It rained throughout most of the night, so I packed up in the rain and left Fairbanks at 7:00 am with the hope of riding south towards sunny weather as indicated in the local news. But, it was not to happen. After two and one half hours, even with long john's electric vest, rain gloves over regular gloves, and every piece of clothing I could wear at a time, I was starting to shake and shiver. I felt it was becoming dangerous, as my whole mind was on trying to keep warm, and not on keeping the bike upright. So I came upon Rose's Café on the outskirts on Healy Alaska, and stopped for two cups of tea and a hot breakfast. I asked Bill, one of the owners, if there was a motel nearby, and he indicated the next driveway led to a great spot. He then called them for me and I got the last room. This was at 9:30 in the morning. When I arrived, my room wasn't ready, but the lady in charge made sure I was comfortable with a cup of tea, and directed me to the lounge to warm up. Within thirty minutes my room was ready, so I moved everything that was wet into the room. I cranked the heat up to 80 degrees, climbed under the covers and warmed up very quickly. I then set up my tent, put my boots in front of a fan, laid my bike cover on the floor, and after a few hours everything was dry and repacked.
It has continued to rain steady all day, no let up at all.
At 5:00 pm, I walked over to Rose's for dinner, and got a bit wet, but I have time to dry out before morning.
We get five channels on the TV, so I hope the Olympic Games show up on one of them.
I find that the locals are less than surprised by the temperatures. They have implied that if you aren't in Alaska by the end of July, it can very easily be cold.
If this weather continues, I will make some serious route changes, and head south into British Columbia as fast as I can. It is very unfortunate, as there are so many places I hoped to visit in Alaska.
All I can do is wait until tomorrow and see what the weather brings.