. Now for the last two days we had been talking to riders who had returned from this ride, we could see the weary riders return all muddy, with tales of deep gravell, mud like ice, storms and running out of fuel. More than one said they would never do it again. Taz listened with earnest, making a calculation if she really wanted to do this. We have another 5000 mile or so to get home, did we need to do this? It was my idea and felt I confident about Taz's skills. Her confidence was something she battled with about making this whole trip. I had no doubts about her ability. We agreed that if either of us said "no" we would turn around immediately, no discussions. This made us more committed. The first part, we were warned could be pretty rough, they deliberately left this part of the road bad to discourage the tourists. After the first 20 miles of sandy dirt there was tarmac! albeit broken and only short stretches of it but it gave a reprieve of the sliding- snaking of the bikes in the dirt. Taz and I both grew with confidence as we edged further to the Arctic Circle at 120 miles marker.
We managed some impressive speed and our skills grew.

WE WERE DOING IT!

After the Arctic Circle we had another 65 odd miles of Dirt and steep hills to contend with. Some of our biggest concerns was the trucks, you may have seen Ice Truckers, these trucks that take this road are carrying Oil Drilling supplies to Prudhoe Bay and they are not small trucks! They can travel very quick and if the road is dry they can hide the road and even other trucks in their dust wake. As this is summer we had no snow on the roads but it still hides in the gullies and streams along the roadside. On either side of the track there is a verge of deep gravel and then a drop, so pulling in to it dodge a truck, is somewhat dodgy. Your front wheel skids everywhere and the best way to stop is to accelerate, not really what you want to do when dodging a 60 odd ton truck... timing is everything, narrow bridges and bends had to be timed well. It was challenging but we loved it. 260 mile dirt track!
Coldfoot an old mining community is now a truckers haven, the rooms here are so expensive the type of money you expect to pay at the Hilton, but with out the luxury. I guess that what it cost to run a motel in the Arctic Circle.
Tomorrow Atigun Pass and Deadhorse...

Fairbanks

After a few days R+R in Talkeetna we headed up to Fairbanks, I had managed to secure some tires from an Indie shop which is run by a few guys off ADVrider Dan and Shawn( Adventure Cycleworks). these guys were fantastic and we had a real laugh with them, they changed the tires and the oil on both bikes and because of the midnight sun we worked till 2pm. That night we got some accommodation in the The University of Alaska, for a very cheap price you can a get a room in the halls of residence and the uni is used to biker coming up there to ride the Dalton Highway. Next the Dalton Highway 500 miles of dirt road, with very few gas stations.......

Trapper Johns Cabin Talkeetna

Talkeetna

Talkeetna is a small town 160ish miles North of Anchorage, it has an interesting mix of climbers, prospector history and travelers. As we arrived there was musicians playing guitars in the town square, huskies and their owners sipping beer and looking all chilled out lime only alaskan can. If you want to get out of the rat race this is the place to do it. Even with the tourist here it still feels totally chilled. It even has its own brewery here, to keep you warm in the 19 hours of dark they have in the winter.
As you approach the town there is a float plane tour company and I managed to talk Taz into a flight, heheheh if you have seen the helicopter footage you will ubderstand, although there was a lot of clouds we did glimpse of Denali " Mckinley" the biggest mountain in North America: 20322 feet. We landed on a lake with a hunters cabin, perched by the waters edge. As soon as we got out of the plane the Mosquitos attacked. No deet! we got eaten! The cabin was all shut down complete with nails protruding from the walls and doors to discourage the beers attemting to brake in, still the claw marks on the walls reminds us that we are not at the top of the food chain here.

We are staying here a few days to recharge our batteries before we push on to Fairbanks to get some tires for my bike, before we hit the Dalton Highway. We have had lot of help from the guys on ADVrider forum and I recommend them if you are riding here, these guys know their stuff.

Its father day today, so we rang our fathers to send our love but my thoughts all day are with my children who I miss so much Cameron and Sadie. Love you guys.

Anchorage Bikes Repair

We are sat in sisi's cafe in Anchorage having some fantastic coffee and chicken and bacon wraps. The Motorcycle Shop has taz's bike and they have got to be one of the most un organized BMW dealers I have come across. First they say they have the part and then they don't, they tell you to arrive at 9.30 am for your appointment to get your work done and they open after 10 am ! Four to five hours to change a chain a sprocket.? When you ask why it takes nearly all day they say "hey were fitting you in" I reply" I made an appointment with you guys ! If you couldn't do it just say"
You know I'm easy going but when travellers have to get extended accomodation because they lie about having the parts in, and they won't even look you in the eye and apologyse then it gets my back up.. I know this is Alaska but simple customer service is evident here, infact most of America excels in it so why can't these plonkers get their act together?

