| Author | Message | ||
     Ram |
He made it!  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
woo hoo!!! JIM NANCE FOR PRESIDENT! (i'm serious!) epic stuff, truly epic. way to go Jim! FB&D  | ||
| Jlnance |
wow, I'm gonna have to catch up on this thread tonight. Whats with the weather here? I was coming through WA and it was nice and sunny and actually warm. I didn't even plug back in when I filled up with gas. Then I cross that pass and all of a sudden I'm in blowing snow and rain. I was so cold when I got to the other side I had to sit in McDonalds for half an hour drinking coffee. The snow had quit when I got off the mountian, but it was still freezing cold. Then I drive 30 minutes into Seattle and it's warm again. Then it rains. Then the sun comes back out. It's clear now and the Girl and I are going to walk someplace for dinner. I'm bringing my hat just in case it changes before we are done. | ||
| Buellfighter |
Superman ain't got nothing on Supernance! Awesome Adventure. Thanks for taking us along!  | ||
| Diablobrian |
Glad to hear you made it to Seattle in one (frozen  ) piece! Let me know if you're coming back through MO on your return trip and we'll have to arrange a meal stop (on me!) instead of just a coffee stop so I can hear all the details first hand. | ||
| Jlnance |
Diablo - Thanks for the offer. I'm not going back the same way I came though. My plan is to leave Seattle on Monday morning and head to Sunnyvale, CA. My company is based there, and I'll work that week. Then on Saturday, I'll begin the trip home. I'll be taking the southern route, though I haven't planned the details. I want to see the Grand Canyon and Death Valley. Then south through New Mexico and east across Texas. | ||
| Jlnance |
I took this video of Washington state at the OR/WA border. You don't get a feel for how vast this place is from a still picture. http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l22/jlnance/cros s%20country/?action=view¤t=Picture015.flv | ||
| Jlnance |
Oregon.  I've got stories to tell but I'm too tired to write right now. Remind me to tell you sometime. | ||
| Ulywife |
Remind me to tell you sometime. You've been talking too much to Court! Glad you're having fun and got to RAM safely. Enjoy your time together and GO NANCE GO! | ||
| Etennuly |
AWESOME!!!  | ||
| Diablobrian |
Be sure to do at least part of your southern leg on the 1. I lived in San Francisco for 3 years (90-93) while stationed on a ship based there. The Coast highway is amazing. It follows the coast through every nook and cranny. It is motorcycling nirvana. I spent many weekends traveling up and down the coast on my old KZ750. GOOD TIMES! | ||
| Xb9ser |
glad you made it out there safely GO NANCE GO | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Jim, welcome to the Pacific Northwet! i hope you and Rebecca get to drive up to Mount Rainier this weekend. it is truly awesome up there, one of my favorite places in this country. you'll be in Paradise, literally, figuratively and spiritually. also, don't miss the Pike Place Market while you're there in Seattle (this is their 100th anniversary), and everyone should have dinner at the top of the Space Needle at least once in their lives. if you find the time this weekend (ha!), take the ferry over to Bainbridge Island. Winslow is a cool little village, everything in easy walking distance from the ferry dock, so you can leave your rental car back in Seattle (easier and much cheaper). Be sure to do at least part of your southern leg on the 1. what DiabloBrian said!  i can give you some route suggestions for getting from San Francisco to and thru Death Valley and beyond - ping me if you're interested. y'best be careful, Jim, as this "riding around the country like ya ain't got a care in the world" thing can become mighty addictive... JIM NANCE FOR PRESIDENT!!! FB&D | ||
| Jlnance |
Whose tuber parked in the pay lot on Denny Way? | ||
| Nevrenuf |
that's a must on the one and if you get a chance stop at the brewery in fort bragg. they got some beer that will kick your a$$. good to see you got up there safe and keep posting. | ||
| Jlnance |
I've decided EPIC is an acronym for Extreme Pain Is Common. Yesterday's story is one of wind. I left Baker City about 7:00 am in a light rain, which got heavier as I rode. Right around La Grande, the valley widens and the road is running through a fairly large plain. I noticed that I had to keep the bike leaned over to go straight; the wind was blowing. I couldn't feel the wind, as it wasn't gusty, but it was obviously blowing hard. It picked up speed as I went down the road. I was having trouble maintaining a straight line. It was trying to blow me to the right, so I decided to get in the left lane. I couldn't do it, too much wind. I looked up ahead and saw a section of road with rain and weeds being blown across it. I tucked down tight and road into it. I couldn't maintain a straight line, it was blowing me to the right. Fortunately it was a very localized section of wind, about 200 feet across, after that, it died down to something I could manage. A bit down the road, the entered a mountain range, and rode in that for a while. The mountains abruptly end and the road descends onto a huge plain.  There is a drop of several hundred feet as you come out of the mountains, you can see forever. There is an overlook, so I pulled off to take a picture. I didn't realize how hard the wind was blowing until I stopped. You don't notice it on the bike because it's a constant wind so it just mixes in with all the wind from moving. Once you stop there is a lot of wind. I was worried about unzipping my bag because I thought it might blow stuff out. I got the camera out, and used the corner of my earplug box to work the buttons so I wouldn't have to take off my gloves and frog hands. Thats where I took he pictures I posted earlier. I rode down the mountain and that was a blast. Just cause it's interstate doesn't mean it has to suck. Once I got to the bottom, wow, it was a beautiful day. Blue sky, warm, nice. It stayed like that for most of the ride. I'd occasionally hit more wind, but nothing like I had before. Occasionally I'd go by a bridge with a sign stating "Warning: Strong Side Winds," and I'd pay attention. I saw one bridge with a windsock on it. None of it was a problem for me, but I don't think I want to be on those bridges when it's really blowing. I got into Washington soon after that. It starts out looking a lot like OR, and then gets a lot more agricultural and populous. I passed a pumpkin field and lots of apple orchards. There were actually people around, it was beautiful, and it was warm. I got gas 80 miles outside Seattle. I didn't turn the electrics back on when I got on the bike, there was no need for them. Then I got to Snoqualmie pass. What happened to my nice day? All of a sudden it's in the mid 30s and I'm driving in blowing snow and rain. I was cold, colder than the snowstorm in Utah. In Utah I had been dry, but now I was wet. The raingear was doing a good job, other than for some water squishing around in my boots, but the outside of the raingear was wet. When you blow 35 degree air across wet stuff at 60 mph it does a good job of sucking out heat. I came down the mountain and the snow stopped. I made it about 10 miles, 30 miles from Seattle, and realized I had to stop. I was too cold. I stopped at the Snoqualmie Falls exit, which was quite a sight. To my left is the interstate, against a dark mountain being battered with wind and rain. To my right, not a quarter mile away, is another mountain in bright sunshine. In the center was McDonalds, where I spent the next half hour. The rest of the ride to Seattle was uneventful. I spent at least an hour after that being lost in Seattle. I rode over 3000 miles and never looked at a map and never got lost. How ironic that I can't find a hotel thats less than 5 miles away. | ||
| Jlnance |
You've been talking too much to Court!
| ||
| Court |
I just went back and reread that post . . Isn't it amazing . . . the geographic scenery pales in comparison to the mental scenery in your head. I'll bet if you go back and reread my post, it'll make more sense now. Imagine doing that 31 days in a row? I'm thinking, as soon as I can find a suitable bike with heated grips, of doing a little wandering and had dinner last night with a Bueller from Holland. It looks like we'll have quite a contingent from Europe and I'm thinking about "wandering" with a group from NYC to East Troy. . . truly amazing stuff. Be safe, have fun and keep writing/riding. Court | ||
| Diablobrian |
It wouldn't be anywhere near as cool if it was easy Jim! When you build a car or bike everything that you label as "pain in the @ss" because you have to fight it miraculously transforms into custom, one-of-a-kind work upon completion. This kind of trip follows similar rules...without the lows the highs would not be as remarkable. These memories will be with you for the rest of your life. Be sure to take time to enjoy it as it happens. | ||
| Bigdog_tim |
Oh wow! I am bummed I am just now seeing this thread. Jim - PM me if you need anything while in Seattle. The ride sounds AMAZING! | ||
| Rubberdown |
Way ta go Jim! Yaa Hoo. Now go cuddle the girl!!!  | ||
| Jlnance |
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| Ram |
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| Jlnance |
I kid you not, this is where we ate last night.  And of course, what would you expect to be on the menu?  Going to see the falls this morning. | ||
| Jlnance |
Great idea.  He made her promise to pay it forward. You all should watch out. | ||
| Glitch |
I am so envious! | ||
| Jlnance |
Thanks for the call Twig! | ||
| Firemanjim |
Better be careful,Jim, as Don Casto is out here in CA this weekend and will be headed in your direction sometime this week. Wouldn't want to have a collision of Buells on Hiway One. if you get a chance to stop in north Bay Area give me a call,707 548-7906. | ||
| M2nc |
Cali Folks - Where are the fires? I just saw something about wild fires in Southern California on CNN. | ||
| Sportymark |
there are some fires in Malibu, and then more just northeast of San Diego in the town of Ramona |
