July.23-27.2009As it turns out, riding a motorcycle for full days on end is completely awesome! Whoa! I simply had no idea. Motorcycling is fun. Traveling in fun. But who thought the combination would be so perfect!?!?
Up up up the coast. Stayed in some nice campgrounds, and met interesting people.
Here are some highlights:
Having dinner with a perfect stranger at the Ilwaco KOA just on the border of Washing. He pulled up at the same time into the 'Dunes' KOA. The managers had the foresight it seems to placed in adjacent campsites. My new buddy was traveling on a pretty BMW sport touring bike. He was a tall guy and the bike fit him perfect. The seat literally rested between my navel and pecs! (I'll keep to the little blaster master I think!)
After setting up camp, we still had all our riding gear on....and since it was only 3:30 in the after noon, we hoped back on the bikes and went foraging for food. That was pretty fun. I'd never ridden with another person before! I'm going to have to get a little pack together when finally back in NYC! In truth, I was a little embarresed riding around with my gear 'shit-rigged' to the bike. Many of the other tourers were husband and wife pairs riding big Honda Goldwings or the like. Everybody talks about the same stuff though. Tires, gas, the heat or the cold. Big fairings or little fairings. That was nice.
The ride up the coast it self was amazing. The northern coast is alien and severe. Steep mountains fall straight into the largest ocean in the world. Then nearly all the beaches have small upsets of land jetting out. Little galapigos islands that seemingly refused to submit to the relentless sea. As small as car, to as large as bank buildings in down town NYC. And as the coast streaches on for hundreds and hundreds of miles, you realize the few of these rocks which have be highlighted in nature books for various reasons, not only aren't unique, simply are not the close to the most amazing natural structures on the coast! Giant Arches unbelievably balanced over the sea, toped with dirt somehow, with grass fields and even trees!
The weather was fairly cold all the way up the coast. At one point feeling the lost of my beloved Red Woods(rode the Ave. Of the Giants 4 times!), I decided on a suggestion of a couple I met that morning to head into Oregon towards Creater Lake. The pass turned right into the deepest section of the Red Woods Nation Park. There would be national campgrounds to sleep in....and hopefully a perfect 55mile good bye to the beloved trees!
Camp ground after campground wound up being full. Panther Flats, Grassy Flats, even Grassy Flats lodge comicaly had no room at the inn. So I decided to head through the park, into Oregon and find a motel or something. As soon as I got through the tunnel on the north east side of the park I was greated with 'loosely paved roads', and scourching heat. Later at the bar across from the RV park I camped at, I discovered it was 105! Not just that. It seems this was just the first or second day of a projected 2 week heat wave! WHAT?!?
I did the only respecable thing a guy could do. I drank myself into a stooper, and was in bed alseep by 7pm! (The bar itself is a good story also!) By 8am the next morning it was already into the 90s, and I could not have gotten out of there fast enough. Back through the park(so wonderful!) and back to the safty and cool of the coast! Putting on all my gear to stay warm in the 45-60s is was on the coast was at least do-able. I don't know how people ride motorcycles in that heat. Hell, I don't even think my little air cooled engine could handle much above 80! And how are the tires rated? Can my little Pirelli's withstand 190deg blacktop?!?
Some where between Coos Bay and Ilwaco I saw the greatest sign in the history of people. It was too hot to stop and take a picture, so I will share the image I took in my mind:
40foot tall sign, like a gas station off an interstate. Quite large. Smack in the middle of this town(where I ate at Pig'n Pancakes). The sign was oval and tall. White, yellow trim, and a dark black border. In such a small town, this thing was set against the sky and was pretty un-ignorable from any vantage point in a 2 mile radius I would say. The image in siloette against the while background, was two adults, a mother and father. The middle siloette was of thier child, gender unspecific. The scene was that of love and protection. Pretty good since there's not alot you can do with a siloette. Under this icon of loving and protecting parents was this message in GIANT print:
"Porn Hurts Everyone."
OMG! So amazing. I mean. I get the message. Child porn = not cool. But seriously folks?! How much child porn is happening in your town of 500 residents?! Is that really going to stop the one dude who is probably going to do it anyway? Ha! But there is was. Everyday. On the way to the grocery store, to get gas, to take the grandchildren to freaking Pig'n Pancakes. Porn. Right in your face. Who is going to see that sign and not think of porn? People are awesome.
My next post will probably be from Seattle. Going to gear up there. Try and find a slightly better solution to getting everything on and off this bike which is currently taking me no less than 1 1/2 hours every morning! ug!
Ride safe everyone!
