Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Binh Checks-in from Fairbanks, Alaska

Binh updates us from a public library in Fairbanks, Alaska:






Got to Fairbanks a day ahead.  Yesterday was another 400+ mile day.  Camped about 20miles past Tok.

Yesterday was the first day of constant rain past Koidern.  The bike did well I was able to pass Goldwings, Harleys and RVs in the rough wet roads.  Getting to Koidern the pavement got rough.  Crossing the border the gravel road here in Alaska is horrible..way worst then in Canada.  I'm only able to do up to 30mph.  Looks like the Dalton will be just as bad if not worse so it will take me all day to go from Livengood to the Circle and back.

Woke up to rain most of the morning.  Nearing Fairbanks it got warm and dry.  68-degrees here in Fairbanks today.  Up this far north I'm having a hard time sleeping because it is constantly light out.  I rode up until midnight again yesterday and the sun was still up.  It does get cold around 4am and I have to zip up my sleeping bag.

The bike is still holding up just fine.  It is finally muddied up.  Will do another oil change before I hit the Dalton Hwy.   Seems like fixing the exhaust leak slowed it down a few mph, but it could be the rain.  I also just noticed the last two days that my gas mileage is not quite the same.  It seems like I'm only getting about 90miles per tank instead of 100-miles per tank, this could be caused by the rougher roads or the exhaust leak repair.  I'm gonna check the valves again before hitting the Dalton.  Oh it could also be the tire change that is causing lower mpg and/or slower speeds.  There are just too many factors to have any real conclusion. Only time will tell.

So I plan on heading up to Livengood just before the Dalton tonight.  I'm going to ride up to the Circle then back down in one day instead of up to Coldfoot then back on separate days.  It should be about 250 miles of gravel road.  If the Dalton is really bad and it takes me longer then expected then I will just head up to Coldfoot and stay there for the night and head back the next day.

By the time I reach the Circle the bike will have about 4000mi


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