Not a Truck

"What brings you to Prudhoe Bay...in a car?"

The incredulous interrogative voiced by Rachel at Gitty Up Espresso in Prudhoe Bay likely echoed the expressions of the truck drivers passing us on the previous 415 miles of Dalton Highway. Certainly not a road built for car; even less: for the motorcycles we had planned on driving up the route. But when we mentioned our intent to drive the entirety of the Pan-American Highway by motorcycle, she eagerly responded that her son had similar dreams.

The Dalton Highway has been a portion of our trip that has taken extensive research and preparation. It affected the choice of motorcycle for each of us, inspired me to take an off-road ADV / dual sport class (drawing me into a whole new and exciting realm of motorcycling previously unbeknownst to me), and had major implications on our schedule and choice of gear.

We were both trepidatious about hitting the highway this early in the year, particularly with all the tales we had read about its dangers and temperamental weather conditions. When we got to Fairbanks and discovered a that Nick had a leaking fork that would require some time to get repaired, we elected to head north immediately in a rental car rather than twiddle our thumbs while his bike was repaired. The overall trip was bigger than ensuring reach mile was spent in the saddle (beautifully re-covered, though it might be), and we have a hard deadline in Panama.

Our overall impression of the Dalton Highway, though, is that it's not nearly as scary as it was purported to be. This definitely comes along with the caveat that : A) conditions greatly vary and will have major impact on drive-ability; B) most of the highway is extremely remote, which greatly increases the danger if something does go wrong; C) there are plenty of ways for something to go wrong, with all the potholes and undulations in the road.

Bottom line: do your homework, but don't be scared off.

There's so much more to say on this topic, but I'm off for another cruise. Some brief notes for myself:
- Take your time
- Cliff's notes (Keep)