After a good night sleep just next to the Elliot Highway I approach my final day. With 4 hills and about 110km left I start with a nice downhill section that I worked for on my last evening climb yesterday. The road is nicely paved. Life is good!

On top of the biggest hill at mile 28 the first signs of civilization reach me. I have cellphone service for the first time. It has been a week. I quickly catch up with Tom in Fairbanks. Even though he is not in town, he offers me to stay at his house and recuperate for the next ride. Once again I am blown away by the great trust and support within the bike travel community. Thank you for everything Amanda and Tom and congrats to your wedding. I wish you all the best for your life as husband and wife!

With great anticipation for a nice and cozy house all to myself the last two hours basically fly by. I take the time to recapitulate the last days. It certainly has been a great test for me and my setup. I could not ask for a better start into this journey and take a lot of confidence and motivation with me on my next adventures. Sure, at times it was rough but that was anticipated. I know that I have been very lucky with the overall conditions. Weather, road and moskitos could have all been much much worse. When things got tough I always thought about different things that would make the situation even tougher. These things never happened. I wonder how I would have handled them.

10 miles out of Fairbanks I approach my first real crossroad. Traffic sharply increases and the noise is almost unbearable for me. It is very cool, grey and rainy. When I left Fairbanks almost exactly a week ago it was sunny with 30 degrees. Autumn came quickly and I catch myself with thoughts that whish me back to beautiful Brooks Range.

After a quick stop at the supermarket I arrive at the house and take a delightful warm shower while a pizza waits for me in the oven. Life even got better!