Bike repairs and laundry day.

July 12^th, 2026

Fairbanks, Alaska

Woke today at 8am, and immediately went back to sleep.  I was just not feeling it.

Woke later around 10am and decided I had better get up as I did have things to do today.

Showered and took care of the morning stuff, and then put on the riding pants and the new shirt I had bought the other day.

Grabbed the chain guard, tools, and new bolts and went outside to fix this issue.

I first made sure the bolts would go into the holes, but the back bolt (the one that fell out) would not thread.

Guessed it was full of grime, so used a bit of steel wool from my tool kit and clean out the threads, and now it works.

Got both in and was about to tighten them when I realized I had forgotten the Loctite!

Pulled them out and then applied Loctite to the first one and had it mostly in when I noticed another issue.

The hex head of the bolt was barely larger than the hole in the guard, so as I tightened it, it would just push into the hole a bit and after enough vibration would likely just let the guard fall off.  The head of the old bolt was twice as large.

I dug out the spare bolt kit I had brought and found two washers that were the right size for the bolt, and much larger diameter.

I had already pulled the bolt back out, so pulled off the rubber O-rings and put on the washers, then replaced the rings, and then applied Loctite to each as I installed them.

Made sure it was all aligned correctly and tightened the bolts really good using the socket.  So much easier than the Philips screwdriver the old bolt used.

I then oiled the chain as it was dried out from time, dust, and the washing yesterday.

Next, I pulled the shock socks off to inspect the fork seals, they looked good, but decided to clean them one more time.

Pulled up the dust caps and ran the cleaner around the seal, got a small bit of grime on one side, but other was still clean.

Put it all back, and decided to leave the socks off until we reach a good dusty road or some bad weather.  I had read you should not run them all the time, only when conditions required.

Put the chain adjustment guide on and the chain is just slightly loose, but not enough I am going to mess with it today, will see how bad it is after the next big dirt road we will start later this week.

Put everything away, and went inside the room to store it and clean up.

Next was laundry.

Gathered up all the dirty stuff I wanted to wash, only things I would not get clean was the socks and underwear I had on, will sink wash them later today and hope they dry in time.

I wore just my light shoes, no reason to take the boots for the short trip. (I wanted to let them dry a bit, had cleaned them earlier with the brush and it was still wet from its own cleaning, so boots were bit wet on outside).

Loaded up the bike and then grabbed helmet and gloves and riding jacket and left the hotel.

We went back to the same laundry place across town.  Its really expensive, but very nice place with lots of nice decent machines. (unlike the run-down dump on the side of town closer to me I had tried last time I stayed here).

I arrived at the place and took everything inside.

I still had my card from last time with the 20 cents still on it, so figured I would buy just enough to use that 20 cents and zero out the card.

Found the smallest machines and checked the price for a wash ($8).  Would need to do this twice.  One time for all the clothes, then I would change into my normal pants so I could wash the riding gear at that time.

Dryers were $6 still for the middle sized units.  They only have 2 smaller dryers, so of course they were always full since they were only $4. 

I then checked and laundry soap (stuff I brought was gone) was $2.50 a piece, and would need 2 of them.

Added it up and went over to add the money to my card.

Well, guess what, they do not let you add less than $1 increments.  Nice little profit setup they have for people not familiar with the process.  Many of the wash cycles are not whole dollar amounts, so even locals will eventually have left over funds on the card that cannot be used.  While they might use them in time, for all the people like myself (probably half the customer base), many will leave with something less than a dollar on the card.  After a bit of time, I guess those amounts will get forfeited if you never use them.

So, I will lose that 20 cents.

I went over and bought the soap, or so I thought, when I got to machine, I realized it was just stain remover!  Oh well, not going to spend more money, so just used it, should still clean some.

Ran the first wash cycle, and then noticed my balance seemed off.  Ran the numbers and realized I had added $2 more than I needed.  Now I am going to lose that too??

I checked the vending machines and they had cans of soda for $2, so just bought one of them.  Did not really need it, but at least got something for my money, and that price is actually not bad for this area, many charge even more.

I then bought the 2^nd soap, making sure it was correct stuff this time.

Once load was done, I put them in dryer and ran that cycle.

Wash and dryer cycles run about 25 minutes each.

When dryer was done, I pulled out the clothes, sorted and folded everything. 

First thing I noticed was my winter gloves did not dry well.  The inserts of course were all messed up, so going to have fun getting the fingers lined up again.  One of the gloves had the small tab on end of drawstring pop off, though I found both pieces and it was not broken, so was able to put it back, mostly, still not like the other glove.

That glove was still soaking wet inside.  Somehow it had run the entire dryer cycle without drying at all.

I put it aside so I could go change.  Took the pants into the restroom and got out of the riding pants.

Put the riding gear into washer and started it.

Then worked on the glove.

First, I pulled then liners inside out and out of the glove, that way they would dry better than all crumpled up.

For the soaking wet one, I wrung it out over the trash, then grabbed several paper towels and pressed the glove between those layers.  Then set them on edge of table to let dry.

Once washer was done, I pulled out the gear and checked it over.  The pants are still stained pretty bad; this road grime is brutal up here.

Gear cannot be run in dryer, so will have to let them air dry in the hotel, so the fun part will be getting the wet gear back.

I cannot wear it since still very damp, and cool enough outside already.

I will take a back road home to avoid the higher speeds since I will not have any gear but the helmet and gloves on.

I was able to arrange the bag straps in such a way to hold jacket and pants on the back of the bike (rest of stuff goes in the panniers).

Rode back to hotel without issue and hung the gear up in the closet area.

Put the rest of the clothes away where they get stored except the stuff I needed for tomorrow.  I did change into clean underwear, will just use them in the morning.  They joy of long-distance bike travel, cannot be too picky about how clean things are.

Took the other pair and the socks I had on into the bathroom and washed them in the sink and hung them over shower rod to hopefully dry overnight.  Will see if that happens.

Took the wet gloves and put them in the window on the narrow sill and hopefully the sun which will shine in that window for next several hours will help dry them.

I then washed the helmet off as it was still dirty and put a few things on chargers to get them back up to full.

