Fri, 22 Jun 2007

Group of Lower 48 Motorcyclists Ignore Warning - Drive on Dalton Highway

About two years back, I wrote a short article about a 489 mile long dirt road I drove. Its in the middle of nowhere, with practically no services available, and no destinations along the way. When you get to the end, you end up at a locked gate near the arctic coast, at which point you get to turn around and drive the whole road again.

This article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner made me chuckle a little bit only because i remember how rough this sucker was in my Ford Escape...I could not even imagine what it would be like on a motorcycle...to say its like driving on a washboard is an understatement. Too bad its for a good cause. They are trying to take a 6,700 drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Key West, Florida to raise money for the Special Olympics in Georgia.

Bikes take a beating on the Haul Road

The group of Lower 48 motorcyclists was told again and again that the Dalton Highway would be murder on bikes and bodies. Truck drivers experienced with the Haul Road.s merciless gravel surface urged the group not to make the trip. Local Harley-Davidson owners warned of the damage that bikes would take from flying rocks and the unavoidable spills.

The naysayers were right.

...

The caravan of bikes, in various stages of disrepair, pulled back into Fairbanks late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. During the trip, windshields were broken, engine guards were lost, fork seals were damaged. Holes were punched in oil tanks, belts were torn and metal frames were bent.

One bike spontaneously burst into flames on the road, and another $10,000 ride was totaled when it hit a soft gravel patch and flipped. Two riders sustained broken bones and were forced to abandon the trek and head for home.

The good news is, they actually made it, and are on the mostly paved path from Fairbanks to Key West today.

Again, if you want to donate money to the 6,700 mile Iron Torch Ride for the Special Olympics, click here.

[/alaska] permanent link