What a difference a day makes!

7/12/07
I awoke earlier than Ruth because one of the researchers was outside
walking around. The lodge appears to have been made from local logs
by Heidi's husband. The inside of the shower was wooden and water ran
off of it well. I packed and then went into the common area and read
through the MILEPOST to see if we missed anything. Ruth got up and we
packed and headed to Coldfoot for breakfast.
I'd have to say that the Boreal Lodge was the best value that we've
stayed at. It was clean, comfortable, and very rustic. If we were
staying there awhile, I don't think it would have been as desirable as
the mosquitoes were out in full force but for what we were doing, it
was good.
At the Coldfoot Trucker's café, we filled our tanks (3.89/gallon; most
expensive of the trip) and had breakfast. During breakfast, a man
came in that was obviously on bicycle. We spoke for a moment and he
told us that he and his companion rode from Ushuia, Argentina to there
and were heading to Prudhoe Bay. It had taken them 1.5 years to make
that trip. They were German so Ruth had a great conversation with
them. We got his web and will see where he goes next.
We knew the ride from Coldfoot to near the Yukon River would be fine.
It was 85 miles of decent pavement and we did about 50-55 for most of
the trip. We did a few photo stops but overall, just a quicker trip.
I also had a good feeling about the first 25 miles of gravel. Ruth
and I moved along very well, averaging about 45 mph on the gravel.
Yesterday we'd gone about 40 on this so it was just a little better.
The sun was shining and we only hit occasional showers. We actually
made it to the Yukon River camp about 15 minutes early because of our
great times.
Ruth and I filled up (only 3.69/gallon here) and she went into the
café. There were 4 other motorcyclists there; 2 guys that rode
Harleys and a couple on a Goldwing trike. They were all going to the
Arctic Circle and were curious about the quality of the road. We
provided the report and chatted for awhile before we all left.
The next 150 miles to Fairbanks took us 5 hours yesterday because of
rain. Today, the road was pretty good and we made GREAT time. We did
some photo stops but still made it to Fairbanks about 3 PM. Ruth was
actually sad when we left the Dalton Highway because that meant we
were (mostly) done with a gravel road.
At one point on the highway, we were flagged by a truck to pull over
because there was a SUPER OVERSIZE truck coming. It was carrying more
than 1/2 a house so we pulled way out of the way to let it pass.
Back at Fairbanks, we went back to the College Inn because of the
great price. We unloaded the bikes and then went to a car wash to get
the outside layers of dirt off the bikes and then to the library to
add photos to the blog. We grabbed a Subway sandwich and then headed
back to the room.
What an absolutely great day!!

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Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach