Northbound with crazy weather.

July 4^th, 2026

Fairbanks, Alaska

Woke at 8am this morning and looked outside.  Good and wet, but appeared to be done raining.

I tossed on my clothes and ran outside to check the bike cover; it always has a few spots where water collects.  Sure enough, a few pools or water.  Pulled them up and let them drain.  With the breeze, should be dry before I pack it up in an hour or so, unless it rains again.

Went back inside to shower and get geared up.  Then packed everything up and prepared it for loading.

Went down and was lucky there was still one luggage cart left, so took it down to the room and loaded it up.

Final check of the room and final visit to bathroom and we then left room and took cart out to the bike.

Removed cover, still bit damp, but nothing too bad.

Stuffed it in its sack and then removed the security locks.

Loaded the bike, and about half way through is starts to rain, very lightly, but enough to start getting things wet.  Just cannot get a break, seems to always rain when loading or unloading for me.

Once loaded up, I took cart back, checked out of room and then back to bike to get cameras ready, route plotted and last gear on.

Got out of the parking lot and Google Maps said to go a direction that did not make sense, then immediately had me to a U-Turn.  Stupid thing.

Once back on the main road, took it up to another which brought me to the main highway.

By now it is actually raining, not hard, but enough to make things less than fun on a bike.

The fuel station I plan to use is about 15 miles up the road, so just made my way there.

Once at the fuel stop the rain had stopped thankfully, though nicely covered area, so filled the tank and then took bike over to the store to park.

Went inside to use restroom and look at food, but nothing jumped out at me so decided I would just eat later.

Got on bike and plotted my next stop at an old bridge on the old highway.  It’s about 20 miles round trip out of my way, but looks cool, so going to do it, plus I enjoy riding the old highways that get replaced by new ones.  They tend to still move good, but can be far less busy as everyone is on the new road.

I noticed that part of the old highway was the road the fuel station was on.  So followed it up through the north edges of Eagle River until it went into the countryside.

It eventually reconnected with the new highway (which was only about 1 mile to the west running a parallel course)

The new part took me another few miles before it split off again.

The old part of the highway follows the hills where it crosses the river at a smaller area.  The new highway was built across the estuary and wetlands, something they lacked engineering for when road was first built.  This cuts about 15 miles off the travel, but nothing around and exposed to all the winds coming in off the bay.

The old route has lots of trees around it and meanders up and down the small hills alongside the river Knik.

I saw my 5^th bear this morning along this stretch of road.  Young one, coming up out of the ditch to cross the road.  He did not seem to really notice me when I passed.  I slowed a bit as I was not sure if he would walk in front of me or not, but hardly gave me a glance, and crossed after I passed by.

Soon arrived at the old river bridge.  This is the original bridge that connected Anchorage to Palmer in 1936.  It was replaced years later by a more modern bridge right next to it, and later the highway was re-routed as I mentioned earlier, crossing a wider spot several miles downriver.

I parked the bike and walked up through the over growth to the bridge.

The bridge is an iron framed bridge with wood decking.  At some point they poured a layer of asphalt on top of the wood to provide a smoother surface, I guess.

Today the bridge is an historic landmark, and acts as a walking path.   Lots of graffiti art is on the road surface and parts of the bridge structure, and some amazing views off the bridge deck.

I only walked a short way onto the bridge for some photos, and then returned to the bike.

Rode across the newer bridge to check out the other side.

It has a long section of bridge that does not have the iron supports above it.  Did not walk much on this side.  Moved the bike across the road to try getting a photo and then got back onto the old highway heading up to Palmer. (Known as the Glenn Highway, name still applies to the modern highway today).

Arrived at the smaller river crossing in Palmer which also has an old bridge, this one converted into part of a bike path, so better restoration.  I did not stop, but should have it on video.

Back in Palmer I picked up the same highway I had ridden into the area a week ago and headed back south a short distance to the junction with Alaka Highway 3 which will take me north to Fairbanks. (The Parks Highway)

The first half hour of this highway is mostly urban, going through Wasilla, Meadow Lakes, and Houston.

You then get into the wilderness again.

By now the rain had mostly stopped and roads were dry.  Still very overcast, and while temperature had actually warmed some, it actually seemed colder?  Still getting a good wind coming in off the bay though.

Stopped a few times along the road for restroom stops till I reached my first fuel stop.  This one would give me enough fuel to maybe make it into Fairbanks, but definitely enough to reach a last fuel stop before a 50-mile gap of nothing leading into Fairbanks.

I bought something to drink and eat here as I was very hungry by now, but had not seen anything interesting to stop at, and being the 4^th of July, many places were closed, or packed with people.

While eating at my bike, I saw a Toyota truck with camper pull in with Brazil plates.  Talked a bit with the driver through limited English.  He and his wife have left Brazil in December and driven all the way to Alaska.

Strange that I have now met two couples driving up here from Brazil.

Back on the highway I headed north and soon came into the area where I should have been able to see Denali, the highest mountain withing the United States.  But the clouds were still heavy over the mountains, so could see lower parts, but not the peaks.  Not sure even which one was Denali.

Denali is somewhere in those clouds.

Over the next hour I saw several spots where you could see them, and clouds looked thinner each time, but never cleared out completely.

Did get quite a few nice photos and hopefully some good video as well.

I reached the Denali Park entrance where I originally thought I might stop, before I realized the holiday weekend.  As expected, the place was just jammed with people.

I stopped for a bit at a river with a nice pedestrian bridge over it and then hit the road north.

Reached the last town with gas, and while my range said it was possible, the margin of error was too close, so decided to top up now versus stress about it the last hour.

First pump I went too had an issue reading my card, so had to move.  Was wishing I had stopped at the Shell station only a few miles prior, this Chevron was a rundown dump.

Hit the road, and the road started to climb some, but also hit some pretty big road works.  Had to stop for a bit to wait for a pilot car, though oddly the road was two lane the whole way, nothing working on the road, and nothing blocking it, so not sure why they are guiding cars through it?

Not long after that we came into the edge of Fairbanks.

Note that it is now just over 70 degrees (F) and we started the day at 53.  Been going up a few degrees every hour as I moved north.  Opposite of what I would have expected.

Sun is also been shining for few hours, though north of town it looks dark and menacing, which does not bode well for the Dalton being dry.

The motel I booked was just north of the Airport which lies on this edge of town, so was quick and simple to get off the highway and to the lodging.

Checked into the room, unloaded the bike and then took the bike over a few blocks to get food at Taco Bell.  Was almost 8:00pm, most of the other places were either closed for holiday or getting ready to close.

I arrived back at the room and noticed some oil drops on the roadway.

I went inside and ate and then came back out to cover bike and check for leaks, and that’s when I found the problem.

Both of my front fork seals are leaking.

The left fork was far worse, and had been splattering oil all over the fender and back onto the bash plate and around the fairing some.

Looking back at old photos, it appears it may have been leaking from early in the trip.  The right fork only started about 10 days ago from what I can see, though hard to say.  However, seems it really got bad on the left sometime after I left the camp at Whitehorse.  While I can see the oil stain prior, after that I start to see the splatters on the bash plate in images.

Can only assume the 84 miles of dirt road in Nevada probably did something as I did not have the issue prior to leaving Arizona.

I will try cleaning them in the morning, as that is a common issue with dirt getting into the dust cap seals, but the amount of oil that has come out leads me to believe it might be the seal inside the tube.

I took care of a few things and then as I was exhausted, I am going to go to bed early.  A lot to do tomorrow, so will get a good night’s sleep.

Todays Route: