Monday, May 25, 2015

Ginger gets laid (down) part 5 Ak

I leave Fairbanks to ride to Wiseman where Beverly has reserved me a cabin for two nights. Wiseman is 250 miles south of Deadhorse and is the last place (before Deadhorse) that I can get lodging.

The Yukon River bridge is being worked on so traffic is stopped in both directions for 4 hours.  
 On my way again, I stop for this picture.
 Gas and grub stop at Coldfoot.
 Gassed and fed I ride onto Wiseman, this Cessna belongs to the owner of the cabin I'm staying at.
 My home for the next two nights.

The next morning
I leave the cabin at 6:00 am to ride the 250 miles to Deadhorse.
 On my way out of Wiseman I snap a picture of the post office..

 A couple miles out of town this wolverine was standing in the road, I had an excellent view of his side and the goldish stripe. Unfortunately by the time I could stop and take a pic he was to far  into the woods to get a decent shot. 
 I met this handsome couple yesterday while waiting for the bridge construction to open. Casey and Katey (sp?), they are hunting caribou and black bear. When I saw their camp I had to stop and say hello. Notice two bows...Casey is a lucky guy! 
Another fox..
.

 Annnnnnnnd finally Deadhorse. The whole town was a giant puddle. Lots of hardy people making a living there.

A kind of cool thing... As I was riding north, I was told numerous times by locals along the way, "You're the first bike this year". I didn't plan that or even think about it until people started telling me that. Soooooo yes, I thought it was a very cool thing to be "the first bike this year"!
 I have the photo, bought a snickers and some jerky - it's time to head back to my lodging. 



 From the time I had passed on my way north to now making my way south, three avalanches had come down (see the fresh snow on the right) and gone all the way across the road and been cleared by the Alaska DOT.
 I make it back to the cabin at 10:00 pm. 16 hours in the saddle and a super day of riding.

The next morning I'm southbound again heading to Fairbanks, 270 miles down the road.
 Conditions aren't optimal..
 Even so, things were going fine, I was about 80 miles from the end of the Dalton when I hit a very slick stretch of mud...I started to swerve...

And ended up here. I didn't break any bones, but was bruised and sore. Ginger on the other hand... 

The Kindness of strangers;
I can't overstate how much I appreciate the help I received from the Alaska DOT guys. From the two that gathered me up and put my bike in a safe spot, to the crew at Maintenance facility 7 who allowed me to take over a corner of their office while I awaited rescue. Thanks Donny and Brian and crew.

A thanks also to John, another new friend I met the day before at the bridge closure, for being a resource and the offer of a room and use of his shop.

Thirdly a huge thank-you to Ezra who put his life on hold and drove 300 miles on a rough road to load my bike, gear and me in his truck and deliver me to my hotel.

Lastly and most importantly Thank-you to my home support team, Kaybi, (lead calmer-downer), Jacob (head rescue truck arranger), and of course Beverly, who takes these things in stride and doesn't change the door locks while I'm gone..
I am truly Blessed.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

My name is Jack Riepe. I write moto stuff and I loved this blog entry. What adventure! Do not stop to hand-feed the wolverines.

RichardM said...

Not good…

I just got back into town. Email: richard@machida.us

Ken said...

Jack - thanks for reading. I hope you've recovered from your birthday celebrations, and I look forward to your next blog entry!

Richard - thanks...I'll send it in a sec.

Unknown said...

Oh boy.... and I'm just enjoying sitting here at the table watching it rain.... warn & dry

Meredith has always told me..."The adventure begins, when things stop going as planned"

Steve said...

Thats some teriffic scenery you have there. Pitty that it didn't all go to plan. but at least my faith in fellow man has been restored. Great to see some people helping you out of a pickle.

Trobairitz said...

It is an adventure until something happens then it turns epic. I think this means you had an epic adventure.

Glad everyone was so accommodating and you weren't hurt. Two wheels and mud aren't always compatible.

Ken said...

KJ - I agree. "Good mishaps make for good stories".. :)

Chiller - At one point I mentioned how helpful everyone was and one of the A-DOT guys said, "That's just how we Alaskans are".
Good people!

Trobairitz - I've had all the mud I want...at least for a while. Oh, and maybe just a little bit less epic to go with my next adventure... LOL

Thanks for reading, and commenting!

TravellingStrom said...

Hi Tombstone, glad to hear and see you made it to the top, only one more end of that continent to check out :)

TravelllingStrom

SonjaM said...

Bummer, that your bike decided to take a nap on this stretch of road. Man, the mud looks really nasty. Glad, you didn't get seriously hurt.

Ride on!

Greetings from the Black Forest (Germany)

Unknown said...

HEY KEN! We were wondering if your bike is fixed and you're out of Fairbanks yet??? JOE & CHRISSY

The Bug Boys said...

Sorry for the misfortune. I hope all is ok. Hang in there.

Ken said...

Richard - Thanks for checking in. I hope things are well in your corner of the world!

Sonja - The Black Forest? I've driven in Germany, maybe someday I'll get to ride there as well..

Chrissy - I'm home now. When I crashed my laptop got wet and banged...it stopped working a couple days later so I didn't see this until now. Sorry, I would have loved to see you guys again!

Bug Boys - Thanks for reading!

Unknown said...

I enjoyed your ride report. Congratulations on being the first bike of the season.

Ken said...

Brent - Thanks for stopping in and for your comment!