LA, behind bars

[blues2cruise]

What? You went to Seattle and didn't get a pic of your bike with the Space Needle?

You'll love, love, love the coast ride.

I think we all pack too much stuff when we travel....In case....

Thanks for sharing.

[Jamers!]

I KNOW! I may just have to ride over and get that pic real quick tomorrow morning. I also saw an Irish bar with Mc in the name so i can get in on the riding game. I tend to pack very lightly when i travel, but this was a new kind of traveling and i wasent sure what i would need. I don't know why it didnt dawn on me that all my friends have washers and dryers so 10 shirts is overkill!!

[Jamers!]

Trip miles: 1133
Miles YTD: 1603
Miles Lifetime: 4956


Monday June 6th,

Spent two days in Seattle with friends and seeing some sights. Kind of wish I had ridden up to Vancouver BC or over to say bainbridge island for some cool cruising. Though after two LONG days on I-5 it was quite nice to have some time out of the saddle. There is always next time eh?


Then it was time to ride south. The whole point of power ride North was to allow myself as much time as possible for the coastal ride south. Out of Seattle I headed west, making for the Lumber Capital of the WORLD, Aberdeen WA. Neat little town with a couple of cool bridges. As with most of WA I was impressed and slightly taken aback by the friendliness of all the folks. Stopped off for fuel and some gas before heading south for the Washington coast.

0606161431a.jpg (149.23 KiB) Viewed 25271 times

Taking State route 105 was a nice ride. It was a touch simple in truth. Flat staight and simple. Though with pretty views to gaze at I suppose a simple ride is a-okay. Riding through rural washington made apparent how stark the difference between Seattle and say Grayland was. I was taken aback at how many confederate flags i saw and how little i saw of ‘city’ life i saw. Few starbucks and few main food joints to eat at. While part of that was a bit off putting, I quickly learned to love the later part of rural small highway America. While I would prefer a small cafe with some wifi it was not a must. I made it a point to stop at places to drink eat and rest that were local joints. The best espresso in town, the heartyest omlette joint. I found it quite fulfilling. I found quickly that I would need to broaden my coffee tastes. When stopping for a 15 minute break, buying the 95 cent black coffee made me feel like a bit of a jerk. I began to experiment with different drinks to see what I like beyond black coffee. Latte, mocha, upside down soy 2 pumps of pretenoious carmel macchiatto? Who knows what i would find i like. I just knew it was yet another mini adventure inside a much larger one.

0606161440.jpg (122.75 KiB) Viewed 25271 times

Most of the Washington coastline was quite simple, nothing much to write about in terms of tackling the road. This being the first day back in the saddle after two days off i felt no real fatigue. MY right arm went number about 50 miles in with my fingers feeling fully ‘asleep’. This just reinforced the need for risers and making sure the ergonomics of my bike were correct before my next long trip.

Abouty an hour away from my stop for the night, Portland Oregon I came across the ‘Oyster Capital of the World!’ How could i not stop!!! I had never tried an oyster before and I was very excited to try one from the best oyster stop on earth! I had a couple of different oysters cooked a few different ways. The man tried to sell me a bulk ammount, i told him while i would love to buy some I was jam packed on my bike with no room to carry the oysters and the ice needed to keep them to Portland. I learned quickly that to a fisherman there was ALWAYS more room, as long as their was more rope!!

0606161734.jpg (145.63 KiB) Viewed 25271 times

Riding south I came into the neat city of Astoria Oregon. Not much to it, at least not much in terms of what I saw except this very cool very long bridge. OVER A MILE LONG! Once on the otherside I headed inland for Portland and the couch and cold beer waiting for me.

0606161813.jpg (100.67 KiB) Viewed 25271 times

With a day of rest to see some of Portland ahead of me i turned left and opened it up for the 40 mins along the over industrial highway 30.

This was a great day of riding. About 300 miles, which was perhaps 50 or so more than I would have liked. Yet i had ALL day to do it. I took many stops, have much coffee and chatted with many neat people and several bikers who were also on excellent adventures. This was the first truly fully enjoyable day.


Trip miles: 1436
Miles YTD: 1906
Miles Lifetime: 5259

[blues2cruise]

Thanks for sharing again. Bike travel is so great.

[Jamers!]

pre:

Trip miles: 1436
Miles YTD: 1906
Miles Lifetime: 5259


Wednesday 6/8

Heading out of portland with a bit of a long day ahead of myself. Left early to try and make the most of the sunlight. Even hitting the road at 0800 I made a slight change to my route. As this trip carried on I was learning that while I don't mind being out for 10 or 12 hours, that would have to include stops, breaks and lots of scenic spots. 12 hours of just got to get there riding was no longer in my effort level. Why rush through such beautiful countryside. Sadly though, to avoid a 12 or so hour day I had to take some interstate. Instead of cutting west right out of portand and taking the 1 ALL the way south I would take the interstate to basically the Oregon California border then cut out and take PCH (highway 1) south through California. I will have to get back up there some time and ride the part of the coast that i Missed, so that is an ok side effect i suppose. I just knew that if i rode the coast, as wonderful as it is for 12 hours I would no longer be having fun. And that is not ok with me. Oregon is an interesting part of the I-5 to ride. It is not the hot straight boring slab that it is in CA. it winds (well it winds more than most interstates i should say) it has big elevation changes and it is scenic the whole time when compared to CA I5.

