I headed back inland to see George at BMW of Fairbanks and the to visit Denali before turning south.
My fork seals had been leaking for a week and I wanted them replaced so I hit the highway north to Fairbanks. George at Fairbanks Alaska is famous among northern BMW riders and it was only fitting that I meet him. Unfortunately, his incompetence almost cost me my life.

And before I could finish a day without bad weather I entered a hailstorm.

Grumpy George eventually got to my fork seals. It was an interesting place but now I understand why the rumor is that BMW wants to take away his dealership status.

From Fairbanks I headed to Denali National Park. A truly amazing place that required much more time to appreciate. I hope one day I can come back here and spend some time in the backcountry. There are now hiking trails here. You just go where you desire and try to avoid the Grizzly Bears.

From Denali Park I went south and crossed the Denali Highway, a short but very scenic dirt road.




I finished the Denali Highway low on gas and the lone gas station was out of gas and the owner claimed he didn't even have any cans of gas around so I ordered some food and contemplated my situation.

I went into the bar and started talking to a old timer about my problem and next thing I know he was on the phone calling around and then drove off to get me a jerry can full of gas from a friend. He just said that's what we do for people up hear.

I was back on the road and on my way to Tok without realizing there were no gas stations open till Tok. I hit over 210 miles on my odometer before hitting Tok.

I was feeling good and continued on through the night back to Chicken where I arrived around 3am and camped.

I crossed back over the Top of the World Highway and suddenly I lost my front brake. I coasted along because there was really no place to pull over until I reached Boundary, Alaska which is really just one building and a couple of work sheds. It turned out the bolts that George in Fairbanks Alaska reinstalled during the fork seal job were screwed in with grease on the threads. His theory was that it grease should be used on all bolts that had to be removed periodically. Well, the guy in Boundary found a bolt that fit the thread although it was a bit short it held the caliper in place.

The road also ripped a hole in my tool bag and I lost some good tools and supplies on that road.

But I was back in Dawson for dinner and even got my old campsite back.