Fairbanks and beyond...........

At last! The journey really begins! Set off really early (couldn`t sleep) for my first stop in Fairbanks 362 miles away. It was a long day in the saddle. Stopped for breakfast at Trapper Creek Trading Post. Interesting place, full old blokes with beards and baseball caps. The only woman there was the waitress, no beard but a nice neck tattoo. It was like a scene from Deliverance. Fortified by (my now staple) breakfast of eggs (over easy), bacon, hashbrowns, toast and coffee, I pressed on to Fairbanks arriving late afternoon at a camp/hostel. Good value at 25$, even if I shared the cabin with 3 other blokes. The one drawback was a total lack of darkness. You know the kind we get used to in England. It gets to night time and the sun goes down. Not in Alaska. There was no darkness!! It was like trying to sleep with the light on. Can`t be done! Another early start was obviously on the cards. 17th June Early start! Up at 5.45 and on the road before 7.00. Went to a supermarket to buy another 1 gallon petrol can for the long haul up the Dalton Highway, notoriously short of “gas” stations. I rode for about half an hour before turning on to Elliot Highway, looking down at my GPS it said next turn in 321 miles! I knew then, the road trip had really begun!