| Author | Message | ||
     Ourdee |
You should have hit Nevada by way of hoover dam. It was less than an hour out of Kingman. Are you going to hit Alaska? | ||
| Pwnzor |
John, if I were you I'd slug it out through the traffic to make that Golden Gate crossing. From there, you're straight into Marin County and you can continue all the way up the coast. Muir Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore, Gualala, Fort Bragg, Eureka and beyond. Definitely worth it. I've done it on every bike I've ever owned since 1987. | ||
| Akbuell |
The Golden Gate bridge is cool, but something of a gamble. First time across, just rode across. Second time, I found out my first crossing was on a 'toll free' day, or hour, or whatever. Second time, tolls were in effect, and was pricey. $5 for a motorcycle, IIRC, but that was years ago. If schedule and whim permit, I suggest going west to the ocean and riding up Hwy 1. Neat road, and if by the ocean, it can be cool and damp and cloudy. 3 mins later, you are up on top of the bluff, and it will be sunny and in the 80's. It ends in the Redwood National Forest; some Really Big trees. You end up on Hwy 101, and can continue north through Oregon and Washington. Impressive bridge across the Columbia River at Astoria, Ore. Was a nice Mexican restaurant in Astoria. Hwy 101 through Oregon is nice, but somewhat slow. About the time you establish a pace, you get to another small town, and have 25-30 MPH speed limits. The towns are cool though; real small town America. Better pace through Washington, but a decision needs to be made about the Olympia area. On up towards the peninsula is nice, but getting across to I-5 means taking a ferry. I chose to get to I-5 and just slab it up to the border, dealing with traffic through the Seattle metroplex. As to the border, the crossing you get to from/on I-5 is usually packed. Cutting east at Bellingham and following 542 and 9 to Summas worked better for me. The Summas border crossing is primarily a truck crossing, so cars and bikes get through quickly. Hwy 1 in Canada is right there, and getting to Vancouver, or heading north towards you destinations is easy. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Akbuell |
What Pwnzor said . . .  | ||
| Crusty |
Whither shall I wander? It’s a military axiom that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. My route plans suffer the same fate. As of last night, I was going to head north towards Oregon; now, I’m heading east towards Reno, Nevada. Once I get to Reno, I’ll head north on US Rt. 395. I just want to be able to say I made it into Nevada. Besides, I think that 395 will be a much nicer ride than I 5 through California. I won’t hit Vancouver, but I’m not heavily invested in going there. After being around the San Francisco area, I want to be away from cities for a while. I’m in Hercules, CA; not quite half way to Sacramento from Tony’s house. I was going to put on more miles before stopping, but my water pill was doing it’s job and my bladder was screaming at me. I saw a sign for a Blubber King, so I pulled off the highway. I just finished a Croissan’wich and some tater tits for breakfast. (It’s not a Healthy meal, but for some really bizarre and twisted reason, I really like Croissan’wiches) I don’t stop at BK very often, but I thoroughly enjoyed the food, this morning. OK; It’s probably going to take me three days to get to Canada on the route I’m taking, but it should have pretty scenery to look at. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I-80 to Reno? Might I then suggest a detour down 89 to the north shore of Tahoe, and 28 to 431, back to 580 into Reno? It's real purty! Real nice twisties going over 431 as well. | ||
| Buellish |
There are those tater tits again! | ||
| Crusty |
The High Desert Drifter I’ve chalked up 46 states on the Roadster so far. I’ve had bikes that I put more miles on, but I’ve ridden the Roadster through more states than any of my previous bikes. Tomorrow, I’ll pick off #47 if nothing unexpected happens. I should have expected it to be as hot as it is, but I thought I was going to be riding through National Forest at a bit of elevation. Well, Rt. 395 does go up and down; it was over 5000 ft at one point, but it was still pretty hot. It’s not as bad as crossing the Mojave was; the temps stayed under 100º F. However, 95º is still hot even if it is a dry heat. US Route 50 is supposedly the Loneliest Road in America. Whoever came up with that has never ridden a motorcycle from Reno, Nevada to Alturas, Californica on US Rt. 395 It’s all high desert and little else. There’s damned little traffic in either direction. One town had a population of 20 according to the official sign on the side of the road. I’ve forgotten the name of the town, but I think there was one or two buildings there and that’s it. I sleezed out again and got a room at the Stupid 8 here in this booming metropolis of Alturas. I saw a thermometer that was sitting on 94º F in the shade when I stopped to get gas. Since this is the biggest town for a while, and it looks like I’ll be in the high desert for a good while longer, I figured it was the smart thing to do. Also, as soon as I got into my room, I pulled the lining