If I ever come by here again I will avoid this crew at all costs..

Top Of The World Highway making friends...in the strangest places

In Dawson we met a couple who were riding two up on GS and they were planning on doing the same route as us. After sharing the Sour Toe experience we planned to cross the Top of the World Highway together, a 50 mile dirt road that winds up and over some magnificent mountains and crosses in to the US border. Joe and FLora LLoyd are making a film about their journey through Canada, as a motorcycle film duo they are capturing the essence of motorcycle travels and were fantastic to listen to and share stories. I highly recommend their films. You never know you may even glimps us in the back ground.. Check them out at: http://www.openfilm.com/users/curbsyde/

After crossing on the ferry we headed up the hill on Tarmac and were soon on winding roads that were a joy to ride and then the tarmac ends and your doing 50 mph with a plume of dust pirouetting off your rear tire..The mountains in the back ground top the whole experience off, I felt like a real adventure rider.. Taz was going for it, great speed and confidence, for some one who hasn't passed her test long she was here, ripping up this adventure road...

Joe and Flora were amazing on the dirt even two up we struggled to keep up, a testament to their skill and experience. When I grow up want to be that good.

Over the US border and on to Alaska!

The Yukon Quest: White Horse to Dawson City

Dawson City is the end of probably the most grueling Dog Sled Race 1000 miles of high mountain passes and extreme cold. What lay a head of us was a taste of those passes and thankfully not the cold weather.

As we rolled into White Horse there was an Old Steamer Ship that used to run supplies to the prospectors that forged into this country in search of gold. The town is a large by Yukon standards.

We had a need: mechanical advice and some new tires for Taz's bike. We had some one look over the bike and managed to buy some tires: so we stripped the wheels off and got the new rubber fitted.. They had no way to balance the tries so i had to do it myself.

We spent the day chilling and even managed to catch a movie.

Coming into Dawson is a trip back in time and there are old fashioned buildings with swinging doors and the is a famous drink here called the Sour Toe: basically its a human toe that was pickled back in the day for some unknown reason. Today it is right of passage. The challenge to drink a shot with the pickled toe in the glass and it must touch the lips!! A dead mans big toe in your drink! Well we had to do it! I even managed to put it completely in my mouth but the nail caught on the roof of my mouth and made it difficult to get out .. eeerrrhh!

Yukon Delights

Along our rout in the Yukon we had to stop at the Hot Springs in Liard. Its a short walk from the campsite to get to a boarded swimming area that has natural hotsping bubbling from the volcanic tubes nearby. It so hot that you really struggle to get to the top of the pool, in fact the challenge is to collect a stone from the cool pool and take it to the top. As you approach you can see the water bubbling\boiling in front of you. We didn't manage it! The views are stunning as is the wild life on route; Grizzly, Black Bear, Moose and Buffalo line up along the road side for your delight.

On a more pressing note we seemed to have developed a problem with Taz' 650. It runs fine but there is a strange noise and few little niggles. As we have bumped in to many bikers on this leg of our journey they all have had a look, no diagnosis as yet, so we are going to limp the next few hundred miles into White Horse and get it checked out by some mechanics. The roads are well used and there is always fellow travelers here ready to help or give a lift or even transport the bike on the back of a truck.

Tonight we stay in a type of Hostel, which is in fact the oldest building in Watson Lake that was once Royal Canadian Air Force accommodation. 1050's music plays in the background with pictures of the winged heros don the walls.

Alaska Highway

After being on the the famous Alaska Highway for about 350 miles we are getting the feeling that we are heading into the wilderness. The road is not as wild as it used to be. Its a paved/tarmac road for most of the way, it has a lot of damage to it so you never know when the next bend will be a giant hole or have nothing but hardcore left. Every now and again there is a sign pointing you to a point of interest; this particular time we came across an old wooden bridge that was built to follow the curve of the road, a real beautiful piece of engineering with a character reflecting the ingenuity of the builders of roads in this fantastic country.

We spent most of one day trying to get some tires, Taz's back tire had a nail in it and was looking pretty square due to the ridiculously straight roads, so we thought we could get a rear tire till we picked our knoblies up in North Pole Alaska. Could we find any tires in two towns? could we hell, we needed Jim (Taz' dad) the tire scout of Blighty. Unfortunately he was tucked up in bed in Cheshire UK.

We pulled the nail out and thankfully it was tiny and hadn't caused a puncture. We continued on..

Up at 6am tomorrow to see some Grizzly bears on the road.....?!!!!

Tour comes to an end!

but the ADVENTURE RIDE STARTS HERE!

We finally hit the the Alaska Highway... On route we are seeing signs for Alaska (Exciting). The gaps between the towns are getting longer.
We are in Dawson Creek so we have a 1000 miles through the Yukon Tundra to explore.

