May 23 – On the road again….

Today was D-Day so off I went at 8:00am sharp, riding north along US 101 all the way to Cannon Beach where I stopped for lunch with my long-time bud TR Huntington. The town was busting at the seams due to it being a holiday weekend plus a cruise ship had deposited its human cargo at Astoria just a few miles north. Evidently they had been turned back from visiting Mexican ports because of the current outbreak of swine flu and elected to visit Astoria instead. We met at Bill’s Pub for eats and lies, and then I hit the road for Beaverton just west of Portland. The ride along the coast was not as nice as it could have been due to the blustery cross-winds which made me think I was blowing tires.

Once I headed east and got away from that it turned into a warm sunny ride all the way to George’s Olson’s house where I’ll be staying until Wednesday. George and I have been friends for many years and he has just recently moved to the Portland area from his San Francisco home. It was time for him to slow down a bit and be with his Portland friends, a long overdue move. I arrived late afternoon and after I’d settled in we went out for dinner at McCormick’s Fish House where we consumed way too much alcohol with our raw oysters. Dinner and desert followed ensuring we’ll both need to shop for larger clothing in the near future.

Life on the road is supposed to be enjoyable, right? Motel 6 will come later.

May 22 – Last minute details

I don't know if I mentioned it but my knees were getting sore after a couple of hours when I wear the Aerostich Roadcrafter so I ordered a full set of their softer TF2 pads. They arrived this afternoon and I installed them, then wore the suit around the house for awhile and finally fell asleep in it watching TV. What a difference the new pads make, unbelievable.

Another thing I never cared for was the suit always seemed so damned stiff. Then I remembered reading something about throwing it in the clothes dryer on tumble dry for an hour so I did that today too. That seemed to soften it up quite a bit so the combination of the new pads and the dryer has really turned it into a comfortable riding suit. Or a very expensive pair of jammies...

That was the very last item on my list, the bikes packed up (again) and I'm ready to roll out first thing tomorrow morning.

Keep the faith...

LL

May 20 – Ninja’s back in trim

Today was weigh-in day for the Ninja, former contender for the World’s Most Bloated Ninja title. I rode into Coos Bay for lunch with Linda and on the way I stopped by the truck scale for a moment of truth. I’d already received my own personal FAT report earlier today and although I’m not happy with it I’ll settle for it. The Ninja on the other hand is now a svelte 500 lbs fully loaded. Factory specs list her at 444 lbs wet weight so that means she’s only carrying an extra 56 lbs of cargo, including panniers, racks, and tank bag. Not bad.

There are a couple of minor items to attend to before this coming Saturday’s departure date but nothing of any consequence. My desktop weather widget shows sunshine through Sunday with balmy temps in the low 60’s so the run up the coast should be most pleasant.

Today is also the first time I'm posting to the blog from my new non-insurance-covered notebook PC... 3rd time's a charm, eh?

May 17 - Swapping rides again! - Ninja goes on a Diet

Dieting is serious stuff when it comes to bikes. To illustrate I emptied the panniers of heavy items that aren't needed, removed the top box, and changed to a smaller tank bag. Then I rode into town to meet some friends for breakfast. The difference in handling was incredible, no feeling of top heaviness at all. You’d think that would be obvious to someone whose been doing this for a long time but I guess it just got away from me for awhile.

This afternoon I oiled the chain to see what effect the weight reduction would have. I chose a spot on our driveway with nearly the exact slope I’d had the issues with a few days ago. It was like night and day, I was able to roll and steady the bike with one hand. I also popped the left side pannier off to increase access to the chain and that helped too.

Anyway I’m ready to begin repacking and I’m not taking anything that isn’t absolutely essential, like my credit card, AAA card, AARP card, etc. I think camping in Motel 6 is going to be fun.

Oh, the photos… I wanted to take a couple to show the Ninja’s new slimmed down profile. Chance, our collie has this thing about poking his nose into everything including photo sets. If you try to shoo him away he just barks at you. What is that anyway?

May 15 - The ride home – No problemo Mon….

This morning I woke at 5:45am and immediately thought I’d overslept. For what I don’t know but I got right up, did the shower/shave/teeth thing and headed back to the Black Bear next door. Not to be outdone by last night’s feeding frenzy I ate up my weight in homemade hash, drank a gallon of black coffee and topped off my bread quota for the rest of the year. Barely able to slip into Big Red I was on the road by 8:00am enjoying the early sunshine and lighter traffic.

It was kind of fun gliding along I-5 and watching Oregon’s finest aka State Police do their thing with unsuspecting visitors bearing California license plates. I’d noticed the folks south of the border paid little or no heed to construction zone reduced speed changes or the accompanying “Fines double in construction zones” signs. I saw at least 3 of them become acquainted with the realities of that during the first 10 miles into Oregon. I’m clueless how expensive the fines are and I’d sure hate to find out.

Home was around 235 miles away so it didn’t take long to get there. Both dogs were outside lying around and neither one bothered to bark at me although Chance the collie did raise one of his ears. Daisy waited until I dismounted before she acknowledged me, probably ticked off because I left and didn’t take her along. There’s nothing like a couple of vicious guard dogs to give you that feeling of personal security.

