Pacifc NorthWest Romp - Prelude to WFO5

[SIZE=10pt]All - this is a rebuild of my previous post - it was blown out due to a boo boo. :blink: [/SIZE]

EDIT 8/8/06 -

Day 0 + Day 1 this post.

Day 2 It's own post

Day 3 " " "

Day 4 " " "

Day 5 " " "

FINISHED !!!!!!

Well, it seems I naively underestimated the amount of time and effort it takes to do these ride reports - and so, my efforts to have a Charles Karault "From the Road" style of travelogue was a miserable failure. :glare:

I've learned that when TurboDave_98 says "There will be time for flowersniffing" he means that we will get off the bikes when we need fuel, or a bio-break.

And if there's a flower on the way to the loo, I can sniff it.

Making 400 to 500 mile days takes time, and lots of it.

So - I'm building the ride reports, day-by-day, after the fact, leading up to our arrival in Reno for WFO5, on Wednesday, July 26th. If Bluestreek or TurboDave have any edits or comments to add, send them to me - I'll add them in. This may take me a couple of days to complete, so please be patient.

I hope you all enjoy. I did !!

Each day is posted below in it's own section. Just scroll down, and you'll encounter it.

PRELIM--- Day 1 minus 2 and counting .....

All, this ride was originally going to be the California Dreaming Ride - California Dreamin

And TurboDave, being of sound mind and truly a thinking man, calls me up about two weeks ago - the conversation went something like this:

TD - "Hey - I've been thinkin about this ride -"

Me - "so have I"

TD - "We're gonna be in Death Valley in late July during the afternoon. I've done that before and it's gonna be f*&*in hot!"

Me - "Ya know, I was wunnering about dat-- " (Me, who wears a Hi-Viz Roadcrafter)

TD - "Maybe we need to change it"

Me - "I think that's a good idea"

And so - over the last two weeks or so, Bluestreek, TD and I came up with this route - which we are calling the "Pacific North West Romp"



So - here's the itinerary -

TD and I are heading out for Truckee tomorrow, Friday the 21st. (right around 550 miles) Bluestreek is gonna meet us at our hotel at 08:00 on Saturday morning, (he lives relatively close to Truckee) and we'll all head out.

Day One takes us to Bend, Oregon.

Day Two takes us to Sesquim, Washington (with a stop at Mt. St. Helens)

Day Three takes us to Coos Bay, Oregon

Day Four is a short day - we end in Eureka, California.

Day Five - we head East for Reno - should arrive the afternoon of Wednesday, July 26, just in time for the festivties.

Now - here's what I'm gonna TRY to do:

I'm taking my old POS Vaio laptop along. (I have no idea if it will survive the trip. :blink: ) I'm gonna take pics along the way (during those rare times that TurboDave slows down enough for me to focus the camera) and when we have access from where ever we stop, I'll download the pics, and do a daily ride report for each day, ending in Reno.

We've scheduled in time for flowersniffing and such, and we have hotel reservations for Friday night (TD and myself) as well as Tuesday night in Eureka. Nights 1, 2, and 3 will be, as TD puts it, "pot luck". (Gee - I might just get to sleep in my Roadcrafter!)

So - If anyone is interested in riding a leg with us, you're welcome to - or dropping in at some point in the ride - you can contact me via the forum PM feature, and IF I have access from our stop points, (all I really need is a Starbucks, eh?) contact me - WITH YOUR MOBILE NUMBER SO I CAN CALL YOU and hopefully we can link up.

Moving to the launchpad.

Wonky, Flicker, and whatever Bluestreek calls his bike are chompin' at the bit.

(Now where did I put that Boudreaux's?.......)

[SIZE=14pt]DAY 1 MINUS 1 - Hmmmm... isn't that like - day 0? (Friday, 21st. July)[/SIZE]

TurboDave_98 (I’ll refer to him as Turbo from here on out) said “Hey, I got something for you”, and proceeded to give me my official Old Foggies Rider’s hat. Personalized, with my name and bike type. This was cool. I’d be wearing this hat at every opportunity from now until I either destroyed it, lost it, or outgrew it. I gotta tell ya, this was only the first of many generous acts that Turbo bestowed upon me during this trip.

Keep in mind, Wonky’s wearing a stock seat.

I had packed up Wonky and headed for Turbo’s house at 6:15 - arrived at Casa de Turbo just before 7:00. Turbo saddled up, and we headed for a local gas station, topped off the tanks, and Turbo presented me with my hat, which just didn’t fit over my helmet, so I put it in the tank bag.

Off we went, me tagging along on Turbo’s six, slabbing it out the 215 to the 15, then north on 395. Things were heating up – temperature wise, that is. Stopping in Kramer Junction, we slapped on our cooling vests, and continued on our way, headed North.

Pearsonville -96 degress - fueled up – and due East of us was the Eastern Sierra’s, and Kennedy Meadows, an area I had backpacked in with my Scout troop in years past.

(Memories there. Standing on top of a beaver dam in my bare feet, skeeters munching away, trying to cast that fly in just the right place……trying to catch that illusive man-eating trout....)

We continued on to Lee Vining - where Skyway met up with us for lunch and a short ride. There’s a Mobil station at 395 and 120, with a mini-mart and restaurant – and at Skyway’s advice, I had the Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap - which was excellent !!

As I walked back from the lunch counter to join Turbo and Skyway at the table, I noticed they were both cracking up. Seems that my fashion statement of T-shirt, shorts, knee high socks and my Oxtar Matrix boots was, well, unique. Turbo described it as ‘Santa Claus in shorts’. Hmmmm…….

Wonky shows off for Skyway ………

Following lunch, we moved out front, and after gearing up, I began to move to the gas pumps. Started up Wonky, she noticed Skyway standing there. She really likes her sliders, and is very proud of them, so as I backed out of the parking spot, turned the bars to full left lock, and proceeded to stall out, Wonky said “ Ohhhhhhh! Skyway, look at me !! See the neat sliders you made for me? Wanna see what they do? “……..

And yes, I very slowly dropped my bike.

On the left side.

crap.

Turbo, Skyway, a fellow biker that we had been chatting with, and myself got her righted up – and the damage is so minimal that if you didn’t know to look for it, you wouldn’t know it was there. Granted, I felt like I had torn out half the muscles in my back, but that would be ok. (Advil is my friend) And my D. Hines risers didn’t have any problems.

Skyway, Thanks for making those sliders.

(OK - shake it off. Relax and focus on the rest of the ride. Ommmm………)



Skyway rode with us for a bit, vectoring off to head back home on 106 to Sonora. Good to see him. He’ll be joining us with his better half in Reno. I'm looking forward to meeting her.

We arrived in Truckee about 7:00 PM or so - distance of 503.6 miles. Get checked in and hike up two flights of stairs to our room. (Did I mention that Turbo HATES STAIRS?)

After a wee bit of freshening up, (and a very serious arm wrestling competition to decide who got the bed closest to the bathroom – he won, all that military spook training had me cold) we walked across the street to the recommended Mexican restaurant, where we had dinner. We’re sitting there bs’ing, eating chips and salsa, when it starts to rain. And thunder. And lightning. And Turbo says “Hmm, maybe I shoulda covered the bike”.

The rain stopped as soon as we finished dinner. We stopped into a drug store (I think a Long’s) on the way back to the room, and Turbo buys a plastic mattress cover.

Size Twin.

He said a shower curtain works too !! (And there's a nugget of information)

Now he has a bike cover. Upon arriving back at the abode, he covers up Flicker, and tucks her in.

All in all, a good day for me. This had been the longest day I had ridden in 30 years. And yes, my a** was starting to protest.



LAUNCH -

DAY ONE - SATURDAY, JULY 22.

BlueStreek joins the madness -

KaitsDad now knows where Turbo got his name ……

Waking up bright and early, I head downstairs to the really super-fantastic ‘continental’ buffet breakfast. The only edible thing I could find was coffee, so I filled up two cups, and headed back up to the room to give Turbo his.

BlueStreek is meeting up with us at 08:00 - he’s riding in from his home, some 80+ miles away to do this ride with us. I haven’t ridden with BlueStreek before, so I’m looking forward to this.

(I’m gonna call him Blue from here out - I thought about BS, but ….. I think you understand.)

Turbo and I schlep our gear downstairs and start loading Wonky and Flicker, and we are standing there admiring the capabilities of Turbo’s new bike cover (size Twin) when Blue arrives on his 05. Turbo takes his mattress cover, rolls it up, and bunjies it to his Givi rack. Right in the air stream.

Salutations ensue, we finish packing, and then we head for the breakfast Mecca of riders around the world, MickyD’s !!

As soon as a proper amount of fat, carbs, salt and caffeine are ingested, we walk back to the hotel, and mount up. Stop by the local Shell station, top everything off, and away we go.

My Garmin 2730 had locked out detail maps just before leaving home, so I was limited in functionality. I had the GPS info screen, (pics of same in these reports) and my XM radio and MP3 player.

Blue had detailed out the route with options for each leg. This gave us the ability to pick a daily route each morning, and still arrive at where we wanted to be. Me, I just tagged along.

Off we went - 80 East for a short while, to 89 North, through Greenville, Susanville, Alturas, to 395; Oregon border crossed at New Pine Creek, then 31 through Paisley and Silver Lake, then 97 to Bend.

Now, Blue is in the lead, I’m to his aft, and Turbo is on sweep, looking at Ed.

Here's Ed:



Ed’s there for good luck.

I figure that if a LEO stops me, he’ll have justification for laughing at me, and perhaps I’ll get off with a warning.

This, and he sticks his tongue out at everyone I pass. (Or passes me!)

Susanville had a detour that routed us through town. Stop signs, Motor homes, 98 degree heat, 25 MPH, etc. Sucked.

Once we break away from the city, we’re heading North on 139 approaching Eagle Lake. Blue has disappeared over the horizon, and I’m just kind of doing my “I wish I was a baby bumble bee” imitation, when I’m JOLTED out of my seat by this set of Two Brothers cans revved at about 5 grand SCREAMING by my port side, and this silver blur passing me at around mach 1.5 as Turbo disappears in front of me, catching up to that little Blue speck on the horizon.

And at this moment, my epiphany happens: I understand where “Turbo” got his name. Doh. :blink: I should have suspected something like this.

Now - do you remember me mentioning that Turbo bungeed his mattress cover to the rack? …. Well …. It kind of unfurled. When he flew by me, about 3 feet of his cover was, well, not really flapping, more like ‘waving’, kind of like the sails on a four masted schooner - and I gotta tell ya, he was REAAALLLLLY visible - both coming and going. :huh:

Hmmm… it’s probably the only speed tested mattress cover around. B)

So - for the rest of the day, I’m on sweep. This is good, as I don’t have to worry about Ed getting bored with the view, and I now have two bikes to follow, should one get lost.

Unless it’s me.

Right.

Dave stops us at a diner in Paisley, Oregon. Little place with a counter, serves BLD, and has an attached bar. He was drinking his usual, a tall Soda water with Lime squeeze. (Maybe it was a chocolate shake, the details escape me) I had ice tea, and Blue had his usual, a Diet Coke.

Seems the lady that owned the place kinda liked Turbo – she made sure his glass was filled, and THEN …. Now get THIS ……. she soaked his Sahara Vest in her sink…… !!!! and didn’t even glare at him when he let it drip on her floor. I think she kinda liked him. :blush:

Blue and I just looked at each other.

Well, we paid up, saddled up, and headed out.

There is some beautiful country in central Oregon, and I’m seeing a lot of it. I can’t tell you where I am, but I find myself wondering if I could cash out my Orange county home and buy a farm out here. I don't know what crop I'd plant, but I'd figure something out. Hmmmm Jalapeno's perhaps?

Bend, Oregon - “Smoking or Non-Smoking?”

I’m still kind of quizzical about Oregon’s gas stations. There’s no such thing as self serve. They have people that pump the gas for ya. I won’t go into why, cause I don't know, but dat’s the way it is.

When approached by the pump person, I always asked “Mind if I pump?” and was always told ‘Sure, go ahead”, except for one lady, who said I could pump, but she would have to swipe my card in the reader. Which she did.

I hand her my card, she swipes it.

I then input my pin number

She then gives me back my card.

Then she handed me the pump. She pushes the 87 octane button .

I moved it the 7 inches or so to my tank, filled up, then handed it back to her - and she placed it into the cradle, a distance of about 9 inches or so.

Then she asked me if I wanted my receipt, pushed the "yes/no" button, and handed it to me.

Go figure.

We arrive in Bend around 7 pm or so - and start looking for a ‘vacancy’ sign. Hmmmm……. Kinda sparse. This is what Turbo means by “Pot Lucking” it.

So we finally find a couple of rooms, SMOKING, of course. But I refused to smoke just so I could stay there. So did Turbo. So did Blue.

We met at the restaurant next door for dinner – and WE WERE THE ONLY CUSTOMERS IN THE PLACE. Word. Really. Food was good, actually, but I wonder why they don’t have any customer’s at 8:00 PM on a Saturday evening, when all the hotel rooms in the city are occupied.

Maybe we got the only three good meals that week. I dunno.

We put covers on the kids, and retire.

(Note the tattered 'sail' on Flicker)



And yes, my a** doth protest. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is in effect. Wearing your Sahara cooling vest most of the day under your Stitch gives you a "moist" posterior.

We’re going to bed kinda early on this trip – usually around 9:00 or so.

Tomorrow - Sesquim, Washington, via Mt. St. Helens.



Day two in next post.

[SIZE=10pt]DAY TWO – SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2006[/SIZE]

MT. ST. HELENS & The Construction Biz

Wonky goes gravel surfing.

Up early, we load up the bikes, and Turbo discovers that if you soak your Sahara vest the night before, and then tuck it into the mini-fridge, it can get a bit ‘stiff’. Kinda like cardboard.

Yep, that’s Turbo thawing out his vest.



Once loading was finished, we checked out, and headed for MickyD’s (again). Today was the day I would learn a lot from watching Blue. His ability to pick a line through a turn was amazing, so I spent some time trying to shadow his lines - and slowly started to understand approach and apexing. Neat.

Turbo described how he did it - and combining his mentoring with the demonstration from Blue allowed me to really understand it.

Turbo thought it would be cool to visit the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, so we did. Riding North on NF-25, we turned West on NF-99 and rode it to the top. Or as far as they would let us. Seems the road ended there, it got kinda ‘whacked’ during the eruption.

BlueStreek and Kaitsdad. That's Mt. St. Helens in the background.



Mt. St. Helens was steaming, and Spirit Lake was still partially covered with logs.





At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

Mt. St. Helens National Volcano Monument

Riding those roads was very humbling. Looking at the destruction from the volcano, it is almost beyond comprehension the power that was unleashed during the eruption. Turbo, you were absolutely right- this was something not to be missed. Thanks.

GRAVEL SURFING - NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE !!

After leaving the small burger joint at the overlook, we headed back down from MSH. Temps were high, in the low 90’s. We drop down off of NF-99, turning North on NF-25 towards Randle. Blue is out in front (way out in front, I can’t see him) and I see one of the many “loose gravel” signs. So - here we go again, right? NOT. Rounding a curve, I see the loose gravel. And it’s loose because THERE AIN’T NO ROAD !! right in front of me was a section of road that had been removed for about 30 feet – and it had a temporary surface of about 6” of pea gravel in it’s place. So - not being the type to panic, I screamed into my helmet, closed my eyes, grabbed both brakes,…………. Not really. I used to ride dirt as a kid, learning on the fire roads in the Santa Barbara hills. I simply went to neutral throttle, sat back to move weight off the front wheel, light grip on the bars, and let Wonky surf her way through the stuff. What was weird was I didn’t have to think about it. That experience from 40 years ago showed itself.

Interesting feeling. A light dirt bike would ‘float’ on this - the FJR ‘plows’ it’s way through. Traction regained at the far side, I continued on my way, and found ANOTHER section almost as long as the first.

I wonder what all those HD’s were doing on this stuff. And there were a few of them !!

Well, that woke me up.

We turned West on Hwy 12 at Randle, then North on 7, heading towards Tacoma. Somewheres along the way in there, we stopped at this little convenience store and gas station.

The pumps looked like they were a leftover from Mayberry, RFD, and we were told to go ahead and pump, then pay inside. So – I filled up Wonky, and walked inside to pay.

There’s one guy inside. There is almost no light cept’ what’s coming through the open doors, and it’s almost like a cave in there. The guy takes my card, and swipes it. Now, this guy ain’t exactly Mr. Personality – I get the impression he’s got other things he’d rather be doing.

I’m standing there, and his phone rings. Here’s the conversation:

“hello”

wait wait wait

“uh huh”

wait wait wait

“Uhhhh I don’t know”

wait wait wait wait…..

“Oh, OK, make it 20 bags and 4 bricks”

I guess things were so slow in this little town that he had a second business on the side - landscaping and concrete work !! Very Industrious !!

So I signed “Captain Crunch” on my slip, and walked out the door.

(and ya know what? As of writing this on August 5, it still hasn’t processed)

We’re heading for Sesquim, Washington, not because of anything special, but because it was at the top of the Olympic Penninsula when I did the S&T planning.

Sesquim is an interesting little town -

Did I mention ‘interesting”? That’s a relative term. It’s interesting because it’s spelled funny, and like I said above, it’s … well…. There.

So we moved on to Port Angeles, and checked into the Red Lion Inn. Sitting in the restaurant, we could watch the ferries moving between the States and Canada. I had the 'Captains Plate' which included two humongous Blue Point Oysters - Tasty !!!

And my arse is REALLY starting to complain. Ouch. Not fun. I have a rather large monkey in my suit…….and I’m at the stage of constantly squirming during all but the first 90 minutes of my ride each day.

Boudreaux’s is being challenged.

OK - I know the date on this says 7 24, but I took the picture the next morning.

DAY THREE – Monday, July 24

SUPPOSED TO BE COOS BAY, OREGON

BLUESTREEK SHOWS HIS CORDS

OLYMPIA GETS VISITED

So - here we are at the Red Lion Inn in Port Angeles, Washington. Up early, we load up the kids. Now this was cool. We FINALLY got a 1st floor room - and it had a slider on the back - outside of which we were able to park our bikes. Handy for moving gear into and out of the room

When we had checked in the night before, I was told the room would be ready in about 15 minutes - but the clerk still gave me the keys. So, being adventuresome types, Turbo, Blue and I ride our bikes down to the rooms, and I walk in to check it out - even though the maid’s cart was in front of the door.

I walk in, yell ‘hello!’ and am greeted with a scream!!!!

I forgot I was wearing my Hi-Viz stitch, helmet, etc. Ooops. She got over it. I introduced her to Turbo, and she soaked his vest in her…. (wait - I’m confused - again)

Anyhoo, the maid finishes up, we move our gear into the room, grab showers, and head for dinner – and then back to the rooms for bed. My stern is roiling at this point, and I am SO looking forward to the next day’s 400+ miles on the stock seat. Kind of like a root canal without novocaine.

Wonky getting loaded. (Yes, that's me making a fashion statement.)



Morning arrives, and we are up and at it - load up the bikes, and head south on 101 - our goal being Coos Bay, Oregon that evening. And Turbo, being Turbo, pulls into a restaraunt for breakfast - the "Hungry Bear Cafe"



Absolutely wonderful food. This is logging country - and the meals show it. Lot's of FOOD ON THE PLATE. Bisquits and Gravy, Sausage and Eggs, gallons of coffee. And the waitress soaked Turbo's vest in her si..... there I go again. Confused.

Leaving the Hungry Bear, we’re rolling along, enjoying the incredible views and vistas,

(Is this a view or a vista?)



stopping for fuel and bio, and we pull into this Shell station in Aberdeen, Washington. We’re grabbing the RR key, candy bars, etc., and Blue walks over to me – and says “I think I need a new tire”. Hmmmm… So I walk over to his bike, and look down at his front tire - which has this really interesting triangular wear pattern on it, but is also showing about 5 inches of these funny white strings under the tread – which even with my VERY limited experience in these matters, I figure ain't a good thing. Nope.

The station owner and his daughter say there’s a Yamaha dealer right down the street!! Now keep in mind, this is Monday, and a lot of dealers are closed on Mondays. So - we head to the dealer, and he’s OPEN !!!! And he has no tires – unless we have a boat trailer, or an ATV.

He twarnt much help. We get out the FJR Assistance document, Turbo calls around, and no luck there. OK. Choices? Well - we gotta find a tire. Blue decides to just head along our route, and says he won’t make any left turns. Which could be a problem, cause only making rights will land him in the Pacific.

We head on down the street, and about two blocks later, Blue pulls into a tire store - one that does tires for BFT’s. That carry lumber. Big trucks. Nasty ones. But I figure out that he pulls in because parked outside of the office is a sportbike. Blue is thinking, eh? Ahh, ObiWan, you are truly impressive......

The guy that owns the bike comes out of the office - once over’s the three bikes, and proceeds to talk with Blue about options. They go into the office while Turbo and I hop off the bikes, and stand there in the shade.

As we’re standing there, one of the customers drives in, piloting his truck (and this is a reaalllllyyy big truck) the trailer loaded with about, oh, a gazillion board feet of lumber in the form of HUGE logs, and parks - with his left fender about 3 or 4 microns from Turbo’s rear end – and I don’t mean Flicker’s. Hmmmm.

So - the tire guy knows of a dealer in Olympia that he can call - which he does. And that dealer is open. And they have a tire in stock. And they are only 49 miles due East of us. And they’ll put it on ASAP upon arrival. And away we go.

It’s hot inland, we’re seeing 92 degrees - and of course, it never gets hot in Olympia, so the dealer doesn’t have air conditioning.

BUT - they got the tire mounted, charged Blue for .7 hours of labor, and we find an Arby’s (a step up from MickyD’s) and have a late lunch.

It’s about 2:00 PM by now.

Rather than head directly back to the coast, we slab it South on 5 for a few miles, and grab Hwy 6 West, so we ended up doing three sides of a ‘square’ from Aberdeen to Olympia to Raymond, ending at 101 and 6, back on the coast. And headed on South. So – now we’ve added about 100 miles to our day, and about 3 hours time. We decide to shorten our ride, and go for Newport.

We cross over the Megler/Astoria bridge which takes us over the Washington/Oregon border. Back to the land of manned gas pumps and 20 MPH city speed limits. Oh Yeah !!! 20 MPH speed limits. crap.

We’re pushing down the coast, and starting to lose daylight- and about 7:30, Turbo heads for a hotel, not in Newport, but about 32 miles earlier in Pacific City. Neat little town, and Turbo finds us a 3 bed efficiency apartment – and does his magic on the lady at the desk - and we get it for one night. With coffee. And..... she soaked his vest in her si....... (sorry. confused again) We had dinner after showers, Mexican food at the Los Caporales Restaurant - and we got there just before the sidewalks got rolled up. Good food !! (I was gonna tell them it was Turbo's Bday so he'd have to wear the 4 ft wide sombrero while they sang to him - but I didn't.)

Back to the room, and into bed. Good Night.

I don’t have a Garmin screen for you - earlier this day, it refused to even boot - so I had nothing. No GPS info screen, no XM radio, no MP3 player. So - we did something like 430+ miles - very slow, tedious miles. And I’m now dealing with a whole zoo full of monkeys in my shorts. (And having a very intimate relationship with Dr. Boudreaux’s. More on this later.)

Tomorrow - Eureka, California, and a real treat !!

[SIZE=12pt]DAY FOUR - EUREKA, CALIFORNIA[/SIZE]

ABIGAIL’S VICTORIAN BED AND BREAKFAST

MONKEYBUTT TO THE EXTREME

At this stage in the ride, I’m sleeping so soundly that the party happening in the rooms above us didn’t even faze me. However, Turbo and Blue were a bit grumpy this morning - so I made us a pot of coffee, and things were looking up.

We were looking at a relatively easy day - only 360 miles. :huh:

I’m starting to notice that my monkeybutt is a living breathing entity all unto itself. I’m starting to make decisions based upon just how much they’re going to affect my stern. I’ve reached the stage where I’m troweling on the Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. I haven't let on, but my six is starting to ooze. :dribble:



TWN, Thanks for the tip on this stuff.

So we do the usual load up the gear, and head out. Rolling South on 101 out of Pacific City, the usual small towns with 20 MPH are there, and it’s a bit frustrating to 55 45 30 20……30 45 55, but it’s necessary to prevent a performance award.

Our destination is Eureka, California, and have the Governor’s Suite booked at Abigail's "Elegant Victorian Mansion"

Abigail's

(usual disclaimer, no relationship, etc., yada yada yada)



Turbo and Blue are showing around a 4:00 to 5:00 PM arrival time, so I’m good with that.

As we’re rolling down the road, Turbo notices that I’m kinda, like, ah, squirming a bit in my seat. Hang off to the right, hang off to the left, one leg hanging, two legs hanging, passenger pegs used, knees pointed out like outriggers, standing up, all in an attempt to mollify those screaming monkeys on my butt.

We arrive at the Mansion, and are greeted by Lily. We were given a tour of the Mansion, with a history of the home, and how it came to be a bed and breakfast. We were then showed where we could park our bikes - around the back, up an alley, and through a large swinging gate, for secure parking next to their garage. Lily and Doug are very much bike friendly !!!

Once we were secure, Turbo looked thorough an open side door in the garage, and notices Doug’s cars in the garage – and it seems that Turbo had one just like one of them in Argentina when he was there for a while.

I don’t know the year and model, but there’s some pics on their website. Turbo can add in here, if he sees fit.

Here's some interior shots of the Mansion:







During our 04 stay, my son had wandered around the place, and took about 75 pics - he was amazed!

I had stayed here in Sept of 04, when visiting Humboldt State University for a campus tour with my then 17 yr old son. I remember the décor, the history, and our wonderful hosts, Lily and Doug. Doug had a conversation with my son regarding colleges and how his decision on which school to attend could make a huge difference in his future – and his input made an impression. Thank You, Doug.

So I came back when the opportunity presented itself.

We got cleaned up, and headed out to a restaurant one block off the ocean for dinner - my plate was a sampler, with halibut, salmon, scallops, prawns, and a nice salad.

I’m glad the chairs were padded.

During dinner, Turbo looks at me and says “Why don’t you use my Rick Mayer seat for our ride tomorrow, and then use it for your SS1K on Friday.”

Oh Dear God, there’s hope yet. ThankYouThankYouThankYou. Dave, you just saved (both figuratively and literally) my butt.

Things are looking up!!! Big Time!!

We climbed back on our bikes (I only screamed a little) and headed back to the Mansion.

It’s been a long, sore day, and we’re in bed early. Tomorrow - Samoa Cookhouse, and Reno, Nevada for WFO5!! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

[SIZE=12pt]DAY FIVE - July 26, 2006 [/SIZE]

WFO5 – RENO, NEVADA

Old Samoa Cookhouse, Samoa, California

Monkeybutt and Rick Mayer Seat

Roadcrafter and Ice

Pilot Trucks Galore !!

Well, here we are, the last day of our Pacific NorthWest Romp. This afternoon, we’re due to arrive at the Reno Hilton, and we get to rest on Thursday.

Turbo has generously offered to let me use his brand new Rocky Mayer seat to try and reduce the Monkeybutt I’ve managed to develop over the past 5 days. I’m just glad he’s got an 06 as do I.

We’re up at dawn, and we very quietly load up the bikes and back them out of the secure parking area so as to not wake up our hosts, Doug and Lily.

Thank You, Doug and Lily !!

Turbo and Blue had never eaten at the Old Samoa Cookhouse -

Old Samoa Cookhouse

And I was looking forward to it. It’s ‘lumber camp’ style dining, and it’s kind of like - you show up, you eat what they’re fixin, and it’s served on platters. OJ, Coffee, Bisquits and Gravy, Toast with butter and jam, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage links, Potatos, and lots of it. ALL YOU CAN EAT !! A durn good way to start the day. We showed up just after opening, sat down, and proceeded to pack it away.

Turbo’s seat is already feeling good. His bike seat, that is. Really.

Following breakfast, we headed East on 299 out of Arcata, heading for Redding.

Seat is feeling good !!!

As we move East, it starts to heat up. After about 100 miles, it’s starting to move into the 90’s, and we put on our Sahara vests. Continuing on to Redding, it’s climbing up – in Redding, we’re seeing 100+ degrees.

We’re stopped at a Shell station, fueling up, and I walked into the mini-mart to grab a really big fountain drink. I pay up, then walk outside into the oven - standing in the shade, inhaling the cold drink, my overheated cranium remembers something I read about some time in the past -

So I finish my drink, go back inside, fill the cup up with clean ice, and proceed to pack two of the pockets in my Roadcrafter suit with ice. The tall pocket on the right torso, as well as the left thigh pocket. Stuffed with ice. Turbo helped me get them as full as I could.

Walking back outside, I’m feeling really comfortable. This is a cool (pun intended) trick.

I then notice the water dripping out of my right leg. Hmmmmm…. Ice melts, don’t it?

So we head on out, and temps continue to climb a bit -

As the ice melts, it’s starting to pool in my saddle. It’s not ON the saddle, it’s IN MY SUIT. 30 minutes later, I’m sitting in a pool of ice water, and, well, ah…. (how do I say this) THINGS are being cooled down with a refreshing chilled water bath.

As we roll along, any undulations that work the suspension (which change the ‘loading’ on my seat) result in an exchange of warmed water with freshly melted ice water - and it’s kind of….. well……. Interesting?

45 minutes into this, things are starting to ache - imagine sitting on a block of ice -

And like all good things, it passed. The ice melted, temperatures restored to tolerable, etc. :blink: Phew. That was close.

It seemed that CalTrans was very involved in road maintenance that day - we must have hit 6 or 7 repaving crews – each with a pilot truck that we had to wait for. At one of our stops, Turbo dismounts, and strikes up a conversation with the young lady wearing the hardhat cowboy hat. Yes, that’s an actual hard hat.

Seems she wanted to soak his vest in her si….. (still confused) :huh:



At one of the stops, I’m sitting there, and it’s hot, so I drink some water. Open up the face on my Caberg, unzip the chest of my stitch, exposing my sahara vest, and I stick the drinking tube in my mouth. Sipping away, I lean back on my seat bag, arms splayed out to the sides, and I take a mouthful of water and do my best imitation of Shamu - spraying it upwards, delighting in the rainfall I generated.

Sitting back up, I look into the Explorer in front of me, and hubby and wife are sitting there, laughing their a**^*^% off !!

But hey, they had air conditioning, right? What did they know.

We continued on, East on 44 to 36 to 89, and Blue vectored off at 49. heading home. He’d be meeting us in Reno the next day with his SO.

Good riding with ya, Blue !!

We arrived at the Reno Hilton about 4:00 pm Wednesday, July 26th. We had our choice of parking spots under the portico – there weren’t too many bikes there.

Got checked in, showered up, and began our WFO5 experience.

I’m not riding tomorrow – I gotta rest up for Friday.

Seat feels good.

Thank You Turbo for the seat,

Thank You Dr. Boudreaux for the paste.

Final ride stats: Day 1 (Truckee) to Day 5

(THIS IS TURBO'S GPS - NOT MINE !!! )

Sweet ride report... I need to get cooking with mine... now that I've got the "downhill" pics... :clapping:

This is a great write-up, Hal. Good job! So, exactly when do you order your new seat?

madmike2 said:

This is a great write-up, Hal. Good job! So, exactly when do you order your new seat?

Click to expand...

Ride in August 28, 07:00 hundred hours. Rick Mayer, Ojai, California.

My butt is smiling in anticipation. :lol:

kaitsdad said:

[SIZE=12pt]DAY FIVE - July 26, 2006 [/SIZE]WFO5 – RENO, NEVADA

Old Samoa Cookhouse, Samoa, California

Monkeybutt and Rick Mayer Seat

Roadcrafter and Ice

Pilot Trucks Galore !!

Well, here we are, the last day of our Pacific NorthWest Romp. This afternoon, we’re due to arrive at the Reno Hilton, and we get to rest on Thursday.

Turbo has generously offered to let me use his brand new Rocky Mayer seat to try and reduce the Monkeybutt I’ve managed to develop over the past 5 days. I’m just glad he’s got an 06 as do I.

We’re up at dawn, and we very quietly load up the bikes and back them out of the secure parking area so as to not wake up our hosts, Doug and Lily.

Thank You, Doug and Lily !!

Turbo and Blue had never eaten at the Old Samoa Cookhouse -

Old Samoa Cookhouse

And I was looking forward to it. It’s ‘lumber camp’ style dining, and it’s kind of like - you show up, you eat what they’re fixin, and it’s served on platters. OJ, Coffee, Bisquits and Gravy, Toast with butter and jam, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage links, Potatos, and lots of it. ALL YOU CAN EAT !! A durn good way to start the day. We showed up just after opening, sat down, and proceeded to pack it away.

Turbo’s seat is already feeling good. His bike seat, that is. Really.

Following breakfast, we headed East on 299 out of Arcata, heading for Redding.

Seat is feeling good !!!

As we move East, it starts to heat up. After about 100 miles, it’s starting to move into the 90’s, and we put on our Sahara vests. Continuing on to Redding, it’s climbing up – in Redding, we’re seeing 100+ degrees.

We’re stopped at a Shell station, fueling up, and I walked into the mini-mart to grab a really big fountain drink. I pay up, then walk outside into the oven - standing in the shade, inhaling the cold drink, my overheated cranium remembers something I read about some time in the past -

So I finish my drink, go back inside, fill the cup up with clean ice, and proceed to pack two of the pockets in my Roadcrafter suit with ice. The tall pocket on the right torso, as well as the left thigh pocket. Stuffed with ice. Turbo helped me get them as full as I could.

Walking back outside, I’m feeling really comfortable. This is a cool (pun intended) trick.

I then notice the water dripping out of my right leg. Hmmmmm…. Ice melts, don’t it?

So we head on out, and temps continue to climb a bit -

As the ice melts, it’s starting to pool in my saddle. It’s not ON the saddle, it’s IN MY SUIT. 30 minutes later, I’m sitting in a pool of ice water, and, well, ah…. (how do I say this) THINGS are being cooled down with a refreshing chilled water bath.

As we roll along, any undulations that work the suspension (which change the ‘loading’ on my seat) result in an exchange of warmed water with freshly melted ice water - and it’s kind of….. well……. Interesting?

45 minutes into this, things are starting to ache - imagine sitting on a block of ice -

And like all good things, it passed. The ice melted, temperatures restored to tolerable, etc. :blink: Phew. That was close.

It seemed that CalTrans was very involved in road maintenance that day - we must have hit 6 or 7 repaving crews – each with a pilot truck that we had to wait for. At one of our stops, Turbo dismounts, and strikes up a conversation with the young lady wearing the hardhat cowboy hat. Yes, that’s an actual hard hat.

Seems she wanted to soak his vest in her si….. (still confused) :huh:

At one of the stops, I’m sitting there, and it’s hot, so I drink some water. Open up the face on my Caberg, unzip the chest of my stitch, exposing my sahara vest, and I stick the drinking tube in my mouth. Sipping away, I lean back on my seat bag, arms splayed out to the sides, and I take a mouthful of water and do my best imitation of Shamu - spraying it upwards, delighting in the rainfall I generated.