Today we found a nail in Taz's tire so we are considering swapping over to Knobbly tires now if we can find any. We were originaly having a set of tires sent on to the North Pole in Alaska. But with the unusual weather and maybe a puncture it maybe wise to change now....

Adventure riding... cooool.

Lake louise

Lake Louise is a tourist trap and the views are astonishing, but the cost for anything there is through the roof. We spent one night in the cheapest motel we could find, tried to make phone calls to family but really struggled the phone card we had started with a 1 and the number we had to ring out the room was 9+1 as you can guess ringing 9+1+1 has consequences... Bangs on the doors and distressed hotel staff...... funny? not!

The road out of Lake Louise to Jasper is all national park. Over the day we saw aGrizzly bear, a Black Bear with a cub crossing the road and loads of Caribou... totally cool

We took an hour out of riding and went up the Columbia Glacier in an amazing 4x4.. check it out.

" I'm not an axe murderer"

After crossing the border we landed in a tourist town called Invamere. We drove through an array of shops in search for a cheap motel. We noticed a couple of motorcycles and their riders on the side of the kerb, the customary wave and we continued our nightly search for the cheapest motel we could get. We stopped, myself doing the intricate negotiation and my sad story of poor motorcyclist on a very long trip so we need the cheapest room you have please. Eventual the receptionist bent to my jedi powers of persuasion and we got a cheap room, in triumph I headed out to tell Taz, who is chatting to one of the bikers we had passed. He introduced himself and explained he had offered us a room in his holiday home after explaining he was not "an axe murderer" We refused but continued chatting and then we decided to go for it. I went back into negotiations with the motel receptionist and scored a refund. We followed our new friend (Dean) back down to the shops and the others in his party. Cameron, June and Chantelle. Cameron (Cam) and Dean had been riding in the mountains and were then heading back. We followed and we were greeted as VIP guests into a very large and plush summer house in the mountains. After a home cooked meal (fantastic) we hit the natural hotspings on the hill at the back of their chalet. It is amazing that complete strangers will take you into their home, feed you and treat you like honored guests; Its the motorcycle adventurer thing. As motorcyclist who had completed a trip to Alaska we chatted over exotic drinks and cocktails sharing stories. We had a fantastic night with host second to none. If your reading this Dean ( Russia is calling!) Thanks guys...

Eureka and the Canadian Border

The next day we headed north to the Glacial National Park. Just outside the park we stopped for a break in the local gas station. After a healthy salad for me and a cheese burger for Taz we got chatting about the roads ahead. In no time at all the locals cleared up our questions. The roads were closed due to heavy snowfall... Doh!

So we opted to head straight to the nearest border which happened to be Eurekakakakakaka. The terrain had started to change into more alpine style.. Pine trees and grass. Rolling into Eureka we noticed the Canadian flags next to the American ones, a popular destination for Canadians to come shopping. A cheap Motel and we got ready for the Border Crossing the next morning. Passports bike documents etc.

8 am We awoke to a rainy day, we donned our waterproofs and headed the six miles to the border. Crossing over this border was a little worrying for us as we have not tried a crossing whilst here other than coming into the country.. On Arrival we asked to turn the bikes off, the office was pleasant and straight away said " your going to Alaska" shocked i agreed and he said he another couple from Mexico on similar bikes going the same place. cooooll He aked us the usual question our jobs? any thing we are leaving in Canada? and then stamped the passports and waved us on... easy....
Off into Canada..

Masoula

We stoppped a night in Masoula to get a new battery for the 1200, nothing serious it had done a lot of miles and was the original one, in the mornings it was sounding very tired whilst starting....

Ovando

We headed north, into the rain clouds and mountain pass. Light rain, and strong winds made it feel like Scotland. I love Scotland, strange but i really enjoyed this leg of the journey, moody mountains and empty roads. We eventual pulled off the road and dropped into a tiny village with an authentic old saloon stye buildings: very different from Scotland. We booked into the General Store which also happened to be the only place for a room in the area. Everyone was really friendly; they had lived there for all there lives and had history going back to the 1700,s. Most of them had been Outfitters or trappers and new the place like the back of their hand. On the walls were Bear skins, the uninvited visitors to the town! Outside our room window was the saloon which is now a Cafe called "The Stray Bullet". Named after the bullet imbedded in the wall after a little disagreement in it saloon days.. In the middle of the square was the site of the Hang Mans Tree, now thankfully gone but was still in use up to 30 years ago! The sun came out and we headed to the town bar for food. As we walked in the room went quite and then from behind the bar " hi there, welcome! would you like a drink" A very friendly place.. Just like Scotland.... Population: people 50 dogs 100....