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SPRING 2017 ISSUE 01 / VOL. 02
At some spots in the tundra, the mosquitoes are so thick, you quickly learn that 100 % Deet repellent is your friend.
At Captain Cook State Park, I camped with Dave Coe, a rider I met from Canada. New friendships became a highlight of the trip. correctly in Alaska during the summer, on the paved roads with long stretches of gravel pavement base in the process of being graded. Yes, there were a couple of stretches of unrolled rough construction that could cause a pucker, but going slow will get you through.
Being alone, I avoided side trips with technical off-road stuff. I had no trouble with the terrain as far north as Deadhorse( Prudhoe Bay), or on the mostly gravel Denali Highway, but I did try to avoid the rain which makes the gravel there very slippery. In Fairbanks, I met one couple riding a BMW K 1600 GTL who were well into their 70s and retracing their same ride route from 30 years earlier. In short, the best bike for the ride is the one you have.
The pre-trip prep for my bike included fresh tires to take me to Fairbanks and Adventure Cycleworks, where I had reservations to get fresh Heidenau K-60 tires for the gravel road to Prudhoe Bay and the Denali Highway. I changed the oil before leaving so I could make 6,000 miles before having to do any maintenance. For emergency repairs, I read up on what tools to take and discussed spares with my dealer. A mandatory flat tire kit and mini-compressor saved me on the Dalton Highway( a. k. a.“ Ice Road”) in a desolate section of tundra when a razor-