Chicken AK to Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks with PIX.

After coffee with Mary in Chicken AK, it was a quick but frequently dusty run to Tok AK where we enjoyed our lunch at  "Fast Eddy's" it seemed like only a few minutes we were at Delta Junction,



the end of the Alaska Highway and then in Fairbanks.  We had a great Cuban Dinner in Fairbanks followed by a "Fire Alarm" at the hotel which emptied the rooms into the parking lot.


At 0900 Brian, Fred and I set out for Deadhorse up the Dalton Highway - 500 miles of sketchy road, our destination was Coldfoot AK the halfway point and last fuel stop 245 miles from Deadhorse.

We made great time to Coldfoot and after our late lunch, 1400, great weather, and a 0200 sunset we decided to press on the 245 miles to the next gas and our ultimate destination, Deadhorse.

The hour and a half ride from Coldfoot to the Atigun Pass was wonderful, and when we arrived the pass was clear,

As you can see in the picture above, the weather in the background looks threatening and as we started North the temperature dropped, the North Brooks Range Arctic Wind began to blow, it was foggy and rainy and the road turned to slop.

We arrived in Deadhorse just after 2200 (10:00PM) a long and treacherous six-hour run.  We did see some Barren Ground Caribou about 50 miles outside of Deadhorse but no pix.  Brian got a picture of this Musk Ox and later we saw a whole herd of Musk Ox but it was too treacherous to stop for a picture.

 Thankfully, Justin at the Deadhorse Camp found rooms for us and even cut us a deal because we arrived so late.

Monday morning, after a Deadhorse Camp Buffett Breakfast - $15.99. and fuel at $5.49 per gallon,

we set forth for Coldfoot about 0900 expecting the slop of the day before.  The Arctic Wind had blown all night, the rain and fog were gone, and the road was hard and fast.  We were in Coldfoot before 1300 (1:00pm) after a glorious day.  We had booked rooms in Wiseman, just North of Coldfoot, so after fueling we went to our rooms and were all asleep by 1900 (7:00PM).

Tuesday morning we were on the road for Fairbanks by 0700.  Our plan was to ride the 120 miles to the Yukon River Crossing, stop and fuel both machines and riders about 0900.

"The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men"........three Flat Tires later, all on my bike, we arrived at the Yukon River with yet again another flat tire.  Somewhere between Coldfoot and the Yukon, I picked up a little Arrow Head like Rock in the rear tire.  I noticed pressure dropping and we stopped.
I quickly found the rock and pulled it, then plugged the hole.

That plug held air for about 10 miles before failing.

I plugged it again, using two plugs, this lasted another 10-15 miles before failing.

We stopped in a turnout about 23 miles from the Yukon, removed the rear wheel and plug patched the tire from the inside.

Fun, Fun, Fun

Nothing like working in the sand and dirt

Three more stops to fill the tire got us to the Yukon well afternoon where we fueled our bodies with Brunch,

our bikes with gas, and received permission from the kind maintenance man, Justin, to attempt to fix the tire in his shop.

Sam, a rider from Louisiana gave me a tube of Rubber Cement as the stuff I had was suspect. We pulled the Wheel/Tire and re-patched with a larger patch using Sam's cement -, thankfully it held all the way to Fairbanks where Brian and I both got in line at Dan's www.ADVCYCLEWorks.com for new rear tires.

Dan's lot was full of motorcyclists getting tires before attempting the Dalton Highway.  We were finally fixed and on the road about 2200 (10:00PM).  Dan runs 24 hours a day during the season.

After a late dinner at "Denny's" we washed Dalton's grime off the bikes and our riding gear at a local carwash, $15 each to get the rough stuff off.  We slept in this morning and were dressed and ready to ride to Denali NP at 1000 when I suggested we spend another night in Fairbanks.  Brian and Fred both agreed, we shifted out of "Full Gear", unpacked and went to breakfast at the Alaskan Coffe Roasters.  OK Coffee, Good food, a weird mix of staff and clientele.

Fred and I enjoyed our visit to the Fountainhead Antique Automobile Museum co-located with our Hotel.

On the way to breakfast, we discovered that the clutch on Brian's VStrom was acting out.  We noticed an ever-increasing drip of clutch fluid on the ground.  We filled and bled the clutch several times before determining that the Slave Cylinder was leaking badly.  Fortunately, the local Suzuki Dealer had the part we needed to repair the cylinder and we enlisted Dan of ADVCYCLEWORK.COM to make the repair.  This time there was no line at Dan's and after less than an hour, we were on our way.

We had a great dinner at Geraldo's, an Italian place near our hotel. 

We left for Denali in the morning.