SF to Canada to Indy on my ebay 1100E

[artbone]

Day 2 and 3 - Into each ride, some rain must fall.

After breakfast the next morning as I was loading the bike it started raining. As those of you who have ridden Hwy 1 know, the next 30 miles or so are some of the twistiest parts. As we rode, the rain got harder until it was a downpour. With an unfamiliar, fully loaded bike, two up, in a driving rain on very twisty roads, I was well outside my comfort zone. We passed a sign for a town 15 miles ahead and it seemed to take an hour to get there. When we finally stopped for gas I asked the guy at the station where the nearest UHaul place was and he said it was right down the road.

The guys there helped me load the GS in a small truck and we were on our way. As it turned out, we would have probably been fine going on as the road straightened out in just a few miles and the rain slacked off a bit but we didn't know that and, to tell the truth, I was ready to get off.

I can usually come to grips with a new motorcycle quickly but, with the weather, something weird in the handling, worry about the electrical system, the load, and worrying about CJ, it wasn't happening in this case. I knew I needed to take these problems one at the time instead of all at once.

We made it as far as Crescent City where we had a great meal at a place right on the water and found an old-fashioned motel with little cabins under the redwoods and crashed for the night.

The next day things looked much brighter.



As we were riding along in the comfort of the dry warm truck CJ decided she had enjoyed about as much fun as she could handle for now and that I could drop her off at the airport in Portland and she would see me when I got to Kingston, Ont. I thought that was a pregnant idea. I was having bike problems and didn't need wife problems to go along with that.

We spent the night at a friend's house in Portland and I dropped CJ at the airport the next morning. My faithful Zumo led me straight over to the UHaul place the next morning and I had a new challenge. The truck I rented had no ramp and the people at the office had no interest in helping me get the bike out. What to do; what to do?

I got out my trusty International Norton Owner club "Parts, Service, and Membership Guide" that I carry on all trips and soon had a very nice man named Les arrive with his ramp and help me get the big heavy beast off the truck. Membership really does have it's privileges.

I bought him lunch for his help and was soon on my way toward Vancouver.

(to be continued)

[artbone]

Canada, at last.

After getting back on the road in Portland I finished the day somewhere north of Seattle in a cheap Motel 6. The next day I spent an hour or so making a double connector so I could hook up a volt meter and my GPS and was soon on my way. I crossed the border east of Vancouver at a station out in the country and was soon on the Trans Canada headed east. I decided to spend the night in Lumby where we've had a couple of Norton rallies. I stayed at the same hotel I stayed in during the rallies and had a few beers in the same bar we all drank in right next to the hotel.

I found that small towns are a lot more fun if there's about 500 Norton people there; when it's just locals, not so much. The next morning I had to back-track to Vernon to get back on Canada 1. Since I was in a fair sized city I decided to stop at a Suzuki shop and have the carbs synchronized. I found a place and the owner said, since I was traveling, they would fit me in ASAP. While I waited I chatted with a cute little blonde girl who worked in the shop. She races an SV 650 and said she won her class, I believe for the last two years. I should have got a picture of her but, instead I got one of the mechanic. He's not nearly as cute as her.


I finally got out of town and headed east, well, generally east, but mostly north at this point. I made it to Sicamous where I was turned around and sent back about 25 miles because of a flood that washed out the only bridge. I didn't mind, it was a beautiful day, just the right temperature, and the bike was running great. I stopped at a pond where ducks were swimming and took a few pictures.






I was trying for some arty effects here with my new camera, a Canon G12. I darkened it up as much as I could and got close enough to the bike to use the flash. I was pleased with how it came out.

In Revelstoke I decided I had had enough for the day so I went looking for a hotel (cheap) and food. I was amazed that a town that looked like a tourist town only had one restaurant except for fast food. It was very nice, the service was great, the waitress was charming and allowed me to use their wi-fi to find a hotel with my steak was being prepared. While I was eating two more bikers came in. After I finished and paid I stopped by their table to see where they were going and got into a conversation. they were two brother, one from Washington and one from Vancouver, and they were out on a week long bike trip, just riding wherever they decided to go. Very nice guys. They were impressed with my old GS. They couldn't believe I had just jumped on it and took off. I had a couple of beers with them and headed to my cheap hotel.

That's one of the things I like about traveling alone. It forces me to strike up conversations with people I wouldn't if I was with another person. I like to talk to people and hear their stories and I do it a lot more when I'm riding by myself.

(to be continued)