Gaah. Is it morning? A round for everyone, coffee for me. Black.
readnews.com appears to be working again for the moment, so posting
from my original account.
Leaving Willits in the morning, I had intended to make it as far as
Rockaway Beach before cutting inland to Portland. But some
calculations showed I'd make it there late evening, and with 11:00
checkout there wouldn't be time for more than a glance at the beach.
Decided to leave that trip for another day when I could spend more
time, and cut inland on OR 38 at Coos Bay, which eventually makes its
way to Drain. That's a pretty ride -- highly recommended -- but the
gas stations are closed by 8:00 PM so make sure you topped off in Coos
Bay. I was getting a little anxious about the red warning light until
I finally found a place 40 miles west of Drain that isn't even on the
map. (Insert banjo music.)
The last part of the trip, from Coos Bay to home, was dry, thank the
Lord. From SF all the way up the coast was alternating rainy and
cold, then dry and warm, then rainy and cold again. Just about the
time the trip would start to suck, the rain would stop and my clothes
would start to dry out. Just about the time I really started enjoying
myself again, the rain would return. And so forth.
All in all, I touched most of the destinations on my rather loose
schedule, some only briefly, and spent time with family and good
friends along the way.
Google Maps indicates that the total trip was 1,515 miles. I've done
trips as long in a misspent, dangerous and uncomfortable youth, but
this is the longest trip in years and it felt great. The most
comfortable of seats will start to hurt at that distance, and the back
isn't what it used to be, but a little aspirin this morning and I'm
good as new, mostly.
That a fifteen hundred mile trip is not a huge accomplishment on a
bagger was brought home to me twice. First occurrence was in
Petaluma, CA, when I crossed over from Hwy 1 and was trying to find
the freeway. An old guy on an SE edition street glide was at the
light, and thinking he was a local, I asked him which way to 101. He
punched it up on his GPS and pointed "two miles that way". As he rode
off, I saw an Ontario license plate. Ok, I'm impressed. Nice bike,
too.
At the "drive thru tree" in Leggett, OR, met a guy on a 2007 street
glide who had come up from Phoenix, Az on his way to Seattle, WA.
Again, impressed.
But it's not just the miles but what you do when you get there. I had
a lot of fun this trip and despite some lingering pain in the
posterior I'm already making plans to use up more PTO.
I unpacked this morning while the coffee was brewing. Now to wash off
many miles of bug encrustations. But first, gotta mow the lawn before
the homeowner's association pickets my house. Ye gods.
Ron
-
2003 FLHTCUI "Noisy Glide"
http://www.christianfamilywebsite.com
http://www.ronaldchristian.com
On Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:52:22 -0700, Ronald O. Christian
>Gaah. Is it morning? A round for everyone, coffee for me. Black.
<snip last installment>
Your recent ride reports have been good. Hopefully, more people
will post reports again.
--
Diane
'07 XL 1200L
BS#142
IMO AH#65
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