Day 04 San Fran

2:30pm
Finally had the burger I've been craving! I'm in Willits California. About 210 kms from Eureka. So far it’s been the best driving I've had! Scattered rain, a bit of wind and a healthy dose of SUN! Probably for about half the ride so far. Went thru the "Avenue of Giants" Redwood national park, it was AMAZING silky smooth roads winding around the giant redwoods, beautiful & fun! It was still sprinkling when I was there but I made a few stops anyway and met a bunch of girls from Courtenay heading for a music fest outside Palm Springs, was nice to chat, however briefly, with some fellow islanders! The ride from the redwoods was good, except for 1 moron from Washington who was driving a suzuki sport ute & thought he was in the Indy 500 & a dufus in a delivery truck who almost tipped in the twisties....... LOSERS! Anyway I'm told I’m about 4 hours from San Fran, gonna hit rush hour.......Hope the weather holds this has been nice! Tempted to take off the things I hate wearing most, rain boot covers, but wet boots would suck worse than those nasty things, so I'll hold off! K, back on the road to San Fran!

4pm
Well I'm too hot, a good problem right now. Gotta stop & take some stuff off, freaking rain boots first!!!!!!!!! Closer I get to san fran the worse idiot drivers I'm seeing! One crazy chick passed me eating a sandwich & talking on the phone weaving in & out of traffic at about 150k just gassed up & these silly pay at the pumps want a zip code, gotta go in & the young lady didn't even get off the phone, just took my cc........ Time waster had to pump & then go back & pay! I'm stripping down at the gas pump in Hillsburg, next stop san fran, so I asked a gentleman what my eta would be & we got into a brief chat, I’m pleasantly surprised how helpful & friendly everyone I’ve met has been, I guess Vancouver has jaded me? Anyway turns out Adam is a sales manager at a VERY cool sounding winery & suggested when we do our anniversary trips we contact him for a stopover in the Sonoma valley, sounds good to me!! Wonder how rush hour will be on the golden gate bridge?

5:30pm
AWESOME is all I can say, I’m standing on a hill overlooking the Golden gate bridge, San Fran, the harbor & surrounding area, it is breathtaking….. The road up here was unbelievable twisty & the view was worth it. I made better time than I expected, it was AWESOME to not fumble around my pegs with those annoying rain boot covers, much more relaxing to not have them on, the weather is fantastic, hope it holds! Part of my “made better time” was in part due to a friendly trucker who leaned out the window & said “hey Canada, you can run the center line when traffic stops here, it’s OK…” so I did, was very careful but people actually made room, it was very cool & got me thru in record time! After taking some pics I crossed the bridge, you’ll notice a couple of one handed while I was moving photo’s, don’t do this at home, I’m a trained professional, you’ll be able to tell that by the slanted pics, LOL! And for my daily excitement, there’s a TOLL, surprise… guess who doesn’t have a bridge pass & guess who has no cash… A guy on the hill told me to run it & they’d either give me a freebie or mail me a bill for $5. We’ll see if I get a bill! Got to my hotel met Paul Polk of Paul Polk construction ( there’s your plug Paul, thanks for the directions!! ) & Ricky at Super 8 who gave me an AWESOME deal on a hot tub room, he’s gotta be psychic my body really needs it! Great meeting you guys! I’m gonna try to get some more pics at fisherman’s Wharf & grab some food, be back later! I’m lovin it, hope you guys are too!Hey ,Corner Gas is on US TV!!!

