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The ride to San Francisco proved long and arduous. It was sometimes hot and at other times windy and rainy. At one point the rain had subsided enough that the sunlight through the moisture in the air created a spectacular rainbow. I just had to stop and take a few moments to look at it and capture a few frames on my camera.



My little digital camera does not do justice to the brilliance of the rainbow as seen by the eyes.

We were nearing San Francisco, but got caught up in rush hour traffic that was moving particularly slowly. I made an executive decision to pull off the highway for fuel in Novato because there was no way of knowing how long it would be to the next gas station.
I signaled early enough to give Dr_bar a chance to exit calmly. I had no idea where to look for a gas station but I figured a quick tour around this nice little town would get us to one. As I came around a corner, I spotted a sign on a coffee shop…tea…This time Dr_bar barely had time to stop because I gave just one quick blink of a signal before I pulled into an empty parking space on the street. He told me he already had a feeling I was going to pull in when he saw the sign.






And the actual Dr. Insomnia.




I gotta say, the fellow who was working there was friendly and seemed happy to make acquaintance to a couple of Canadian travellers. The tea was so good. I would have liked to linger there, but we needed to keep going if we were going to make San Francisco before dark. When we went back out to the bikes, I even suggested staying in Novato and then heading to SF in the morning, but Dr_bar wasn’t interested. Instead we found a gas station to fuel the bikes and then headed back to the freeway.

Approximately 30 minutes later we saw our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. What a thrill! Although I have seen the bridge in movies and in books and newspapers,
( and in person way back in 1969), it is still a big thrill to see it in person in 2006.



That was the first stop at the bridge just to show I was there. Well, my bike anyway…..

Now, my friend Dr_bar isn’t the most co-operative of people when it comes to being photographed, so I had to sneak up on him to capture this one of him above the Golden Gate Bridge.

And another just of the bridge.



We spent several minutes at the view point over the bridge just admiring the view and reveling in the excitement of being there.

We soon had to get back down to the highway again though because we were losing light. We paid our tolls and rode over the bridge into San Francisco exiting at Lombard Street. Someone who had lived there recommended we take that exit. In my opinion that was the worst thing we could have done.
We entered into chaos.
For the next hour we rode around looking for a hotel. There is a stop sign or a light in EVERY SINGLE FREAKING CORNER. It was bumper to bumper traffic and people crossing streets everywhere and taxis stopping anywhere they pleased.

I thought I was going to go crazy if we didn’t get off the streets soon. I pulled into the driveway of a Travelodge out of sheer desperation. We made an inquiry inside about rooms. It was going to be far too noisy on that street so the clerk suggested we go to another location on Market Street. He said it would be quiet there. Insert rolling eyes here.
By now I was getting too tired to read the map without my glasses so I let Dr_bar find Market Street on the map so that he could now lead the way. He explained what streets we needed to get to and where to turn to get us to the hotel. So-o-o-o, we had to go around a couple of blocks to get to the street we were looking for. It was uphill for what seemed like miles…..with a stop sign or a red light ON EVERY FREAKING CORNER.
I WAS NOT HAVING A GOOD TIME ANYMORE.
Dr_bar directed us the wrong way adding to my crankiness. I admit I was cranky. I was so tired and it took close to an hour of riding around to find that stupid hotel. When we finally arrived it was such a let down. Everything I had read led me to believe the Market District would be interesting. It was noisy, dirty, and full of street people, graffiti and litter. We went in search of a bite to eat but everything was closed. We finally found an old style diner that was open late so we went in to get ourselves a light meal before heading back to the hotel. The plan was to get a decent sleep and then do some sightseeing in the morning. I won’t go into detail, but the hotel was awful so I didn’t get the much needed sleep I had expected.

The light of day did nothing to change my perception of San Francisco. We rode along Market Street for a mile or so, looking for a particular street to turn to being our sightseeing. However, sitting at a red light, I spotted a sign that pointed to the freeway. I made a gesture to the sign and Dr_bar picked up on the cue….

“Do you just want to get out of here?”
I nodded affirmatively.
“Let’s go, then,” he said.

When the light changed to green, I signaled for the turn and we started heading to the freeway that would take us out of San Francisco to Berkeley.
After the huge letdown and anticlimax of San Francisco, I felt a renewed sense of excitement for this trip.

