My planned ride to Alaska will take me as far as the edge of the Arctic Circle, conditions permitting. The Dalton Highway begins just north of Fairbanks, near Livengood, AK and ends in Prudhoe Bay. To reach the Arctic Circle sign from Fairbanks, I will travel along the southern portion of the Dalton.

On this trip, I will need to be prepared to encounter more unpaved roads than I have ridden in the past on my RT. Proceeding with care and being as prepared as possible (flat kit, tire pump, camping gear, food and water, Spot Tracker, etc.) will be the order of the day.

Listed as one of the world’s deadliest roads, I started to concern myself with the suitability of using my RT for this particular ride. I will need to be ready to turn around if the conditions get too bad.

North of Fairbanks, there is a fuel stop at the crossing of the Dalton Highway and the Yukon River (MP 56). That is good and means I will not need to carry extra fuel to ride up to the Arctic Circle and then return to Fairbanks (~400 miles round trip).

I have been watching YouTube videos of travel on the Dalton taken by other riders, trying to gleam as much as I can from their experiences. The video below was most entertaining, mocking the reputation of the Dalton just a bit. A UK couple travels the entire length of the Dalton Highway on Honda C90s as part of a larger trip that takes them from the top of the Americas to the very bottom. If you saw their motorcycles, you would call them mopeds or scooters.

The 20 minute video made me laugh out loud in several spots. It is well edited and should make even non-riders laugh, especially if you enjoy snarky British humor.

(video link: https://youtu.be/xFH-U1Vo8bI)