MEM
Well-known member
Way cool, BG !
You da man, Norton
You da man, Norton
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BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
After our rest stop at the condo, we decided to head to this thing to see what all the fuss is about.
The Space Needle was very close to the Bite of Seattle festival, and it was pretty busy. But it was still cool for me seeing it for the first time.
If you want to get some altitude while visiting the Space Needle, you have a couple of options. First is the observation deck: you pay something like $20, and (at least while we were there) get herded like a head of cattle going to slaughter to get to the elevator with hundreds of your closest friends, and go up. Or, if like me, you misunderstand the price for brunch and go to the restaurant, you pay a princely sum for a fairly decent meal and get to relax in the rotating restaurant and enjoy the sights as they are presented to you.
Remember the cruise ship? Well, here it is, from a completely different vantage point.
Sooze.
The city.
FOOD PORN ALERT!!!
We both started with some kind of soup. Hell if I can remember what it was, but it was pretty good.
I had the prime rib. It was pretty good, but not the best I've had – weird as it is, the best prime rib I've ever had was at a little place in Maine last June that we just happened on. No knife needed – you could cut that prime rib with a fork and it literally melted in your mouth. It was damn good. But this was definitely above-average-ish.
Sooze had the chicken.
More pics of the city from the vantage point of the Space Needle.
The Space Needle was very close to the Bite of Seattle festival, and it was pretty busy. But it was still cool for me seeing it for the first time.
If you want to get some altitude while visiting the Space Needle, you have a couple of options. First is the observation deck: you pay something like $20, and (at least while we were there) get herded like a head of cattle going to slaughter to get to the elevator with hundreds of your closest friends, and go up. Or, if like me, you misunderstand the price for brunch and go to the restaurant, you pay a princely sum for a fairly decent meal and get to relax in the rotating restaurant and enjoy the sights as they are presented to you.
Remember the cruise ship? Well, here it is, from a completely different vantage point.
Sooze.
The city.
FOOD PORN ALERT!!!
We both started with some kind of soup. Hell if I can remember what it was, but it was pretty good.
I had the prime rib. It was pretty good, but not the best I've had – weird as it is, the best prime rib I've ever had was at a little place in Maine last June that we just happened on. No knife needed – you could cut that prime rib with a fork and it literally melted in your mouth. It was damn good. But this was definitely above-average-ish.
Sooze had the chicken.
More pics of the city from the vantage point of the Space Needle.
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
Kinda reminds me of Sim City, ya know?
The cruise ship getting ready to set sail. Made me think of the opening scenes from that horrid show that I loved, “The Love Boat.”
And we watched the ship depart. I've never been on a cruise and, all in all, they don't appeal to me. But, Sooze and I are in agreement here – we would both love to take an Alaska cruise. Hmm...
For dessert, I had the tiramisu. There is a chain of Italian restaurants (we have 2 in Columbus) called Bucca de Beppo (translates to Joe's Basement, I believe), and they have the most awesome tiramisu ever. This was OK.
Sooze had the something-or-other, and she liked it.
Several minutes later, and you can still see where the cruise ship churned up the water.
This is a cool-looking area to see from up here.
From the restaurant, you can go to observation deck and join the unwashed masses to elbow people out of the way to try to get to the railing to take pictures. Like this one! Luckily I only had to knee a midget, elbow a crazy Asian fella, steal a kids candy, and hip-check an octogenarian to get to the rail.
Looking down on Bite of Seattle.
Us.
For my brother-in-law, who is in the television broadcasting industry in Tulsa, OK. Couldn't ya get a gig out here, man? (He and I get along great – we're both geeks.)
Looking at our digs for our stay in the city. We're staying in the nearer of the two buildings on the left, a story or two (or three; I'm not really sure) below where the orange thing is (pretty sure it's a wind sock).
Yep, a cool little area.
Another for my BIL...
The cruise ship getting ready to set sail. Made me think of the opening scenes from that horrid show that I loved, “The Love Boat.”
And we watched the ship depart. I've never been on a cruise and, all in all, they don't appeal to me. But, Sooze and I are in agreement here – we would both love to take an Alaska cruise. Hmm...
For dessert, I had the tiramisu. There is a chain of Italian restaurants (we have 2 in Columbus) called Bucca de Beppo (translates to Joe's Basement, I believe), and they have the most awesome tiramisu ever. This was OK.
