Alan Leduc's IBA Experiences

The Iron Butt Association is dedicated to safe, long-distance, endurance motorcycle riding.

Iron Butt Association Membership # 8613

Trans-Canadian Gold
Ultimate Coast to Coast
2004

21, 471 Miles / 35 Days

Personal Challenges / Relationships / Adventure

Returning Home from the Ultimate Coast to Coast

Wednesday, June 23, 2004
494 Miles
Deadhorse, Alaska to Fairbanks, Alaska

Because of security reasons you must now take a bus excursion in order to get to the Arctic Ocean. The excursion was only $18.00 so several of us decided that we should not come this far without getting to the ocean. The pictures of me collecting water, standing on an iceberg and sharing the experience with my friends were worth far more than the $18.00. I'm so thankful that I took the time to make this excursion.

It was now time to make the trip back to Fairbanks. I had gotten very little sleep the night before, having spent most of the night with Martin Frankford who had crashed on the way to Deadhorse. Martin was airlifted to Fairbanks for follow-up treatment. Fortunately he was not seriously injured. Jon Power who also crashed refused to get treatment. Jon is a doctor and his self-diagnosis was broken ribs and collarbone and he figured there was nothing they could do so he decided to fly home.

Bob Moore and I were going to be traveling together for the trip back home and he said that he would follow me and that I should just travel at a speed at which I was comfortable. The two crashes and the lack of sleep had really taken a toll on my confidence. I was really uncomfortable leading. I told Bob that he should just go ahead and I would follow. If I were holding him back, he should continue and I would see him in Fairbanks. The ride out seemed to be much better than the ride in. Maybe it was the clear skys. Maybe it was better roads (they are changing constantly). Maybe it was just experience. Some of the riders on street bikes had elected to put their bikes on the emergency trailer and be towed out. I was glad that I was riding. I needed to regain my confidence.

When we reached the site of Martin's crash we saw his bike setting in the ditch. The emergency crew would be picking it up on the way out. We stopped to take some pictures of the accident site. This was one of those areas where the road went from pavement  to loose gravel. Unfortunately the transition took place right after a rise. Martin had just come over the crest where our bikes are parked and then hit the loose gravel loosing control. As you can see from the picture of my feet, the gravel was several inches deep.

We came upon a group of bikes that were stopped at a pull off. One of the bikes was a rider from Germany. He was one of many German riders and tourists that we encountered in Alaska. Bob had met this fellow on the way up to Deadhorse. Bob was running low on gas and saw the German fishing in the river. Bob ask if he had any extra gas. The German told him yes so Bob had left $5.00 and took a gallon of gas to take the pressure off of running out. This time the German was attempting to help a person that had parked his car in this area while he went hiking. When he returned, the car had been broken into and would not start. We tried pushing the car but had no success.

As we reached Atigun Pass I was thankful that we would be riding up the steep side and down the gentler side. I soon was to realize that this was just a figment of my imagination. It is just easier to ride up hill than it is downhill and both sides had essentially the same grade. Bob had stopped at the top of the pass. The sheep were no longer in the road way but he had spotted a ram climbing the mountain side. This was almost a straight vertical wall and then sheep was climbing the wall almost effortlessly. We watched as the sheep reached the top of the cliff and proceeded out of site. Just before we got to Atigun Pass we met a motor home going the other way. I had been riding with my face shield up and pulling it down when we met on coming traffic. I had caught a couple of rocks on the shins and didn't want to catch one in the face. I reached up to grab my face shield but was too late. A rock hit my left glasses lens. I wear polycarbonate safety glasses but the rock hit so hard that it had split the lens right down the middle. I'm very lucky I was wearing glasses. Bob Moore was leading, followed by me and Don Sills. As we started down the steep grade of the pass I noticed that a tractor trailer was bearing down on Don Sills. The road surface was good as long as you were in the tire track but at the edge of the road there was a lot of loose gravel that slope toward the edge and had a tendency to pull you off the road. I decided that I did not want the truck bearing down on me like that so I started trying to slow down so I could get stopped and get to the edge of the road. I had begun my slow down too late and the truck darn near ran me off the road. The truck was now bearing down on Bob. I thought for sure he was going to loose control in the loose gravel. This truck driver was an anomaly. Most the of the truck drivers had been very polite.

