Pirates and such!

One of the families riding with us from Whittier to Bellingham has gone to great lengths to keep their three year-old amused during the journey. Unfortunately, mutiny still ensued...


It's just more fun if everyone gets to "die".


The motley crew.


Jordin escapes with his booty.


and he's taken over the bridge!


but he did take his Mother with him.

Point Retreat Lighthouse

As we left Juneau we passed the Point Retreat Lighthouse.





We also passed the M/V Fairweather, a high-speed twin-hull ferry for the Alaska Marine Highway.

Lunch in Juneau

We stopped in Juneau to drop off a few passengers and pick up a few more. Took a cab downtown from the Ferry Terminal, had lunch, and walked around a bit before getting back on the ferry for Ketchikan and Bellingham.


The rain stopped for a few minutes while we walked around downtown.


Formerly called the Fiddlehead Restaurant & Bakery, the Sandpiper Cafe has an awesome cashew chicken salad sandwich.



The Alaska Native Veteran's Memorial.





Lovely flowers.


Nancy DeCherney, author of The Fiddlehead Cookbook.

Four Miles in the Heart of the Mountain

The next day, which they tell me is Monday despite not being at work, was also laid back. We had to pick up my mother around 4:00pm at the airport then head down to Whittier to catch the ferry, but aside from that we were free. The Fellowship began to drift apart. Biju decided to take a glacier cruise and left early that morning. Scott returned in his bike and picked up a rental truck, he'd be staying in AK for another week. We fooled around in downtown Anchorage at the tourist shops most of the morning.

After lunch we packed our bags back on the bikes and picked up my mom. Whittier is about an hour's ride to the south of Anchorage along the tidal basin. It's amazing country, with glaciers holding fast to the mountains, sending icy torrents to join the rivers far below. Whittier is little more than a port, and the town is cut off by icy peaks. The only way into town, other than boat, is to go through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. Bored through a mountain, it stretches four dark miles under the rock. It's not more than 15 feet wide, and the tunnel floor is bisected by a rail line cut into the rock. It's a little precarious in a bike, should you stray too far to either side into the rail you're certain to go down. Each mile felt like an age as we rode on under the orange glow of the fluorescents.

Once we passed through that night we were in Whittier. The ship, the MV Kennicott, was slow to board. The port didn't have the facilities to refuel, so they had to run tankers into the hold to top up. After sitting in the rain and the cold for a few hours they finally let us into the ship to tie the bikes down in the car deck.

My berth sleeps four in a hair less space than my freshman dorm, which is to say it is a spacious walk-in closet. This is not a problem since I'm the only one staying there and I've got a porthole wide enough to sit in and watch the world go by.

We ate in the ship's cafeteria, which wasn't serving the full menu as late as we got in. It was enough, we just wanted something hot in us after waiting outside for so long!

Whittier to Yakutat via the Alaska Marine Highway

Sorry for the delays, connectivity has pretty much been non-existent since we left Whittier. We're transmitting this as we approach Juneau. Spot seems to keep good track of our position, though I've noticed some gaps between transmissions there as well.

Waiting to go through the tunnel to Whittier.


Bikes secure onboard the M/V Kennicott.


On dry land at Yakutat with The Crew.


Fresh fish, on the dock at Yakutat.


One of several bald eagles we saw at Yakutat.


Beautiful mountains surround the village at Yakutat. Mostly in the clouds this day.

Another wildlife photo

Today we hung out in Anchorage with Scott & FC. Biju is touring 26 glaciers. Nice relaxing day... Except for the grizzly.

Skyriding

The day after our ride to the Arctic Circle was meant to be an easy one. The plan was to switch tires and change oil at Adventurecycle in Fairbanks, then drive a few hours to Anchorage. Our mechanic Dan was great, but it took into the early afternoon before he was done with our bikes. It's mostly my bike's fault, cruisers can be a hassle to work on without a center stand and the bike shop back home had turned all the bolts to nigh impossible tightness. In fact, he said my bike would be the last cruiser he ever worked on if he could help it!