I then rode over to Taco Bell to have a late lunch/early dinner.  Ordered a larger meal than normal to account for it being the only meal I will have today.

Stopped next door at the grocer to pick up a candy bar for a snack later and some more tea to drink tonight.

Back at the room I secured and covered the bike and sat down to work on the computer.

The first task was to get my financials done. 

I balance my accounts, verify all the credit card charges are accurate, make sure hotel security deposits are returned (more on this later), and update my tracking for cashflow and spending. 

Tonight I found that the hotel in Soldotna I left on the 3^rd still had not returned the $200 deposit they took.  Called them up and the lady checked and found that no, they had not processed that return yet.  She promised me she would notify the manager right away and notate it in the books.  She saw the note it was to be returned as no damage was found, but for some reason it was never processed.  Hopefully the manager will take care of it in the morning.

I matched up my receipts and emails to the credit card history online and it all matched up.

Then updated the cashflow and spending records.

Next, I updated the daily spending on Food, Fuel and Lodging I am creating, and another master list with all spending on it.  This record should allow me to show a final cost for the trip and break it out into several categories.

I then paid off the credit card.  (Low limit card, so I need to keep it paid to keep using it.)

Then I was able to toss all the receipts and make my wallet much thinner!

Then we worked on a few images I needed, and uploaded all 4 blog entries that I wrote while out of internet range.

Now just need to finish this one and post it.

Rest of the night I will work on getting video footage converted.  Always need to go through the 360 footage and pick the framing I want to use and export that so it can be edited into the final work.

Tomorrow I will be back on the road, already made my hotel reservation for my destination.  I was thinking of camping (10 times cheaper), but next week may be nothing but camping, so figured one more hotel night would be helpful to finish any charging, online work, and get a good sleep and shower before I end up in campground that may not allow any of that.

Catch ya down the road.

Last day on the Dalton, back to civilization

July 11^th, 2026

Fairbanks, Alaska

Woke at 6:30 am again, bladder again.  Maybe I do not need the alarm on the phone anymore.

After walking to café and back I sat in the tent for a bit and then started packing things up and tearing down the sleeping gear.

Changed into riding gear and then carried stuff to the bike and uncovered.

I tore down the tent and finally had all the gear over at the bike.

This was of course after eating breakfast and with several stops to talk with other campers, so took longer than usual.  Also stopped to buy a t-shirt at the gift shop.

I then loaded the bike up and once done said my goodbyes to the others I had been talking with over the last day or more.  One guy was still heading north, other couple was going same way I was, likely see each other on the road later, I am sure.

Final visit to the restroom and got on the bike and rode over to the highway, across and into the visitor center lot.

They were not open yet though, so used the trash bins to toss some trash I had in my pocket (napkins and old tape from where I re-did the repair job on the pannier, other tape was already peeling off).

I then rode back to the road and realized that I had not driven the ¼ mile of road between the two driveways into the Coldfoot stop.  I used the closest drive each time, so this small section of road was never driven on. 

As we cannot have that, I turned north, rode up to the other driveway, did a U-Turn and came back.  Now I can say I rode the entire route.

Heading south the road quickly turned back to gravel, but this was the stuff you could keep good speed on. 

Day wore on and traffic was light, but road also had its rough sections.  Odd how the north lanes are not as bad as the south, or vice versa in the same section of road.

Did come upon the rougher sections again, and had to slow down some.

Made a few stops for restroom breaks, or to fix something coming loose or resolve an odd issue with maps or the cameras.

I finally reached the Yukon River fuel station, but as I had more than enough fuel, I decided to skip the top off of the tank, mainly as there were already 6 bikes waiting, and this is the place you have to drop off your card, get the key attached to paddle and then photo the price and go back inside to pay.

I did go inside though and bought a Coke and a sticker to put on my new top case when I finally get to install it. (Its sitting back home having arrived about 10 days after I left).

While I was drinking my Coke outside, the coupe from the Coldfoot camp rolled in.  They had left a bit after me, and finally caught up.

Spent a bit of time talking with them and another group that was heading north and asking about the road.

I also talked a bit with a guy who was not having a very good day.  The ignition coil on his BMW bike had failed (or at least that was what he and BMW support had decided).  He was not even sure if there is a BMW shop in Fairbanks which is still 3 hours south, and if he would be able to get someone to haul bike down, or he would have to hitch a ride down, then come back up.

Those are the kind of break downs that create horror stories of waiting and dealing with the remote nature of these kinds of trips.  Not a part one would think to bring along either.

Then about that time I look down at my bike and notice my chain guard is hanging off to the side.  Upon closer inspection, one of the bolts had vibrated itself out and is now part of the road somewhere.

I tried all my spare bolts (a kit for Japanese bikes), but none of them would fit.

I used 3 small zip ties to connect it, hoping that would hold till I got to town in 3 hours.

I finally got back on the bike, and then rode across the street to use the toilet at the visitor center as the café was quite busy at the moment with two small tour vans that had pulled in.

Back on the highway I headed south and not too far down the road came upon road construction.   Took some time, but finally got through that and the final miles of the Dalton Highway.

Of course, once off the Dalton, you still have about 60 miles to go to reach Fairbanks.

But at least most of that route is paved.

Well, it was paved.

In the 3 days between my riding up and now coming back, they had ripped apart several miles of the road to resurface and made a mess of things.

Another one-way construction zone and we had to wait 20 minutes to even start going down it.  Caught up with the other bikers at that point too, though I did not ride up to the front to talk with them as I knew they would go faster than I would once we left anyway.

I also noticed while waiting that my chain guard was hanging off again, all 3 zip ties having broken off.  The roads here are just hell on equipment.

Once through that very long work zone, I caught stuck behind a truck for a while.  He was going really well, but then the hills started, and still lots of loose dirt and gravel from work that had been done in last few days.

I finally decided to just pass him when we were on a larger hill, and did not need to conserve the fuel anymore, would just make it.

Thankfully once I got past him, the roads stayed up and down hills and tight corners, so I could zoom through those and he would never catch up with me.

I finally reached the edge of town and stopped at the Circle K to fuel up as I had about 20 miles of fuel left at that point.

I went inside to use the restroom and wash my hands, and of course no paper towels, and air dryer is broken!

