June 22, 2025
Day 1: FAI to Colorado Creek Trailhead
As with every adventure, logistics and planning are all part of the preparation. In mid-May, a couple days before Jude set out from Lake Michigan on his 5,000 mile adventure to the Arctic Ocean, we looked at his goals and daily averages and decided I should book a flight to Fairbanks for June 22nd with flexibility to change it by as many as 5-7 days on either side. The date was really a shot in the dark. Two weeks into his trip and it looked like he would be in Fairbanks by June 16th, but then fires caused him a day’s delay and a 500 mile reroute. Amazingly, I kept my same ticket and as Jude was rolling into Fairbanks on the summer solstice and taking in the Midnight Sun Festival with his host, Ben, I was boarding a red eye flight that would bring me to Fairbanks at 9am the next day. Jude met me at the airport as I was assembling my bike and helped me pack 70 pounds of gear onto my bike, primarily made up of 50,000 calories of food we would need for the next 5 days. We navigated our way on bike paths that our son Luke ran many times the summer before when he was working in Fairbanks. Eventually we passed The Lighthouse Church where Jude and I had visited Luke and began to climb the Old Steese Highway. New wildfires had sprung up around Fairbanks so the air was acrid and the day was hot. Soon we turned onto the Elliot Highway which would become the Dalton Highway the next day. The road was well maintained in most places and we cruised through the early miles. The heat, the climbs and a 90+ pound bike caught up with me and Jude started pulling away on each climb. The day’s longest climb was 7 miles and finished at the Wickersham Dome Trailhead. With the promise of the last toilet for a couple hundred miles, Jude was in the outhouse when I arrived. I busied myself getting lunch ready and responded to Jude’s request to retrieve his roll of toilet paper from his handlebar bag since there was none in the outhouse. Elizabeth had written me a note for that day with Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.” These words of wisdom were already coming true with the toilet paper incident!
The lunch stop at mile 43 was a much needed break for me and a reality check on my fitness compared to Jude’s. Lunch rejuvenated me, though, and we set off at high speed on a nice long downhill, my extra 70 pounds carrying me far ahead of Jude. But at the next climb, Jude caught me again quickly and waited for me at the top. I seemed to find the right gearing and cadence and the last few climbs of the day were much better with my heart rate at a more manageable level. We entered a construction zone as expected with just 2.5 miles remaining before our campsite. Alaska 511 had said there were just flaggers and they work 6am-6pm (it was 5:45pm), but when we arrived, they said we would need to get in the pilot car as they work until at least 9pm. Without much of a fight, Jude agreed, deciding to ride back in the morning to make sure he pedaled every mile. While we waited for the pilot car, we spoke with Chad who was on a 90-day motorcycle adventure with his friend Matt. They started in Kansas and took a gravel road route to Oregon, then up the Canadian Rockies to Dawson City. They were going to touch the Arctic Ocean via the Dempster Highway, but re-routed to the Dalton due to fires. They’ll head back south and follow the border route trail along gravel roads to Montreal before continuing on gravel through the east coast and back to Kansas. Jude and Chad compared notes on road conditions and the sights that Jude had covered on this trip and his trip last year. Chad was impressed with his endurance and laughed at my “mule” responsibilities. It’s fun to be out here with Jude and to witness the way he travels, greets people, asks their names and trades stories about epic journeys. Even though he has low points each day, he problem solves and chooses gratitude. He is becoming a truly remarkable young man.
We found a decent grassy spot right off the parking lot to pitch our tent, filtered water from the creek and cold soaked our dinner: beef stroganoff for me and chicken pesto pasta for Jude, both of our favorites. The mosquitoes attacked us the second we stopped riding, so we both donned bug nets. We’ve experienced north woods and boundary water mosquitoes, and would never stoop so low as to wear bug nets, but they were honestly a lifesaver, so we embraced the head coverings, ate dinner quickly, and got in our tent. Lights out before 9pm, figuratively speaking, since the sun never set.
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Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 70 miles (113 km)
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