The day started wet and continued to worsen the longer we were in Fairbanks. By the time my bike was done it was pouring down, so I wasn't especially looking forward to the open road. Thankfully it cleared up not far out of town. The road was beautiful, we followed a ridgeline in and out of the low clouds. The mountains were gorgeous and everpresent, huge rocky faces covered in snow so close I felt that I could ride up them if I turned off the road. Scott had gotten some incredible shots of Denali the day before, I'm sure some of them have already been posted here, we weren't so lucky. The clouds covered the peak, like they usually do. The peaks we saw were still astonishing!

A crazy thing happened past the Denali camp, we saw moose again. The road was cut between two taller hills, covered in low trees. A moose burst out of brush onto the side of the ride at full tilt, which was exciting except that it kept coming onto the road. Then a copper-colored calf joined what I now realized was a mother. The kind that kick people to death for being close to their young. We threw on the brakes, and I started to lay a stripe behind me, when the two, still at a full gallop, turned off the road and lumbered back into the trees.

We rolled into Anchorage, and after a quick seafood dinner we crashed at the hotel.

And now a word from our sponsor(s)...

Presenting the support team for Cycle To The Circle 2011:

Nita & Kaytie Wood


Nita, Kaytie, &Violet Wood


Thanks for keeping the home fires burning while we're off having an adventure!

Leon Russell lives in Fairbanks and worked on our motorcycles.

OK, it's not really Leon Russell. It's actually Dan Armstrong with Adventure Cycleworks who does great work out of his incredibly equipped home garage, replacing the tires on my bike. He also put an awesome set of wide whitewalls on the Drifter.





Knowing this stop was coming, we shipped in a fresh set of waterproof riing boots for Christopher and new riding pants for Woody. My twelve year-old Joe Rockets had begun to fray around the armor, and had developed a miserable rain leak in the crotch. Although the new Kevlar Sliders are waterproof, they're not GoreTex... great if you need to keep warm, but miserable if it's at all hot outside. This may just be part of my new weight-loss plan.

After looking at the forecast for tomorrow, we decided to make a dash for Anchorage this afternoon with FC. We rolled in about 9:30 this evening. Scott and Biju rode down this morning while our bikes were being worked on.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow! Nita joins Christopher and me on the M/V Kennikott as we ferry the bikes from Alaska to Seattle.

The Day

The day had arrived. The Day. The Day to which this blog is named. Today we would ride to the Arctic Circle. It opened clear, not a cloud in the sky, and after picking up fuel we headed toward the Dalton Highway. It's beautiful country outside of Fairbanks, high wooded hills. The road had fun curves, and after about an hour and change we made it to the start of the Dalton.

The Dalton is an odd road, it started out rough, gravel, dirt, and hardpan for about 30 miles, then switched over to mostly paved road. Which isn't to say it wasn't tricky in spots. It had some mean curves and steep hills we had to take unlaced, but we didn't have any trouble on the way to the Circle. The Alaska Pipeline ran beside us, a metal artery running snaking up the hills, pumping crude back to civilization. We stopped 60 miles from our destination on the far side of the Yukon River for breakfast and fuel. The Yukon is a different kind of artery, draining thousands of square miles of northern country into the Bering Sea.

At the camp on the river I had a 'short' stack of pancakes about the size of my head, then it was on the road again. Past that stop the Dalton is mostly paved, so we made good time. The tree line was close, the farther north we got the smaller the trees became.

Before we hit the Circle we drove through Finger Mountain. It's a high hill covered in rocky outcroppings overlooking the scrubby tundra for miles. At the peak of the hill is a pinnacle of naked rock that stabs into the sky accusatorially.

Not far beyond that we reached the signs marking the point. We had reached the Arctic Circle at last! This was what the last week had been building toward, a beacon glowing over the horizon over the thousands of miles we'd traveled. Photos were taken and told our loved ones we had made it by satphone. I don't think any of our group had ever been so far north!

The Arctic Circle... at last!

We reached the Arctic Circle at approximately 11:23 Alaskan Time today. The bikes showed a total of 4,008 miles since we left Oklahoma nine days ago. Overall the Dalton Highway was both better and worse than I anticipated. There were several good stretches of surfaced roadway which I hadn't expected, but were also areas where the roadway was being worked and the dirt surfaced had been heavily watered down. I didn't expect the BMW to handle so erratically in the mud, but putting a high performance street bike in the dirt was probably never in the design criteria. The good news is I managed to stay upright through the bogs, though I did just about "lose it" in a couple of spots and managed to get enough sideways at one point to absolutely cover Christopher and the Drifter in mud.

Tomorrow we will spend the day replacing tires, oil, and filters, doing a little laundry, and worshipping with a local congregation. I have many blessings to count at this point: safe travels, Nita, Christopher, a few friends who made it a point to fly up and make the final leg with us, and a few friends who stayed home but planned and/or prayed. Thank you all!


The start of the Dalton Highway... Ice Road Bikers?


110 miles from the Arctic Circle, 50 miles from the Yukon River.


Finger Mountain, a few miles south of the Arctic Circle.


The entire crew at the Arctic Circle. Left to right: Scott Haney, Biju Kurian, Robert Wood (all from the Oklahoma City area), FC Wood (Houston), Christopher Wood (McLean, VA).


The crew with their bikes: Woody, Christopher, Scott, FC, Biju.


Christopher scouts out the terrain...


We carried an Iridium satellite phone so the guys could call home for their arrival at the Arctic Circle. No cell phone service here. Great fun!

One picture I missed today: as we turned onto the Johansen Expressway in Fairbanks, we almost immediately passed a very large beaver in the left lane... Beaver?! He seemed a little put off that we were in his space. You just don't see too many beavers on expressways in Oklahoma.

This is the day!

This is the day!!! We roll at 6:00 this morning from Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle. The weather forecast at both Fairbanks and Coldfoot call for partly sunny skies and 75-85 degrees. Incredible. Thanks for your prayers, we cover some challenging terrain today. Great pictures tonight!


Christopher and Biju prepare for the ride at UAF (University of Alaska - Fairbanks).

Anticipation

The road to Fairbanks the next day was almost entirely uneventful. The weather was mild and the road a short one. You could see snow-covered peaks in the distance, but down in the floodplain it was warm. F-16s were playing in the azure sky when we passed Eielson Air Force Base, skipping like porpoises over the the road in the clear air.

We met with the rest of our band later that evening. My Uncle, Scott, and Biju had flown in to Anchorage, rented some mean beamers and burned asphalt up to Fairbanks to join us on our Arctic Circle run.

We ate at the Pump House for dinner, which is supposed to be an awesome restaurant, but they were packed so we got stuck at the bar with a limited menu. Not bad really, but better the next day when we got to eat in the dining room.

Beautiful day for a ride...

The weather from Tok to Fairbanks was picture perfect. The roads were mostly excellent, with a few repairs underway here and there. Had a nice breakfast at Fast Eddy's before taking off around 9:30 or so.

As we rode between Tok and Delta Junction, where the Alaska Highway ends, we crossed the Robertson River. Everything is so lush and green, and today was nearly 70 degrees, it just seems out of place to see ice on a river.

186km

Yesterday opened cold and cloudless, and we headed out early. The area around Whitehorse is 'semi-arid' which isn't to say it's a desert, but that the riotous growth is shorter on this side of the mountain. It kept us dry though, which became a mixed blessing  as the day wore on. The highlight today was riding around Kluane Lake, a vast body of water about 150 square miles. The highway follows the southern shore before cutting through the shallows on a narrow bridge. It was stunning to see the mountains ringing the lake reflected in the still waters. Also I saw a bald eagle, but that hardly counts because it was Canadian.

The road took a turn for the worse early on. The first warning was a sign that read "road construction -- 186km." The surface soon turned to a patchwork of gravel, mud, and potholes. There were short reprieves of blacktop,nbut these sections werel ittered with frost heaves, sections where the permafrost had buckled the road. We shook our way to the Alaska border on dirt. It was tricky keeping the bike upright on gravel while dodging potholes. I lost my walkie-talkie over the side when I came over a heave into a deep hole. We fished it off the side of the road unharmed, but we took it a little slower from there. We kicked up a lot of dust, but there wasn't a lot of oncoming traffic, so we didn't have to worry about being blinded by some big rig's cloud.

As we rode between a few ranges we watched clouds begin to collect as the air coming down the slopes mixed. Before long we could see that it had begun to rain ahead of us. We can't catch a break when it comes to weather. After a short stop to gear up and get everything covered we headed into the storm. It was a short one, thankfully, and not especially hard coming down. The road turned a few degrees north around another peak and we circumnavigated it. At least the rain kept the dust down!

Crossing the border took even less time than it took into Canada. The suit looked at our passports and wanted to know if we had guns, then he waved us in. It turned colder as we approached Tok and the rain started again. We stayed at my relative's cabin, but we won't see them until Oregon. We finished off the night at a folk concert at one of the local RV parks, my relative's friends' children play a mean banjo and fiddle. I'm hot and cold when it comes to folk music, but it was pleasant, although by the end my road fatigue was biting pretty hard. It felt good to get back to the cabin, pull the black-outs against the sun and call it a night.

Thanks for the hospitality Tok!

We stayed at Rita and Troy Abel's log home in Tok last night. Enjoyed a great meal at Fast Eddy's, followed by a concert from Sweet Grass (brother and sister Huck and Jordan Woody on guitar, banjo, vocals, & fiddle). Slept well.


The rest of our riders: Scott Haney, Biju Kurian, and FC Wood arrived safely in Anchorage, picked up their bikes and will meet us at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks later today. Getting close!

A few photos from today's ride.

This is the Nisling Range, which came into view about two hours into today's ride.


Lovely Lake Kluane (kloo-ah-nee), near Destruction Bay.


and back in the USA! We finished the day at 3,579 miles since Oklahoma.


What I didn't get a picture of was the incredibly accurate sign just outside of Haines Junction that read "Road Construction, next 186 km". We rode over 100 miles of dirt/gravel road today, taking out the second LED driving light on the BMW. The Drifter remains unscathed, though both bikes are just plain filthy at this point.

Menagerie

What a great ride! This was the first day on the trip without major precip, we got maybe five drops on us in the afternoon, but the entire storm was about one cloud, we got out from under it quickly.

We started very early this morning, out the door around 6. It doesn't really feel early up here. The solstice was yesterday so there was barely any dark last night and we're both still living in a more eastern time zone. It was cold and foggy but nothing was coming down so we counted our blessings and headed out.

Within the first hour and a half after leaving Fort Nelson we saw almost every large mammal in Canada! First we saw a black bear (the first of many!) I thought it was a log at first, before it turned it's head to look at us then ran for the tree-line. Then a moose standing in the road, then a mountain goat sauntering down the opposite shoulder, and at last a caribou, who loped his gangly self out of our way as we passed.

The terrain took a turn towards the awesome. As we climbed up into the foothills the road grew narrow and twisty. It was the rally section at last! We spent most of the day rolling through beautiful country, through mountains and valleys, over rivers, and past beautiful crystal lakes. Peaks like Stone Mountain thrust their rocky tops against the sky on either side. It made up for the flatlands we'd gone through in Kansas, Montana, and Alberta.

We also figured out the limits of my gas tank. A lot of roadhouses on the Alaskan Highway are either seasonal, or have just shut down in recent years. Near the end of the day we hit a long dry spell for gas, every spot we went passed had closed up shop. We knew there'd be gas in Teslin, but we weren't sure if my bike would make it. Before long my engine started to sputter so we pulled over and busted out the emergency tanks. Very glad dad packed those! We wound up being only 2 clicks out from the next spot, but I couldn't have coasted that far through the hills.

The Watson Lake Sign Forest

Over 80,000 signs have been left by travelers passing through Watson Lake on their way up/down the Alcan. It appears that many were stolen from the traveler's home towns. Here are a few shots of us trying to find the perfect spot for Eskimo Joe...








Maybe the best way to avoid helmet hair is to not have any... I am so blessed. Sorry for you, Christopher.





One possible location, close to a Sooners tag and some Texas plates.





Final location, close to an Oklahoma plate.











Not sure if this is a political statement, art, or just what happened to be at hand when they stopped... curious!