My trip started in Anchorage where I got my bike from Motoquest and joined the group of other riders. The itinerary was simple on paper, but reality is always different.
It has been several years since I last rented a bike, so getting on someone else’s vehicle for a week was an interesting endeavor.
The first discovery was about how slippery the bike was. The roads in Alaska are muddy and dusty. Motorquest does a great job at giving you a bike that looks brand new. They achieve it by washing it thoroughly and covering it in a thick layer of Maxima SC1 coating, “new bike in a can”. My first thought was that I was going to slide off the seat. ‘Sweet,’ I thought. ‘Here is my first challenge.’ Then I stood up and found it impossible to hold on to the tank with my knees. “Oh well, challenge accepted.’ Only after days of riding, and specifically after the dusty and muddy days on the Dalton Highway, my bike stopped being slippery.
Traveling far away from home is about three things for me: people, riding new surfaces, and food.
Alaska definitely has its own type of people. Remote geographically and tough with the weather, it molds its population to be more serious and more efficient. So if you are not greeted with a typical smile in a restaurant, it’s not because your waitress is mad at you. It is the way people are here. Once you start talking, they are happy to share stories and advise you on what you may face on your journey today.
Riding in Alaska is a privilege. As soon as you clear the last set of lights of a city, you find yourself surrounded by the beauty of wilderness in its purest form. The sky is endless and there are no signs of humans. You roll for hours and hours without seeing the next settlement. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can stay closer to the larger cities. But for those who really want to explore the wilderness on two wheels, this is heaven.
Speaking of people and wilderness, you need to know about the “end-of-the-roaders”, people who choose to live in solitude. They go where the roads end, and Alaska is the place where many of them do. By definition, these people don’t like to be disturbed. Adventure riders frequently improvise, “let’s explore where this path goes”. This mentality can bring you to one of such ends of the road and one of such people. What happens there is unknown. But remember, Alaska has 7x missing persons per capita compared to the US overall. So be respectful and do not venture where you are not invited.
Roads… a totally different reality in Alaska. For a state that has long and severe winters, you have to applaud them for the quality of their roads. I wish Massachusetts would up its game and learn something from AK. If you plan to ride in AK and off-road is not your goal, you will be thrilled with views and abundance of nature, mountains, rolling hills, and endless sky 360 degrees that you can see from riding the pavement.
For those who plan to go off-road, you need to know a few things and really do your homework. I took the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot Camp, which is 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 250 miles short of Prudhoe Bay. Here are some points that helped me to be safe and comfortable while on the Dalton Highway.
- Make sure you have off-road tires. I met a couple on a Harley on street tires at Yukon River Camp. They initially planned to go to the Arctic Circle but decided not to because it rained the night before. They were worried about their bike’s ability to climb Beaver Slide Hill. For me, on a GS with proper tires, it seemed like just a nice, long, straight “down and up” section of the Dalton Highway. On a sunny day, they would have had no issues on their street tires, but in wet conditions they had to prioritize their safety, and so opted out.
2. Respect all heavy trucks that drive on the highway. It’s their job, they live there, while we are only tourists. Be aware of them. They carry huge loads, and to climb some of the hills they frequently pick up a lot of speed. They will pass you without any warning. Give them the road. Don’t expect them to yield to you. They will not. At the same time, they will wave back at you when you treat them with respect.
3. Be on the lookout for the sections of the highway under maintenance. Since it’s a packed dirt road, the process is unique and presents different challenges at each stage.
First, they strip the top surface from one lane width with a grader, pushing the loose dirt and rocks to the sides. The underlayer is much more loose than the original top. Next, they place the new top, which is a fresh mix of dirt, gravel, and calcium chloride, added to reduce erosion and dust, but the chemical does that by pulling moisture out of the air, so you end up with a much slicker surface – even more so when it’s wet. Finally, the machines that compact the surface don’t use the smooth drums we see with asphalt road maintenance. Instead, they have multiple wheels with gaps between them. After this machine goes over the surface, the road turns into a series of slippery ruts with small ridges between them. So, at each stage of the maintenance process, you’re dealing with surfaces that require extra focus, lower speeds, and better bike control. And you must be ready for that at any moment. There might be no warning signs. You might suddenly see that change in the surface right when you crest a hill. You’ll need to slow down or stop quickly, so make sure to always choose your speed to match the stretch of the road you can clearly see in front of you.
4. The Dalton Highway consists of an endless number of sections of dirt and pavement. Some of them are short, and some are miles and miles long. Just to keep you interested. Just make sure that you are ready for the dirt ones.
5. Potholes. If you go there earlier in the year, you will see big holes that can eat an entire wheel. I mean the Alaska type of big, as you don’t see the bottom of those. You will see them on the pavement and on the dirt. It’s a permafrost road, so when the foundation melts, the whole vertical stack goes under. So you need to be alert and look out for those the entire time.
6. Bridges on Dalton Highway are frequently made of wood. They have modern cement pillars but have wood tops. When it’s raining, running over them on two wheels could be tricky. Slow down, no abrupt braking or gas.
7. If you did an off-road section in rain, keep an eye on the engine temperature. The mud does a great job packing your radiator. The next day your bike might be overheating on a highway. So you may want to find a hose somewhere to clean the radiator, turn signals and your license plate.
Food in Alaska was an interesting challenge. If you go to a larger city, you may drive or ride on the streets that would have only big chain fast food places. They smell and look wrong there. To find something nice you have to talk to locals. For example, we were looking for a seafood place in Anchorage and locals said that we needed to go to Humpies. It was quite good, but without a local recommendation, not a lot of seafood choices are clearly available.
Food at the remote locations like Coldfoot or Yukon River depends on the ingredients that were recently delivered there. However, I think their chefs are great at coming up with good combinations of ingredients and are good cooks in general. It seems that they are also genuinely happy to feed those few people who make it there. So even though I had to deal with GF restrictions, I was always able to find something yummy there.
A couple of other points to share. In July, the sun does not go down for long. So be prepared to fall asleep and wake up with the sun out. It’s not that you are crazy, it’s just so much north that it’s unusual for most people.
It was a trip to remember for sure. The views, the nature, the sense of freedom there is above and beyond any expectations. But don’t believe me. Whatever picture your mind is drawing for you, it will be just a childish drawing compared to reality. Pack and ride it yourself. Do your homework. I hope that my points will help you as well in your preparation.
LanaOnWheels 