Grab a couple cold ones. Depending on your interest, this make take a
while.
I'm back home after a great ride. Here's the short version:
21 days, 8,500 miles, 27 states, 3 parties, and managed to lose 8 lbs.
No close calls, some great solo and group riding, Many laughs, a few
well constructed lies, and was never without a beer when I wanted one.
There were a couple of casualties including the primary compensator
and the pump for the air horns. Trip additions included a set of Frogg
Toggs for rain in hot weather, and I picked up an Air Hawk seat pad.
Both greatly improved riding comfort.
Long version: (You'll need more refreshments)
I left Seattle on August 2nd. I stopped in Elk, WA (just north of
Spokane, WA for a short visit with my brother-in-law Jim and his son
Josh. I took Josh for a short ride up and down the highway. He enjoyed
it. So did I. I decided to go back to I-90 instead of continuing on
US2 to save a little time. I got a room in Missoula, MT for the night
after 549 miles.
The next day (Tuesday), I took advantage of a string of gas stations
on I-90 in Montana to sort out the fuel gauge on the 2010 Ultra. I was
carrying a 20 oz. bottle of back-up gas I picked up on the PBR run
last year after running out of gas in North Dakota. The reserve fuel
counted down to 10 miles then switched to "Lo" and I started counting
miles. It went another 20 miles, 10 beyond it's own estimate, before
running completely out. Unfortunately, I mis calculated the range 20
oz. of gas would go. I figured 10 miles but it was really 5. The left
me about a mile short of the next filling station. There are several
ways to check your math. Running out of gas on I-90 in Montana is one
I hadn't anticipated. I locked the bike and carried my little 20 oz.
bottle to the off ramp and to the filling station. I laid a dollar on
the counter, held up the bottle and told the lady I wanted a fill up
on pump 4. She laughed. My total came to 60-cents. I walked back to
the bike, poured the gas into the tank, and rode back to the station
where the bike took 5.871 gallons. I needed the walk and I laughed at
my mistake, but I learned what I needed to know.
When I was filling up, I looked at the map and decided to take a
little side trip up US212 past the Custer battlefield. It was nice to
get off the Interstate. I stopped for gas in Broadus, MT. I waited for
a few minutes behind a pickup that was filling up. An American Indian
man walked up, stuck out his hand, and introduced himself as Alex. He
said he and his brother Bill were returning from fixing an old farm
pickup. Alex was pretty greasy and Bill was wearing nice clothes. It
was easy to tell that Alex had done the wrench work on the pickup. He
said he worked as a mechanic and his brother Bill was a local
politician. The were both very friendly and good guys. I stopped in
Rapid City, SD after 687 miles that day.
The next day (Wednesday) through South Dakota, Minnesota, and into
Wisconsin were pretty uneventful. I stopped in Wisconsin Dells, WI
after 745 miles.
After a nap, a rinse, and fresh clothes, I headed out the next
morning. I took I-90 down to I-39, then turned onto I-80. This put me
south of Chicago and avoided some of the traffic fustercluck that is
greater Chicagoland. I stopped on the east side of Cincinnati, OH and
called TL Mitchell. I arranged to meet him at a favorite rib joint for
supper. It was tasty. It rained a little while we were eating but had
stopped before we finished. We took some back roads the few miles to
his place through northern Ohio. On one road we passed three Amish
buggies with batery lights. I've never seen them on the road in the
dark before. It was pretty funny. 668 miles that day.
The next morning (Friday), TL and I were talking about detailing. I
suspect he slept poorly knowing my filthy bike was in his garage all
night. The talk included a tour of his substantial and highly
organized detailing supplies. At the end of the tour we were faced
with my dirty bike and his with a little road spray from the night
before. He pulled out the buckets (you can't wash a bike with only one
bucket I learned) and he proceeded to hold a master class on bug
removal and soft clear-coat preservation. When we were done, my bike
looked better than when I left Seattle. Then he got a little twitchy
because his bike had more dirt on it than mine. It didn't need a full
wash like mine did. He did a quick detail on his own 2010 black Ultra
and his annoying face tic subsided. It took a pot of coffee and
several cigarettes to get him calmed back to what passes for normal in
Tom's world. Thanks for the lesson and the bike scrub TL!
That afternoon we rode into Ashtabula, OH after stopping at a bar he
wanted to show me. It was a very cool place near a covered bridge next
to a small river. He was thinking of bringing Eddie there on the
birthday ride the next day. I was all for it. We finished our beers
(one each), and headed over to Ashtabula. We stopped at the Cedars
Motel and I got a room. I tried to get a room a couple weeks before
but they were full up. There had been a cancellation. Lucky Me!
The 2010 EKIII Birthday Bash was lots of fun. I got to the campground
just before the ride to pick up Eddie. Eddie rode in his van with Ann
and Ed Sr. We all headed to the Dairy Queen in Geneva-on-the-Lake for
burgers and hot dogs. Later, several of us headed over to the
aforementioned bar with Eddie. We took him in and Eddie really seemed
to like it. Big smiles and lots of looking around. I was told this
"joint" was very much like the kind of placed he enjoyed before his
accident. Next year, we may go back there and skip the Dairy Queen
altogether.
Back at the campground, Fred "Frito" Snetzer had BBQ'd three large
pork butts that were just killer. It was consumed very quickly. I
think I learned enough to give it a go myself one of these days.
Eddie was much more animated and engaged then when I last saw him in
2006. Ann would get Eddie's chair adjusted and Ed Sr. felt compelled
to make a final minor adjustment. I think Ed Sr. needed to appear to
be needed. This meddling would make Ann a little cross with him. It
was a great source of amusement for Eddie. His eyes would sparkle and
his grin was spread across his face. At one point, several of us were
helping to transfer Eddie from his chair to his cot for an afternoon
nap. None of us knew what the hell we were doing so there was a lot of
false starts and unsolicited advice for how to best accomplish the
task. We all got to laughing. It was pretty funny. Eddie was laughing
so hard at our misdirected efforts he was snorting. It really was funny.
The next morning (Sunday), I met up with Andy (Big Stinky), Dean, and
Larry (from St. Louis) and enjoyed an early-bird breakfast special. I
rode west with them for a few miles before peeling off and heading
down towards Dayton, OH for a visit with a piping friend. I had a
great time with Ed, his wife Theresa, their two adult sons, and Ed's
wonderful mother. Most of the meal had come from the garden and
everything was fresh made at home. What a treat. Ed has a Royal
Enfield that is too small for Interstate speeds. I think I may have
planted a seed for a bigger bike, maybe a Ural with a side car.
Theresa is all for it and is in full support of my efforts to get Ed
on the road.
I headed back northeast the next morning (Monday), but by then, my
backsides were still pretty tender from all the miles on the Mustang
cop seat. I stopped at a Starbucks for a cup of coffee and located an
Air Hawk seat pad at Shade Tree near Warren, OH. At Eddies party I sat
on the Air Hawk that Dean had on his bike. It seemed like a good idea.
It took some time to figure out just how little air it needed to be
comfortable but it was a huge improvement. I understand the makers of
the seat pad developed the pattern of small interconnected air
chambers for folks in wheelchairs. My bare seat is fine for a couple
hundred miles, but after that my butt bones get sore and the Air Hawk
keeps them lifted just off the seat. This was a good addition.
I finished the day by riding through a couple hours of very warm rain
(far too warm for my cold weather rain gear) getting to Baldwinsvlle,
NY and the pleasant home of Gary "Bear" Todd and his lovely wife Barb.
I changed into dry clothes and poured the water out of my boots. A
night spent with newspaper stuffed in the boots dried them out nicely.
Barb made a big slow-cooker pot of steak and vegetables and served it
over rice. Lordy it was good. Bear and I cleaned our large plates with
barely a word between us. That's a recipe I need to find. We finished
the evening with a couple beers and a nice single malt.
Bear and I rode together into the Adirondacks past Old Forge before he
peeled off and headed back for home. He was scheduled for a service
before joining us in South Carolina for SCUM. I enjoyed a very
pleasant ride on through the Adirondacks to the ferry at Essex, NY.
This crosses Lake Champlain to Vermont just south of Burlington. I
pulled into Bob "Banker" Blanchard's driveway just as he was finishing
cutting his grass. The two of us (Julie was in New Hampshire) managed
to beat the heat by enjoying a several cool PBRs on the porch. We
dodged most of the rain squalls and had a tasty supper at a place near
Burlington.
Banker and I decided to take three days to get down to SCUM in South
Carolina by avoiding the Interstates. Bob is always good to ride with.
Some of the route was very pleasant, particularly through the Delaware
Water Gap National Recreation Area, and through the Taconic range.
Very nice indeed. We stopped for the night in Pine Grove, PA after 409
miles. The next night was in Danville, VA, then on to Greer, SC
arriving at Len's "cabin" for South Carolina Under the Moon.
SCUM was great. It was nice to see so many people I don't get to see
much. Len and Pauline have a new Boxer pup named Axel. He was lots of
fun and will be a great dog. I was hoping to take a side trip to meet
up with another old piper friend up in Asheville, but Len located a
set of Frogg Toggs rain gear in Greenville, and considering the
weather, I decided the right gear was more important than a social
visit. After I picked up the rain gear, I headed back to the cabin
just in time to take a little group ride to "Bob's". This is a beer
bar hanging on a slope back up in a holler. It is perched up on cinder
blocks and poles, has partially slid down the slope, and looks like
it's one stray match away from a major fire. There isn't a spot of
level floor or a straight wall in the place. Fortunately, it rains a
lot so fire wasn't a big danger. It may out last all of us. The beer
was cold and the outside porches were wide enough for all of us to get
out of the rain. Roach pulled out his guitar and uke and sang a
handful of tunes in the manner that only he can pull off. Mary
(Aitch's wife) recorded some of them on her laptop. I had a little
digital recorder and got a few more. Se stopped for hot dogs in
Pickens, SC before heading back to the cabin for great local BBQ.
On Sunday morning, Gary "Bear" Todd and I headed out together. Ghost
and Aitch were also headed west but needed to get to Spokane, WA to
meet Mary's flight just a few days later. We didn't want to ride that
hard so we didn't go together. Bear and I headed north and then west
to avoid the bad weather. We made it to Grayville, IL having covered
about 580 miles. When we crossed over into Illinois, the local
temperature was 102 degrees. It was hot riding and miserable when stopped.
The next day we headed out and stopped for gas in New Florence, MO.
When we merged back onto the freeway, I saw a black Road Glide that
looked a lot like Aitch's. Just ahead was a VROD so I knew that had to
be Ghost. We quickly caught up to them and gestured appropriately. We
rode with them for a few miles and dropped back to our more
comfortable pace. We were very surprised to find we had been in front
of them that far with their schedule. Later in the day they passed us
again while we were enjoying the shade at the rest area. We pulled
into Lincoln, NE after covering 610 miles. We managed to stop before
the rain hit. We learned later they had driven right into the rain. It
was a good evening to do a load of clothes so we did.
In the morning the rain was still sitting on I-80. I had no desire to
ride I-80 or ride in the rain so we looked at the map and found US6
about 20 miles south. The weather radar showed it was not raining
there. It was a great 2-lane highway and a much better route than
I-80. We took US 6 across Nebraska and into Colorado before stopping
in Cheyenne, WY having covered 510 miles that day.
We were stick with I-80 out of Cheyenne. The head wind was fierce. It
killed any hope of good mileage. I could only use 6th gear very
occasionally. There are too many trucks on that road for my
sensibilities. Bear wanted to touch Utah so we routed to Bear Lake.
The ride down the hill to Bear lake and then down to Logan, UT was
beautiful and the best part of the day. Being in Utah, we were a
little concerned about finding a place that served beer. With the help
of a young waitress taking a break outside her diner (no beer there),
she suggested a pizza joint that was in the basement under a
restaurant a couple blocks away. It was tasty pizza and good beer. We
were much restored after our windy ride.
The next morning picked up I-84 and took it across Idaho. We stopped
for lunch in a sweet little town called Glens Ferry. The place was a
real gem that looked like it had been there for many, many years. The
pastrami sandwiches and onion rings were really good. We continued on
I-84 into eastern Oregon and stopped for a cold beer in Baker City (a
much needed restorative). We continued on to Pendleton, OR for the
night after covering 530 miles. We found a good place for a burger a
few blocks from the motel Called Crabby's Underground Saloon. Very
tasty. I'd go back there again.
Friday morning we continued on I-84 down the Columbia river gorge to
Portland. I think Bear really liked the ride through the gorge. We
stopped for a good cup of coffee and a fill up in The Dalles, OR. We
routed around Portland on I-205 and picked up I-5 north towards
Seattle. We stopped at the Toutle River rest area for a break. There
was a couple on a Road Glide also taking a break. We got to chatting
and said we were headed for Harstene Island. They said they knew a guy
on Harstene Island called Browneye. We told them we knew Browneye and
Snarl. They knew Snarl too. It was Mikey and Mary. What a coincidence.
We said our good byes and headed back out. We stopped by my place in
Seattle just long enough I could pick up my tent and sleeping bag I
needed for the Partay at Snarl's. To make the last segment a littel
more scenic for Bear, we took the Fauntleroy/Southworth ferry and rode
down highway 3.
The Partay was another really good time. Snarl and Jeanne (our Humble
Hosts) managed to put on another great time without appearing to work
hard at it. True artists. 20 years is a good long run for a great
party. There is talk of Snarl and Jeanne hitting the rode now that
they aren't as tied down with kids. It will be fun to ride with them.
I hope they get out and have a great time.
So there you have it. Three parties in three weeks. I'm not looking
forward to going back to work tomorrow, but it is good to be home with
my wife and dog again. I've left out lots of details in this ride
report but it's clearly long enough.
Good times, great memories, and I'm ready to go again. I have a couple
more rides set up for this year including SNIFF in Jackson, CA. I hope
I see many of you there. It's time to call the dealer about the
compensator and have a little lunch.
BigPiper
AH#138
BS#246
XML Sitemap
>while.
>I'm back home after a great ride. Here's the short version:
>21 days, 8,500 miles, 27 states, 3 parties, and managed to lose 8 lbs.
>No close calls, some great solo and group riding, Many laughs, a few
>well constructed lies, and was never without a beer when I wanted one.
>There were a couple of casualties including the primary compensator
>and the pump for the air horns. Trip additions included a set of Frogg
>Toggs for rain in hot weather, and I picked up an Air Hawk seat pad.
>Both greatly improved riding comfort.
>Long version: (You'll need more refreshments)
>I left Seattle on August 2nd. I stopped in Elk, WA (just north of
>Spokane, WA for a short visit with my brother-in-law Jim and his son
>Josh. I took Josh for a short ride up and down the highway. He enjoyed
>it. So did I. I decided to go back to I-90 instead of continuing on
>US2 to save a little time. I got a room in Missoula, MT for the night
>after 549 miles.
>The next day (Tuesday), I took advantage of a string of gas stations
>on I-90 in Montana to sort out the fuel gauge on the 2010 Ultra. I was
>carrying a 20 oz. bottle of back-up gas I picked up on the PBR run
>last year after running out of gas in North Dakota. The reserve fuel
>counted down to 10 miles then switched to "Lo" and I started counting
>miles. It went another 20 miles, 10 beyond it's own estimate, before
>running completely out. Unfortunately, I mis calculated the range 20
>oz. of gas would go. I figured 10 miles but it was really 5. The left
>me about a mile short of the next filling station. There are several
>ways to check your math. Running out of gas on I-90 in Montana is one
>I hadn't anticipated. I locked the bike and carried my little 20 oz.
>bottle to the off ramp and to the filling station. I laid a dollar on
>the counter, held up the bottle and told the lady I wanted a fill up
>on pump 4. She laughed. My total came to 60-cents. I walked back to
>the bike, poured the gas into the tank, and rode back to the station
>where the bike took 5.871 gallons. I needed the walk and I laughed at
>my mistake, but I learned what I needed to know.
>When I was filling up, I looked at the map and decided to take a
>little side trip up US212 past the Custer battlefield. It was nice to
>get off the Interstate. I stopped for gas in Broadus, MT. I waited for
>a few minutes behind a pickup that was filling up. An American Indian
>man walked up, stuck out his hand, and introduced himself as Alex. He
>said he and his brother Bill were returning from fixing an old farm
>pickup. Alex was pretty greasy and Bill was wearing nice clothes. It
>was easy to tell that Alex had done the wrench work on the pickup. He
>said he worked as a mechanic and his brother Bill was a local
>politician. The were both very friendly and good guys. I stopped in
>Rapid City, SD after 687 miles that day.
>The next day (Wednesday) through South Dakota, Minnesota, and into
>Wisconsin were pretty uneventful. I stopped in Wisconsin Dells, WI
>after 745 miles.
>After a nap, a rinse, and fresh clothes, I headed out the next
>morning. I took I-90 down to I-39, then turned onto I-80. This put me
>south of Chicago and avoided some of the traffic fustercluck that is
>greater Chicagoland. I stopped on the east side of Cincinnati, OH and
>called TL Mitchell. I arranged to meet him at a favorite rib joint for
>supper. It was tasty. It rained a little while we were eating but had
>stopped before we finished. We took some back roads the few miles to
>his place through northern Ohio. On one road we passed three Amish
>buggies with batery lights. I've never seen them on the road in the
>dark before. It was pretty funny. 668 miles that day.
>The next morning (Friday), TL and I were talking about detailing. I
>suspect he slept poorly knowing my filthy bike was in his garage all
>night. The talk included a tour of his substantial and highly
>organized detailing supplies. At the end of the tour we were faced
>with my dirty bike and his with a little road spray from the night
>before. He pulled out the buckets (you can't wash a bike with only one
>bucket I learned) and he proceeded to hold a master class on bug
>removal and soft clear-coat preservation. When we were done, my bike
>looked better than when I left Seattle. Then he got a little twitchy
>because his bike had more dirt on it than mine. It didn't need a full
>wash like mine did. He did a quick detail on his own 2010 black Ultra
>and his annoying face tic subsided. It took a pot of coffee and
>several cigarettes to get him calmed back to what passes for normal in
>Tom's world. Thanks for the lesson and the bike scrub TL!
>That afternoon we rode into Ashtabula, OH after stopping at a bar he
>wanted to show me. It was a very cool place near a covered bridge next
>to a small river. He was thinking of bringing Eddie there on the
>birthday ride the next day. I was all for it. We finished our beers
>(one each), and headed over to Ashtabula. We stopped at the Cedars
>Motel and I got a room. I tried to get a room a couple weeks before
>but they were full up. There had been a cancellation. Lucky Me!
>The 2010 EKIII Birthday Bash was lots of fun. I got to the campground
>just before the ride to pick up Eddie. Eddie rode in his van with Ann
>and Ed Sr. We all headed to the Dairy Queen in Geneva-on-the-Lake for
>burgers and hot dogs. Later, several of us headed over to the
>aforementioned bar with Eddie. We took him in and Eddie really seemed
>to like it. Big smiles and lots of looking around. I was told this
>"joint" was very much like the kind of placed he enjoyed before his
>accident. Next year, we may go back there and skip the Dairy Queen
>altogether.
>Back at the campground, Fred "Frito" Snetzer had BBQ'd three large
>pork butts that were just killer. It was consumed very quickly. I
>think I learned enough to give it a go myself one of these days.
>Eddie was much more animated and engaged then when I last saw him in
>2006. Ann would get Eddie's chair adjusted and Ed Sr. felt compelled
>to make a final minor adjustment. I think Ed Sr. needed to appear to
>be needed. This meddling would make Ann a little cross with him. It
>was a great source of amusement for Eddie. His eyes would sparkle and
>his grin was spread across his face. At one point, several of us were
>helping to transfer Eddie from his chair to his cot for an afternoon
>nap. None of us knew what the hell we were doing so there was a lot of
>false starts and unsolicited advice for how to best accomplish the
>task. We all got to laughing. It was pretty funny. Eddie was laughing
>so hard at our misdirected efforts he was snorting. It really was funny.
>The next morning (Sunday), I met up with Andy (Big Stinky), Dean, and
>Larry (from St. Louis) and enjoyed an early-bird breakfast special. I
>rode west with them for a few miles before peeling off and heading
>down towards Dayton, OH for a visit with a piping friend. I had a
>great time with Ed, his wife Theresa, their two adult sons, and Ed's
>wonderful mother. Most of the meal had come from the garden and
>everything was fresh made at home. What a treat. Ed has a Royal
>Enfield that is too small for Interstate speeds. I think I may have
>planted a seed for a bigger bike, maybe a Ural with a side car.
>Theresa is all for it and is in full support of my efforts to get Ed
>on the road.
>I headed back northeast the next morning (Monday), but by then, my
>backsides were still pretty tender from all the miles on the Mustang
>cop seat. I stopped at a Starbucks for a cup of coffee and located an
>Air Hawk seat pad at Shade Tree near Warren, OH. At Eddies party I sat
>on the Air Hawk that Dean had on his bike. It seemed like a good idea.
>It took some time to figure out just how little air it needed to be
>comfortable but it was a huge improvement. I understand the makers of
>the seat pad developed the pattern of small interconnected air
>chambers for folks in wheelchairs. My bare seat is fine for a couple
>hundred miles, but after that my butt bones get sore and the Air Hawk
>keeps them lifted just off the seat. This was a good addition.
>I finished the day by riding through a couple hours of very warm rain
>(far too warm for my cold weather rain gear) getting to Baldwinsvlle,
>NY and the pleasant home of Gary "Bear" Todd and his lovely wife Barb.
>I changed into dry clothes and poured the water out of my boots. A
>night spent with newspaper stuffed in the boots dried them out nicely.
>Barb made a big slow-cooker pot of steak and vegetables and served it
>over rice. Lordy it was good. Bear and I cleaned our large plates with
>barely a word between us. That's a recipe I need to find. We finished
>the evening with a couple beers and a nice single malt.
>Bear and I rode together into the Adirondacks past Old Forge before he
>peeled off and headed back for home. He was scheduled for a service
>before joining us in South Carolina for SCUM. I enjoyed a very
>pleasant ride on through the Adirondacks to the ferry at Essex, NY.
>This crosses Lake Champlain to Vermont just south of Burlington. I
>pulled into Bob "Banker" Blanchard's driveway just as he was finishing
>cutting his grass. The two of us (Julie was in New Hampshire) managed
>to beat the heat by enjoying a several cool PBRs on the porch. We
>dodged most of the rain squalls and had a tasty supper at a place near
>Burlington.
>Banker and I decided to take three days to get down to SCUM in South
>Carolina by avoiding the Interstates. Bob is always good to ride with.
>Some of the route was very pleasant, particularly through the Delaware
>Water Gap National Recreation Area, and through the Taconic range.
>Very nice indeed. We stopped for the night in Pine Grove, PA after 409
>miles. The next night was in Danville, VA, then on to Greer, SC
>arriving at Len's "cabin" for South Carolina Under the Moon.
>SCUM was great. It was nice to see so many people I don't get to see
>much. Len and Pauline have a new Boxer pup named Axel. He was lots of
>fun and will be a great dog. I was hoping to take a side trip to meet
>up with another old piper friend up in Asheville, but Len located a
>set of Frogg Toggs rain gear in Greenville, and considering the
>weather, I decided the right gear was more important than a social
>visit. After I picked up the rain gear, I headed back to the cabin
>just in time to take a little group ride to "Bob's". This is a beer
>bar hanging on a slope back up in a holler. It is perched up on cinder
>blocks and poles, has partially slid down the slope, and looks like
>it's one stray match away from a major fire. There isn't a spot of
>level floor or a straight wall in the place. Fortunately, it rains a
>lot so fire wasn't a big danger. It may out last all of us. The beer
>was cold and the outside porches were wide enough for all of us to get
>out of the rain. Roach pulled out his guitar and uke and sang a
>handful of tunes in the manner that only he can pull off. Mary
>(Aitch's wife) recorded some of them on her laptop. I had a little
>digital recorder and got a few more. Se stopped for hot dogs in
>Pickens, SC before heading back to the cabin for great local BBQ.
>On Sunday morning, Gary "Bear" Todd and I headed out together. Ghost
>and Aitch were also headed west but needed to get to Spokane, WA to
>meet Mary's flight just a few days later. We didn't want to ride that
>hard so we didn't go together. Bear and I headed north and then west
>to avoid the bad weather. We made it to Grayville, IL having covered
>about 580 miles. When we crossed over into Illinois, the local
>temperature was 102 degrees. It was hot riding and miserable when stopped.
>The next day we headed out and stopped for gas in New Florence, MO.
>When we merged back onto the freeway, I saw a black Road Glide that
>looked a lot like Aitch's. Just ahead was a VROD so I knew that had to
>be Ghost. We quickly caught up to them and gestured appropriately. We
>rode with them for a few miles and dropped back to our more
>comfortable pace. We were very surprised to find we had been in front
>of them that far with their schedule. Later in the day they passed us
>again while we were enjoying the shade at the rest area. We pulled
>into Lincoln, NE after covering 610 miles. We managed to stop before
>the rain hit. We learned later they had driven right into the rain. It
>was a good evening to do a load of clothes so we did.
>In the morning the rain was still sitting on I-80. I had no desire to
>ride I-80 or ride in the rain so we looked at the map and found US6
>about 20 miles south. The weather radar showed it was not raining
>there. It was a great 2-lane highway and a much better route than
>I-80. We took US 6 across Nebraska and into Colorado before stopping
>in Cheyenne, WY having covered 510 miles that day.
>We were stick with I-80 out of Cheyenne. The head wind was fierce. It
>killed any hope of good mileage. I could only use 6th gear very
>occasionally. There are too many trucks on that road for my
>sensibilities. Bear wanted to touch Utah so we routed to Bear Lake.
>The ride down the hill to Bear lake and then down to Logan, UT was
>beautiful and the best part of the day. Being in Utah, we were a
>little concerned about finding a place that served beer. With the help
>of a young waitress taking a break outside her diner (no beer there),
>she suggested a pizza joint that was in the basement under a
>restaurant a couple blocks away. It was tasty pizza and good beer. We
>were much restored after our windy ride.
>The next morning picked up I-84 and took it across Idaho. We stopped
>for lunch in a sweet little town called Glens Ferry. The place was a
>real gem that looked like it had been there for many, many years. The
>pastrami sandwiches and onion rings were really good. We continued on
>I-84 into eastern Oregon and stopped for a cold beer in Baker City (a
>much needed restorative). We continued on to Pendleton, OR for the
>night after covering 530 miles. We found a good place for a burger a
>few blocks from the motel Called Crabby's Underground Saloon. Very
>tasty. I'd go back there again.
>Friday morning we continued on I-84 down the Columbia river gorge to
>Portland. I think Bear really liked the ride through the gorge. We
>stopped for a good cup of coffee and a fill up in The Dalles, OR. We
>routed around Portland on I-205 and picked up I-5 north towards
>Seattle. We stopped at the Toutle River rest area for a break. There
>was a couple on a Road Glide also taking a break. We got to chatting
>and said we were headed for Harstene Island. They said they knew a guy
>on Harstene Island called Browneye. We told them we knew Browneye and
>Snarl. They knew Snarl too. It was Mikey and Mary. What a coincidence.
>We said our good byes and headed back out. We stopped by my place in
>Seattle just long enough I could pick up my tent and sleeping bag I
>needed for the Partay at Snarl's. To make the last segment a littel
>more scenic for Bear, we took the Fauntleroy/Southworth ferry and rode
>down highway 3.
>The Partay was another really good time. Snarl and Jeanne (our Humble
>Hosts) managed to put on another great time without appearing to work
>hard at it. True artists. 20 years is a good long run for a great
>party. There is talk of Snarl and Jeanne hitting the rode now that
>they aren't as tied down with kids. It will be fun to ride with them.
>I hope they get out and have a great time.
>So there you have it. Three parties in three weeks. I'm not looking
>forward to going back to work tomorrow, but it is good to be home with
>my wife and dog again. I've left out lots of details in this ride
>report but it's clearly long enough.
>Good times, great memories, and I'm ready to go again. I have a couple
>more rides set up for this year including SNIFF in Jackson, CA. I hope
>I see many of you there. It's time to call the dealer about the
>compensator and have a little lunch.
>BigPiper
>AH#138
>BS#246