Back outside I had thought I might try to fix the bike, but parking lot was jammed with cars coming and going, seemed to suddenly be a very, very popular place.

I road across the street to the Wal-Mart, which has a huge lot and found a spot with a small amount of shade from a tree.

I found a pin in my spare parts that was slightly larger than the hole, so shouldn’t pull through, and I could bend the pin around the end to at least hold things one.  It was bumping the chain at times, but still better than nothing.

I then checked online to find a hotel for the night, and found nothing cheaper than the $200 a night place I stayed last time, so booked 2 nights there so I could have time tomorrow to do laundry and clean gear.

I rode over to the hotel, which only takes about 15 minutes, and got checked in.

Unloaded the bike, and cleaned my face and hands a bit, then once bike was empty, I did some online updates, and then took the tools out and removed the rear foot peg so I could get the other bolt out of the chain guard and just remove it.

Guard was just caked with mud and grime.

Put it in the shower and cleaned it off so I could attach it again tomorrow.

I then reassembled the bike, took the good bolt with me and rode a block down the road to the Ace hardware store.

I found the metric bolt pretty quick and even found a type that can go on with a socket instead of a screwdriver, so easier to install now, do not need to remove rear foot peg.

I will replace both bolts so its same type.  The old bolt had a small section of metal that fit into the hole of the guard, so we found some small O-rings that should compress into the spot and keep the plastic from rattling or shifting after I bolt them down.

I then picked up some Loctite as well to secure them.

Once done, I rode up the road to the car wash I used last time and just blasted all the bike parts below the seat.  The dirt was caked on nearly an inch think in places and could not even see some parts of the bike. 

Took about 8 minutes to clean everything off of the heavy grime.  Still a ton of dirt, but just surface stuff and a few spots I missed or where grime dripped down from higher parts and dried on.

After the wash I took a short detour to ride about 5 minutes to air the bike out and then stopped at Arby’s for dinner.  Had not eaten in nearly 13 hours.

I then went across the road to the grocery store to pick up more water to refill my supply and a bottle of tea to drink.

Once back at the hotel, I unloaded that stuff, covered and secured the bike and took a long overdue shower.

After moving today’s footage off the cameras, I typed this blog up and will upload it all later as I am very tired and going to go to bed here soon.

Tomorrow I will upload the last few blogs, update some more photos perhaps on Facebook, go do laundry and clean all the cloths and the riding gear (pants are filthy).

Will also put the chain guard back on and oil the chain.  I will also check the chain with my handy chain adjustment tool and tighten in if needed, which it probably does. Assuming I can figure out how to do that, never actually done it before.

Then will try to work on videos tomorrow and plot out the next few days riding.

I was thinking of going back south and riding the Denali Highway, but its 135 miles of gravel, 2 hours south of here, and would take me nearly the whole day to ride and get back to the highway I need to be on to leave Alaska.  And there are not many places to stay along the route, and some quick research during dinner showed most of the campgrounds were booked up, so unless the there are some empty spots in the first come sites the hold back, I would be stuck in the middle of nowhere or having to ride all the way out and even there the hotel options are very limited.

So will just have to skip what I have been told is one of the best roads in Alaska and come back someday for it.

I will just leave Fairbanks and head toward the border, but likely stay the night in a small town before I cross.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Dalton Highway - Southbound - Return to Coldfoot

July 10th, 2026

Coldfoot, Alaska

Woke at 6:30 am and dressed enough to go get breakfast.

Once I had eaten, returned to room, took a shower and got into riding gear.

Packed everything up and then carried it all into the lobby again to avoid the shoe issue.

Once it was all out, I used restroom and checked over the room, then went out and changed into the riding boots.

Now I could take things out and load the bike.

Went out and it was starting to sprinkle, so things were slightly wet.

Uncovered the bike and slowly loaded up.

While putting on the roll bag on top of the pannier on one side the mounting anchor pulled away from the bad completely!  So now I cannot cinch it down tight.  Yeah, this luggage is going to go, it served light use around town good, but not standing up to heavier usage

I spent a few minutes talking with a guy who had walked past me as I was going back inside and drove off, but then came back few minutes later while I was still loading.  He had noticed the AZ plates when he left, so wanted to know if I had really ridden up from AZ.

Turns out he has family in the Tucson area.  (Actually, lady running the front desk has a place on the west side of Phoenix as well, seem to run into lots of people up here).

I asked the front desk lady if the general store across the way was just food or lots of stuff, and she said it had bit of everything.  I needed duct tape to fix the bag, so figured I could get it there.  I took of boots and went back to room one last time to use restroom and do a final check, then checked out of the room and left.

Rode bike across the road to the store and actually was able to park in front of the sign I could not reach last night.

Went inside and guy showed me the tape, and they actually had gorilla tape which I thought might work better, and would look better as it is black going on a black bag.

Bought the tape and went outside to fix the mounting anchor.  Tape was not sticking as well as I hoped, probably combination of the cold plastic, light moisture and dirt on the bag, will probably need to fix it again later when I can take time to clean it better.

Took a few seconds to take my photos and then left to ride up the road to the fuel station.

The guy from AZ I had talked with had told me there were putting something on the roadway that I would not be able to ride on.  Turns out they were putting large plates across the road, probably to move something heaving on without damaging the road, but they were about 6 inches high and uneven, so had to find a way to ride around them.

Thankfully they still had one lane open on this end, so was able to ride past after they had the front loaders doing the work move out of the way to let me and another truck by.

For the next section, I had to ride through the parking lot of another hotel to get over to the fuel stop.

Took a bit of time to figure out the pumps, but then filled up the bike and my spare bag (I had emptied it into the bike last night to avoid having to store it on the bike full overnight.)

Then I backtracked to the main road via the parking lot again and headed to the highway.

It was cold and raining a bit, thankfully I had put on the rain gear while fueling as the rain was coming down there too.

The ride back was nice on the good asphalt and did not see hardly any cars.  I had left town at 9:00am, so must take a while before the highway traffic picks up.

Soon reach the rougher road and then the dirt.

I had noticed yesterday that the south bound lanes seemed to have less gravel and this proved to be true, far less thick and easier to maintain speed.