Day 03 photos

Day 03 cont'd Coos Bay to Eureka

6:00pm
Mother Nature took one final shot today, about 6 miles outside Eureka California the wind came screeching in with hail……. AGAIN! But I’m here at the super 8 & even earlier than I thought, progress?After my awesome lunch I got back on the road, immediately I was passed going the other way by cops & ambulances, wow, glad I wasn’t wherever they were going. I’m not surprised though that drive this morning was NASTY!!! I actually saw a guy in worse shape than me, on a bicycle, got blown clear over the cliff… LOL, actually some of his stuff got blown over he was fine, if pissed off, soaked, cold & 20 miles from shelter is considered fine?I headed south on the 101 & soon the rain started again & the wind, sadly my hands were only warm for about 5 minutes, only the liners actually dried by the fire, but 5 minutes was better than nothing!I hit the California border quicker than I thought, I was REALLY raining, didn’t realize Pelican Bay State Prison was on the northern Cali coast, shoulda stopped for a warm meal & bed as right about there the hail started again, big stuff & it was hitting hard glad I had my armor, full face & windshield! I got gas at the first stop I found, the only have 91 0ctane in California? Dude at the station was helpful & friendly, suggested some good stops after Eureka.Got back on the road, rain was heavy, but the roads were decent, it’s funny how not being inches from a 500 foot cliff in single lane traffic makes the road feel better?I hit the redwood forest pretty quick, actually past a VW van full of Tofino hippies during the climb. The fog got thick & the hail started again, at least no wind! I was soaked thru & cold but I gotta say the redwoods are pretty spectacular, I got one hail free fog limited stop so shot a few pics & had to move on. The highway comes out high up on the coast & guess what, the wind was back…. Fun!The rest of the way was strong winds in multiple directions, intermittent hail & rain broken up by short bursts of sunlight, it was pretty freaky. So I made it, gonna be on the hairdryer till late trying to dry my stuff, got some pics to upload & then I intend to soak in the tub & hit the sack early. Heading for San Francisco tomorrow, fingers crossed for good weather!!!!I’m beat up, tired & sore but really glad I’m doing this I’m gonna take some awesome stories and pictures away from this & have accomplished quite an a adventure!

Day 03 - back in the saddle

12;30ish PM. OUCH, I just took a mouthful of the HOTTEST hot chocolate I've ever tasted....It’s about 12:30 & I'm at the whales head restaurant, on the highway (it has a cool wood lighthouse statue & an awesome view) they kindly gave me the table by the fire to try to warm up & dry out.Today started late, my ftp upload of my original pics failed last night. The weather was shitty again, lots of rain but a bit warmer, so I thought I'd retry the ftp (it failed again) & see if the rain slowed. The ftp failed & the rain didn't slow so I headed out. Another day another adventure. The roads were ok for 30k or so & I made some good time, so of course Mr. Murphy who MUST be hiding in my saddle bags, chose to rear his NASTY head, my tried & tested "no fog" visor FOGGED! Crap! I think some moisture got into it........ The rain eased a bit so I cracked it open & it was pretty good after that. The next up was the wind, now I've been thru some nasty wind & this was NASTY, but add on narrow windy wet roads along the coast & the fun really gets nut sack snugging & white knuckle sphincter puckering! I was running around 30 kmh ay best & one gust actually pushed me into the oncoming lane, good thing the oncoming logging truck was a ways off, not sure the vulture circling above me was too thrilled with my recovery! I snaked thru a "max 20 mph" gorge with the coast out of sight, but now the wind was swirling. So cracked on my hazard lights, hugged my tank bag & crawled along as far right as I could be in the right lane! I've found for the most part the yanks have been much safer & more courteous drivers ( on this trip at least) so obviously since I survived mother natures wind assisted lane change, Mr. Murphy had to come up with a couple of butt headed tailgaters, on narrow little stretched where I couldn't get out of the way....... One was from Alberta, but that's not the point. I find it hard to believe the cars couldn't see the rain & at least feel the wind? What were they thinking?The rain eased a bit & so did the wind so I stopped for a few photos.There's a lot of time when you're riding to just think & you don't seem to think about stuff that bothers you at work or whatever, your. Mind seems clearer ( perhaps that's just the terror ) I think about the road & the view, the stuff I cannot get pictures of, the ultra windy roads thru heavy green growth of trees and bushes, the twisty coast road, the fact that every second I move forward I'm somewhere I've never been before. I think about Lara & my friends & I hope I can express this well enough to make them feel like they were here too.So the sun peeked thru & I saw this place so I came in. Everyone (as has been the case my whole trip) is very friendly & helpful. They gave me a table by the fire & welcomed me to stay as long as I need to. I had a delicious lunch & a good relax. But my stuff won't dry, its just too wet!My waterproof gloves & jacket could not take the constant beating of wind & rain so are totally soaked thru, but at least they'll be warm!I also think I finally figured out this trip, its one of my life challenges, something I have to accomplish & accomplish by myself.This is an adventure, screw the. Gps, screw the voice recorder (although I will have to make more notes due to my old-timers) but crap, that's life!My hot chocolate is room temperature that I love it, my stuff is warm, I'm gonna take a few photos & make a run for Eureka!

Day 02 photos

I'm having lots of trouble uploading photos to this site. Here are a few from Monday.