out of my helmet and shampooed all four pieces in the sink and rinsed them thoroughly. The accumulated sweat and hair oils were smelling pretty rank. I’ve got them hanging outside my room drying. I bet they’re dry in a very short time. It’s very hot and dry here. Tomorrow, my helmet will smell a lot better. Oh; speaking of gas; the Roadster went up hill and down hill at 75 MPH and gave me 176 miles using 3.9 gallons of Premium. That works out to 45 MPG. The tank holds 4.5 gallons, supposedly. As usual, I’d still like a little more range, but 200 miles on a full tank is respectable. I took one good picture today of the bike on Donner Pass. I’ll post it when I download it to my laptop. I think I’ll go check on the pieces of the lining, and if they’re dry, put them back in the helmet. (Message edited by Crusty on June 26, 2016) | ||
| 86129squids |
Once your head is together, sans smegma, enjoy. | ||
| Alfau |
sans smegma https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl =fr&u=https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smegma&prev=se arch | ||
| 86129squids |
 Hope Crusticle's helmet wasn't THAT bad... | ||
| Crusty |
Porcupines and Turn Signals A few years ago, I took a day trip from My house in Massachusetts to Vermont and back. I notices something like 10 or 12 dead porcupines along the road. I was wondering if there’d been a population explosion of porcupines, thus leading to the unusually large number, or if it was just coincidental. it turned out to be the latter. I haven’t noticed a lot of dead little prickers since. Today, I’m wondering if Oregon drivers just don’t like to use their turn signals, or if I just happened to run into a higher ratio of non-signalers than usual. I must have run across a dozen different drivers who made turns without any warning whatsoever. Is it a local phenomenon, or it it just my day to run into non blinker using drivers? I’m typing this in a Pilot Truck/Auto Travel Center in Biggs Junction, Oregon. I’m planning to camp at the C.O.E. campground about 10 miles east of here on the Columbia River. I like COE campgrounds. They tent to be nicer than most and cleaner and better maintained, as a general rule. I spent most of today riding across High Desert. It got hot, but it still was better than the Mojave was. There was a Doe and her Fawn having trouble at an intersection in Bend, Oregon right around noon. The doe was on one side of an Armco barrier and the fawn was on the other side, trying to figure out how to get back over to his mom. It was pretty spooked and ran back and forth repeatedly looking for a way. The light changed and I rode away without discovering how it all worked out. I think there’s a lot of deer in Oregon overall. I saw a herd (or whatever you call a big group) in a wheat field about 50 miles north of Bend. It looked like there were over two dozen or so all hanging out together. Well; I’m tired and I want to go set up camp. Later. | ||
| Zac4mac |
John You really should go to Seattle and take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria.,Vancouver Island, Canada. I went to a Harley swap meet in Nanaimo, beautiful lush temperate rain forest. Stay safe. Z | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Biggs Junction, Oregon I sure do enjoy getting the old paper atlas out and finding just where in the wide, wide world your are. Portland, Oregon is on the list of places I would like to see. Looking forward to seeing you in about 6 weeks. | ||
| Crusty |
Someone on another forum asked what I carry with me as I travel. I figure I'll share the list here, as well.
This list is what I'm currently packing. The list keeps changing as my wants and needs keep changing. I have seven changes of t-shirts, shorts and socks (plus the set I'm wearing) Laptop computer, charger, cordless mouse, camera, assorted cords and chargers in a small drawstring nylon bag. Shaving kit. Medications (I have to take five different pills each day). Flashlights (I have several LED lights). Flip Flop sandals for showers. Camping towel. Two pairs of Blue jeans. Electric jacket liner. A sweatshirt. Blood testing kit. Tools. about 15 pounds (7.5 Kilograms) worth Rain pants and rain gloves. Tent. Sleeping Bag. Sleeping pad. Folding chair. Extra Bungee cords. I wear either an Aerostich Darien jacket or a Mesh jacket depending on temperature. Schuberth C3 helmet Aerostich Elkskin Gauntlets. Plus, I carry a Leatherman Super tool and my cell phone. Everything gets put into 4 mil plastic zipper bags., and I have a few spare bags with me. I hope this helps you decide what you want to bring with you. | ||
| Akbuell |
One spiffy lighting option, IMO, is the Luci solar powered light, by Mpowered. About 5 in dia by 1 in thick when collapsed. 4-5 in high inflated. About $15 for the original model. Both steady and flashing modes, 12 hr time on bright (low). Strap it on top of the load w/the solar cells up while riding. Sometimes in stock at Wally World, or go to a camping store, Amazon, ect. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Crusty |