Sitting back up, I look into the Explorer in front of me, and hubby and wife are sitting there, laughing their a**^*^% off !!

But hey, they had air conditioning, right? What did they know.

We continued on, East on 44 to 36 to 89, and Blue vectored off at 49. heading home. He’d be meeting us in Reno the next day with his SO.

Good riding with ya, Blue !!

We arrived at the Reno Hilton about 4:00 pm Wednesday, July 26th. We had our choice of parking spots under the portico – there weren’t too many bikes there.

Got checked in, showered up, and began our WFO5 experience.

I’m not riding tomorrow – I gotta rest up for Friday.

Seat feels good.

Thank You Turbo for the seat,

Thank You Dr. Boudreaux for the paste.

Final ride stats: Day 1 (Truckee) to Day 5

(THIS IS TURBO'S GPS - NOT MINE !!! )

Click to expand...

The MAX speed of 124.92 was a result of the QUEEN size plastic bed cover being shreaded and creating a rather long anchor of about 20 feet. I wish we had a picture of it flapping in the wake of FLICKER. Think I will try that trick again!!

I thought your butt woud look like this :angry2:

Than with the new seat it would look like this

Oem seat, as said before only 100 miles than the monkey has you by the *** :angry2:

Good report need to ride some of those roads ( running out of time) very nice pics.

The Somoa Inn must be a must do food stop :clapping:

weekend rider said:

I thought your butt woud look like this :angry2:

Than with the new seat it would look like this

Oem seat, as said before only 100 miles than the monkey has you by the *** :angry2:

Good report need to ride some of those roads ( running out of time) very nice pics.

The Somoa Inn must be a must do food stop :clapping:

Click to expand...

What do you mean you are running out of time?

OrangevaleFJR said:

What do you mean you are running out of time?

Click to expand...

He works for a school district. The support and maintenance crews are working insane schedules to get the classrooms ready for the inma...er, miscrean...uhm, felons...I mean, students to return in September.

madmike2 said:

OrangevaleFJR said:

What do you mean you are running out of time?

Click to expand...

He works for a school district. The support and maintenance crews are working insane schedules to get the classrooms ready for the inma...er, miscrean...uhm, felons...I mean, students to return in September.

Click to expand...

I know that routine..

NIce report Hal !

but I'm think that your arse should not be hurting so bad after just three days in the saddle, maybe you should look at new riding gear, or undergarments? Gear seams in the wrong place ? I dunno???

HIGHLANDER said:

NIce report Hal ! but I'm think that your arse should not be hurting so bad after just three days in the saddle, maybe you should look at new riding gear, or undergarments? Gear seams in the wrong place ? I dunno???

Click to expand...

well -

wet every day due to the Sahara vests.

Polyester briefs, that while great for backpacking, have really nasty seams when you sit on them for 10 hours in a warm, moist environment that just happens to be vibrating.

And the stock seat. Turbo told me he was squirming at 3 hours on the last day when we had traded seats.

So -

Ride in at Rockys' on 8/28 for new seat. :yahoo:

2 pairs of LDComfort shorts already in hand. :yahoo:

And I WILL NOT overload my Sahara vest when I wet it. I DO NOT WANT it dripping into my crotch. :dribble:

(although I gotta admit the melting ice from my pockets was kind of .... refreshing? )

kaitsdad said:

HIGHLANDER said:

NIce report Hal !

but I'm think that your arse should not be hurting so bad after just three days in the saddle, maybe you should look at new riding gear, or undergarments? Gear seams in the wrong place ? I dunno???

Click to expand...

well -

Polyester briefs, that while great for backpacking, have really nasty seams when you sit on them for 10 hours in a warm, moist environment that just happens to be vibrating.

Click to expand...

Explains it all now !! :blink:

HIGHLANDER said:

kaitsdad said:

HIGHLANDER said:

NIce report Hal !

but I'm think that your arse should not be hurting so bad after just three days in the saddle, maybe you should look at new riding gear, or undergarments? Gear seams in the wrong place ? I dunno???

Click to expand...

well -

Polyester briefs, that while great for backpacking, have really nasty seams when you sit on them for 10 hours in a warm, moist environment that just happens to be vibrating.

Click to expand...

Explains it all now !! :blink:

Click to expand...

Yep. This may be considered TMI, but my left cheek is still healing. I'm using Neosporin to block infection.

I'm beginning to think I should have just gone commando inside my Stitch.

kaitsdad said:

Yep. This may be considered TMI, but my left cheek is still healing. I'm using Neosporin to block infection.
I'm beginning to think I should have just gone commando inside my Stitch.

Click to expand...

Hal, Underarmor underwear is your friend. Trust me. Works real well as the only thing under the First Gear pants, too. Even the house-brand at different "Sports-in-a-box-stores" help.

madmike2 said:

kaitsdad said:

Yep. This may be considered TMI, but my left cheek is still healing. I'm using Neosporin to block infection.

I'm beginning to think I should have just gone commando inside my Stitch.

Click to expand...

Hal, Underarmor underwear is your friend. Trust me. Works real well as the only thing under the First Gear pants, too. Even the house-brand at different "Sports-in-a-box-stores" help.

Click to expand...

+1