There’s weird, there’s wacky… and then there’s the Hit and Run Cafe. It’s tucked in the bush off the highway somewhere in the rolling hills between Coldfoot and Fairbanks. If you don’t notice the hand painted ice cream or cold coffee signs nailed to the birch trees, you’ll miss it.

Arvid ordered their last hamburger and Matt and Lorne had roast beef sandwiches. Considering it was hours down the road to the nearest anything, lunch was pretty good.

In the video* below, you’ll see Arvid enjoying his burger while a woman in her 60s bulldozes behind him. You may also notice her tobacco plant that Arvid almost put his bike on (bottom centre of video*). A bigger parking lot was the explanation when asked what she was up to. But we think she was just showing off for Arvid. I guess Grandmas Can too…

I’ll spare you the details on the outhouse. But ask Arvid about it if you want to be grossed out.

The Hit & Run Cafe and Lodging

Arvid enjoying the patio atmosphere.

Notice the best before date. It was the same for all three bags.

Now that we have a signal again, here’s a few posts that had trouble loading this morning:

Bob’s Place

With no hotel in sight we pulled off the road hoping that Arvid and the crew could get a bit of sleep. Within minutes a truck pulled up concerned whether we were okay. He had seen us earlier on the road and he lives just down the road from where we were. He said we could park in his front yard. Thank you Bob!

On the front lawn of a home. And yes the moose is real!

5am coffee break. 8 degrees Celsius.

Who knew you could find Denver in the middle of Alaska? Omelette that is. With a side of biscuits and gravy, of course. And now he’s talking pizza! 

While Arvid snoozes, selfies occupy the crewses.

2 days and 4 hours after setting out from Deadhorse, Arvid said goodbye to the James W Dalton Highway, “for the last time… definitely.”

Arvid was met with poor conditions for most of the Dalton Highway. Rain turned the dry, dusty roads into clay-like mud making both uphills and downhills treacherous.

Steep climbs followed either by slow winding uphills or gravel downhills have slowed Arvid’s progress some, but hasn’t dampered his perseverance!

With better cell coverage (still not great), the tracker should allow you to follow Arvid’s progress more consistently. More photos and videos of Arvid’s first couple days are coming soon!

The end of the Dalton Highway. Of course, it’s a hill.

Arvid toasts the Dalton. With a trip favourite, rootbeer.

Within a few minutes, he’s back on the road!

It’s amazing how quickly the conditions can change in the Arctic. Arvid left Deadhorse yesterday with a cool, dusty crosswind. 100 km out it warmed to 18 degrees Celsius with the strong wind occasionally swinging around behind him. But 250 km into the ride, he was met with a dense, smokey fog and a steady rain as he began to climb Atigun Pass (elevation 4739 ft). With visibility of one car length, Arvid pressed on in the now sludge-like gravel incline.

After bike cleanings in creeks and a warm breakfast and “bird bath” in Coldfoot, Arvid will soon be back on the mucky “highway”.

Please pray for strength for Arvid and improved weather and road conditions!!

Before we get off the grid for the next couple days, here’s a few photos prior to Arvid leaving Deadhorse.

Arvid and the Deadhorse Crew.

Starting out the trip with prayer.

Arvid hiding from the wind.

9000 km to go!

Attention Key West:
Arvid is on his way!

Stay tuned for a couple quick videos coming in the next hour or two!

As you can imagine, thousands of hours of preparation have gone into getting ready for this event. Google mapping all 9000 kilometres of the route. The countless hours Arvid has spent training his body. The packing. The driving. And now the start is only hours away.

On this ride, crewing might look a little different than some of his other endeavours. This year there are two vans, one constantly following Arvid (the Follow Crew) and another “leap frogging” ahead to book accommodations, replenish supplies and catch some rest (you’ll see posts from this van labelled ‘Leap Frog’). The crew from these vans will be on 12 hour shifts, swapping vehicles at that point. However, the first few hundred kilometres will require some flexibility because there is no cell coverage for the vans to communicate and no places to stay for the first 400 km. Oh and we’ll be traveling down the Dalton Highway (a road they recommend you travel with two spare tires… in a four-wheeled vehicle).

Arvid and the crew dippping their toes in the Arctic Ocean.

The ride starts 12 noon central time (9am in Alaska), Tuesday, July 7.

Today we readied ourselves for tomorrow’s grand departure.

Since Deadhorse is located entirely on permafrost, everyone must be extra sensitive to what goes into the ground. As such, the one truck wash we found in town charged $140 per hour for pick up trucks (there are no vans or cars here). After explaining we needed to wash our dust-caked vans for the decals, the gentleman in the office said he’d like to cover the cost to support our cause!

While we packed, prepped the bikes, installed bike wheel carriers on the roof rack and boiled eggs, Arvid took his bikes for a spin on the Dalton Highway gravel.

If it hasn’t already, the reality of the ride is starting to sink in.

Washed and decal'd.

Ready for the ride.

Henry and Lorne prep the bikes.

Arvid trying out different tires on the gravel.

Arvid likes his choice of tires.

Gifts from his 9 grandsons on Arvid's crossbar. "Each of their favourite colours."

Since WiFi and cell coverage will be nonexistent for a few days once we depart Deadhorse tomorrow, we thought we’d take the chance to upload a few photos from the drive up.

Side of the Dalton Hwy in Alaska.

Arvid decides to take road construction into his own hands

24 hour sun, Alaska.

Sharing the road with Wood buffalo.

The Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway in Yukon.

Coldfoot Camp, Alaska

Arvid readies himself for another 10 hours in the van.

A road crew in Alaska digs up the road and installs a new culvert as traffic waits.