Point in Case.

I was able to have a nice care break at the University of Oregon and chat with a few old friends while resting my sore bottom side. This far along into my riding Everything was a bit sore, my neck, my bottom, my forehead was rubbed almost raw and I have had a numb right hand and forearm for several days now. I suppose the pinched nerve is being exacerbated by the saddle time. Something to address when home. All of it very worth it though as I came upon highway 199 and my ticket to the boarder of California and the return of coastal riding. I was told that heading to southern Oregon and then Redwood forest in California would be something special. That is an understatement. The trees, even the smaller Oregon Junipers and Coastal redwood were so dense that daytime riding quickly became darker riding. The feeling of being to surrounded by nature was pretty damn great. Being a bit behind schedule I am sorry to say i could not enjoy them as much as i wanted. (just ANOTHER reason to return!) I snapped a few photos, took a few coffee and pee breaks and soaked in the beauty of these trees!

ORegonbordersmall.jpg (145.85 KiB) Viewed 25192 times

I was soon back in california, on highway 101 making a mad dash for the coast. Hoping to beat the time and see the sunset on the beach. I was heading for crescent city, then turning south toward fort bragg.

I made it to crescent city with hours to spare till sunset. Not realizing how much a faster downhill road it was leading into the city. I did catch a quick fuel and fuel stop near the shore though to admire being back in my home city. By this point, I was lucky to make it 100 miles before my butt and neck demanded a bit of a break. So the sitting sea side was a welcome relief. A seat pad and a good risers will be a must before another big trip. Perahps too some different planning to avoid burning out from LONG days in the beginning.

crecentcitycoast.jpg (110.14 KiB) Viewed 25192 times

The sun would not cooperate but even still being back on the coastal route was quite excellent

Sadly, this is as many pictures as I can add as well as it is a late hour for me now. I will pick this up and finish out the day tomorrow.

-Cheers!.

[dr_bar]

Looks like you had fun, be careful with that numbness, do you know the cause? I had it in my right hand and fingers, there was an impingement in the ulnar nerve at my elbow. No loss of strength, just a loss of feeling. When I applied my front brakes, I had no idea as to how hard I was applying them. Hopefully the surgery I had will completely alleviate this issue...

[Jamers!]

June 9th

Ok, where were we?!

Took some advice from a fellow rider to avoid the last of the road into Fort Bragg at night. Said it was quite technical, narrow and poorly lit. Glad I heeded it and stopped outside of that last nit of highway. It was a super fun road to ride and I am glad to have enjoyed it in the sunshine. I had to stop taking so many stops to marvel at it all because a 10 mile stretch of road was taking me close to two hours ha!.

IMG_0053.JPG (58.03 KiB) Viewed 25026 times

doesn't do it justice, this road was curved with elevation changes and lots of peg scrapers!.

IMG_0052.JPG (47.15 KiB) Viewed 25026 times

Getting to fort bragg I was glad as usual to be back along the coast, something about the crisp clean air and shoreline keeps me from worrying about anything. From Fort Bragg south it was pretty uneventful, which is to say it was lovely. I made stops at some excellent cafes, talked to a British couple on a rented HD that were doing the reverse of my trip to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. Was great to swap some stories from the road and talk about what is coming up for each other. What an excellent trip I am sure they had!

The coastal sun shining down on the road made for some what were suppose to be excellent artistic pictures, sadly my pre paid emergency flip phone wasent quite up to the task.

bikesunsetsmall.jpg (148.03 KiB) Viewed 25026 times

I kept heading south towards san fran with one eye on the road and one eye on the shore. Highway one would swing out to highway 101 and then come back to the coast and it was a very pleasant easy ride. After the inital descent into Fort Bragg it was a mosey type of road that allowed my thoughts to wander and give me the tranquility that riding offers and i enjoy!

I got to San Fran and road across the Golden Gate bridge, I KNOW how dumb this was but I lived and wont be doing it again. After this, lane splitting on the bay bridge from San Fran to Oakland during rush hour was without question the most nerve racking riding I had EVER done. ahhh!

IMG_0065.JPG (144.69 KiB) Viewed 25026 times

Got to San Fran and Oakland with no Issues, enjoyed a night out in the Bay City with buddies. A Rather long day ahead of me the next morning I kept the beers to a minimum and enjoyed sleeping early!