DAY 11----
Dalton Highway and Arctic Circle
WOW--what a gorgeous day. 13 hrs, 400 miles (half were gravel) and happier than a Jr. High boy after his first kiss--except this was better. The Dalton highway or Haul Rode goes to Prudhoe Bay and is all gravel. You catch it 100 mi. North of Fairbanks. It's another 100 miles of gravel with patches of blacktop to the Arctic Circle. I took my tour pack off for the ride to lower the center of gravity and decrease weight. I was fully expecting to dump it a time or two, as I'd seen pics before of the road construction and soft ruts. But I hit it perfect. It hadn't rained in two days and it was clear today. So it was dry and rough. They use thousands of gallons of calcium chloride on it to reduce the dust and pack the rock. But when it rains, it's slipperier than bear snot. I just hit some grading and water or chloride on the road when they were grading and luckily I didn't meet any traffic, so didn't have to jump the 12" ridge. The road was much better than I had envisioned. It's a 40-60 mph road in most places. You get pretty good at reading the road and where to ride. Sometimes it's best in the tire track and sometimes on the crest. I pulled over and stopped for the big trucks to give them all the room they needed. They appreciate that as they have enough to do without thinking a bike will float into their lane. I was also concerned about flying rocks. I didn't have that happen at all. The chloride packs them down. I was concerned that I would cut a tire with all the jagged granite rock tips sticking out, but that didn't happen either. It was just bumpy with some minor potholes. Just the same, after 200 miles on it, I was sure glad to be back on blacktop for the last 100 miles home. The only gas station between Fairbanks and the Circle is at Yukon River station. So you stop there on the way up and on the way back. There is a nice visitor center there also with the history of the road and pipeline. The pipeline runs 800 miles to Valdez. Some below ground and some above. The oil starts out at 175 degrees and cools to 115 when it hits Valdez. There are fins on each support to help cool it. The heat will melt the permafrost causing structural support problems. When underground they even have to insulate the pipe to help stop the thaw. The pipe is floating on teflon pads, so it can move on the supports in case there is an earthquake. I included the info and history charts for those of you that are interested. You can zoom in on the wording to read it. You may have to download the pic first.
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Topic: CVO to Alaska (Read 85691 times)