"Living the Dream": Peter, Dave & Doug's Alaska Motorcycle Trip: Day 21: Fairbanks to Coldfoot AK: The Dalton Hwy, 400 kms

Another back end shot of Doug

Oil for the operator

Yesterday, we did another oil change in anticipation of the Dalton Hwy. We also removed the feet we had attached to the side stands to help keep the bike upright in soft ground. Both Peter & I had suffered enough with this good idea which was not so good in reality. It made the bike stand more upright than normal & had resulted in several near tip overs. We both rejoiced afterward. It was so easy to park the bike anywhere we wanted now.

The pavement ended with the Dalton Hwy sign....images of the Dempster immediately came to mind. Oh, boy! However, the road was much wider than the Dempster. The heavy truck traffic had created a washboard effect on the road. (The Dalton is known as the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay.) For those that haven't experienced a washboard gravel road, it is a road with ridges & valleys across the width of the road. It looks like the waves cause when a rock is dropped in water. In a car, the back end of the car tends to move back & forth fishtailing for traction. On a motorcycle it is like riding a jack hammer. The bike vibrates up & down constantly. Then every now & again the bike shoots forward because the back wheel manages to get some traction. It is not the most pleasant experience. It is enough to rattle the fillings in your teeth. The bike really takes a pounding, along with the rider. I had to put my face shield all the way down to block out the sound. I couldn't stand to listen to the beating Suzie was taking.

Suddenly out of now where, pavement appeared. I couldn't believe it! The Dempster wasn't like this at all. We rode for over two hours enjoying the scenery. Mountains on the right; the Yukon River on the left & the sun shining. Wow! It was just another Sunday ride in a Boreal forest. Huh!

After crossing the Yukon River we stopped for lunch & a gas top up. Although, I had joined the gerry gas can club in Whitehorse ( yes Ken, I actually have my own gas can now) we still fill up @ every opportunity we can. That's when I noticed that Peter's rear tire needed some air. It turned out it need another plug to stop the leak. A small stone the size of the end of a lead pencil had punctured his tire. Unbelievable!

Peter installing plug No 2

The locals watching Peter sweat it out.

With the tire repaired we went into the restaurant for lunch. We each had a bowl of salmon chowder soup & split a sliced turkey sandwich. The soup was fantastic! It contained a generous portion of large salmon chunks. We decided right then & there that we were going to stop @ this place for lunch on the way back.