I probably made the return trip in about half the time, only having to slow down a few times for the really rough spots that I could not maintain speed in without losing control.

I also only stopped maybe twice to piss or adjust something.  Usually took photos during the stops as well.

I did manage to keep speed up in the lesser spots without the gravel being so thick.

Reach the road works and had to wait again, and this time there was a car in front of me and a semi-truck behind me.

The road was also bit worse today, they had put lots of loose dirt down and steam rolled it, but was still soft and moved a bit under the wheels of the heavier vehicles, and that caused random ruts that were moving my wheels around.

The pass was difficult again as the steep hills and looser gravel kept me in 2^nd gear for much of the trip up and down.

I then was able to get better speed rest of the way till the pavement began again without any real incidents and traffic was still lighter today than yesterday.

Arrived in Coldfoot and fueled the bike up right away.

Then I had to decide.

I had thought about doing a marathon and pushing all the way to Fairbanks tonight.

That would mean another 5-6 hours of riding, and had already been on the bike nearly 7 hours.

Or I could camp in the grass field again, bugs and all and it was warm again, so would be bit stuffy.

But was too tired and while the road south is not as bad as the road north, still not something to ride when tired.

So rode over and setup the tent and loaded gear into it.  Then changed into lighter clothes and went into the café for the buffet.

Sat on the covered deck which was cooler (though still few mosquitos to deal with)

Typed up last night’s blog and tonight’s.

Will have to upload later though, still not internet.

Now I will go back to the tent and put out the air mattress, then maybe sit outside for a bit, or come back and sit in the bar area, have a drink or something.

Then will be in bed early so we can get going tomorrow, though might not push out too soon, have all day and only need about 6 hours.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Dalton Highway – Northbound - Part 2

July 9th, 2026

Deadhorse, Alaska

Woke early this morning, 6:30ish, mainly as my bladder said to get up.

After walking over to the café to use restroom and back, I was awake enough I decided to just pack up and get an early start.

Changed into riding gear (which is not easy in a tent) and packed up the bags.

Uncovered the bike and started to bring bags over, but not putting them on yet.  Tore down the tent, which was a bit damp along the bottom edges from the grass which had been dew covered this morning.

Once everything was carried over to the bike, I started to load it up as usual.

Rode the bike over to the café and went inside to have the breakfast buffet.

Used restroom one last time and then we hit the road.

Turned out of the Coldfoot station lot (which is all gravel) and the road was still paved going north.  It was a rough pavement, with several gravel repair sections and some other just beat up sections, but at least could keep decent speed.

Stopped along the road for some photos and to fix the GPS, and then went onward a bit more till I reached a rest area and had to use it.

Not long after this the road moved to gravel, but mostly hard dirt with light layer of gravel on top, so still keep speed up good.  Few rough sections and some loose stuff now and then.

Started climbing in altitude as we approached the one big pass on the route.  Atigun Pass reaches around 4000 feet (did not see sign, and do not have internet right now to check).

The road up was steep!  And the gravel was bit heavier and looser here, so slowed things down a bit.  We had been on some really rough road the last 10 miles or so and that had also slowed things.

I have noticed with this bike that I cannot find a speed that will smooth out the washboard as easily on this road, mainly because there are also dips, bumps, rocks and just rough rock/asphalt chunks everywhere so there is not rhythm that can be found with the bumps.

And at about 40MPH the bike basically becomes uncontrollable, bouncing all over and the gravel just gets things slipping side to side.  Sadly, you have to stay around 20MPH to keep the vibration to a level that will not kill you or the bike.

I see the other bikes roaring down the roads, so not sure if this is an issue with the Suzuki suspension, perhaps related to the fork seal oil being lower than normal, though I recall similar bouncing on the other gravel/dirt roads this trip, just not as bad.

Or is the bike too light to counter the bumps, but heaving enough to feel them all the way?

I know the 50/50 tires are not the best for this type of surface.  They really are better in fine gravel and dirt, but the larger rock gravel just rolls the tires around.  Probably should run a 60/40 or 70/30 offroad tire on this road, but then all the highway miles getting here would suck.  I think this might be why I hear of people putting on different tires in Fairbanks or Dawson City for those running up the Dempster Highway which is very similar (just longer).

Either way, we just went slow, which was a bit of an issue with the cars and trucks which started to pick up on the other side as well.

Once down off the pass, we hit a road works area that was a one lane setup where you had to follow the pilot car through the route.  And it was long, probably 10 miles at least.

Oddly I was the only one needing to go through, so got to run behind the pickup on my own.

Past the road works a bit and the road became hard packed dirt again, and things were nice for a short time, then it went to crap again.

Very washboard, rocks jutting up, large pot holes and bumpy areas, all combined in many cases, and sometimes wet with Calcium Chloride sprayed all over the road.

The gravel became very think as well.  Would just push the bike all over the place, could not keep a straight line in it, and was always having to get over in it for passing trucks.

Had to stop several times along this stretch.  Once to piss, once to see if my tire was flat because I could not keep bike going straight, and a few times just to relax my hands or wait for a truck.

Short bit of rougher asphalt relieved things, but then it was back to the bumps and gravel, just without the wetness this time.

Finally reached asphalt again about 50 miles out from Deadhorse, was rough in many spots, but what a relief!

And then amazingly, after about 10 miles the road became a wonderfully smooth flat road across the tundra!

Finally, could let me hands and arms relax a little and get some speed up. (Still needed to stay under 55, this was longest stretch between fuel I had attempted so far and at this point I was showing only about 30 miles of range beyond what I needed, so was going to be close.

Was not paying close attention and only at the last moment did I see the heard of about 8 musk oxen grazing off to the side of the road.  Got the camera going, but only after I passed, so probably will not see much.

Finally reached the edge of Deadhorse where the highway ended, and we went onto the loose gravel local roads.

I had marked the general store in town as my destination, as they are the place with the Welcome to Deadhorse sign that everyone always gets a photo with.

This meant about 2 miles of local road to reach that place.  I saw the store and the sign and was in the parking lot heading for it and then 2 pickups pulled in from other area and both parked right in front of it!  The timing of it all. (To be fair, the area is a parking spot, and the store had the hardware store in it which I am sure is used often).

