June 17, 2007

Houston, we have touchdown.

It's Sunday, Father's Day, and we all wake up early, ready to get going to the finish. Some of you that don't ride are probably wondering what the challenge is here. If big trucks do this day in and day out, what are these guys worried about. What's a little mud and gravel. First off we're a bunch of old farts, Franks the youngest at 54, the rest are at or over 60. Our bikes are very good dual sport bikes but they weigh a bunch, with rider, bags and fuel close to 700 pounds. Motorcycles are really a handful if you don't have the front tire and back tire tracking in the same line. Mud and gravel have a nasty habit of making them not track in the same line, ergo you fall a lot in the mud and gravel. To make it interesting, the best way to ride in mud and cinders is fast. Momentum is the name of the game and without it you're going down. So the trick is to go just fast enough to keep control, but not fast enough to lose it. Just that easy. And don't forget that there are those big trucks going both ways. This picture of the road is the best part, in the distance is the southface of the Brooks Range. Sadly, my computer just froze up and I can't upload anymore pictures! I'll try again tomorrow. Hopefully it's the connection.

Ok, with that preface, we leave Coldfoot at around 8:30 with approximately 250 miles to go almost all dirt. Coldfoot is hard up against the southern flank of the Brooks Range, the largest east west range of mtns in north America. The road is dirt as we wind up a long valley toward the Antigan Pass. Everyone has said that this part of the road is good and is it ever. We are flying. Good traction and no dust. The climb to Antigan pass is short but steep (pity those poor truckers in the winter). At the top of the pass we run into a small band of mtn sheep. As we go down out of the Brooks range we run into the dreaded road construction and mud. When they water up here they soak the road for some reason and it was slick, but could have been a lot worse. We got through that with no misshaps. Next came the gravel and all I can say is that motorcyclist are a lot like fisherman, they exagerate their travails and the skill with which it takes to overcome them. It wasn't pleasant and it went on for about 50 miles but it wasn't really that bad. It had four groves from the truck tires and as long as you stayed in a grove for the entire 50 miles it was ok. Passing, starting and stopping, and wandering out of your lane, well that was a problem. We all did much better than all the worrying. It was a challenge but not worth a the fretting (like much in life).

Between us all we saw caribou, muskox, a black fox, a bear. I got some good pictures of the caribou, but I didn't see the others. I was in my zone and really focused on the road, making a really fast run. Of the 240 miles about 30 was paved, sort of, and we made it in a little over four hours. Great ride.

People are not allowed to just go to the ocean because of security concerns for the oil fields. You have to get on a small tour bus. The guy said we needed 24 hour notice to get security clearance to go on the tour. We begged and pleaded and he relented and we were supposed to join some others for the last tour at 5:30. They didn't show up so he drove us around. As we neared the ocean he started challenging us to join the polar bear club. About a 100 yards out from the shore, it's ice. If you jump into the ocean "bare" you are a member of the polar bear club. Well as my stunned companions stood idly by, your truly joined the polar bear club. Those pictures will not be on the blog. If National Geographic tries to tell the world that a new species of albino manatee has been spotted in the north, don't buy it, it's probably one of my "friends" trying to sell the pictures.

Prudhoe Bay is a flat desolate place that is marked by dust, dirt and mud. Everything is covered with a layer of dirt. Buildings spread far out into the distance but not congested. They take pride in the fact that they are getting more oil out of smaller and smaller footprints. I was told by a driller that they have 2800 holes in the ground. The investment in infrastructure here is huge as is all the equipment. Everything is outsized and strange looking. It takes special equipment to drill for and produce oil in this environment. Big fat tired platforms to move drilling rigs on the ice, stacks of pipe, cranes, derricks and equipment that looks like it came from another planet it's so unique. Modern hitching posts that have electrical wires hanging from them so they can plug in the diesel trucks. The rule is: down to 30 below, you plug them in; below 30 below you leave them running and a refueling rig runs around filling the trucks with diesel so they don't stop running. Ford trucks everywhere, only a few Chevys and nary a Dodge to be found. Don't know why, one worker said that they prefer Fords but it might just be that the Ford salesman got there first.

The workers work two weeks on and two weeks off. The companies fly them home and back free of charge on commercial jets that take off regularly day or night (all winter). They get free meals and lodging and there is no state income tax. Pay is 60,000 and up and the jobs have long waiting lists. The problem right now is that they have too much work and not enough workers. They don't have enough lodging. They use modulars (trailers with the wheels off) and stack them three stories high and they still don't have enough. Alcohol and drugs are strictly forbidden anywhere in Prudhoe Bay and if you are caught with it you are automatically fired and taken straight to the airport. You're not eligible to come back for a year. According to the security guy that we talked to there are very few problems because the jobs are so coveted.

I found the people friendly but very tired looking. Not a lot of laughter, it's a very focused job they are doing. They take pride in their work and this project. They are a little sensitive to how hard they work to protect the environment. Most were pretty impressed by our journey, but not as impressed as I was at the difficulty of their work and the environment that they work in.

Prudhoe Bay was very impressive, too bad it's so hard to get to. (For security purposes it's probably good that it's so hard to get to.)

Sorry about the pictures, look for them tomorrow.