George and I had breakfast one last time at Tom’s Gastronomical Hotcake Palace this morning, then I packed it up and jumped into the morning traffic heading east. I crossed the Willamette River and rode out I-84 in the opposite direction we’d taken on our way home from the Klickitat run the other day. The Cascade Salmon Hatchery at Cascade Locks caught my attention so I took an early break to stretch and look at the facility. They’re doing a pretty good job I think, without them helping out Mother Nature we probably wouldn’t have any wild salmon left.Lunch break was in Arlington where I enjoyed the best club house sandwich I think I’ve ever had. It was at one of those little hole-in-the-wall places where the locals eat and it couldn’t have been better. I also gassed the bike, cleaned the bugs off my helmet visor, and then changed out of Big Red into jeans and my 35-year old leather jacket. The temperature had risen steadily all morning and I was beginning to roast.
.
.
Turning north just shy of Pendleton I continued on into the inferno heading towards Kennewick, WA. After riding awhile I realized the heat was too extreme for even the lightweight leather jacket so I stopped at a rest stop and changed into one of Fast Company’s Draggin Kevlar shirts. Underneath it and my jeans I put on a set of Bohn Body Armor and it made all the difference in the world. The Kevlar has a very open mesh weave to it and allows maximum air flow while providing great protection.
.
.
Later in the afternoon I stopped off at the Honda dealer in Kennewick, WA. I was hoping to buy one of those clips you use to keep the hose at the gas pump from shutting off constantly. They’re a simple device but by using one you can fill your bike’s tank all the way up, otherwise the damn things shut off early and you end up shy a gallon or so. On a 4 gallon tank that’s not so good. The dealer knew exactly what I wanted but they don’t carry them so I’ll keep looking. As a note of interest they also stock a good selection of Aprilias. He said the locals apparently don’t seem to be ready for sporty bikes yet so they’ve got some great prices if anyone’s interested. I had to drag myself away from there.
After leaving his place I continued straight on to Spokane, arriving at the local Motel 6 around 5:30pm. The room looks like a clone of the last one I stayed at and the ice machine works great so I don’t have to drink my whiskey warm. Unfortunately I had a meatloaf sandwich for dinner so now I have heartburn to deal with. Maybe the whiskey will help?
.
.
PS – Did I mention George has a guard cat named Traveler? One of the biting kind? He even bites George on occasion. Jeeze… Maybe he should take him to the fish hatchery once in awhile.
When you get out of the coastal states you are not going to have to worry about a clip for the gas as the rest of the states don't have that silly hose combination.
ReplyDeleteI worked for awhile by the Tri-cities of Wash. and know what you mean by warm weather. Looks like you are headed the right direction for the "Refreshing " weather.
It seems it's an elective thing even in WA, and so far in ID and MT I haven't seen any. Canada remains to be seen, I'll find out in the morning when I gas up. Weather's good, got lots of stuff to report on today.
ReplyDeleteSee ya,
LL