18 March 2013
This morning I left Deadhorse, I was only just on the Dalton Highway when the sled pulled my bike to the right. Flat tire on the sled, I thought, but it turned out that the weld on the axle of the castor was broken, so that wheel was sitting crooked. Camp/HSE manager, Todd of the Deadhorse Magtec Camp told me that I could always call if anything was the matter.
So I did, and he took the sled back to his camp on a trailer.
Now everything is ready for the next attempt!

On the Dalton Highway…

At the foot of the Atigun Pass, it looks peaceful but it was hell on this side of the pass.
Strong wind and a temperature of -27ºC / -16,6F.

The Arctic circle.

20 March 2013
Halfway through the night Sjaak made it to Fairbanks!

24 March 2013
Thanks to Frozen Motor Works in Fairbanks I can continue my adventure.
Jon, thank you for your help!
With a strengthened castor suspension and another rear tire I head for Canada.
This isn’t a knobby tire and it doesn’t have a winter profile.
Don’t know if that will work, especially uphill…

Interview in Fairbanks Daily Miner.

25 March 2013
Sjaak rode from Fairbanks to Delta Junction were the Alaska Highway ‘ends’ at mile 1422.
For him the Alcan Highway starts here!
Overnight stop at Tok, about 93 mi / 150 km from the Canadian border.

26 March 2013
“50 mi / 80 km after Tok the asfalt became clear of snow.
Till far beyond Whitehorse, over 400 mi / 650 km it will be like that.
Something I can use very well because of my slick rear tire!

Shortly after crossing the Canadian border the trailer gets a flat tire.
So I put on the rim and tire which I carry for warmer regions.
Because I think the spikes are causing this problem I remove them from the other trailer tire and ride slowly to Beaver Creek.
At a tire shop I try to repair the tire but it turns out that the cold has torn the knobs.
The other tire has the same problem.
I have to continue my trip with my ‘summer tires while the trailer has to brake the bike downhill. Oops.
Good that we get roads clear of snow.
And what happens then…it starts snowing!”

27 March 2013
“Left Beaver Creek on a snow-covered road early today.
The road was good except for a few stretches and after one hour I left the fresh snow behind.
That’s why I could make some mileage and made it to Whitehorse.
But now I have a flat trailer tire. Tomorrow I’ll try to find a new one and then I’ll be heading for more warmth again.
This morning’s temperature was minus 17°C / 1,4°F but in the afternoon it reached above zero!”

28 March 2013
“No result on my search for 5 inch tires in Whitehorse.
I did find a tube so I can use the ‘winter tire’ again, as long as it lasts.
That’s why my sister will send 2 new ones from KDP-racing to Canada.

To spare the ones I’m using right now, I decided to decrease the weight in the trailer. I will leave the spare rear tire (20kilos) of the bike -which I carry for any steep snow-covered slopes to come-
behind at Yukon Honda owner, Jon. He follows my adventure on the ADVrider forum and when necessary he’ll give it to a local bus driver who will take it along.

From Whitehorse to Watson Lake the road will be partly clear of snow.”

Gassing up in Teslin, Yukon.
Photo taken by Malcolm Farrell

29 March 2013
“Between Whitehorse and Watson Lake the road-surface would be partly covered with
ice of flattened snow. I only came across slush. A few days ago I saw slush too and thought the temperature had risen above zero. But the strong sunlight melts the snow at a temperature still
well below zero. Therefor the rotating parts get iced up at once, creating this beautiful sight.

Today was a trouble-free day!
The friendly hotel receptionist in Watson Lake gave me room # 13…”

31 March 2013
“I’m in Sasquatch Crossing, British Columbia. I enjoyed a temperature above zero at last. Glorious!
It is so nice to see rippling water in the creeks. That makes everything so much more alive!”

1 April 2013
“I’m in a tiny town called Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada.
Today I passed through Dawson Creek where the Alaska Highway starts and for me ended!
On to the Rocky Mountains…”

2 April 2013
“No picture today and little to tell, except that I have a flat trailer tire again and the R1 isn’t running smoothly. It feels like a typical spark problem. This sounds more dramatic than it is, just put in new sparks and the spare tube in the tubeless and I’m on the road again.
I’m in Hinton, about 43mi / 70km north of Jasper.
Via Banff I will head for Calgary.”

3 April 2013
“Somewhere on the road between Jasper and Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.”

4 April 2013
“Today was a ‘day of rest’…
Because the R1 was still running bad I put back the original jets which I replaced in Barrow because of the cold.
I also visited Lake Louise which attracts over 10.000 tourists a day in summer with its emerald colour and clear water.”

5 April 2013
“From Lake Louise to Lethbridge, where the new trailer tires of KDP-racing were waiting for me, is 248 mi /400 km.
Thanks to New-Way Motorsports they were fitted right away.
It is wonderful not having to ride slow- tire-saving.
Finally I was able to try the stability of the trailer.
It turns out to follow me perfectly. 55 miles per hour is no problem at all.
For me that’s a stroke of luck, which allows me to make much better mileage per day than I expected!”

6 April 2013
“It is wonderful to ride through the endless landscape.
Sometimes I need to pay attention because of gusty cross winds, though!
Today I crossed the border. Rode down to Great Falls and via route 3 to Billings.
Now I’m in Hardin at route I 90. Tomorrow I hope to see Mt Rushmore and then head for Kansas to attend the Heart of America Club Meeting.

7 April 2013
“I swapped Montana for Wyoming pretty early today. Not much later the trailer started shaking. The castor suspension was torn and partly loose. Luckily this happened just before Sheridan. At a speed of 15 mi/ 25 km per hour I jogged over there to have it all fixed. Eventually I rode the short distance to Buffalo.”

10 April 2013
At the Clymer Tech Center.
 

12-14 April 2013

Sjaak at the Moonshine Lunch Run, Moonshine, Illinois.

Video  by Jim Moore riding together with Sjaak to the Moonshine Run.

Video by Randy Collins from theICEdevice.com