July 13
51 miles (plus 8 in a pilot car)
5000 feet elevation gain
We got some real rain in the night, which cleaned some of the mud off our bikes, but that didn’t last long as it just created new mud for us to ride in today. Fortunately, the Elliott Highway is mostly paved. Unfortunately, it’s much more of a highway, so the cars drive fast and sometimes don’t move over to go around us.
Off and on we got rain, and it was cooler, so we rode in rain gear. This makes things a little sweaty at times, but did offer better protection from mosquito bites at least.
In the morning, we hit another construction zone with a pilot car, so we got an 8 mile ride. Paul immediately noticed the driver’s Zelda tattoo and they became instant friends. The driver, also named Paul, told us a bit about the seasonal nature of work in Alaska and about his winter job driving a rig.
I don’t think we were prepared for all the climbing we did today. Maybe since the road is paved we thought we’d be in for an easier day. Not so. And our timing did not work in our favor. I knew there was a trading post we’d pass in the morning, but they were not open yet when we arrived. And in the evening, we knew there was a truck stop with a restaurant, but we didn’t know they closed at 5, and we arrived 45 minutes after closing time. Our hopes of a hot meal dashed, we at least knew it was only 5 more miles to an RV campground with showers, and fortunately this one worked out. We are camped here for the night and took full advantage of the showers as well as the picnic tables. We’re just outside of Fairbanks now and looking forward to a rest day.
