Everything went fine until we sailed into the path of a foreign submarine. I tell ya, nobody respects boundaries anymore. You know that saying.....Ignore it and it will go away? It's true.
I did it! I did it! I reached the Oregon Coast in spite of the fact that my toes were minutes from freezing. I spent my first night in Salem. I was going to try to reach Eugene but as I was passing through Salem in the dark of early evening, I noticed that when I placed my hand on my brake lever it was coated with frozen fog. I stopped at the nearest hotel and crashed....I mean I stopped for the day. I waited the next morning until the roads looked safe. It was so beautiful beside the road as all the trees and bushes were coated with ice. There was no place to safely stop to take a picture of that. The only thing that
had no ice was the road. Hmmm. If you are wondering what that strange spot on my naval area is, the one that is the same colour as this font? I'll tell you...I don't know. It may be a drop of water on my lens. On the other hand I did receive some shrapnel from the submarine incident. Whatever.
had no ice was the road. Hmmm. If you are wondering what that strange spot on my naval area is, the one that is the same colour as this font? I'll tell you...I don't know. It may be a drop of water on my lens. On the other hand I did receive some shrapnel from the submarine incident. Whatever.
Rollin' down the highway lookin' down down down....
Before I left Vancouver Island a friend said to me, "It's time to stop talking about it and just DO IT!" He was talking about himself but it made me think. I do that sometimes. I'm fifty six and my bracket for adventure is getting smaller. We had just watched "The Long Way Down". Ewen McGregor and Charlie Gorman ride BMWs the length of Africa. I was stoked. This amuses me because riding from Victoria to the tip of the Baja is tame compared to what they did. But I'm not into sand traps, military escorts and political issues with film crews. However this is an epic journey for me because although I dreamed about it, I felt as though it might never happen. My friend was right. You have to "Just Do It!"
Day five I find myself waking up at Bodego Bay, not too far north of San Fransisco. Since Reedsport I have been following first the 101 highway and then I chose the Highway of Giants. On a scale of one to ten I would give this road a ten for beauty. That would make my previous tens on Vancouver Island a nine. Sorry girls. I have to say that if you are in the habit of puking on road trips, or trying to get somewhere in a hurry, do NOT use this highway. The road wanders through the giant Redwoods. I could have continued on down the 101 as it is a faster route and I was feeling coolish. So I chose the winding coastal road which was several degrees warmer and I was able to peel off one layer of clothing.
Last night was amazing. As the sun said goodnight, the sky turned an orangey pink colour. As the daylight winked it's last I found myself smiling as I surfed the curves. The big moon on my left casting it's magic on the ocean waves to my right. There was little traffic to break the spell I found myself in. I felt like I was in the hand of the Master of yo-yos and He was off to my right casting me away and then drawing me back over and over again. If I had been a little less tired I would have carried on. I don't normally like to ride at night but because of the moon I feel I didn't miss a thing. I recommend this road to all my friends who love motorcycles and moonlighting.
Last night was amazing. As the sun said goodnight, the sky turned an orangey pink colour. As the daylight winked it's last I found myself smiling as I surfed the curves. The big moon on my left casting it's magic on the ocean waves to my right. There was little traffic to break the spell I found myself in. I felt like I was in the hand of the Master of yo-yos and He was off to my right casting me away and then drawing me back over and over again. If I had been a little less tired I would have carried on. I don't normally like to ride at night but because of the moon I feel I didn't miss a thing. I recommend this road to all my friends who love motorcycles and moonlighting.
One section of 30 miles took 90 minutes or more to ride. I would say that I did not reach 25 mph more than twice. These signs are accurate, unlike in other places I have ridden. When it says 10 mph do not go 15 mph. On the sharpest corners there were many deep gouges in the road where motorcyclists had to lean too far because of their speed, so their pegs scooped pavement. I saw scores that could have been 2 cm deep.
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The Things People Believe...Sunday, Dec 11
Speeding down the 5 lane highway I was reflecting on the strange things that people do or believe. For instance, the posted speed limits have the same effect on liscenced drivers as the "No Running on Deck" signs that are posted around childrens pools. There I was, trapped in the centre lane forced to fly at break-neck speeds in the dark, rain lashing at my visor, truck draft batting my bike, pavement grooves jerking at my tires. Though the sign said "Speed Limit 55", and my speedometer said 80, I still felt like I was in danger of becoming American toe jam. And all because I missed the turn off. Actually, the Highway 15 suddenly turned into 195 and 15 just plain old disappeard. I turned back, checked my map, stopped three times to ask locals about where this highway was hidden. People looked at me dumbfounded and said, "Ya, that's strange!" So I kept going and one highway led to another and I thought if I generally kept going in a southeastern direction I could avoid the big city. Wrong. I ended up streamlining through San Bernardino in the dark and it wasn't pretty. I kept hearing this horrific noise along with the noisy traffic clammer. I finally realized it was coming from inside my helmet. I didn't realize that I could scream that loud.......No, I have no picture of this. |
My point is that people believe that a speed limit will stop folks from speeding. People also believe that Starbucks makes a good cup of coffee. There is a group of people that are hard core Starbucks customers. I used to be. But I am afraid that Serious Coffee and Mirage, both Vancouver Island Coffee shops make the best deep, full bodied coffee that I have ever consumed. I miss it, however in some little towns you can find the locally owned coffee merchants that really know how to make a great Americano. I had one here in Cambria just as I was leaving the coastal road. You have to believe that there is always a better cup of coffee somewhere and if you do, you just may find it.
Dances With Seagulls
"Do you really think I'm beautiful? Then I'll come a little closer."
I have been known to take pictures of seagulls. Ok, too many photos of seagulls I've been told. 'They are pests, scavengers. 'Why are you taking pictures of them then?' I have hundreds of them but I still have to take my camera out whenever I see them.
When I first met my daughter-in-law I asked her why she liked the common daisy. They stink and they are a noxious weed. Where they grow, often nothing else will grow. She said she felt sorry for them because nobody liked them, so she decided that she would. I liked that.
I stopped just outside of San Fransisco and enjoyed playing with these gulls. All I had was a few almonds but they decided the nuts were worth fighting for. As in "Nemo" they were all yammering, "Mine! Mine! Mine!"
When I first met my daughter-in-law I asked her why she liked the common daisy. They stink and they are a noxious weed. Where they grow, often nothing else will grow. She said she felt sorry for them because nobody liked them, so she decided that she would. I liked that.
I stopped just outside of San Fransisco and enjoyed playing with these gulls. All I had was a few almonds but they decided the nuts were worth fighting for. As in "Nemo" they were all yammering, "Mine! Mine! Mine!"
I seem to have traded the salty ocean for a desert flooded with fresh water. It rained so hard on the way to Pheonix that I couldn't take out my camera. I have been so thankful for the rain suit that I purchased at the BMW shop in Langford. Light, comfortable and definitely waterproof. It was a torture test and the outfit passed with flying colours. I splashed into Pheonix on the 13th in the dark, made my way through the maze of roads in the Sun Lakes Boulevard and pulled up in the driveway of my friends, Bob and Ruth Balisky. They kindly took me in and hung me out to dry. I need a rest so I plan on staying here for awhile before carrying on down the Baja. I have been invited to house sit for them while they go on a Christmas holiday with family. I just may do that and might even ride out to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I will keep you posted.
Everyone knows that Canadians come here for R&R in the winter. They come for the sunny skies and warm temperatures. For me it is a pause, a rest and a visit with friends before the most appealing part of my road trip. So I don't mind that it has been raining off and on since I came. I am only too glad that I am into one layer of clothing only. As for Pippa (one of her many names given to her because men think she is beautiful) she is happily under a roof with her new friend the Vulcan.
As many times as I have driven past the cotton fields, I have never actually stepped into one and had a close up of the plants themselves. These are cotton pods and below is how it looks when the pod bursts. The fluff hangs on the bush until it is picked. It feels just like the swabs we get in packages in the store. It's simple things like this that fascinate me. The cotton I touched could be used for anything, from q-tips to Santa's beard, or a shirt that some person I don't know will be wearing in a few weeks. But this cotton will be used to remove the polish from my toes.
"You're going to WHAT???"
The focus here is not the man in the chair, thus I have cut his head in half. As well, the focus here is not the nonchalant position he maintains to disguise his extreme fear. His hands express self control and calm acceptance. Although unfocused, the main focus here is the overly large syringe on the table in front of the submissive gentleman in the chair. Note the thickness of the needle and the bend in it. Note the quantity of fluid therein and the length of the syringe itself. Note to self..."Get the H____ out of here!" But I had to wait for my friend whom I had to drive home from the Mexican dentist after an unexpected surgery and an implant. If this picture was me, I'm afraid that to the right of the beige table would be a a rather large wet spot. My hands would be clamped to the chair like cactus on a Mexican cows behind. What....you've never seen that?
School is Just a Word For Life.
A person is never too old to learn something. However we can make ourselves so busy that often we do not stop to meditate about what we learned, or to even realize that we did learn something. Some people allow themselves to continue on a repetitive flow of life so that there are never any rocks to navigate around, or rapids to ford. They may never be confronted with a waterfall of an experience that will scare the shit out of them. These are the elements of life that change people. If you eliminate TV and security from your life there will always be experiences and people who will put you back in school. This is all relative to who you are. I like to think of it as art school. Some people enjoy pastel lives, deepen the yellows a little and their paint brush will begin to shake. Others need thick bright strokes of Lime and purple with a wide brush to enhance their canvas of life. I paint my life with a medium brush of varied colours and enjoy watching others use the bright reds. In the quiet moments, contemplating the next stroke on my canvas I am discovering new things about myself. I have to be brave because I want everyone to like my painting but I know that not everyone will. But this one will be mine, not what the teacher told me to paint.
I am technologically challenged so when I started this site I thought I was creating a blog when in reality I was making a website. That is why you cannot comment on the first 2 pages. the third page is the blog. From now on I will be posting everything on the "Bike Blog" page. I am almost caught up with myself and then I will be posting some photos of rides I have been doing around Phoenix while I am waiting for my friend to be ready for the ride to the southern end of the Baja. Tap tap tap....toe tapping, arms folded, shaking head. Hurry up Mike!
House of a different colour.
This house reminds me of myself a couple of years ago. To all outward appearances everything is fine, A few hints of something not quite right. Generally approachable.... however.........there is nobody home.
I seem to be finding my people now. Does that scare anyone?
This house reminds me of myself a couple of years ago. To all outward appearances everything is fine, A few hints of something not quite right. Generally approachable.... however.........there is nobody home.
I seem to be finding my people now. Does that scare anyone?