I stopped nearby and checked my phone and as I feared, still no service.  So could not research any place to stay.

My idea of visiting and then riding back to the Galbraith campground was not going to happen.  That was 2-3 hours back down the road near the bottom of the pass with all the horrible road slowing things down.

I just pulled across the road to the large Brooks Camp lodging place and inquired about a room there.

All of the lodging in town exists primarily to house the oil workers and other contractors in town for work.  It has only been in the last 20 years or so that they all started to take tourists as well on a regular basis.  They have catered to the hunting and fishing groups that would come up in the region more in the past, but now you have all the highway drivers like myself, going up just to drive the road and reach the most northern spot in North America you can drive to.

The lady at the desk checked and said she did have space, and then spent some time trying to find where to put me.  It was not cheap!  $425 for 1 night in a small room that barely fit the single bed and recliner with some floor space in front of the sink and closet and small shower and toilet in a separate room.  One window, facing the front entrance cover, so basically zero visibility.

But that cost did include meals at the cafeteria and snacks in another room.  Might have included laundry as well, I found the laundry room much later and there was not way to pay for it, so must have been able to use it, but was too late to do so for me by then

I unloaded the bike into the lobby as they did not allow outside shoes in the place without putting booties on, and that would have meant putting 6 or more pairs on to get all my gear in.

Once it was all inside, then I changed into my inside shoes and that was fine to walk around in.

Carried it all to the room, which was thankfully on the first level and just around the corner from the entrance.

Once in the room I got out of the gear and took a shower as I was needing one badly.

I then sorted gear a bit and put some things on the charger.

I then walked up to the cafeteria and had dinner, which was buffet style with lots of options and was actually pretty good.

Had a few deserts and then went back to the room.

Thankfully they had Wi-Fi as well, so was able to get a few things done, then I moved footage to the laptop and then walked up to the snack room, hoping to find a bottle of water or something to drink.  Picked up a fountain drink and bottle of milk, grabbed a bag of chips and then back to the room.

Drank the drinks, but did not want the food by then.  Stacked the bottles over on the sink as you cannot toss any food related stuff in trash in the rooms, then have large bins in hallway for that stuff.

Played online a bit, but was very tired and I wanted to be up early so I could get breakfast before I left, and breakfast was only served till 7:30am.

So, time for bed, tomorrow we get to head south and do this all over again in reverse!

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Dalton Highway – Northbound – Part 1

July 8^th, 2026

Coldfoot, Alaska

Woke at 8am and sat around for a bit to let the body catch up to the time of day.

Showered and geared up, and then packed everything up.

Walked over to the office to get breakfast, skipped the bagel and cheese and instead did the hard-boiled eggs and string cheese stick with a bottle of water.  Grabbed a banana as well.

Uncovered the bike and started loading the bike.

While loading the hotel maintenance man came over to talk.  Turns out he grew up in Tucson, AZ and had seen the license plate the other day.

Spent 20 minutes or so talking with him and then finished loading the bike.

Did final check of the room and brought the rest of the gear out and laid it out on the bike.

Went over to office and checked out of the room and then put on the rest of my gear and connected the devices I use to navigate with.

Left the parking lot and headed across town to where the highway heads north.

I had seen a Circle K there the other day, so figured it would be a good spot to fuel up and then could use restroom and get some food if still hungry.

Arrived at the station and filled the tank, and then filled my spare full bag so I had that extra if needed.

Went inside to use restroom and then bought a breakfast pizza from the deli bar.  Godfathers’ pizza as well, never heard of breakfast stuff, but wasn’t too bad.

Finished the bottle of water from this morning and then got back onto the bike.

Left the station and went down to the highway and then headed north.

The first 10 miles was same route I rode the other day, so familiar.

First thing was the temperature dropped by about 6 degrees from when I was loading the bike.

I pulled over to put on another layer, which involved taking everything off the top so I could put on the under-layer shirt, thought temps might stay for a while, but guessed wrong.

Back on the bike we passed the turn I used the other day and was now heading north to the start of the Dalton Highway.  The actual road does not start for about 40 miles; you first travel the Elliot highway which head out to several remote towns around the area.

Roads were decent, other then a few sections of gravel near just before reaching the Dalton.

Stopped to photo the Dalton sign, though so covered in stickers you really cannot see it.

Pavement ended about 200 feet after the road started.  Now 400 miles of gravel road.

Stopped soon after for the bigger Dalton highway sign on the side of the road.

About 20-30 miles in and the road was paved again for a good distance.  Bit of a surprise, but was a nice change and allowed faster travel, though not much faster as it was not the smoothest pavement and lots of pot holes.  You cannot do much looking around, must keep eyes on road, it changes without warning and quite violently at times.

Just before reaching the Yukon River, it was back to gravel leading up to the wood planked 2200-foot bridge over the river.

On the other side was the fuel station, but first I went to the other side of road to visit the restroom at the visitor center.

Once done I looked at some of the signage about the road and bridge and then rode over to the fuel station.

Pump was off in a corner, easily missed.

Pulled up to check price, 7.50 a gallon!

I saw the pump was locked, so rode over to building and went inside.  Like some other places, you have to leave your card with the cashier and then they give you key to pump

Another guy had just taken the key, so she told me to get it from him.

He was filling a large pickup, so took a bit, and then handed me the key, which was attached to a full-size canoe paddle!

Filled up the bike, only about half empty, so at least made the cost bit less.

Rode back to the building with this paddle across my tank bag and turned it back in and paid for the fuel.

Got back on the road and heading north again.

The road condition was much better than I had hoped. Besides repeated sections of pavement, there were some older pavements under a light layer of gravel, so it still allowed faster rate of travel.

Much of the road was just very hard packed dirt, and then a few sections of light gravel, though some loose spots, so still had to be alert.

I was fearing I would be riding 30 mph the entire route, but was able to keep up around 40, and even 45 at times on the gravel parts and up to 50 (the speed limit) on the pavement sections at times.

So far, I had been lucky and there were no cars ahead I had to pass or anyone passing me.

Stopped for a moment at the Finger Mountain viewpoint, mainly for the restroom, but took some photos and talked to some people that pulled in coming south, their truck was covered in mud.

They said it was the road I was heading toward, but not rain related, just where the road had been treated with the crap they put down to control dust.  It leaves road wet and muddy for hours, so knew I get some of that.  Similar to stuff we saw over in Yukon Territory in Canada where road construction was being done.  Makes a mess of your vehicle, that is for sure.

An hour north of the Yukon crossing we reached the stop for the Arctic Circle marker.

Did the obligatory photos and then used restroom before heading back to the road.

Not long after I heard a loud horn and a large truck was passing me.  Road as a bit rough here, but he just barreled down it.

Bit later 2 motorbikes passed me, though 20 minutes later I passed them as they had stopped on side of road.

Few other cars passed me as I made my way north.

One odd thing I noticed as I was heading north, the temperature had continued to go back up not long after I left Fairbanks.  So, while it has rapidly cooled close to down, about 20 miles north it started to slowly warm up, and by time I reached the Arctic Circle marker it was 80 degrees!

It started to rain a bit on my last bit of road, but not too hard.  Enough to get my face shield wet, and could feel few drops getting into jacket, but not enough to bother me or alter the road conditions.  Might have kept dust down a bit, but not much.

In finally pulled into Coldfoot, Alaska, which was my next fuel stop.  Only used about quarter tank, but the next stretch is the longest without fuel, so definitely need to top off again.

Pulled in and like most of these remote places, you cannot pay at the pump, need to leave card with cashier.  At least this place could activate the pump and see it (unlike last place where you had to photograph the read out and take it back inside).

Once fueled I pulled over to the café as I figured I should eat something.  It was coming up on 7:00pm, so been 9 hours now since I left the hotel. 

The campground I was looking to stay at was another 20 minutes or so up the road, so good place to stop for food.

The only have a buffet right now, guess they do that till 9pm, and then you can order from menu till midnight.

I had the $28 buffet, and filled my plate and that included the fountain drink as well.

Sat outside on patio and ate so I could keep eye on bike as this was a much busier place, so never know what some people will do.

Once done eating I was feeling tired, and I had noticed some tents pitched on a grass field between the café and the hotel. (I was going to ask about rooms, but as I was finishing eating, they hung up the no vacancy sign)

So, turns out the grass field is where tent camping is allowed and you have access to the bathrooms in the café or the hotel lobby. (The hotel looks like a bunch of trailer houses connected together, did not go inside yet, but looks pretty basic.)

I asked and it costs nothing to pitch a tent.

So, I decided to just stop here.  Was tired and while 20 minutes is not much, figured I could save that time and get started on pitching the tent.  Also, the other place would have cost me $12, and not exactly sure how to pay, and I did not have exact amount either.

Rode bike over to the edge of lot and walked over small bridge over a creek to the grass field.  Picked a spot and pitched the tent and unloaded the bike.

By time I was done I was drenched in sweat and I still had several layers on and the temps were well over 80.

Got changed into shorts and got out of tent which was like an oven and let the breeze dry me while I dug in a bag for my towel to finish drying.

Put on a light T-shirt and put out the mosquito device and they were starting to gather.  Lots of fly’s and small gnat like bugs as well all over the grass area.  Lots of dragonfly’s as well. (They have been thick on the road, and lots of them getting killed by cars and even on the bike I probably wiped out half a dozen of them).

Setup the camp chair and sat for awhile and talked some with the couple next to me.  They were online doing stuff, but I have zero signal.  Turns out only 1 Alaskan cell network works up here and they must not allow roaming, much like what I saw in McCarthy.

Café does not have Wi-fi either, so will just be offline for a while.

Walked over to café to check out the menu, see if they had something I could snack on, but nothing jumped out at me, and was quite expensive as well.

So came back to the tent and pulled everything inside to upload footage from today and write up the blog, even if I cannot upload it yet.

So stuffy in this tent, hoping the breeze would blow through, but I must have set it up in wrong direction, not feeling much.

Think I will just go to bed now, get some sleep and then perhaps get up very early and hit road sooner.  They do have a breakfast buffet at 5am, so might wait for that at least.

Guess we will see.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Bike shop visit, fork cleaning, and test rides

July 7^th, 2026

Fairbanks, Alaska

Woke at 8:00 am and got ready.

Did some online checks for opening times and to plot my route to the bike shop.

Got the bike uncovered and went over it again to see if there was any leakage overnight, and then cleaned everything again just to make sure there was no older signs of leakage left.

Rode bike over to the shop, which was not that far away, but I tried to take streets with more lights and stopped harder and purposely hit smaller bumps to make the suspension work harder.

Arrived at the location and could not see any signs of leakage, so I decided to just pursue finding the proper cleaning tools and fork socks as I think the problem was just dirt in the seals.

Inside I found the fork socks, only had one size, and when I looked up the forks on my bike, they are actually bit larger.  Socks are for 44-50mm, but bike is 43mm, but should be close enough.  They were $30, which was not a bad price based on the research I had done before I left.

I then went up to the counter to ask about the fork cleaners and saw them on the pegs behind the counter, so when my turn came, I said that was what I wanted.

Guy asked which type, as they make two different types of cleaner.  The one I knew about, was basically a better version of the plastic bottle cut out I had made myself, but the other was a larger piece, but easier to use supposedly, and he claimed cleaned better and lasted longer.

I decided to buy the better one, and then since the other kind was cheap, bought it as well, so I have both options (I know the one kind does work, but the other type did look easier to use).

All in it cost me about $65 to get all the stuff.

Since things are looking good, I am going to go ahead and try riding the Dalton.

He had mentioned they could do a seal job on the bike, but did not sound confident they could do it in next 24 hours when I mentioned I had to leave sometime the next day.

I did ask, and he was already in process of doing it anyway, if they had the parts on hand to do the job, should I require it later.

They do have all the seals and such, though he was not sure about a few bushings, but also noted that those many not need replaced anyway, so could likely re-use them.

It is good to know they have stuff, so if I do have a problem again, or the problem cannot be fixed by cleaning, then I can come in and get the repair done.

If things go badly on the Dalton with the seals, then I can come back down to Fairbanks and get it fixed, and possibly call ahead to schedule it depending on how far up the road I am.  Could take a day or two to return, so gives them time to schedule it.

Once done I rode back to the hotel and immediately used both cleaners to clean the forks again.

I first used the new type and it was much easier to use, and it pulled a decent amount of fine grit out of both seals.

I used the other one after, just to see how it worked, and much more difficult to get around the fork, but it does work, though both times it came out mostly clean since I had used the other one first.  The other one also has a end to clean the dust cap seal as well, which I did, though those had been cleaned earlier as well and were easy to clean, so not much was found on them.

I then put stuff away, and then found a fixed a few other things on the bike.

I mostly tightened a few bolts or screws that I felt were getting loose.  Also found one of the clips in the instrument panel had fallen out.  Nothing I can do to replace it without buying the part, but also not too worried, the panels fit together so tight they are not going to move.  Might rattle a bit, but bike is already a rattle trap.

I also found one of the bolts holding the battery tray was missing!

That I was able to replace from the box of spare hardware I had bought many years back thinking it might be a good idea to have some spare bolts, nuts and washer along. 

Also found the few things I had left in the tray under the seat had mostly bounced out!  I do not recall what all I put under there, but the tube of graphite was stuck in the fairing, the packet of hand cleaner was down beside battery and other things were barely hanging on.  Other then a spare wire harness for the GPS which was secured better, I decided only to put the shop towel back in there as rest of it bounces around too much.

The bikes tool kit is there, but is secures down into its spot.

I then took the bike for another long ride to have lunch and see if the better cleaning helped.

Was going to stop at a Greek food truck, but when I reach it, was very busy, so decided to look elsewhere.

Ended up back over by the laundry place, and recalled a place there that had been closed that day, and it was open today.

Pizza place, and they had decent food for very reasonable prices!

Once I had eaten, I rode the long way back on the highways to the hotel, and did not find any signs of leakage. I could just detect where the tubes had compressed as there was a slight blur of the chrome where the oil seal had moved up and town on the tube.  This seems normal from what I recall seeing on the bike in the past when I would clean it.

I do thin when this trip is over though I should probably have a seal job done anyway, if anything to replace the seal oil that has been lost.  Not sure how much, but guessing a decent amount was leaked out.  The front still feels normal, so not worried about it, but will put it on my list to have done later in winter.

I then put on the shock socks and secured them best I could.  They barely fit over the outer shock tube, and fit perfectly on the inner tube.  I cannot really secure them with the zip ties they included as the under lying tube does not provide anything to secure against, so would just be pressure against the tube wall, not sure if that would hold it, and if it did slip off, then the zip tie would be loose on there and could get caught up in the seal.

I would also like to be able to remove them nightly to clean under and check them.

I took the bike for a test ride around the airport, which provided a decently bumpy road surface to get the suspension moving.  Also rode past a few places with some old beat up planes just sitting there.  Lots of old planes sitting around edges of various properties, but this place had them lined up and on display.

When I reached the hotel, as I feared, one side had slipped up and off the outer tube, letting the seal area be exposed, so not going to do any good.

I will see how it goes first day of riding, but may have to try the zip ties anyway, but that may not help.

Will just have to monitor and check on them often when in bumpy and dirty spots.

Secured and covered the bike and came inside to finish video.

Once done, I was exhausted again, so took a 2 hour nap and then woke to write up this and yesterdays blogs.

Will skip dinner tonight, not even hungry, lunch was too much, but was going to walk over to get something to drink, but now its 8:00pm, not sure I want to bother.

Will figure it out and then either do it or not, then just have to upload all todays work on the very slow internet here and then pack up a few things and go to bed.

Will not be in a rush to leave tomorrow, with the long daylight still, I can ride much later, so do not need to rush out the door.

No plans for tomorrow other than to head north.

I have already marked all the fuel stops and possible camp sites and hotel spots (which are likely all booked up anyway), so will just ride till I feel close to stopping and pick a spot.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Gold mining history

July 6^th, 2026

Fairbanks, Alaska

Woke normal time today and got ready.

Went out and checked on the seals I cleaned last night, but did not expect anything since bike had not been ridden.

Pulled off cover and got bike ready though as I would be taking it out for a short ride today.

Sorted stuff inside and worked online a bit, then gathered up some of the cameras and a small backpack along with some other stuff to take with me.

Changed into the bike gear as trip is too long to ride without it.  I only do that for a few blocks at most.

Rode over to the northeast corner of town near the highway that heads north out of the city to have lunch.  I had found a sandwich shop there that looked interesting.

Place was in the parking lot of a Lowes, so busy place, but found parking near the place and went inside.

They seated me at the bar, ordered drink and food, and then waited.  Very slow, but the food was really good, but I would say a bit over priced for what it was and portion sizes.  But I did enjoy it.  Had some fries with sauce and toppings and a Cuban sandwich.

Back on the bike, I then found the highway and headed north.

After a few miles I pulled off at a viewing stop for the Alyeska Pipeline.  This is one of the sections where the pipe runs above group, supported on moving supports to allow for expansion.  About half the pipeline runs above, and half underground, depending on the ground conditions and various factors.

Walked along the pipe to see the displays about the various types of pigs they use for cleaning and testing the pipe, and then got back on the bike to go the last mile to my destination.

Today we are visiting the Dredge 8 gold mining site.

The site was used from 1927 to 1959 (with a break during WWII) to dredge mine the gravel layers of soil for gold.

This required the use of water and steam to first thaw and remove the top soil layer to reach the gravel layers below.  In this spot that was roughly 80-90 feet of soil that was thawed and washed away.

They diverted a river upstream to bring water down, creating a man-made river of sorts for many miles to allow the water flow over the gravel area where the dredge would float.

The barge like structure had the dredging arm and processing on board and would navigate up to the banks and then start digging up the gravel, sorting and processing the found gold and depositing the tailing out the back onto the previously dug sections.

They were very successful for a long time with this type of mining, though it sounds like larger chunks of gold would get missed and tossed out the back, so later groups would come check the tailing piles for stuff.

The operational costs combined with the restrictions on gold possession and the total price control the US Government had over gold finally shut the dredge down in 1959, and it was left there, where it sits today.

So, the site, which is privately owned, and the ownership predates statehood, has been built up as a tourist site over the years with some additions brought from other locations and created for the site.

You start your tour sitting underneath an above ground section of the Alyeska Pipeline, and a presentation is done about the history and creation of the pipeline (currently done by an old guy that actually helped build it, before he went into gold mining himself).

This is actually a decent background on the pipeline and its history and even current usage of the pipeline, which right now is scheduled to run for another 15-20 years, at which time it will be completely disassembled and removed per the conditions of the original building permits and permissions from land owners.

It is interesting in that the original pipeline took way longer to build than expected, and cost way more than budgeted, but still made its money and has lasted far longer than its expected 20-year plan. (49 years currently).

After this talk, everyone walks over to board a small steam train that was built onsite to move people around.  The trains are modern creations if I understood it right, but they were built to specs from the same early 1900s time period.

They actually have 2 trains, though only running 1 of them right now.  Each train has at least a dozen passenger carriages, so the groups can get quite large.  (There were 3 full tour busses, a few smaller vans and plenty of cars to feed the group I was in.)

The track wanders through the forest at a very slow pace, you could probably walk just as fast, but that gives the presenter time to give history on various mining types and people from the early days of the mining in this region.

They also have a visual presentation on screens in each passenger car.

Along the way the train will stop for demonstrations of various mining techniques used in the region, most appear to be recreations using original equipment restored to operation that was found or used in the area or even on the original mining stakes that made up the current land ownership.

You eventually arrive alongside the Dredge 8 structure, which sits, slightly sunk, in a pool of water that is what is left of the man made river system they had made, though I am sure at times it might dry out completely, the winters usually keep it full, but the dredge is also partially beached as that was how it would be left for periods of time when it was not in use to prevent it from sinking too far.

It sites slight off level, with the back-end dipping about a foot lower than the front and even has a slight tilt to one side.

The train stops and they talk about the way the dredge would have worked, and someone on board points out and holds up various artifacts as they are mentioned.

You can also see some building in behind and off to sides, many are original buildings brought over from the original mining camp that was located a few miles away, but had to be removed at one point for a land use change, so they were brought here to add to the sites charm and history.

Today was a bit of a wet day though.  It had started sprinkling lightly when we were at the pipe talk, and had continued on the early train ride, but just as we stopped at the dredge it started to come down much heavier, and the wind picked up and was blowing it into the cars.  It even hailed for a short time, small gravel sized stones.

During all this, the talk went on, and the poor guys on the dredge just got soaked, though they started taking umbrellas out to all the workers standing in various spots.

During this time, they also gave a demonstration of gold panning, several stations setup alongside the train had large pans of water and they would stand there (in the rain now) and show how the gravel was put in the pan, sifted and cleared with water until the gold was reached.

Once done, the train moved around to the other side of the dredge location where all the buildings were, and stopped again.

This time we all got off the train, and around the side of the building was a large covered spot with water basins and pans and bags of gravel all ready for us to all give gold panning a try.

They had everyone find a spot, then we dumped the bag of gravel and dirt into the pans and they then had someone at each basin to show everyone how to do it.  They actually used my pan as the demo as I was standing at the end of the long water basin.

We spent about 15-20 minutes sifting the dirt, getting the larger rocks out and the dirt to leave behind the small gravel and the gold.  I had a few challenges with some of the steps, and guy showed me the trick to get it to work.

I finally had the pan down to just a fine grain sand and when you swirled the pan just right several small specks of gold were indeed in the pan.

Took a few tries, but finally got the hang of the swirl to wash the dirt away and the heavier gold would stay on the bare pan.

Then had to carefully pick it up with a dry finger (harder to do since everything was wet, including us) and place it in a small plastic canister provided.

I ended up pulling about a dozen small gold specks from the soil, swirled it a few more times but did not see anything else, so if there was more, I had already washed it out.

Once you had your gold, you then went inside the big building next door which was mostly a gift shop selling tons of stuff, but also acted as a museum with lots of artifacts and displays about the history of the site and mining in general.

They also had a large area where they would weigh your gold and give you the approximate value (guessing based on current price of the day?)

From here you could also go outside to view the dredge again and walk down the path to get onboard.

I first used the restroom, then wandered the museum sections a bit before going outside and over to the dredge.

You cross a small bridge and board, and they have it roped off to prevent you from going into places that you should not be in (either dangerous, or tight spots, or few areas where they look to be storing stuff).

You go up a flight to see some more of the internal working, and eventually go up to the deck where the controls are for the dredging arm.

Spent a bit of time wandering and filming inside, then left to go back to the building.

As I expected, most of the people had waited to get gold weighed first as the lines were huge when I first went in.

Now the counter was mostly empty, so went up and had them weigh my few specks of gold.

Was told it was roughly $40 worth of gold.

Not sure how one would go about selling it, and guessing that would not be the price I would be paid.  No plans to try, will just put it back as a souvenir.

I then bought a soda and stood around for a bit, but was hot and stuffy inside (I was wearing my bike gear as there was no place to leave it, and actually had been nice when outside and it was raining, but now as overheating.

I used the restroom once more and then went outside to wait till we boarded the train, which was actually just a few minutes wait.

The train took us then back to the beginning, passing more old junk and the other train on the way.  Also passed several beaver ponds formed from the old water flows which also house other wildlife at various times of the year.

Once back, the tour was done, so everyone got off the train and moved toward the exit by the pipeline.

I got over to my bike, which thankfully had dried off a bit since the rain had stopped about 30 minutes back, and started to get bike ready to ride.

A guy came up to me and started talking, he had noticed the plate on the bike.

Spent probably 20-25 minutes chatting with him, till eventually his car (and his wife waiting inside it) and myself were only things left in the lot.  Even many of the staff had left as I saw a few getting in cars here, though think they also have parking elsewhere on the property.

Finally finished talking, gave him my media card and then we left.

Back on the highway we made quick time getting back to the hotel so I could change into regular clothes and set this out to dry out the rest of the way.

Worked on moving footage off the cameras, then went to dinner, walking over to Taco Bell again.  Really only place close enough to walk that does not require crossing a major road.

Then came back and worked on a video which I had mostly done before I decided it was time for bed.

Will get bike sorted in the morning and finish the video as I have no other plans tomorrow.

Todays Route: