This is the Atigun Pass, a difficult stretch of road that crosses the Brooks Mountain Range in northern Alaska. It's literally the end of the road on the North American continent.
Sebastiaan de With, a 26-year-old Dutch photographer and designer living in San Francisco, decided to travel this remote stretch of road with his four friends this summer.
His idea to ride north was started one night while talking to his friend Stuart Philkill.
The two realized that they were at the perfect place in their lives to do something really crazy, de With had just lost his job and come out of a divorce.
"I was a conflicted and depressed mess before I left on this ride," de With told BuzzFeed News. "Life has been hard, and I was really struggling to find who I am, and what I want in life."
On the first leg of the trip they left California, passed through Oregon, and made it to Vancouver...
...Where they made friends with some locals and ended up at a huge illegal bicycle rave.
Then hit the road and left civilization proper the next morning.
They camped where they could, on random dirt roads, stretches of prairie, even cow pastures.
This is what 10 p.m. on a summer night in British Columbia looks like.
"Once we conquered the fear and uncertainty of an undertaking like this, it was immediately liberating. Then, it became a bit uncomfortable," de With said.
He said that as they got further and further into the wilderness there was definitely an "oh shit" moment.
But there were also moments like this.
Just south of the Yukon they started seeing their first glaciers.
This guy was from Bolivia, riding America from top to bottom.
When they got to Skagway, one of the older port towns from the Klondike Gold Rush, locals showed them the sights.
And in return, de With and his friends gave them a ride on their bikes.
"When you do hit the wilderness, there is so much time and empty space to reflect," de With said. "You begin to ask yourself, 'Why am I here?'"
They camped for a night in the Yukon with their new friends...
Snapped a quick pic...
...And then it was time to hop a ferry across the Yukon river.
This is the view from the Alaskan border.
He said the roads became noticeably tougher in Alaska.
And the scenery was a lot bleaker.
But not without its own kind of charm.
After six weeks on the road, de With and his crew made it to the edge of the Arctic Circle.
But they didn't stop there.
They wanted to go as far as the road does.
"If you want to find out what makes you truly you, it makes sense to push yourself as far from your comfort zone as possible," de With said. "You realize very much that you are doing what makes us all alive."
This oil field in Deadhorse, Alaska, is the last human outpost before you hit the Arctic Ocean. The sun never sets here.
As de With rode south the next day, back toward humanity, a storm was right behind them.
The photos of de With's journey to the end of the world have since spread all over the internet, which he's happy about but it's not something he ever expected.
"The best part about it is to see people commenting that it inspired them, made them feel happy when they were depressed," de With said.
As for what's next for de With, he's doing job interviews, but more importantly he has a better handle on what really makes him happy.
