Jun
17
2009
by Mr Cubes
Deadhorse to Happy Valley
Total Miles 87.77
7am. The big day. I head straight to the hotel canteen to get the most out of my $125 and it seems like everyone else has been up for hours. I guess folks start early around here. I load up my plate with bacon, sausage, fries, hash browns and what seems to be a Sausage & Egg McMuffin. Heck, I can burn it all off later... Also included in the room rate was a lunch, so I head to the fridge where there are piles of sandwiches, fried snacks and all sorts of other things I wasn't too sure about. Not wanting to be too greedy, I just take two sandwiches and two chicken chimichangas. And a bag of crisps. Just finishing their breakfast was Anna and her travel buddy Andrew so I chat to them about the coming few days, which mostly consists of bear prevention tactics. I share with them my knowledge from 'The Dalton Highway' magazine which says "If a grizzly bear attacks, roll over and play dead. If a black bear attacks, fight back"!
After showering and packing, I step outside to realise the weather has actually gotten worse since the night before. In addition to the extreme fog and biting cold, it is now really windy too! Unsurprisingly, I then turn the wrong way out of the hotel and ride straight into a dead end. Finally I fight my way against the wind around the main road that loops Deadhorse to the Post Office and General Store where I'm told they will take your photo and put it up on their noticeboard. Except 
their Polaroid camera was broken so they couldn't. I tried to take my own with disastrous results. By now I was starting to lose feeling in my hands, so thought it best not to worry too much about the photo and just get on my way. I had been riding for an hour when the 'Dalton Highway Express' pulls over with Joe and the Indiana ladies plus some other new passengers, all looking on at me with a mixture of shock and wonder. The wind was so strong that I still hadn't even managed to leave Deadhorse! I felt really sorry for the girls who had spent so much time and money to have a wonderful vacation, yet I doubt they could see a thing. Still, I hope they all had a good time!
Once I actually get past the 'Next Services 240 Miles' sign, which signifies the start of the Dalton Highway, I feel much more relaxed. At least I'm going the right way. There isn't a lot to see due to the fog, the road is full of gravel and there seems to be a lot of lorries about, but the wind is now behind me and I'm on my way! After about two hours I stop for a chimichanga break. No idea what they are, but it tastes good! Have only managed 15 miles so far, yet this would prove to be a fairly accurate average for the days ahead.
After another hour or so, the fog starts to lift, the sun comes out and there is even a stretch of paved road. Now I'm enjoying it as each lorry, motorcyclist or other vehicle passes by and gives a little wave, I cheerily wave back. With the sunshine out and the effort of cycling on the dirt road, it isn't too long before I run out of water. And out here the only option is to find a river and get the water filter out. The filter pump is quite hard work, so I generally just clean a couple of litres at a time and hope there is another source by the time I next run out.
From then on the road starts to get a bit hilly, my legs are in shock and I know that my first day is drawing to a close. I meet a German couple resting in a lay-by who tell me they passed another couple of cyclists farther back towards Deadhorse, maybe about 40 miles or so and I presume this must be Anna and Andrew. 15 miles later and I'm at Happy Valley, an airstrip that has plenty of space away from the main highway so set up my camp there. I'd managed over 87 miles on my first day, further and in worse conditions than anything I'd ever cycled in one day before. The site is uncomfortable as there is no grass, but I make up some peanut noodles, filter some more water, hide all the food and crawl into my sleeping bag. I've got another year or so of this...