14th July
Happy B-day Shaunie Shiny Shoes and PJW!
The first hour was flat but muddy, which made it hard going and
slow. At least, there were not too many mosquitos while cycling, so we
could leave the headnets off. Suddenly the hils were back in full force.
Dalton Highway Rule #8 for cyclists: if a hill has a name, it is mostly bad news as it will be very steep..
We were definitely nearing the Brooks Range now. The vague shapes we
had seen in the distance were coming into focus and turned out to be
nice mountains.
The road meandered through but was already slowly going up as well. The
road looked friendly, but the many remains of exploded tired reminded
of what the Information booklet had told us:
Before you leave Fairbanks
• Inspect all tires and make sure they are properly inflated
• Check all vehicle fluids
• Replace worn hoses and belts
• Empty your RV’s holding tank and fill the water tank
• Purchase groceries and supplies
Bring for your vehicle
• At least two full-sized spare tires mounted on rims
• Tire jack and tools for flat tires
• Emergency flares
• Extra gasoline, motor oil, and wiper fluid
• CB radio
Bring for yourself
• Insect repellent and head net
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Rain jacket and pants
• Warm clothes, including hat and gloves
• First aid kit
• Drinking water
• Ready-to-eat food
• Camping gear, including sleeping bag
• Personal medications
• Toilet paper and hand sanitizer
• Garbage bags
Gear
Bring warm sweaters and coats, good raingear, hats, gloves, and long
underwear. Wool and synthetic fabrics, such as fleece, are best. Avoid
cotton clothing. At milepost 235, the highway climbs to Chandalar Shelf
and leaves the forest behind. This 10% grade is one of several steep
grades that Dalton travelers encounter.
We stopped at a nice place for lunch, outside one of the
road-construction stations. Not only they had a nice picknick bench to
sit on, they also filled our Ortlieb waterbags with drinking water, saving us a lot of work later on. There was a small plane parked next to us; in Alaska, planes like these are as common as cars as many places can only be reached from the air.
In general the people we meet along the way are very friendly and
courteous. All drivers, of both tourist vehicles as well as the huge
trucks, slow down when passing us, so they do not squirt too much
gravel, mud and dust our way and wave friendly. We had gotten water from all people we asked as well as from some people we didn’t ask.
After lunch we though we had to go up a not so steep slope. It
continued up and up and up though. The mosquitos loved our low speed
and attacked us with full force. In the end we were both completely
tired of it and decided to quit for the day. maybe it was one of the
not so motivating blown over trafficsigns that we obeyed unconsciously…
One more hill was awaiting us and no sheltered place was in sight,
we were on the top of a ridge. In the distance I spotted a green thing
near the pipeline, which turned out to be a large metal container. It
was closed but offered shelter to put our Big Agnes tent.
Soon after dinner also Kayla came riding in, again far ahead of the
boys that arrived over an hour later and were also completely spent.
Even though we were still on the tundra, there was some small firewood
around and we managed to make a nice fire that kept a small percentage
of the mosquitos away. It was nice to share stories and thoughts with
the other cyclists; many people do not understand why or how we do it,
so it is nice to skip that part of the conversation and talk about the
good things of being on the road unmotorized..
15th July
The next morning we headed off together, but Kayla, and Nico were
much faster with their lighter loads and fast bikes. The hills were
getting really steep now and the only way I could till cycle up was by
zig-zagging from left to right over the wide road. Fortunately there
were almost no cars and trucks so I could slowly work my way up.
We met a lone motorbiketraveller called Wally from Germany. He was
travelling alone and had done so all over the world. He would have
loved to go all the way from Ushuaia, but did not want to leave his
wife alone for that long a period. he graciously donated a bottle of
apple juice and Ivana and him took pictures of eachother.
The rest of the day we just pedaled along on muddy roads. The good
people that keep the road in condition, actually make it worse for us.
They spray a lot of water,
mixed with salt and I think some other chemicals, which turns the
surface into a slippery, sticky mess, making us use our light gear,
even when going down! Some of the downhills were dangerous anyway,
because of muddy trails, unexpected potholes, washboards and other
bumps and oncoming trucks, but that is all part of the fun in some
crazy way..
As you can see in Kowalski!’s
trip reports, we had some up and downs as well, we are now at the foot
of the Atigun pass..Note that due to my mistakes, the altimeter was
reset to zero each day the first days, so you will have to add the
previous’ days height to it… But it will give you the relative ascent
and descent perfectly.
We went 7km off the main road to sleep in a quiet place, called Galbraith Lake, where Ivana
was feeling brave enough to clear the first few inches of mud from our
bikes! I started editing these and the previous images in the tent, as
I was getting depressed of all the mozzies waiting for me on top of the inner tent…
Meanwhile the videocamera charger (or the battery, or both) seems to be broken, so we cannot film much until Fairbanks. Also the I-GotU is slowly dying and is not very useful anymore. Amazingly Lenny has yet survived another long road of bumps and mud, so you can at least read all of this 
Our Santos Bikes are still in one piece, nothing broken yet and zero flat tires so far!
Looking forward to your comments, next report will be about the highest pass in Alaska!
Kowalski!
