Journal Stage 1
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We survived the Dalton Highway!
496.8 miles are now complete! We began on June 2 from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and navigated our way down the 414- mile Dalton Highway and then continued onto Fairbanks via the Elliott Highway. Imagine a road that is nearly all giant gravel with tons of dirt in between the cracks. A road that winds its way beside a huge oil pipeline, past pump station after pump station, with giant tractor trailers carrying cargo to and from a massive frozen industrial camp at the top of the World. Now imagine that this same industrial road meanders through the Arctic tundra with caribou, arctic foxes, musk oxen, and vast flocks of birds flying overhead, past the Gates of the Arctic National Park and ANWAR with towering peaks that rise thousands of feet straight up to the bluest skies you have ever seen. This road -- the Dalton Highway -- is known by the fearless truckers who navigate its prevalent 18%+ grades as the “haul road”. I believe one trucker described it to me best, “The ‘Haul’ is the hardest road you could ever drive a truck on, but once you learn it, it’s the best road and only road you will ever want to drive a rig on again.” I felt the same as the tuckers after coming off its last pitch down onto the smooth pavement of the Elliott, although my bum was screaming otherwise.
The Arctic Summer
When I left North Carolina just over two weeks ago, I was expecting that I was going to encounter some diverse weather conditions. I was told that whatever I expected would happen with the weather, the opposite would occur. I was expecting snow and packed accordingly with down insulation, heavy gloves, and Gore-Tex shells. When we arrived in Prudhoe Bay, I was sure glad I had all of the cold weather gear! The temperature was around 30 degrees, the winds were strong, and the industrial camp was shrouded in fog so thick you could only see 100 yards. To be honest, I was quite nervous as to what was ahead for Shawn and I once we made it to Prudhoe. One thing was for sure, I was glad Shawn McGlynn (a good friend from Montana) had signed up to ride with me through most of Alaska! As we rolled out of Prudhoe, our brake lines were beginning to freeze and the gears were starting to get stiff. After riding 30 miles we popped out of the fog and could see for miles, although the temperature was still around freezing. The time was 11 p.m. and it was perfect daylight.
What was to come in the days ahead I would have never guessed.
Amazingly we woke up the second day to bright blue skies and a
comfortably nice 50 degrees. We loaded up the rigs and began cycling
over the relatively flat Arctic tundra. Much of ground was still iced
in snow and the ponds were all frozen, but amazingly the temperature
continued to climb. Before long Shawn and I were in shorts and the
temperature was over 80 degrees. We were 200 miles north of the Arctic
Circle and it was 80 degrees!
The next few days were just as confusing weather-wise. We made it to
Coldfoot on day four. Coldfoot has the lowest recorded temperature in
the United States, something like -60 degree Fahrenheit. But on this
day, it was 85.7 degrees and it stayed that way as the sun made its
loop around the sky through the evening, never dropping below the
horizon. Finally we made it to the Arctic Circle and crossed the
imaginary line for seemingly warmer temperatures. The opposite
occurred, the evenings got down to 35 degrees a few nights and the days
remained a cool 60.
The Why I Ride team had few rain showers to contend with, although one
was almost a hurricane. It happened after we came over the largest pass
on the Dalton Highway, Atigun Pass (4,643 ft) in the Brooks Range. The
skies became black and winds were shifting in all different directions.
The storm cell began to move its way up the valley at probably 30 mph.
We had just set up the tent, staked it down, and put 30 pounds of gear
on the inside. The storm cell hit while we were cooking and SLAM, the
tent was suddenly blown over and began to blow away. I barely caught it
and was holding onto it with all of my might while Shawn scrambled to
tie it off. It was taking everything I had to keep the tent in my grasp
as the winds gusted to well above 60 mph. Amazingly the storm cell
passed through in a few minutes and it was back to a steady rain. We
got everything sorted and found that the wind had ripped a good size
hole in the single wall tent from getting blown over. Duct tape did the
patchwork and we went to bed in the mud!
Pedaling faster than Mosquitoes
I have found that mosquitoes can fly about 6 mph, sometimes faster depending on the wind. Many of the climbs on the Dalton Highway were over 12%, and I was often in my easiest gear cranking along at 4 mph. The North Slope had very few mosquitoes in early June, but after crossing Atigun Pass, Shawn and I were swarmed by hundreds each time we stopped to take a break or to eat a meal. Chemicals were useless, so we would pile on our rain gear and put on our mosquito head nets. They would be buzzing all around and each time you lifted your head net to take a bite a few would come in. The hardest part for me was staying calm and realizing that you are not getting bit even though all you hear is zzzzzzzzz. Each night, Shawn and I had to work as a team to kill all of the mosquitoes on the inside of the tent. Then we would relax and watch as hundreds would gather on the tent mesh trying to drill their way in. The mosquitoes were especially a force to be reckoned with at the Yukon River.
Fortunately, we did not have any mechanicals on the ride! Shawn
had a flat but his self-sealing tubes did their job and patched the
hole in a couple of minutes! I had a bulge in my tire and decided to
change it before beginning day seven of the ride. Having the tire blow
off the rim at 25 mph would have meant an early trip home for me. I was
worried about my brake pads until we got to Coldfoot. I have never used
my brakes as much as I did coming off Atigun Pass. I thought for sure
my pads were going to be down to metal before making it back to
Fairbanks, and had it rained, I may have been right in my estimate.
The Midnight Sun
Although we are back in Fairbanks, Shawn and I have not seen night in nearly two weeks. The sun simply never goes down. For the first time in my life, I actually had to put sunscreen on before going to bed! Although the midnight sun makes sleeping difficult, it has many benefits. Several times, Shawn and I would ride until 1 a.m. or later. We also did not need a flashlight or headlamp, allowing us to shave our weight a few ounces, but still topping out at just under 100 pounds each!
The concept of time just doesn’t exist in the Arctic; you ride until you are tired and then catch some sleep. Neither Shawn nor I carried a watch and we would often have to ask what day it was when we would strike up a conversation with a friendly Alyeska pipeline worker or some other wandering tourist missing a few spokes!
Dalton Encounters
Shawn and I met several great people on the Dalton Highway. Pipeline workers, students working at research facilities, and an occasional tourist would often offer Shawn and me fresh fruit or candy bars. The truck drivers were incredibly courteous to us throughout the ride, always making sure to give us plenty of room and dropping their speed so that the dust was only a quarter-mile long as opposed to the usual full mile! The drivers are true professionals, they would put their outside wheels right against the edge of 1,000 foot drop offs. Some of the rigs were so big that they had to have “pusher trucks”. Pusher trucks have rubber bumpers and push the towing tractor when going over a big climb.
We also met several nice tourists along the way. Scott, a Costco manager, was the only other cyclist we met on the ride. He was heading to Anchorage and his bike weighed over 140 pounds. He would ride until he could go no farther and then just pass out in a place right next to the road. He had the all time best campsite I have ever seen, just north of Atigun Pass. The picture above describes it best!
How is the Team?
The Why I Ride team is doing great and will soon be growing! Shawn and I were the only riders on the Dalton Highway south to Fairbanks. We were planning on the road to take us ten to eleven days to navigate, but we were able to hammer it out in eight! Fortunately, we have an excellent place to stay here in Fox, which is about ten miles north of Fairbanks. We are staying with the Coe Family and eating, sleeping, and taking proper showers after nearly ten days without bathing (a new personal record)! My connection to the Coe Family is through Shawn. He and Chris Coe are good buddies from Montana State in Bozeman. Chris’s parents, Jeff and Michelle have been so nice to us. They have given us a warm bed to sleep in for several nights, a nice dry roof over our head, a garage to sort through the gear, use of their kitchen, warm water to bath in, and Jeff loaned us his 7.3L Diesel for transportation up to Prudhoe Bay, where he works every other week! I asked if Jeff had a name for the truck, and to my surprise he did not. After much deliberation on the 20-hour drive up, Shawn and I settled on “Stonewall” as the name for this fine piece of machinery that transported our bikes, our gear, and us up to Prudhoe in breezy style.
Two more riders will be joining the Why I Ride team tomorrow for the ride south, Marie Marušková from the Czech Republic and Callie Spencer from the Republic of Virginia! Together we will steam on pedal power towards Denali National Park on Friday morning! Shawn and I are getting a little restless after riding dozens of miles each day over very difficult terrain and now just eating and enjoying the plentiful daylight.
Food, Food, and more Food
Shawn and I are eating six to eight thousand calories each per day now! Quantity, not quality is the key thing to look for when shopping for groceries. Lucky for me, Shawn is an excellent cook and since getting back to the Coe’s house, he has been whipping up some scrumptious dishes. Pasta, homemade bread, burritos with all the fixings, brownies smothered in ice cream, and baked bananas are just a few of the treats we have been eating.
The water we are drinking is now clear as well! There were several times on the Dalton Highway that Shawn and I could not see through the water we were drinking. Shawn asked me a few times, “remind me which organ it is that filters rocks.” It got so bad at one point that I had to flag down an RV which was passing. It was near the end of the Dalton and the water was reddish brown and there was a half-inch of sediment that would collect at the bottom. Of course we were treating the water with the SteriPen, but even a pump filter would have become clogged up with all of the debris in this water. The couple in the RV was from Maine and they gladly gave us each three bottles of Aquafina. I remember the man saying, “I think that is good water, made by Coca-Cola I believe.” Shawn and I laughed, explaining it is great as we lifted our cloudy brown bottles! The gentleman’s wife gasped and nearly become sick at the thought of humans drinking such water! “Are you sure you do not need more fellas?” I said we were great and they pulled off in their 26-foot house on wheels.
