Rode 400 miles from Watson Lake to Haines Junction today and while the scenery is stunning, I find myself crying out to see a town and people. You can have a bit much of forests, lakes and mountains.
About two days ago I finally made the firm decision not to go to Prudhoe Bay but to spend four days in Fairbanks while the others rode there and back – another 1k miles in total. This wasn’t a decision based on fearing travelling the Dalton Highway – which gets talked of as one of the world’s most dangerous roads. The reality is the Dalton is paved for half its distance and tightly packed dirt for the other half. In the summer and in the dry it’s a pretty normal road (that’s what all the Harley riders we meet say), it’s just not so nice in winter with thick snow etc etc. Any case my decision was met with interest by my fellow travellers and it is clear that quite a few of them think I’m not stupid as the Dalton is through boring permafrost scenery and at Prudhoe, which is an oil company town, you are restricted as to where you can go and what you can see. Indeed you can’t get access to the sea!
So, tomorrow is a longgggggggg ride to Fairbanks – 500 miles. Me, my roommate and a one or two others are setting of at about 6am and just intend to do a steady ride all day stopping every 100 miles or so for a leg stretch and something to drink and eat.
The temperature here gets up to late 20 degrees c in the early evening and the skies have been blue and we haven’t had any rain – I hope I’m not tempting providence? In short the weather has been great and a few people we’ve met coming up from the USA say it’s raining there!
The tour leader who hopes to sell this tour big time to bikers is clearly using us as guinea pigs – while he’s done this trip before he hasn’t taken a group on it. And already it is clear that he realises the days are just too long on the road. But there isn’t a lot he can do about it now apart from put a brave face on.
But I mustn’t give the impression I’m not enjoying it. I am. But it is tiring. Of to bed now.