Sgt Bilco's great Alaska Adventure 2016

UturnTony · Jul 18, 2016

Timaloy said:
By fuck there are some ugly buggers with you Chris. If Pete's coming with you next year I'll do my best to increase the Tom Cruise factor, dates permitting.

Good luck chaps, very well done, enjoy yourselves and stay safe.

Ugly indeed Bill i agree. I on the other hand l :augie

Sgt Bilco · Jul 18, 2016

We soon leave the swinging sights and sounds of Prudhoe behind us and joy of joys we have the dreaded roadworks to contend with. I'm not sure whts worse, not knowing how bad they are or sitting waiting for the pilot car full in teh knowledge you have 36 miles of horror ahead. Oh, and just to add to teh fun and games they decide to water the whole section.......!!

We get delayed for nearly an by an Aussie on an old Tiger 955i who bins it about 500yds from the end of the roadworks and decides he can't carry on. Not only are they crap and Rugby, it would seem they can't do gravel either. To be fair to the construction staff, nothing moves until they feel it's safe which is good enough for me.

After an hour or so of gently cooking in 90 degrees of ozone fee sun and being attacked by waves of mosses, we head south to join the Ice Road Trucks earning their keep.

Sgt Bilco · Jul 18, 2016

As we've all reached the status of riding gods now, we blast back down the Dalton, over the Atigun and down the north slope to Boreal Lodge Wiseman.

14 hours, 480 miles on dirt, no crashes, no damage and all smiles......that has to be a succesful day in anyone's books.

Even those flakey new WC's and the Africa Twin did it no problem. Fancy that and Engineer will be gutted........... :augie

Sgt Bilco · Jul 18, 2016

A few random pics for your delectation.......

Packer · Jul 18, 2016

I know what you mean about the perspective and scale of the area, I took these two images on the trip four years ago, in the first you can barely make out the truck in the valley

[/url]DSCF1711 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]DSCF1712 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG]

and that bridge is lethal when wet, Ken and I road over it, stopped and went back to take photo's and were both lucky not to land on our arse it was so slippery.

[/url]DSCF1720 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG]

gncpr67 · Jul 18, 2016

and that bridge is lethal when wet, Ken and I road over it, stopped and went back to take photo's and were both lucky not to land on our arse it was so slippery.

[/url]DSCF1720 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG][/QUOTE]

I think we rode it on the following trip with Chris, Totally agree the place is immense :thumb2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4XZf-AMKnQ

Sgt Bilco · Jul 19, 2016

Back to the excellent Boreal Lodge past the river and into the land of dead animal skulls. The owner Scott is a trapper amongst other things.

Andy B · Jul 19, 2016

What are the temperatures like Chris?

bod · Jul 19, 2016

Packer said:
I know what you mean about the perspective and scale of the area, I took these two images on the trip four years ago, in the first you can barely make out the truck in the valley

[/url]DSCF1711 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]DSCF1712 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG]

and that bridge is lethal when wet, Ken and I road over it, stopped and went back to take photo's and were both lucky not to land on our arse it was so slippery.

[/url]DSCF1720 by PackerK, on Flickr[/IMG]

Tell me the 2 Super Puma's in the middle of the last photo ain't mozzies! :eek

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

Andy B said:
What are the temperatures like Chris?

About 90 fucking degrees on the Dalton........horrendous!

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

A quick stop at Gobblers knob on the way back (titter titter) and you'll note I was interested in teh history of the place rather than the sign. Also caught sight of a big fire in teh distance which are common this year as there have been dry spells followed by big thunderstorms.

A quick brew at the Hot Spot and chatted to a trucker abut his rig and the 11,200 gallons of fuel in the trailer.........!! That is some tanker especially on those roads! We then slipped over the Yukon bridge and back to Fairbanks.

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

Back to our digs at the University and a delightful welcoming smile after a few days battling the elements. The University offers safe, cheap no frills accommodation and is a perfect place to stay in Fairbanks.