Sooze had the something-or-other, and she liked it.
Several minutes later, and you can still see where the cruise ship churned up the water.
This is a cool-looking area to see from up here.
From the restaurant, you can go to observation deck and join the unwashed masses to elbow people out of the way to try to get to the railing to take pictures. Like this one! Luckily I only had to knee a midget, elbow a crazy Asian fella, steal a kids candy, and hip-check an octogenarian to get to the rail.
Looking down on Bite of Seattle.
Us.
For my brother-in-law, who is in the television broadcasting industry in Tulsa, OK. Couldn't ya get a gig out here, man? (He and I get along great – we're both geeks.)
Looking at our digs for our stay in the city. We're staying in the nearer of the two buildings on the left, a story or two (or three; I'm not really sure) below where the orange thing is (pretty sure it's a wind sock).
Yep, a cool little area.
Another for my BIL...
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
From the observation deck, this kinda looks like something one of our cats coughed up.
Up at the observation deck, the line for the elevator down was long and loud. We went back to the restaurant and waited about 30 seconds and were crammed in for the ride down. There was a gal who apparently didn't do well with either small spaces, lots of people, or heights. OK, nitwits – if you don't do well with small spaces, lots of people or heights (and if you're as wide as you are tall and are crammed into an elevator), DON'T GO UP IN THE SPACE NEEDLE!! Sheesh.
Modern art. I guess.
After the zoo that was the space needle, it was nice to just walk back to the condo and chill. While we were here, I found myself drawn to the balcony just to watch the city and feel the rhythm that cities have. I can't really explain why, did I did the same thing in Manhattan a couple of years ago.
Look familiar?
More modern art. I guess.
Since there wasn't wifi in the condo (unless we went down to street level and camped out in a room that does have wifi, which we didn't do), we were able to spend some quality time with our reading materials. I was reading Neal Peart's book, “Ghost Rider.”
Sooze brought her E-reader along and had something like 16 books at her disposal.
Since there wasn't A/C in the condo which necessitated the windows be open, we regularly heard some hooting and hollering. Based on our own previous experience, we knew why: Duck Tours! Note 2 vehicles in this picture: first, the red double-decker bus; second, the white goofy-looking truck thing. The white goofy-looking truck thing is a duck. It's a world war 2-era amphibious vehicle. A couple of year ago, Sooze and I did a Duck Tour of Philly and, while yes it was seriously touristy, we learned a lot about the city and just had a good time. If you're in a city that offers them and you don't know much about the city, do it. And ham it up – it's fun!
Up at the observation deck, the line for the elevator down was long and loud. We went back to the restaurant and waited about 30 seconds and were crammed in for the ride down. There was a gal who apparently didn't do well with either small spaces, lots of people, or heights. OK, nitwits – if you don't do well with small spaces, lots of people or heights (and if you're as wide as you are tall and are crammed into an elevator), DON'T GO UP IN THE SPACE NEEDLE!! Sheesh.
Modern art. I guess.
After the zoo that was the space needle, it was nice to just walk back to the condo and chill. While we were here, I found myself drawn to the balcony just to watch the city and feel the rhythm that cities have. I can't really explain why, did I did the same thing in Manhattan a couple of years ago.
Look familiar?
More modern art. I guess.
Since there wasn't wifi in the condo (unless we went down to street level and camped out in a room that does have wifi, which we didn't do), we were able to spend some quality time with our reading materials. I was reading Neal Peart's book, “Ghost Rider.”
Sooze brought her E-reader along and had something like 16 books at her disposal.
Since there wasn't A/C in the condo which necessitated the windows be open, we regularly heard some hooting and hollering. Based on our own previous experience, we knew why: Duck Tours! Note 2 vehicles in this picture: first, the red double-decker bus; second, the white goofy-looking truck thing. The white goofy-looking truck thing is a duck. It's a world war 2-era amphibious vehicle. A couple of year ago, Sooze and I did a Duck Tour of Philly and, while yes it was seriously touristy, we learned a lot about the city and just had a good time. If you're in a city that offers them and you don't know much about the city, do it. And ham it up – it's fun!
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
The sun was going down, and we tried to capture some images.
We grabbed our cameras and headed down by the Sound.
