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Donna-Rae celebrates reaching the Arctic Circle. |
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There is no gas between Deadhorse and Coldfoot (242 miles), so they had to carry an extra 2-1/2 gallons in a plastic container, knowing their motorcycle gas tank would run dry 50 miles short. Although it was July, the possibility of snow was real, as was ice on the road. If the motorcycle broke down it would cost between $1,200 and $1,600 to get a tow truck to come up and haul it back down to Fairbanks. Here they were totally self-sufficient. Cell phones did not work; there were no houses and only an occasional car or 18-wheeler truck. However there were plenty of mosquitoes and rumors of bears. |
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They switched motorcycles for this leg of the trip, now using a 2001 Kawasaki KLR 650 single cylinder. It was much better designed for the gravel roads and stream crossings of Alaska. In the background, about a mile across the tundra, were snowfields, and this was early July. |
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The road department uses calcium chloride to keep the dust down on the road. Even dry like this, when a truck comes from the opposite direction the dust is so bad the motorcyclists can not see through it, often veering off the road and crashing. |
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Often motorcyclists crash because the gravel road becomes extremely slippery when wet. Many only ride as far as the Arctic Circle, about 150 miles north from the start, then turn around and go back to the safety of a paved road surface and the security of civilization in Fairbanks. It is not unheard of for motorcyclists to crash on this short ride.
This is why the road was built, to first construct, then maintain the 800-mile Alaska Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, where the oil is transferred to oil tankers. The oil is heated to thin it as it moves between the pumping stations along the way. This is one of a few places where it is legal to stand near the pipe. It is really a metal pipe, surrounded by insulation, then an outer covering, but if you put your hand on the outer shell you can actually feel the warmth from the heated oil inside.