I made an error in exiting the freeway one exit too soon, but it proved to be fruitful nevertheless.

As we were on a corner discussing which way to go, I spied Berkeley Yamaha.



We made tracks for the motorcycle shop as our first stop of the day. I needed to get the big Allan bolts on the forks tightened properly. I went inside to explain what I needed and the fellow working inside came out and moved my bike inside so the tech guy could take a look. While I was waiting for the tech guy, another rider on a KTM pulled into the lot.
My blue crate found its new home.




Raphael the KTM rider, claimed ownership.

He said the blue crate looked too forlorn figuring it was too much highway riding. He said what the Blue Crate needed was a life of adventure. So, the blue crate found a new home in Berkeley California.

My Blue Star now has a tour master bag for traveling and hauling my gear and groceries.

Compliments of dr_bar....a panoramic over SF and the GG Bridge.

How Sad!!! No more blue crate! Ah well, at least it found a nice new home on the back of that nice KTM... Glad you're enjoying your trip, and Happy New Year!
Wrider

Yccchhh!!!! There's no way I'd ever put a bright blue crate on a bright orange KTM. People just have no taste!!!!

Well, whaddya expect from California?

Berkeley to Redding

After leaving Berkeley, we headed for Redding. It was crazy making getting over the next bridge and out of that area. Doc commented later that I was riding like a crazy woman…. (I said it was crazy making getting over that bridge). It can’t be helped. There are several lanes of traffic all going fast and vehicles weaving in and out and tail gating. I felt like I had to ride the way they drive just to get through there. Once we paid the toll, we “got the heck out of Dodge” so to speak.

We basically rode the freeway to get out of that area as quickly as possible and to be able to make good time to Redding….our next scheduled overnighter. We were riding through the Sacramento Valley and believe me, it was smokin’ hot. It was a relief to need to stop for fuel. We pulled into a well known gas station/store/rest area/RV stop. I could not get the pumps to accept any of my cards and of course they were all prepay. So-o-o-o, I started up my bike and rode it over to where Doc was fuelling his bike. I pulled up beside him and explained, so when he finished filling his tank, he filled mine. I don’t think the folks waiting in line were too impressed, but, hey…ya gotta do what ya gotta do. (I paid Doc back in cash.)

After fuelling, I parked the bike and removed some layers of clothing. It felt so very good to go inside the store to cool down. I bought some cold drinks and extra water for later. I already learned my lesson from the Tulip Festival ride about staying hydrated and I sure didn’t want to take a chance on losing control of my bike brought on by the heat.

We spent a little too long there, but I needed that time to recoup. I don’t handle the heat very well. We got back onto the highway and soon we were joined by a couple of bikers. They rode staggered with us for a while and then pulled out to pass. When they pulled back in we rode behind them for awhile. The two of them were approaching an exit and just as he passed the exit, she left the freeway. He pulled over and came to an abrupt stop…..surprised by her sudden maneuver. We just kept riding shaking our heads and laughing.
A short time later I signaled that I was leaving the freeway at a rest area. (One problem of drinking so much fluid) We pulled in to a shady spot to park. Once again I peeled out of my outer gear. I was having difficulty with the heat. I’m sure I have a picture courtesy of doc…..it shows how awful I felt.
While we were there, the man from that biker couple pulled into the rest stop followed a short time later by the woman. It turned out to be mother and son. They had a good laugh and a bit of head shaking about mishap on the freeway. We chatted with them and several other folks while we were there. I started to feel better again so we geared up and headed out.
To the best of my recollection the rest of the day was uneventful. I suppose when you’re riding and touring, and uneventful day is a good thing.
We eventually got to Redding and found our way to an Amerihost hotel. Someone had suggested that this was a good place to go because it was fairly new and had a swimming pool.
We checked in and unloaded our gear and baggage. They allowed us to leave our bikes right outside the door along with a custom looking Harley also parked out there. While we were looking at the custom bike, the owner came by. Now if you were to go on looks alone, I would not want to meet that guy in a dark lonely alley. He was big and tough looking. However, he was friendly and was there with his wife and kids. He rode while his wife drove the truck.
Nice hotel….bad timing….the hotel was full of kids….running everywhere…yelling in the hallways….slamming doors. There were so many kids in the pool, going for a swim was out of the question. It turned out there was some skating competition in town which was why there were so many kids. Sheesh…..who would have thought…I picked my travel time to coincide with kids IN school so that I can have an adult vacation. When I travel again, I will ask before I check in if there is a kid’s convention or not.