There was a tug milling about in the sound, doing whatever it is that tugs do while not tugging.
Us. The Geeks.
So long, sun. See ya tomorrow.
There was still some, ah, interesting stuff to see.
We grabbed our cameras and headed down by the Sound.
There was a tug milling about in the sound, doing whatever it is that tugs do while not tugging.
Us. The Geeks.
So long, sun. See ya tomorrow.
There was still some, ah, interesting stuff to see.
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
Since we'd had a late brunch, we were kinda looking for a spot to have dinner. A late dinner. On Sunday night.
Oops. There ain't much open for a late dinner on Sunday night.
Mmm... Me likey cheesecake.
The Space Needle at night.
Since we'd had a good brunch and weren't starved, we just snacked back at the condo.
I played around with settings on the camera, trying to get some night pictures.
I kinda like this one – a car, a taxi, and a motorcycle went by while the shutter was open, so you can see the tail light trails from when they went by.
Miles ridden this day: zip, zero, nilch, nada.
Stuff we saw that we would have missed otherwise: all of what you've seen, and more.
Oops. There ain't much open for a late dinner on Sunday night.
Mmm... Me likey cheesecake.
The Space Needle at night.
Since we'd had a good brunch and weren't starved, we just snacked back at the condo.
I played around with settings on the camera, trying to get some night pictures.
I kinda like this one – a car, a taxi, and a motorcycle went by while the shutter was open, so you can see the tail light trails from when they went by.
Miles ridden this day: zip, zero, nilch, nada.
Stuff we saw that we would have missed otherwise: all of what you've seen, and more.
beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
Wowser, Geek and Sooze: What an absolutely incredible travel adventure, thank you so very much for taking all of us on the FJR Forum along with you two! Great photos and story!!!
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RaYzerman19
Go Wings!
IMHO, the Alaskan cruise is the only one worth doing.......... thanks for the photos & stories. I have been well entertained!!
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gregory
Great things are afoot
Thanks Andy!
Looking forward to the next instalment of Geeks on bikes! You guys should pitch this to the travel channel!
Looking forward to the next instalment of Geeks on bikes! You guys should pitch this to the travel channel!
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
July 19, 2010. Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon.
After our walk-about in Seattle, and a day off the bike, it was time to head out and start the next leg of our journey: heading down the coast.
For today, we're headed to Portland, Oregon, to spend the night with an old family friend of Sooze. So, we didn't have too far to ride and all day to get there, so we slept in a bit and made our way way – rather painlessly, I may say – out of Seattle.
And of all the damn towns for us to ride through, we rode through here. Tongue-in-cheek stuff, since we're from Ohio, and it makes me think of Klinger from M*A*S*H.
Gateway to what? Hmm...
For my friend from high school....
When we were planning our route to Seattle, we toyed with the idea of seeing Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens the same day, but decided to split 'em up, so today we're gonna swing by Mt. St. Helens. When St. Helens erupted the first time back in the 80's, I remember doing a school report on it. (You know how old I am – figure it out.) Ever since then, I've been wanting to see this place. And now, I finally get to.
The ride towards the observatory is kinda interesting.
There are definitely differing views.
I don't think it used to look like this.
To me, this never got old: I love the low-hanging clouds tumbling through.
Cool bridge, coming up!
We wound our way to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, parked the bike, and walked on up.
After our walk-about in Seattle, and a day off the bike, it was time to head out and start the next leg of our journey: heading down the coast.
For today, we're headed to Portland, Oregon, to spend the night with an old family friend of Sooze. So, we didn't have too far to ride and all day to get there, so we slept in a bit and made our way way – rather painlessly, I may say – out of Seattle.
And of all the damn towns for us to ride through, we rode through here. Tongue-in-cheek stuff, since we're from Ohio, and it makes me think of Klinger from M*A*S*H.
Gateway to what? Hmm...
For my friend from high school....
When we were planning our route to Seattle, we toyed with the idea of seeing Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens the same day, but decided to split 'em up, so today we're gonna swing by Mt. St. Helens. When St. Helens erupted the first time back in the 80's, I remember doing a school report on it. (You know how old I am – figure it out.) Ever since then, I've been wanting to see this place. And now, I finally get to.
The ride towards the observatory is kinda interesting.
There are definitely differing views.
I don't think it used to look like this.
To me, this never got old: I love the low-hanging clouds tumbling through.
Cool bridge, coming up!
We wound our way to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, parked the bike, and walked on up.
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
This is a neat place. Knowing what happened here, that people had been here when it erupted both times, and some lost their lives, made it exciting and somewhat somber at the same time.
There are still obvious signs and scars in the terrain from the seismic events. “Seismic event.” Reminds me of a guy I used to know who came down to Columbus from Detroit who worked in the automotive design industry. While in Columbus, he worked for a certain Japanese company who has a production facility about 25 miles out. The engineering geeks had a term for an underhood fire: “thermal condition.”
Nature, being nature, is recovering.
They do have some informative stuff.
I kinda wonder what this area looked like before the eruptions.
Dunno what's up with my too-serious face in this one.
Woulda been nice if the lighting would have helped us a little bit here, but oh, well.
Nature always recovers.
And there was a tree. One lone tree, in a vast area with only scrub and ground-hugging grasses, standing in solitude.
There are still obvious signs and scars in the terrain from the seismic events. “Seismic event.” Reminds me of a guy I used to know who came down to Columbus from Detroit who worked in the automotive design industry. While in Columbus, he worked for a certain Japanese company who has a production facility about 25 miles out. The engineering geeks had a term for an underhood fire: “thermal condition.”
Nature, being nature, is recovering.
They do have some informative stuff.
I kinda wonder what this area looked like before the eruptions.
Dunno what's up with my too-serious face in this one.
Woulda been nice if the lighting would have helped us a little bit here, but oh, well.
Nature always recovers.
And there was a tree. One lone tree, in a vast area with only scrub and ground-hugging grasses, standing in solitude.
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
After stopping in and paying our fee to enter the observatory (which I didn't really want to do, but what the hell – the money goes towards keeping the observatory running and it didn't break the bank), and getting ourselves more trash 'N trinkets to mail home to ourselves, we rolled on out.
I saw a spot that looked like it'd be good to pull off for some pics, so I did!
I've been making an effort working on framing my pictures, Still got work to do, but getting more betterer.
Damn forest rats. Glad they were way over there.
Remember the bridge from our way to the Observatory? Here it is from the other direction.
I'm not much of a mountain hiker type of person. But I'm tempted to become one just to do some hiking in areas like this.
A scenic view of that same bridge.
And we found our way to our next state: Oregon! And we crossed the Columbia River. Again. So this is state number … uh … 10? Yeah, 10. State number 10 for this trip, so far.
We definitely didn't have much traffic to deal with.
It was a wee bit warm, so we just headed towards Portland.
I saw a spot that looked like it'd be good to pull off for some pics, so I did!
I've been making an effort working on framing my pictures, Still got work to do, but getting more betterer.
Damn forest rats. Glad they were way over there.
Remember the bridge from our way to the Observatory? Here it is from the other direction.
I'm not much of a mountain hiker type of person. But I'm tempted to become one just to do some hiking in areas like this.
A scenic view of that same bridge.
And we found our way to our next state: Oregon! And we crossed the Columbia River. Again. So this is state number … uh … 10? Yeah, 10. State number 10 for this trip, so far.
We definitely didn't have much traffic to deal with.
It was a wee bit warm, so we just headed towards Portland.
You NAILED this one, brother!
(Didn't fall off that guardrail, did ya?)
(Didn't fall off that guardrail, did ya?)
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
Thanks! That means a lot coming from you. Really.
And, no, there were no unplanned gravity checks involved in the taking of that picture.
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
Not many more pics for this day. We wound our way to Sooze's friend's place, parked the bike, unloaded our crap, changed into comfy clothes, and were too busy being social to take many pics.
We did, however, remember to take pics for FOOD PORN!!
Our gracious hosts for the evening made us grilled pizza! Mmm...
Our hosts had 2 puppy dogs, Knuckles (standing, to the left) and Monkey (laying down).
They told us that Knuckles typically doesn't care much for 'new' people right away, especially guys, but I seemed to get along just dandy with Knuckles. What can I say? The pup has good taste!
In fact, Knuckles even played some fetch with me!
Like I said, not many pictures tonight, and none with our hosts, but we had a helluva good time! Our host / chef Olly tends bar at a place where he regularly serves (c'mon, now, geeks) Jonathan Frakes stops in, since they're filming a TV show that he's directing, in Portland! Pretty cool!