Mike K. asked me a couple of questions. how much cash do you bring do you base toll change by visiting websites ahead of the planned trip Here’s my reply to him: I hit ATMs whenever my cash starts to get low. My Credit Union is part of a network that doesn't charge for using Ntework ATMs. I just go to an ATM Locator page and it tells me where the nearest free ATM is located. I try to avoid tolls whenever possible. In the Northeast, it's almost impossible, but there are routes than cost less than others. I'll try to research in advance to keep my costs down. I really hate tolls. Oh; one thing I forgot to mention was my coffee making equipment. I have a Stanley 1 Qt. pot that has nesting cups that fit inside. My stove fits into the top cup and the lid keeps it all contained. It fits into a small nylon sack that holds my instant coffee, Coffee Mate and Spork. I keep the gas canister separate, and it all fits nicely into the left saddlebag. | ||
| Froggy |
I love how you got 7.5KG just by cutting 15lbs in half. Close enough for government work as they say  I got an email from the post office this morning showing a post card, thank you. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Froggy brought up postcards and that reminded me. I spoke with Judy a couple days ago and she wanted me to let you know she has been getting your postcards. She really appreciates it and so do I! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Just got a post card from Yosemite, and it really made my day. Thanks, John! | ||
| Coolice |
John, Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I sit and vision your ride. Enjoy! | ||
| Crusty |
At The Border So I made it through the high desert without any untoward issues. Riding north on Rt.97 all the way through Oregon and Washington. It’s really scenic in a lot of places and it’s really hot in most places. I saw a thermometer reading 106º F (41º C) yesterday, and I believe it. What was interesting was when I rode into Oroville, WA and I saw 92º on the bank thermometer. It felt hot, but not as uncomfortably hot as 92 should feel. I think I’m getting used to the heat. That means it’s going to be a bitch when I finally hit cold weather. I had planned to stay at a Corps of Engineers campsite the night before last. When I got there, the ranger at the entrance told me that the park was open to tent campers only on weekends. He did tell me where I could camp for free on COE land, though. The bonus was that it was right on the banks of the Columbia River. It wasn’t a COE campground, but it was maintained in typical COE fashion. It was neat and clean and it was a good place to set up my tent. There were no showers, and I would have loved one after sweating heavily all day, but for being a free campground, it was really nice. Washington state was Interesting to ride through. I started to see fruit orchards. Lots of fruit orchards. Thousands and thousands of fruit trees. Cherries, apples, pears, peaches and I don’t know what else. It looked like the whole central section of the state is nothing but fruit trees. I camped in the Veterans Memorial Park campground right on the banks of Osoyoos Lake. I got there after the office was closed, so I looked at the map and picked out a “Walk-in Rustic Tent Site” I found the site and set up my tent, then went to take a shower. The showers required quarters (.50 for 3 minutes), and I only had three. So I jumped on the bike and went off in search of change. I couldn’t find any. The convenience store didn’t have any quarters, and I couldn’t find a laundromat or change anywhere. So I just made sure I was efficient. I got clean, but I didn’t linger. One more quarter would have made it a lot better. The sky starts getting light this far north at 3:15 AM. (I woke up to pee) The sun doesn’t come up until almost 5:00 AM, but the dawn is a protracted affair. The same thing happens at night. I was sitting outside my tent reading until 9:15 PM. When I turned of my light at 10:00, it was still light out, though not light enough to read by. As I go north, it’s going to get even more pronounced. I think that’s pretty neat. I slept in until 5:15 this morning, then got up, broke camp and was on the road by 6:00 AM. That might be a record for me. When I went to leave the park, however, there was a gate that was padlocked across the road. Since I didn’t want to wait, I jumped the curb and rode up the sidewalk around the gate. Then I got to the Border. I’ve said it many times; I have a face that Customs people think should be framed - by bars. The Canadian Border guard grilled me for a while, then took my passport and had me park under the awning and come inside while he ran my ID to check me out. I think he was disappointed when he couldn’t find anything wrong and he let me go with a brusque, “Have a nice trip.” I’m now sitting in a Tim Horton’s drinking coffee and feeling like I’m in Canada. The scenery is really beautiful here, and I’m not even near to the really spectacular stuff. This should be pretty sweet! | ||
| Macbuell |
Sounds awesome. Really nice people in Canada. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Epic. Journey. Carry on, sir! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I would have never thought that far north would be that hot. | ||
| Crusty |
Holy F@#$ing S%&t! I’m in the Canadian Rockies. In-freakin-credible! I don’t know how many pictures I’ll take, but I wish I had the skills of Court or Mike R. My photography skills are nowhere near being up to the task. I’m hoping to camp at the Mount Sir Donald campground in Glacier National Park tonight. According to Google, it’s only about 40 minutes away from here. The temperature has definitely come down, now that I’m in the mountains. I hope it doesn’t get too cold tonight. My sleeping bag is pretty warm, though. I probably won’t have any temperature related troubles. I’ve seen a lot of Canadian Flags since I crossed the border. Either Canadians are more patriotic than I suspected, or I just ran by all the really patriotic Canadians. I think it’s more likely that the former is true. One neat thing I saw was a cliffside house that had both a Canadian flag and an Australian flag hanging from the balcony. I’m going to try to get some photos, hopefully some of them will be worth the effort. One of these days, I’ll have to download the camera to the laptop and share them with everybody. | ||
| Pwnzor |
All the Canadians I've met seem to love being Canadian. | ||
| 1313 |
I’ve seen a lot of Canadian Flags since I crossed the border. Either Canadians are more patriotic than I suspected, or I just ran by all the really patriotic Canadians. I think it’s more likely that the former is true. I had the same remark when I visited Turkey this spring. Turkish flags were EVERYWHERE and they were HUGE! I'm not (all that) old, but I recall Americans used to have pride like that... Whatever happened to that pride in the USA? 1313 | ||
| Glitch |
Whatever happened to that pride in the USA? Its no longer "relevant", not in style (Message edited by glitch on June 29, 2016) | ||
| Crusty |
Cold, Wet & Cranky I’m sitting in a Tim Horton's in Golden, BC. It took me literally an hour to get a large coffee and a breakfast meal. The line was out the door when I arrived, then, there was some sort of major screw up (I think their computer took a dump) and they had to ask everyone what they’d ordered. Now, I’m trying to just relax a bit and warm up. Yesterday, was a day of incredible sights. Thundering waterfalls, roaring streams and mountains that I can only describe as phenomenal. As I would ride past a roaring torrent of white water cascading down a mountainside, the temperature would drop a good 20 degrees (F), then it would warm up again a hundred yards or so later. I took a few pictures, but every time I saw a really spectacular view, There was no place to pull over to take a shot. By the time there would be a turn out for a Scenic View, the amazing shot would be gone. Either the turn out was surrounded by tall trees that blocked the panorama, or the road would have turned so I couldn’t see the mountains that made it such an impressive shot. I was planning to stay in the Mount Sir Donald campground, but I must have missed the turn off. I saw a sign for the Loop Brook campground, but there was an orange CLOSED sign diagonally across the exit sign. I got lucky at the next (and last) campground, Illecillewaet. I set up my tent in a site right beside a babbling brook, then went and paid $21.50 to camp there. The campground was like all the other scenic views. If I went North around the curve in the road, there was an incredible mountain view; if I went South a hundred yards, there was a different but equally spectacular view. I kicked back and just admired the scenery. I went to bed around 9:00 or so. I woke up at 11:00 and the sky was finally dark. It took almost 2 hours for Dusk to become night. The temps had fallen to the point that I could sleep in my bag and I wasn’t hot. I think the temps fell to about 50º F. It was perfect sleeping weather. Anyhow, a flash of Lightning, followed by loud Thunder woke me up a while after that. I zipped the door on the rain fly shut and listened to the sound of rain drumming on the fly and went back to sleep. The thunderstorms were intermittent all night long. I was awake at 5:00 AM and was going to get up, but I heard another clap of thunder and the rain started again, so I went back to sleep. I woke up after a disturbing nightmare at 6:15 and said, “Screw it”. I got dressed and packed up my sleeping bag and pad then broke down the tent. It would rain for a couple of minutes, then stop for a couple of minutes the whole time I was packing up. Once I had everything packed on the bike and I was wearing my rain gear, the sun came out. I left the campground and rode through scattered rain until I got to the first place to get a cup of coffee. I didn’t even try to make coffee at the campsite, so I was really wanting a cup. When I was pulling into the town of Golden, the first place I saw was a Timmy Ho’s and I pulled in. I’m wet, chilled and I have a crappy attitude. Everything up here is a lot more expensive. Gas cost me $1.48/liter yesterday (for Premium). 4 liters is just over a gallon, and the US dollar is 1.30 Canadian dollars. That works out to roughly, $4.50/gallon. Ouch. The rain which started while I was having my coffee looks like it’s almost stopped. I’d better get back out there. Oh,I just noticed; I just lost an hour. I must be back in the Mountain Time zone. Now the clock on my handlebars is only two hours off. |