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So that was it, I’ll spend the next few days catching up on domestic duties and cleaning up the Ninja for part 3 of this exercise in futility. I’ve decided to do the Motel-6 thing i.e., no more hauling 200lbs of camping equipment along. I'll probably take the northern route when I set out again, tentatively scheduled for the week following Memorial Day. This is like taking 3 vacations back-to-back isn’t it? I’ll get it right real soon, I promise. Stay tuned.

May 14 – Time to head home & regroup

Rising early this morning I realized I had to head home where I could regroup and make the necessary changes to my personal information that was listed in the lost/stolen notebook. I’m fairly careful about such things and although the data was locked up in password protected files I still wanted to change them. Plus another bit of nastiness had surfaced this morning: The oil leaks that had plagued me during the last ride to Alaska had reappeared in full force. I’d had the local dealer attend to them and although he thought they were in check apparently it was not so and that was bad news indeed.

Saying goodbye to Ron and Rita I poked the “Go Home” selection on the GPS and headed out, this time north to the I-5 freeway. I love that GPS, were it not for it I’d still be wandering around in Concord. The ride north was actually pretty nice once I got into the mountainous area and things began to cool down.

I arrived in the little town of Yreka in late afternoon and that’s where I became acquainted with Motel 6, the new love of my traveling life. Just $39.95 for one person is a fabulous price. Included are a clean bed, hot shower, a great TV, and air conditioning that’s quiet and actually works. To top it off right next door was the Black Bear restaurant, home of gigantic meals designed to keep your appetite in check for hours. I overindulged and went back to the room where I watched some nondescript program until my brain shut down for the day.

May 13 - Onward to Concord and Disaster strikes

Starting the day at Kelly’s Family Campground I elected to try out the showers, 5 minutes for a buck. There were two, both facing an open window and doorway which enabled you to experience the full brunt of brisk morning breezes. You’d think 5 minutes would make for a short shower but I was finished and ready to hop out in 3, glad that I’d opted for only a buck’s worth of early morning entertainment.

Getting an early start I followed highway 29 aka 175 south which meandered through miles and miles of picturesque woodsy countryside. Vineyards popped up unexpectedly and there were lots of small farms, all stocked with healthy looking cattle. This is the stuff photographers love to see but for me snapshots are all I’m capable of.

Highway 175 was as twisty as the coastal route I’d taken yesterday and by noon my arms were ready to fall off again. The temperature was rising and rather than cook inside my red Roadcrafter I stopped in Middletown where I changed into a lightweight leather jacket. The Roadcrafter – aka Big Red – is deluxe when it comes to keeping you dry and warm but air conditioning isn’t one of its best features. Once I’d changed I continued on into Calistoga where I stopped to buy a liter of, what else? Calistoga’s finest bottled water of course.

Outside the crowded store I met an old German guy who was admiring the hack. He told me about the ones he’d been familiar with during WWII, all the while talking with lots of frantic eyebrow up and down movements and more than a little spray for emphasis. I like old guys like him, they’re always fun to listen to. He didn’t say if he’d been one of the Fuhrer’s finest and I didn’t ask, the war’s been over for a very long time, and besides, I was only getting a few of his thickly accented words so maybe he wasn’t really a Nazi.

From Calistoga I motored on through Napa Valley where it seemed like the number of wineries had actually increased since my last trip through several years ago. The roses at the ends of the grape rows were in full bloom and the smell was heavenly. Traffic was as expected, slow to stop but it was bearable and there was lots to see. Once out of the grape growing area I ran fast towards my day‘s destination of Concord where my friends Ron and Rita live. I arrived at their house in mid-afternoon and it was there, after the initial hugs and handshakes that the disaster monster reared its ugly head. The right hand pannier was missing, gone, nowhere to be found, zip, nada, the end. The last time I’d seen it was in Middletown when I’d changed into my leather jacket. Inside it was my new Acer notebook computer with all its ancillaries plus the AAA maps, a brand new Road Atlas, all encased in fancy waterproof bags from REI. Even my unfinished copy of Jupiter’s Travels was inside, the very one I’d carried on two trips to Alaska and had intended to finish on this trip. I called the auto parts business in Middletown that I’d stopped in front of to change and asked if anyone had seen or found anything but to no avail. Then I called the California Highway Patrol and since it was a non-emergency I was relegated to leaving a message. You can probably imagine the priority they’ll give this one. Dammit anyway.

Ron insisted on hauling me around to buy replacements for everything and after a couple of hours I was pretty much outfitted again, except for the pannier. That would have to wait until I could get in touch with Aprilia to see if they even have them, after all the bike is a year 2000 model and what are the odds?

Rita is a cook’s cook and realizing how dejected I was she whipped up an amazing chicken dinner with salad and all the trimmings. I quaffed down a couple of Ron’s beers waiting for dinner and Rita and I polished off a bottle of red during the meal. Things didn’t look so grim after that.