So, after no miles yesterday, we rode about 300 miles today, including a stop by Mount St. Helens.
We did, however, remember to take pics for FOOD PORN!!
Our gracious hosts for the evening made us grilled pizza! Mmm...
Our hosts had 2 puppy dogs, Knuckles (standing, to the left) and Monkey (laying down).
They told us that Knuckles typically doesn't care much for 'new' people right away, especially guys, but I seemed to get along just dandy with Knuckles. What can I say? The pup has good taste!
In fact, Knuckles even played some fetch with me!
Like I said, not many pictures tonight, and none with our hosts, but we had a helluva good time! Our host / chef Olly tends bar at a place where he regularly serves (c'mon, now, geeks) Jonathan Frakes stops in, since they're filming a TV show that he's directing, in Portland! Pretty cool!
So, after no miles yesterday, we rode about 300 miles today, including a stop by Mount St. Helens.
airboss
Well-known member
Hope you can post up a good shot of the dome growing inside the crater, my little point and shoot didn't do so well yesterday.
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
July 20, 2010.
Our day began in Portland, Oregon, escorted around the house by the dogs Knuckles and Monkey. Outside, it was overcast and we had just a slight drizzle – just enough of a drizzle to piss you off.
We bid farewell to our kind and gracious hosts, and to the puppy dogs, and headed for a local Harley dealer to stop in for a quick oil change.
When we started talking about this trip, my dad was talking about going to the west coast as well. Back in 2003, he took a ride along a route very similar to our route, so this time he wanted to take more of a southern route, going through Las Vegas and heading north along the coast. We figured we would cross paths with him at some time, and we were right! We met him for breakfast before the dealer opened (he recently traded in his 2000 Ultra for a 2010) since his bike was due for a service as well.
Found him!
We wound up at a Starbucks for a quick breakfast (after chasing around a couple of places that the GPS couldn't find) and headed to the dealer.
Me and dad and his bike.
Our bikes.
While we were waiting for the service department to change the oil in my bike, and dad was waiting for the 5000 mile service to be done on his bike, we had the opportunity and the time to sit and shoot the breeze with dad, comparing notes of our respective miles covered, time on the road, and stories you can only gather on a motorcycle road trip.
Paradise H-D, in Tigard, Oregon, is a nice place, with a very nice waiting area (and decent coffee!) with a good service department. They worked us in with no problems at all (I didn't have an appointment; dad did) and even washed the bike for us.
Sooze has something about taking her camera in to the ladies' room with her. (Remember the pic from North Dakota?) Well, here's another one for ya.
We had a very pleasant chat with dad, some of the employees, other partons.... Bought some stuff (we got t-shirts and dad got a very visible orange hi-viz and reflective vest to wear, which I thought was a great addition) and drank some coffee.
A couple of memories stick out from our time here. First, while we were in the waiting area, another fella was there with a new-looking vest with Hoka Hey Challenge patches on it. I noticed they were 2010 Hoka Hey patches, so I casually asked him if he'd made the run this year. He had, and since I'd only recently heard of it (and not very favorable words were found on the neenerwebs), I found it really interesting to talk to someone who'd actually made it. Neat guy, nice guy, interesting conversation. If you're not familiar with the Hoka Hey, poke around the 'web and form your own opinion.
The other memory from our time here: a salesman was showing a guy a bike outside, obviously showing him the controls. I was out having a smoke and quietly observing the goings-on. It became apparent to me that the guy taking the ride was a very new rider and was test-driving bikes. Why would I say that guy was a new rider? Well.... When he stalled it, that was my first guess. When he already had the bike rolling and didn't put his feet up (he was kinda still trying to crab-walk) was my second guess. When he stalled it again trying to leave the parking lot and hit the horn instead of the starter was my third guess. But, the one bit that led me to think the guy on the test-ride was a new rider? The look on the salesman's face when that guy left (he took out 2 or 3 bikes). The Look. The salesman hada look on his face which s omewhat of a mix of constipation, agony, who-just-farted, why-is-the-fat-chick-wearing-a-thong-and-low-rider-jeans, and I-can't-believe-my-daughter-is-dating-THAT-guy. I wish I woulda had the camera to have a picture to show you guys, but I think that's as good of a description as I can come up with.