-Lara

Day 02

Day 02, wow, I experienced pretty much every emotion today, happy, sad, scared, excited, angry, frustrated, drained etc. Woke up feeling pretty good, got a good sleep, had some breakfast & was off. The weather looked promising, overcast but the sun punching thru.When I got on the road it was dry but COLD, headed for the 22(?) west to the coast from Salem. The sun broke thru & it was nice… until it started snowing, NASTY! It didn’t stick but it was cold & treacherous, the sun broke thru as I got to Lincoln city, that didn’t last, it was snowing again in a few minutes!! I did get some shots today, FINALLY, haven’t checked them out yet gotta eat! Anyway, between Lincoln City & Newport I stopped a bunch of time for pics, the weather changed & extreme changes, every 5 minutes, rain, snow, hail, fog, torrential downpour, glimpse of sun, oh ya & the wind HOLY #$@% the WIND, it was… well actually it was terrifying, even when I slowed to a crawl it almost turned me sideways, now that sounds a bit unpleasant right, now think I’m in windy 2 lane wet roads in some cases 300+ feet of sheer cliff over the teeny guardrail beside me….. Anyway, my gps ( the waterproof Magellan I just got) crapped out, seems water seeped behind the screen somehow (possibly a result of all of the above weather?) should be warranty but I actually need it now (it’s pinned to the wall by a hairdryer right now actually & my fingers are crossed) next my portable recorder croaked, hummmm should I be getting the message? So I gotta go by memory now, sorry my specific photo locations will end up being pretty vague like, ya that one was on the Oregon coast between Nanaimo & Mexico….When the fog hit I was just about at the sea lion cave so pushed on. It was pretty cool, but darker than the T-mens rink, it’s HUGE & there were a couple hundred sea lions staying out of the shitty weather I was to stupid to stay out of….. wow dumber than a sea lion has new meaning?The rain & wind were pounding, the guy at the caves suggested my sanity could be in question if I even attempted Eureka today, It’s about 6 hours from the caves in good weather & after all the rime I lost in the weather it was 4pm by then. I settled on Coos Bay, population 16,000, kinda reminds me of Port Alberni? Anyway I crawled along, cold, soaked & getting beat to crap by the wind, oh ya & the fog was fun too! All of a sudden about 60kms from Coos Bay the weather cleared & the road was dryish, so I cranked it & made a run for Coos. So here I am already a day behind, sore back, waterlogged, cranky & feeling a bit defeated, it wasn’t supposed to be quite this much of an adventure! Yes I am looking in the mirror saying WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, & why for the first time in their lives are the weather people correct (ASSHOLES!!!) Looks like at least one more day of shit weather on the coast, hoping to make Eureka tomorrow, but it’s pretty slow going in the weather!The Wet weather gear really takes it out of you, it’s a chore to take the huge gloves on & off at all the stops, putting all of it on in the morning is a chore, taking it off is a bigger chore especially when it’s wet & wearing it is like being a kid in a snowmobile suit. It drains you, hard to get on and off the bike gotta dry it out every night, dry weather would be so much better & easier to get things accomplished, I’m drained!At least the hotel has a hot tub again, getting lucky with these hotel drop ins! It really is beautiful here, there’s a bunch of pictures I wasn’t able to take due to weather or no where to stop safely on the windy roads, got a few though, let me know what you think, I’ll post them soon.Overall today I’m tired and a bit disappointed, I’d hoped to have more pics by now, but it sure is a forking adventure…..

Day 01 update, so far so good!

A serious long day, left home just before 8am arrived in Salem Oregon 8:30pm....The sun run was going on in Van so the streets were blocked, my GPS would have sworn at me if it could, it kept trying to recacculate a route out of town & running inot road blocks. Finally got on the highway, weather was decent, actually warm in van. Got the border, the canadian guys were buttholes when I was registering my camear gear ( so they couldn't try to chage me duty & tax coming back) so I prepared myself for the Yanks, surprise the Yank was a decent & friendly guy, in fact all the Yanks I've met on this trip have been friendly & helpful, NICE! wether south of the border was a nightmare, cold, rain, snow, hail (much easier to deal with when you got a windshield, but that's another story..) anyway the weather slowed me quiet a bit, hit sun just outside Seattle for about an hour, then the nasty shit hit again,rain, serious wind, snow cold, made it to a litltle town just north of Portland & had genuine mexican food, Oh Ya!!! Headed for Lincoln city but the weather turned worse so I detoured to Salem super 8 has a pool & hot tub, I NEEDED it, back is sore, hammy's holding up OK, ass not so bad either, back's killing me!. Not alot of pics today & I lost a fair bit of time due to weather & the border, I think I'll be 3 days to Yosemite instead of 2? we'll see, tomorrow the photo part begins, hope the weather holds! I'm back on the road at 7am Good night!