So I need some continuing education to keep my Nurse Practitioner License. Several months ago I found a conference in Las Vegas and decided to ride instead of fly. I have accrued a lot of time off from over-work: time to use some.
The plan: Leave Roseburg, Oregon Saturday, April 17th, see one or two guys in California if possible, then go on to Las Vegas. I need to be in Las Vegas by Tues. the 20th. The conference ends Saturday.
But wait! The wife says she'll fly down for a few days on Thursday!! Looks like a second honeymoon -- we were married in Vegas4 5 a few years ago on April 1st. Cool, we haven't been on a real vacation together in years.
The plot thickens -- we decide to catch the Lion King after reading about it here on our favorite forum. Then, I couldn't resist and got two tickets to The Phantom of the Opera for Saturday night -- Second row, center section. Bucks, but she's worth it!
Then Sunday the plan is for the wife and I to go on a day ride, then she flies back to Oregon and I ride back, having to be in Oregon by Thursday afternoon, the 28th.
Saturday I finally get packed and get out the door late. Immediately I have some electronic farkle gremlins -- the Mix-it2 doesn't seem to like the CD player or Radar detector. I get the Radar detector to transmit the signal through my earphones, and I'm off. I brought the wife's NUVI for insurance, but the plan is to old-school the trip with paper maps. I have no real plan or agenda; I do want to see parts of California I have missed in the past. I've been lucky to ride some of Northern California, and ridden the Pacific Coast Highway by bike or car several times. There must be more to Kali than yellow-helmeted motorcycle cupcakes, and I plan to see the heart of California...
A boring slab ride to Redding and I meet up with Gregory of this forum. We kick tires for an hour or more and he poses with his new-to-him 2003 steed, with free mouse nest in the air box at no extra charge! One proud papa:
I left late in the afternoon and put in some miles and then hit a cheap Motel in Williams.
Sunday morning I wake up and I'm on the road about 6:30. But where to go? I saw a likely road on the map Saturday in my motel room while trying to ignore the free mildew and stale cigar smoke in my smoke-free room. Route 49 looks promising. I set out on route 20 to get to 49, and this view met me on that pleasant country road heading East from I-5:
At this point my electronic gremlins continued. I got tunes to work with the radar detector, but my rechargeable batteries for the camera died. No more pictures for a while.
Some very quaint and pretty towns on Rte. 20. My favorite was Auburn: Bohemian with a classic feel. I sensed I was onto something good when I saw four sport bikes, a BMW and a Ural hack heading in my intended direction. I hooked up the video camera shortly after leaving town to catch a few minutes of very tight twisties... fun!
Video and more reports to come. Tease: I made it the entire length of 49 that day with some of the most difficult and technical canyon riding I have ever experienced. In my mind I was Fairlaner, but then reality hit, and I have video to prove it.
The plan: Leave Roseburg, Oregon Saturday, April 17th, see one or two guys in California if possible, then go on to Las Vegas. I need to be in Las Vegas by Tues. the 20th. The conference ends Saturday.
But wait! The wife says she'll fly down for a few days on Thursday!! Looks like a second honeymoon -- we were married in Vegas
The plot thickens -- we decide to catch the Lion King after reading about it here on our favorite forum. Then, I couldn't resist and got two tickets to The Phantom of the Opera for Saturday night -- Second row, center section. Bucks, but she's worth it!
Then Sunday the plan is for the wife and I to go on a day ride, then she flies back to Oregon and I ride back, having to be in Oregon by Thursday afternoon, the 28th.
Saturday I finally get packed and get out the door late. Immediately I have some electronic farkle gremlins -- the Mix-it2 doesn't seem to like the CD player or Radar detector. I get the Radar detector to transmit the signal through my earphones, and I'm off. I brought the wife's NUVI for insurance, but the plan is to old-school the trip with paper maps. I have no real plan or agenda; I do want to see parts of California I have missed in the past. I've been lucky to ride some of Northern California, and ridden the Pacific Coast Highway by bike or car several times. There must be more to Kali than yellow-helmeted motorcycle cupcakes, and I plan to see the heart of California...
A boring slab ride to Redding and I meet up with Gregory of this forum. We kick tires for an hour or more and he poses with his new-to-him 2003 steed, with free mouse nest in the air box at no extra charge! One proud papa:
I left late in the afternoon and put in some miles and then hit a cheap Motel in Williams.
Sunday morning I wake up and I'm on the road about 6:30. But where to go? I saw a likely road on the map Saturday in my motel room while trying to ignore the free mildew and stale cigar smoke in my smoke-free room. Route 49 looks promising. I set out on route 20 to get to 49, and this view met me on that pleasant country road heading East from I-5:
At this point my electronic gremlins continued. I got tunes to work with the radar detector, but my rechargeable batteries for the camera died. No more pictures for a while.
Some very quaint and pretty towns on Rte. 20. My favorite was Auburn: Bohemian with a classic feel. I sensed I was onto something good when I saw four sport bikes, a BMW and a Ural hack heading in my intended direction. I hooked up the video camera shortly after leaving town to catch a few minutes of very tight twisties... fun!
Video and more reports to come. Tease: I made it the entire length of 49 that day with some of the most difficult and technical canyon riding I have ever experienced. In my mind I was Fairlaner, but then reality hit, and I have video to prove it.