And, yes, the guy on the test ride made it back OK. If you ask me, that guy's a fool to buy a brand-new bike – he should get something smaller, lighter and less powerful until he knows how to Ride. But, to each their own.
The fine folks in the service department at Paradise H-D got the bike wrapped up, we said, “See ya later!” to my dad (he'll be back in the Report in a while), filled up with fuel, and headed west out of Portland, looking forward to seeing more of the Pacific coast.
As we headed west towards the coast, we got into roads that, to me, typified my expectations of what roads in the Pacific Northwest should be.
Hilly but not mountainous terrain, lush green evergreens all around, and some twists and turns.
Ah, yes. I was kinda bummed in the morning, since the weather was kind crappy and wet, but things cleared up quite nicely.
It was nice visiting with dad. It's always nice to see a friendly face when you've been on the road a while. The scenery was good for the soul, too.
We rode Route 6 into Tillamook, OR, and turned left on 101. After heading south a little ways out of Tillamook (which I'd like to go spend more time there – for one, it's a really cool-looking town and, second, my dad has a cousin who lives there who I wouldn't mine seeing), we would up along the coast.
The Oregon coast.
All I can say is, wow. I don't know what I was expecting, but we were treated to some amazing sights.
There are people on the beach, but they're milling about on the sand and poking around in the tidal pools, but there really isn't anyone swimming in the ocean.
Our day began in Portland, Oregon, escorted around the house by the dogs Knuckles and Monkey. Outside, it was overcast and we had just a slight drizzle – just enough of a drizzle to piss you off.
We bid farewell to our kind and gracious hosts, and to the puppy dogs, and headed for a local Harley dealer to stop in for a quick oil change.
When we started talking about this trip, my dad was talking about going to the west coast as well. Back in 2003, he took a ride along a route very similar to our route, so this time he wanted to take more of a southern route, going through Las Vegas and heading north along the coast. We figured we would cross paths with him at some time, and we were right! We met him for breakfast before the dealer opened (he recently traded in his 2000 Ultra for a 2010) since his bike was due for a service as well.
Found him!
We wound up at a Starbucks for a quick breakfast (after chasing around a couple of places that the GPS couldn't find) and headed to the dealer.
Me and dad and his bike.
Our bikes.
While we were waiting for the service department to change the oil in my bike, and dad was waiting for the 5000 mile service to be done on his bike, we had the opportunity and the time to sit and shoot the breeze with dad, comparing notes of our respective miles covered, time on the road, and stories you can only gather on a motorcycle road trip.
Paradise H-D, in Tigard, Oregon, is a nice place, with a very nice waiting area (and decent coffee!) with a good service department. They worked us in with no problems at all (I didn't have an appointment; dad did) and even washed the bike for us.
Sooze has something about taking her camera in to the ladies' room with her. (Remember the pic from North Dakota?) Well, here's another one for ya.
We had a very pleasant chat with dad, some of the employees, other partons.... Bought some stuff (we got t-shirts and dad got a very visible orange hi-viz and reflective vest to wear, which I thought was a great addition) and drank some coffee.
A couple of memories stick out from our time here. First, while we were in the waiting area, another fella was there with a new-looking vest with Hoka Hey Challenge patches on it. I noticed they were 2010 Hoka Hey patches, so I casually asked him if he'd made the run this year. He had, and since I'd only recently heard of it (and not very favorable words were found on the neenerwebs), I found it really interesting to talk to someone who'd actually made it. Neat guy, nice guy, interesting conversation. If you're not familiar with the Hoka Hey, poke around the 'web and form your own opinion.
The other memory from our time here: a salesman was showing a guy a bike outside, obviously showing him the controls. I was out having a smoke and quietly observing the goings-on. It became apparent to me that the guy taking the ride was a very new rider and was test-driving bikes. Why would I say that guy was a new rider? Well.... When he stalled it, that was my first guess. When he already had the bike rolling and didn't put his feet up (he was kinda still trying to crab-walk) was my second guess. When he stalled it again trying to leave the parking lot and hit the horn instead of the starter was my third guess. But, the one bit that led me to think the guy on the test-ride was a new rider? The look on the salesman's face when that guy left (he took out 2 or 3 bikes). The Look. The salesman hada look on his face which s omewhat of a mix of constipation, agony, who-just-farted, why-is-the-fat-chick-wearing-a-thong-and-low-rider-jeans, and I-can't-believe-my-daughter-is-dating-THAT-guy. I wish I woulda had the camera to have a picture to show you guys, but I think that's as good of a description as I can come up with.