Once we got out stuff to our respective rooms and got freshened up, we went in search of supper. There was a Black Bear nearby so we walked over. If you’re hungry and you’re looking for decent food, this place has it. In fact the portions were too big for me, so when we came upon another of these restaurants, I ordered the senior size.

We never could get into the pool area. The parents of the kids let them commandeer the area until late and the hotel worker there was powerless to do anything about it. So, instead of getting in a swim, I went to my room to wind down and try to get to sleep.

In the morning, after breakfast, we took out bikes to a coin operated bike wash. The bikes were sure dirty again from having been riding in the rain. Once we got out bikes cleaned, we went to another motorcycle shop to see if they could install the exhaust gasket. They said no. Crumb…..why is so hard to get someone to help a traveller in need. We then went back to the hotel to pack up our gear and while we were outside, I got someone to take out picture. Doc was ready to go while I was still goofing off. I sensed some irritation on his part, but hey….I’m on holiday…..I can’t hurry.

We finally got everything packed and stowed and headed to the freeway. We had a couple of stops planned along the way so we decided a shorter distance might be in order. We planned for Medford, Oregon.
More later and pics as well.

The first pic is the one I talked about. I was suffering from the heat and it showed. I felt so lousy I didn't even care about the picture being taken. After getting rehydrated and laying on the grass in the shade for a bit, I felt better.



Here is the bike and me at Berkely with my new bag after my famous blue crate jumped ship.



Here we are getting ready to load up for the next leg of our journey. It's quite amazing how much stuff you can pack onto a motorcycle. The stuff on the luggage trolley behind Doc's bike is all ours.



We had just come back from washing the bikes at a coin op car wash place. So now that all the dirt and salt from the coastal air was washed off, we loaded up to head through Shasta. We decided to make a side trip to the Shasta Dam.


And here is my blue star with Mount Shasta in the background.


To be continued.........

Redding California to Medford Oregon

Before we left Redding went to a motorcycle dealer to see if we cold get the exhaust gasket installed. They turned me down. So, we left town to look for another shop on the way. I spied a Yamaha dealer on a frontage road and made for the exit. I went into the service department to inquire, but the place was deserted. I then inquired with the main part of the business but they suggested I had to wait for the service guy who was outside goofing around with a quad. When he finally came back to the service area and found out what I needed, he told me no.
So far, I have not been impressed with the level of helpfulness in California.
Doc and I left the shop and made our way to the highway. The terrain and climate began to change after awhile which was a relief for me. We were getting into some more interesting sights with mountains and trees. Soon the vista of Mount Shasta was visible in the distance. Although it does look more spectacular in winter, it still was a sight to see. We rode through the little town of Shasta. It was a quirky little town. It looked like it had some nice areas, but mostly it looked like it was a forgotten place.

We wanted to stop for lunch somewhere, but neither one of us felt inclined to eat at the only choice of a restaurant there. We stopped at an automotive parts place on the way out to purchase a special tool so Doc could change the exhaust gasket himself.

After leaving the dam viewpoint and the town of Shasta behind, we got back onto the highway to go find a place to exit for lunch. It wasn’t long before I saw a sign for something that looked interesting so I signaled to make the next exit. We found ourselves in an area that made me think of novels I have read. We parked in front of an establishment called The Basshole. It was a pub/restaurant/pool hall all in one. As a bonus, there was a coin laundry across the road and a shady place to park the bikes. (Doc has been mentioning he is getting desperate to find a place to do laundry, so this looked like the best of everything here.)

We went inside and were told we could sit anywhere. We chose a place near a window so we could keep an eye on our loaded bikes. There were only a few people inside and it seemed like a great find to be here. It was cool and quiet inside. Alas…it didn’t stay that way. Just as we were looking through the menu someone fired up the stereo system. The music was so loud we had to shout. Then a few more folks arrived and the partying around the pool tables began. I think Doc could read my mind. He asked if I wanted to get out of there. I said yes. I knew if I stayed there I would have a terrible headache by the time I left.
We got geared up again and rode towards the freeway, but suddenly Doc pointed for me to go under the freeway and go to the Subway. I looked at him with ?????
We went around the corner and sure enough, there was a Subway. I asked him how he knew there was one there. He told me because he saw the Shell Station he was sure there would be a Subway attached. At that point we didn’t care what we had for lunch. We just wanted to stop and get something. So, we parked our bikes in the shade to cool off and went inside to get a bit to eat. Doc had a huge sub with the works, but I ordered just a salad. The clerk couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that I didn’t want any meat. No thank you. I just want vegetables. He built my salad for me just the way I asked and it was thoroughly enjoyable. We finished our food inside where it was air conditioned before heading back outside into the heat. By now the bikes had cooled off enough so that Doc could try his hand at fixing the gasket. Given that he is not a mechanic and had never done this before, it took him a whopping ten minutes to do the job.
It kind of makes you wonder why nobody at the bike shops would help me. It would have taken an experienced person 5 minutes, tops, to do the job.

Once he got the exhaust pipe tightened up again, (and I had drank yet another large drink) we got back to the highway. Yep….it wasn’t long before I signaled to leave the highway for another rest stop. That’s the problem with having to drink so much to keep hydrated. It means extra pit stops.
It is worth mentioning that before we left for this road trip, there were many naysayers about traveling on a motorcycle at this time of year. My original plan was to go to Calgary, but Doc was the biggest naysayer of all. I finally said, “OK” “OK”. Let’s head straight south then. Thus it was agreed to go south instead of east.
Before we left Redding, Doc was once again worrying. He was concerned about making it through the Cascade/Siskiyou’s. I looked at the sky and decided he was out to lunch. 
I suggested that since it had been so dry and hot that we would be fine. He kept thinking we might hit snow. Thus it went like this for the whole trip.
Me: “We could have gone to Calgary, you know.”
Doc: “I’m sorry. I talked you out of Calgary.”
Later……
Doc: “I sure would have loved to see my daughter and grandson.”
Me: “We could have gone to Calgary, you know” “But you didn’t want to take a chance.”
Doc: “I know. I shouldn’t have said anything to you.”
Me: “It’s not too late” We could go there now.”
We bantered about it the whole trip….good naturedly, of course. You see, I am of a mind, that if I go somewhere and the weather or road conditions get bad, I have no problem turning around and going back.

Anyway, we carried on toward Medford through some of the most awesome roads you will ever have the opportunity to ride. I had never ridden better than I did on this stretch of highway. It was several miles of twisty roads going up and then several miles of twisty roads going down into Medford. I rode that highway like I had been there a hundred times. It was such a good feeling to find that “sweet spot” so to speak and take every curve with ease. I often had to slow down to wait for Doc to catch up. I can usually see his head light in my rear view mirror but when I lose sight of it, I slow down. At one point I pulled over to the side of the road to wait for him. I had lost sight of him for quite some time. I sat there on the side of the road for awhile and was beginning to think something bad had happened. I was at the point where I about to go back when I finally saw his headlight coming in the distance. I waited for him to catch up and we set off together once more.

Later on Doc commented on how great I was riding. I felt very good about that coming from a 30 year veteran of riding.
As we got closer to Medford, the traffic increased. We were riding staggered for a while, but suddenly Doc was not behind me again. I kept riding because I knew he would eventually catch up. He not only caught up, but he pulled up beside me and gestured to take the next exit. We then left the freeway where doc took the lead and suddenly veered into a driveway. He got off his bike and started swearing and pacing back and forth. I asked him what was wrong. He was so worked up I thought I had done something. Finally he calmed down enough to tell me. There had been a truck tailgating him and mirroring his every move. The truck driver would not let Doc get away from him. Doc was feeling the stress of the truck driver potentially doing something harmful.

Where we veered off happened to be right beside a coffee kiosk. We bought ourselves some café latte’s to allow some cooling off time for Doc. Even though it was now dark and we still had to find a place to stay for the night, it was more important for Doc to collect himself. I think the kibitzing with the cute coffee girl helped him.  We went to a mall nearby to find a washroom before looking for a motel. It’s a good thing we did. It took us an hour of riding around in the dark to find the place we had spotted from the freeway.
At one point, Doc said to me, “Go that way.”
I turned to him and asked,”What way?”
He was still feeling testy. I had turned the wrong way.
He: “Didn’t you hear me?”
Me:”You didn’t tell me which way and then the light turned green. I had to go.”
Doc: “I pointed.”
Me: “Well, I couldn’t see your arm in the dark.”
Doc: “I pointed right in front of you.”
Me: “You are wearing a black jacket and black gloves. I couldn’t see your arm in the dark.”
Eventually we found our way to a Motel 6. As soon as we pulled up in front, a man came over to talk to us. He turned out to be a bike fanatic/collector. He owns 14 bikes. Doc made his escape to register us for two rooms while I was left to talk to this guy. When Doc came back out we bade him good bye and took our stuff to our rooms. Once we got unloaded, we doubled on his bike to go for a bit to eat. It’s funny how we keep ending up near a Black Bear. It was close enough to walk, but Doc wasn’t feeling like doing any walking. It saved us a few minutes to ride there.
Dinner was good, and as usual, there are people around who like to chat. When we mentioned that we were visiting here, several people in the vicinity offered suggestions as to what to do and see in Medford. In particular the slightly mentally challenged fellow behind me. He couldn’t tell me enough about his job at the pear packing plant. He was so proud of his job, I couldn’t ignore him and hurt his feelings, so I let him ramble and thanked him for his information about visiting the pear packing plant.
We left the restaurant to go back to the hotel….and who do you think was there still walking around? Yup…the bike nut from before. He was still feeling chatty but because it was late, we cut it short. We all said our good byes’ and went to our respective rooms.

I have mentioned before the problems I have with smoke. Although this was supposed to be a non smoking place, I could tell that people had been smoking in the room. It was too late to go find something else so I opened a window and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, because in the morning I did not feel well. I had a hard time getting started because of feeling unwell. We finally got packed and checked out. We got instructions to a coin laundry that happened to have a restaurant close by. By the time we got the laundry organized and breakfast over, I was starting to feel a bit better. However, due to the delay in the morning, we changed our minds about seeing things in Medford. We decided to go to Crater Lake instead.

Next ….the Rogue River, Rogue Forest, Crater Lake, Bend.

Pics to come…..

A stop in the forest after leaving Medford via the Rogue Forest.



Proof I was there.



Last stop before the lake.



Sometimes I had my doubts that we were still travelling the right way. It seemed like we were climbing and riding to nowhere.

Suddenly we were out of the winding roads in the dark of the forest and out into the open. The first view of Crater Lake is awe inspiring. The scene is so beautiful it will take your breath away. My teeny little picture does not do it justice.



We could have spent all day there. It was so breathtakingly beautiful I couldn't get enough.


Another tourist offered to take our picture. We didn't bother to correct them when they thought they were offering to take a "romantic" photo for us. It happens so frequently, that we gave up explaining we're just friends.



Another of me and a view.....


Our time there was limited due to needing to get to Bend before dark. If a person has the time one can drive the whole circumfrance of the rim. We had to cut it short and ride only about a third. We took the road that led us down and out of the park. It was so windy on that side it was hard to keep the bike upright. Once we made it down to a slightly lower elevation the wind was calm.

This next picture is form a brief stop at the pumice desert. The whole area is volcanic and from past eruptions, what looks like a desert of sand is in fact pumice.



More later......

I took the above picture when I was waiting for Doc. I think this occasion may be one of the reasons he wants us to have a 2-way radio for the next trip.

He was busy yakking with some people and not paying attention to my suggestion that we get going, so I got on my bike and just took a quick ride back to the entrance where we came in. It was about 10 seconds away. I rode up to the top and back to see if I could get a different view and then rode back. Toal time elapsed....maybe 2 minutes.

I rode back and Doc was gone.

So, I rode towards the direction we were planning to go. I rode for along way and never did see him, so I rode back to the last place we were. Nope! Not there. So, I rode back again to leave...stopping to take the above picture. I decided to stop and wait. I figured he would eventually come by and it was probably better for me to stay still in one spot. Several minutes later I saw him riding back. We had a bit of a laugh over that one. This was the third time we had something like this happen. Twice for this trip and once when we road the Cacade Loop Ride.

How was I supposed to know he would get on his bike and start riding away. He was busy yakking.

Next stop...Bend.....in the dark after all.