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

As is customary now after every Dalton ride is a proper Ice Cream at Hot licks followed by a few beers at the Marlin bar otherwise known as Skygods bar. I shan't bore you with the details apart from to say that they had a story telling night a few years ago and Skygod got up and told one. Now, if you now Skygod you will realise that his stories can veer off to very bizarre places and lets just say our American friends didn't get the humour.....

Anyway, suffice to say large quantities of Blue Moon beer were consumed which didn't make the open mike night sound any better as most of them made Leonard Cohen sound like mainstream pop but all had a good time. Walking/staggering back to the university at 1.00am in alsmost full daylight does odd things to your brain that's for sure. The pictures don't really show how bright it is.

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

For those of a nervous disposition or who have one of those strange "I need to wash and polish my bike at every opportunity" syndromes, look away now.

This is the crud build up after a very easy and dry trip on the Dalton and generally the bike and rider is coated in the stuff. It's pretty corrosive stuff so round to see Dan at Adventure Cycle works for a $10 wash to get here looking good enough. Bumped into 2 guys up there who were riding from Florida to Prudhoe Bay and back in 30 days which is no mean feat. One on a Super Tenere which are getting very popular in the US probably because you can pick them up for about £7000 brand new. No one has a bad word to say about them though so food for thought.........!!

Packer · Jul 22, 2016

Chris, why do they make the tractor units so long and then put the fifth wheel in what looks like a central position between the two rear axles? Incidentally do both the rear axles drive?

Tommy Gunn · Jul 22, 2016

I think it's about weight distribution on some of the weaker bridges. :nenau

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

A quick sum up of the Dalton Highway:

It keeps getting mentioned in the top 10 of dangerous roads to ride in the world. I think it definitely was when I first rode it back in 2007 but it certainley isn't now. Over the 5 times I've ridden it since, the amount of decent paved and good dirt surface has gone from maybe 20% to nearer 90% and when it's dry, it's fairly straightforward and most competent riders on decent bikes can do it.

When it's wet though it can still bite badly and we were lucky with the weather window we got. A couple of days before and a few days after were apparently horrible and the road was plain nasty. I've ridden it in all weathers and I can safely say I'd rather ride in the dry and when it's wet it's just miserable up there. We were delayed at construction for an hour because an Aussie on his overloaded old Tiger binned it and broke 5 ribs and an ankle. Airlifted off and his bike is still up in Prudhoe. As I said, it can bite......

Saying all that, has the improved surface detracted from the ride as it's now a lot easier? I'd say no it hasn't because the scenery up there is stunning and in that respect I'd put it in the Top 10 rides on the planet. My pictures certainly can't do it justice but the size, scake and sheer natural beauty of the landscape takes some beating in my opinion.

If you get the chance to ride it, do it and you won't be dissapointed that's for sure and funnily enough, we'll be back next year :augie

A few of my rules for riding it are below and I always follow them. It makes it easier to ride and much more enjoyable:

Take minimum kit on the bike and keep it as light as possible. Watching some people riding up there on overloaded GS's and KLR's never ceases to amaze me and these are the folks who can end up in bother.
Don't camp as the mossies will eat you alive. Cheapish accoms are available.
Fuel when you can and carry a spare can just in case.
Heidenau K60 or TKC70/80's are your friends as there are lots of sudden transitions from good road to gravel and dirt. A tourance type tyre would scare you half to death!
If the going is too tough, turn around as getting stuck or binning it up there isn't worth the tears that are sure to follow.

Done for another year now time to head back to Anchorage...............

Sgt Bilco · Jul 22, 2016

Packer said:
Chris, why do they make the tractor units so long and then put the fifth wheel in what looks like a central position between the two rear axles? Incidentally do both the rear axles drive?

As Bill says it's about weight distribution and they have very bizarre configurations. They aren't limited to length so can basically do what they like to get it right.I'm also thinking the tankers axles are placed for strength on the bad roads. All tractor units up here and generally stateside are 6x4 so rear axles drive. We don't need that in the UK.

LittleJohn · Jul 22, 2016

Thanks Chris, enjoyed reading about your trip once again.

Udders · Jul 22, 2016

Fantastic! :clap

I may be tempted one of these years. :green gri

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