And, yes, the guy on the test ride made it back OK. If you ask me, that guy's a fool to buy a brand-new bike – he should get something smaller, lighter and less powerful until he knows how to Ride. But, to each their own.
The fine folks in the service department at Paradise H-D got the bike wrapped up, we said, “See ya later!” to my dad (he'll be back in the Report in a while), filled up with fuel, and headed west out of Portland, looking forward to seeing more of the Pacific coast.
As we headed west towards the coast, we got into roads that, to me, typified my expectations of what roads in the Pacific Northwest should be.
Hilly but not mountainous terrain, lush green evergreens all around, and some twists and turns.
Ah, yes. I was kinda bummed in the morning, since the weather was kind crappy and wet, but things cleared up quite nicely.
It was nice visiting with dad. It's always nice to see a friendly face when you've been on the road a while. The scenery was good for the soul, too.
We rode Route 6 into Tillamook, OR, and turned left on 101. After heading south a little ways out of Tillamook (which I'd like to go spend more time there – for one, it's a really cool-looking town and, second, my dad has a cousin who lives there who I wouldn't mine seeing), we would up along the coast.
The Oregon coast.
All I can say is, wow. I don't know what I was expecting, but we were treated to some amazing sights.
There are people on the beach, but they're milling about on the sand and poking around in the tidal pools, but there really isn't anyone swimming in the ocean.
escapefjrtist
Searching for Dry Roads
Excellent ride report and pics Geek! What a trip... Thanks for the stop at Eureka, it was was good meeting you and Sooze.
--G
--G
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
BikerGeek99
Yeah, it's a concrete corn cob. So?
Along the coast, the temperatures were nice and cool, the scenery fantastic, the road in good condition, and I was really enjoying it. Although, there were a couple of times where I said to myself, “SELF! Holy crap! You're riding along the pacific ocean in Oregon! This is AWESOME!!”
We found our way towards this place.
If you've never been, it's, ahh, yeah....
If you're a lighthouse junkie, you probably already know what's coming up next. If you're not a lighthouse junkie, you should come here anyway.
Stopping here wasn't originally in our plan for the day, but I saw the signs and pulled in for the heck of it. It was worth it. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, since we weren't sure where we would stay for the evening.
I won't bore you with a bunch of gab. But the views were fantastic.
Just south of that lighthouse, we rolled into a cool-looking little coast town.
Newport, Oregon. A town we'd decided to find a place for the night. Poking around in the GPS, I found a place under “Lodging” that was called the Rogue Public House. Hmmm... Waitasecond..... One of my favorite beers is Rogue Dead Guy Ale. And we happened to be in the town which is the home of Rogue Brewing. Suh-WEET!! We headed to the Rogue Public House, hoping that they'd have a room available for the night.
For some reason, I really felt at home here.
Can ya tell?
We got a laugh thanks to this sign.
Enrique the bartender f'n rocked! He was a cool guy and a good bar tender.
We found our way towards this place.
If you've never been, it's, ahh, yeah....
If you're a lighthouse junkie, you probably already know what's coming up next. If you're not a lighthouse junkie, you should come here anyway.
Stopping here wasn't originally in our plan for the day, but I saw the signs and pulled in for the heck of it. It was worth it. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, since we weren't sure where we would stay for the evening.
I won't bore you with a bunch of gab. But the views were fantastic.
Just south of that lighthouse, we rolled into a cool-looking little coast town.
Newport, Oregon. A town we'd decided to find a place for the night. Poking around in the GPS, I found a place under “Lodging” that was called the Rogue Public House. Hmmm... Waitasecond..... One of my favorite beers is Rogue Dead Guy Ale. And we happened to be in the town which is the home of Rogue Brewing. Suh-WEET!! We headed to the Rogue Public House, hoping that they'd have a room available for the night.
For some reason, I really felt at home here.
Can ya tell?
We got a laugh thanks to this sign.
Enrique the bartender f'n rocked! He was a cool guy and a good bar tender.
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