ALCAN Highway Advice?
 

OK, a small group of old fart bike riders are starting to plan out a trip from San Francisco to Anchorage AK. Departure is looking like late April 2017. This is kinda tied to my other post on what kind of a bike to get. Has anyone done the ALCAN? If so what are the roads like? I have hear everything from asphalt all the way to broken asphalt and gravel to "don't try it, there are too many really wide open spaces". What's the real G2?

IIRC, from Fairbanks it is 1000 miles, about 200 of that is paved.

Late April may be slightly too early (you may need to push to may/june), but early = much better for the mosquitos.

I have no current info for you as I was last and only there in 1986, but I just wanted to reminisce about that. My dad drove us from Phoenix to Anchorage in a pickup camper. We went to the World's Fair in Vancouver, saw a mountain lion, stopped at a place that served caribou and halibut, saw Denali, and fished for trout from the pier in Anchorage while watching the floatplanes come and go. We took the ferry back to Seattle.

Maybe ask on ADVRider.com. It's a motorcycle site for people who do that sort of thing, and there would be more people there who know about it than there are on BF.

A few years back 2 guys from Sweden rode from Anchorage , via that route..
they were on city step thru frame bikes they brought with them,
using a Shimano 8 speed Nexus IGH preferred tyre: 622-42,
but in November we had no spares of that size in the Town LBS.

Good to know that someone has done it, maybe I better get some experience under my belt first...LOL Any suggestions on tours in Northern California?

What would you like to do on your tours? Did you have anything in mind that you'd like to see? Are you into going through towns or do you like the idea of more remote touring? I remember hearing about a route in Cali somewhere in the middle latitudes that sees fewer than 200 cars a day so a nice desert ride (but you have to bring water for several days of desert riding) I'm sure there's something about that on the touring forums. That would make a nice intro. That or just go over to the coast and ride along it. The only problem with being in Sacto is that further South of you campsites that you may want to stay in are going to be fewer and further apart than further north. I also found the campsites to be full of some pretty dodgy people. I don't know if I was just unlucky but I doubt it. Oregon and WA are way better for touring. Worth the logistical hassle of riding north or shipping your gear and "engine" up there.

I haven't ridden the Alcan but I did drive to Whitehorse in Yukon from Edmonton last summer. Got to say I was disappointed, not terribly interesting scenery. The roads were fine and paved the whole way but there were some narrow sections without much of a shoulder so you'd have to keep your head on a swivel. The worst part, though was all the resource extraction going on roadside. I passed many signs saying "DON'T STOP HERE POISON GAS AREA" so yeah, I was glad I was in a truck with recirculating air. The bugs were really not that bad at all. I got out a lot along the way and really didn't get bitten much. I hope Alaska is prettier than the Northern BC and Yukon section of your route because otherwise, yech.

There is a currently featured journal on CGOAB: crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Alaska Highway 2014, by Rachel Swenie
Covers Dawson Creek, BC to Delta Junction.

I rode from Salt Lake City to Denali National Park last summer. I left in July and was up there at end of July/ first week of August. Mosquitoes were bad but I pretty much just hopped in my tent whenever I wasn't riding. I met Rachel Swenie (who did the write-up posted above) and rode with her for a while.

My number 1 piece of advice would be to ride the Stewart Cassiar Highway instead of the Al-Can. I hadn't made up my mind which to take when I left, but along the way I told people my intention of riding to Alaska and everyone told me to ride the Stewart Cassiar (truckers, cyclists, and RVers alike) and I was an idiot if I took the Al-Can over it. I think they were right - the Stewart Cassiar is a beautiful highway and definitely better than everything I heard of about the Al-Can. There were almost as many cyclists as there were cars - it is a dream for touring.

Also I would suggest riding the Dempster or the Dalton highway once you're up there. The Dempster will have a lot less people and when I was in the Yukon I met a crazy guy from Denmark who has ridden the Dempster 4 times because he loved it so much. They are both unpaved and supposedly gorgeous. I will definitely be returning to ride either or both of these highways.

I rode an old mountain bike with 2" wide Schwalbe Marathon tires which was great for the section in the Yukon where the roads weren't paved. Alaska has beautifully smooth roads. I would not have changed anything about my set-up. I wouldn't go less than 1.75" wide. Check out my pedalroom below if you want to see my touring set-up for the trip and some ride pics.

Definitely do it. You will get really sick of your friends, but you're not on a tandem together so it'll be chill.

I think that's all I got.

-Max

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All is true, plus it can be muddy and/or dusty. The road conditions are constantly changing that's why reports vary so much.

I toured Seattle, WA to Dead Horse, AK in 2011. Great tour. I agree with max5480 you should include the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. I definitely recommend a sturdy bike with fatter tires.