Soon we would find ourselves back in Coldfoot. The worst of the ride was over. It had been an experience that we would not soon forget. We were just in time for the tourist menu and enjoyed a buffet dinner.

The trip back to Fairbanks was been at a steady pace. It had taken us only slightly more time that Bob's brisk pace on the way up. Our average driving time was 52.5 mph. We were able to get a room at the Captain Bartlett for the night and then went in search of a car wash to try to remove some of the crud from our bikes. We used several dollars worth of quarters trying to remove some of the dirt from the bikes. We learned that some of it would never come off. When we were finished spraying the bikes we took turns spraying each other as our gear was simply filthy. My pants were coated with calcium chloride from the knees down.

Thursday, June 24, 2004
211 Miles
Fairbanks, Alaska to Tok, Alaska

The next day Bob and I would travel with Don Kime. We were going to spend the night in Tok and then head north on the Top of the World Highway to Inuvik. This was only a little over 200 miles but we would be slowed by construction. We would also learn that our trip to Inuvik would be unlikely as there were forest fires everywhere and it was reported that the Top of the World Highway was closed. We decided that even though it was early in the day that we would wait until the next day to see if the road would be open. Don Kime had stayed at the Alaska Bed & Breakfast on the way north and that is where we spent the night. Let's just leave it that it was a unique experience. It had not gotten any cooler and there was no air conditioning. It was a sweaty night.

While we were eating dinner, Bo Griffin stopped at the restaurant. Bo had a kidney stone during his trip up the Haul Road and had forgotten to get Bob to sign his witness form. We encouraged him to spend the night at Margie's, but he was on a tight schedule and heading on down the road. The next morning Dave Hinks found us at the same hotel eating breakfast and trying to decide what we were going to do as it appeared that the trip to Inuvik was out. Dave also had forgotten to get his paperwork signed and was soon on his way.

Friday, June 25, 2004
448 Miles
Tok, Alaska to Haines, Alaska

From this point forward, I would be sharing the road with Bob Moore. Bob is from Louisville, Kentucky and has become a close friend and someone that I respect as a rider. If anybody is holding things up when we ride together it is me. Bob is one of the best riders that I have met and it is always a joy to share the road with him. Bob had gotten married right before he left on his Alaska adventure. He spent the first few days of his honeymoon with Mark Busch. They had flown their bike to Las Vegas. I met Bob in Dawson Creek and spent the rest of the trip sharing a room and the road. The next morning we learned that the Top of the World Highway was still closed. Our trip to Inuvik would have to wait for another time. Bob and I left Don behind and continued south. Don had recommended that we take the Haines Highway to Haines and then take the Alaska Marine Highway to Skagway. This would be about a 450 mile day.

Bob and I would have another encounter with the local authorities. This time it the conversation was, well, non-existent. The scaling was a bit off in this cities attempt to slow down traffic. When we past Lake Kluane we saw a tourist bus stopped at the overlook. The tourists were looking out over the lake. The beautiful site that we had seen on our way north were no where to be seen as the smoke in the air from the forest fires were blocking the sun and the lake seems to only shades of grey. The tourists just have no idea what a magnificent site they are missing.

As we approached Haines we were to be treated by quite a site. We spotted a grizzly bear and two cubs. We pull to the side of the road to take pictures but did not dismount the bikes. I'm sure we were still too close but the mother bear seemed to ignore us so we patiently took our pictures. Shortly after we would see several horses. We were not sure if they were wild or just on open range.

We arrived at Haines and decided to go down and check out the ferry schedule. Don Kime had told us the ferry left daily around noon. Don was wrong. The only crossing tomorrow was at 4:30 a.m. and the sign said the we need to be there two hours earlier. We had dinner and found a hotel room for a short nights sleep.