Recipe of the week
Backcountry Burritos: 1/2 cups dehydrated seasoned black beans (find these in the bulk section of your local food co-op or Fred Myers) Taco seasoning (making your own before you go is best: a ‘lil cumin, paprika, garlic, onion, chili, and a dash of oregano should set you up right) ~1/2 cups H20 Corn tortillas (flour are good too!) A bell pepper (optional) Some cheese (optional) Some yummy hot sauce, try La Guacamaya, or Tiger Sauce if available. Boil the water, add it to the dehydrated beans slowly with stirring until a thick, refried bean consistency is reached, then, add just a dab more water and a nice amount of taco seasoning and stir. Cover the bean mixture and let sit. Take a tortilla griddle (the lid of your pot works great too!) and put it on your stove’s burner. Start slapping on the corn tortillas one at a time, monitoring constantly and flipping frequently until the tortilla is browned just a bit on both sides, repeat until you have a nice stack of warmed tortillas. Rip up the pepper with your hands (no room for a cutting board in my bike!) and place it on the tortilla griddle (the lid for your pot) and sauté a bit until the edges of the pepper begin to brown. Serve by scooping some beans onto a toasted tortilla and adding some of the pepper, a bit of cheese, and a dash of hot sauce. Variation: make the beans a bit thinner by adding more water and make a tortilla soup. (good on rainy days!) Happy eating and we’ll be back with you south of Fairbanks.
WHY I RIDE BEGINS!
My final preparations are complete. I have pulled together all of my equipment and carefully packed all of the gear into two containers, one huge duffle bag and a bicycle box. Each weighs just under 50 pounds including all packing material. I will be leaving from Charlotte, NC, at 5 p.m. for my flight to Alaska today, May 30, 2007. I will arrive in Anchorage around midnight and have a six- to seven-hour layover before flying into Fairbanks around 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 31. Shawn McGlynn, a fellow rider from Montana, will be arriving into Fairbanks the same day.
Together, we will assemble our bikes and head for the grocery store! Oatmeal and dehydrated meals are what will be on the menu for the next two weeks as we prepare for our trek down the Dalton Highway. Half of the food we purchase, seven days worth, will go into our bicycle bags and the other half will go into a box along with some spare tubes to be dropped with a yet-to-be-named friendly person in Coldfoot, AK. Coldfoot is approximately half way between Prudhoe Bay (our starting point) and Fairbanks.
Shawn has a good friend in Fairbanks who will be transporting us up the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, a total distance of 500 miles. Depending on road conditions, the drive should take around 24 hours if we make few stops. The road is nearly all unpaved and services are very limited. The Bureau of Land Management has assembled an excellent PDF brochure on Bicycling the Dalton Highway. This seven page document sheds light on the unique challenges that the Dalton poses for bicyclists and provides a basic map with water sources along the road.
The Dalton Highway will undoubtedly be the most difficult bicycle ride of my life, both mentally and physically. My gear will weigh right at 100 pounds (including the bicycle) and the road conditions will be difficult at best! There will not be any grocery stores, medical facilities, or Internet hotspots available on this 500-mile road. With that said, I will not be able to update my website until Shawn and I arrive back in Fairbanks. All of my efforts will be concentrated on eating well and trying to catch a few hours of deep sleep in the land of the midnight sun. From Prudhoe Bay south to the Brooks Range, the sun will never drop below the horizon and it will be daylight 24 hours a day!
How is the weather? Weather in Prudhoe Bay is COLD! The lows will reach down to 25 degrees and if we are lucky, the highs will spike to 35. The “feels like” temperature, with the wind chill factored into the equation, will hover between 12 and 25 degrees. Please click here for the 10-day forecast for Prudhoe Bay. Scattered snow showers and freezing rain are the normal this time of year and can happen at anytime, so Shawn and I will plan accordingly. To my amazement, Fairbanks (only 500 miles away from Prudhoe Bay), forecasts temperatures ranging from 48 degrees for the low to 80 degrees for the high. Several pieces of clothing will be mailed back home to Cullowhee, NC, once back in Fairbanks.
The Why I Ride team hopes to be back in Fairbanks on June 13, just in time to meet two more fellow riders. I hope to send out the first newsletter once back in Fairbanks! Please subscribe to the free email newsletter which will keep you up to date with Why I Ride’s progress. The newsletter will go out approximately every two weeks and share with its subscribers pictures and stories documenting the experiences of Why I Ride!
On June 14, Marie Marušková of the Czech Republic and Callie Spencer of the Virginia Republic will be joining Shawn and I for the remainder of Alaska. Together, the four of us will continue south for Denali National Park, Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, and Homer. Shawn will be flying out of Anchorage in early July. Marie, Callie, and I will then head east for the Canadian border.
I am off to eat my last meal in North Carolina for several months. It will consist of a Bar-B-Que (Lexington style of course) sandwich and some Sweet Tea among other things!
Thanks for keeping up with Why I Ride and please don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter!
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