Sierra BMW in Sparks, NV didn’t have the gas cap – which as it turns out cannot be replaced by itself but requires a new aluminum ring that it is attached to in the first place. However, he checked the BMW warehouses in the west and said he could place an order with overnight delivery for only 10% more of the order total. The cap assembly is $106 which added $10 to the cost with the grand total, after tax, coming to $126 :-(. Continue reading Reno, NV
Month: August 2009
Rolling again
The four days of down time at Diane’s parents felt good. It gave us a chance to regroup, work on and clean the motorcycles as well as give our bodies a rest. Plus, we got to hook-up with friends and family. We are heading east, over the Sierras and into Nevada.
Scheduled maintenance: Oil changes
Both motorcycles have gone 6k+ miles since the last oil change. We are at Diane’s parents in the bay area so before we arrived I called various BMW dealers to make sure they had the oil and filters we needed to do an oil change. A&S BMW Motorcycles near Sacramento had a special on oil changes – cheaper than if I were to buy the parts myself.
SR-36
California State Route 36 – from Fortuna on the coast to Red Bluff inland. This road is legendary and considered by many one of the best motorcycle roads in California. It has everything, big sweeping turns, technical switchbacks, 180 degree turns along the mountain side. Like SR 96, the road follows every single terrain feature especially on the eastern end where the section is know as the ‘roller coaster’ for the frequent up and downs in the road. Continue reading SR-36
Just riding
No parks. No monuments. Just out for a ride exploring some of the northern California backcountry. Diane did some research this morning and came up with route 96 or the Klamath River Highway. We headed north on IH 5 for maybe 40 miles before taking the 150 mile road to Willow Creek.
Continue reading Just riding
Lava Beds National Monument
Another ‘cold hands’ morning – it was only 43F (6 C). The warm coffee and breakfast felt really good. We left the park around 9:00 heading south, via Klamath Falls to Lava Beds National Monument. We weren’t sure where we would go after that but probably further west towards IH 5 to get situated for exploring more of northern California.
Crater Lake National Park
Sunshine in the morning! What a welcome relief and change of pace from the last couple of days. I would never survive in the Pacific Northwest – too much bad weather, too depressing ;-). Crater Lake National Park is our destination for the day and we are eager to get on the road looking forward to taking one of Oregon’s scenic byways. Continue reading Crater Lake National Park
Along the Oregon Coast
The weather didn’t improve overnight though it felt a little warmer this morning. Low clouds hovering over the mountains greet us in the hotel parking lot as we get ready to ride further south on U.S. 101. The day’s goal is Reedsport, OR or there about.
Traffic is still heavy, especially through the resort/tourist towns of Lincoln City and Newport though there seem to be fewer RVs on the road today. Riding along 101 it seems there’s a beach or state park every other mile. Simply amazing. Even more so is the fact that a lot of the state campgrounds have the ‘FULL’ signs out! Call us whimps but we have no desire to camp in this sub 70 degree weather. Sitting around the picnic table in a jacket to keep warm isn’t my idea of fun. I have been living in hot climates too long I suppose.
Hence we are staying at the ‘Economy Inn’ in Reedsport. The room rate is anything but ($81) for an old (though clean) room. The Best Western in town only had smoking rooms – pass on that. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is nearby so that’s not helping with the prices.
Todays route.
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- another low cloud day
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line – goofing around 🙂
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- True to its name – all fogged in
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- True to its name – all fogged in
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- True to its name – all fogged in. The ocean is barely visible at the bottom
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- True to its name – all fogged in
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- True to its name – all fogged in
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
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- more of the Oregon coast line
South bound on U.S. 101
Lovely. Low clouds and drizzle, a whopping 59F (15 C) outside great us in the morning. The ‘high’ for the day was 61F in Tillamook. Not the best riding weather. Maybe that’s why we got a late start this morning, continuing down U.S. 101. RV’s (towing cars) are evil ;-). Too many on the road, too much traffic.
A short distance day (150 miles) but we still managed to be tired at the end of it. The combination of high traffic volume and gloomy weather with sometimes wet roads takes just as much effort riding as cruising all day for hundreds of miles on straight dry road.
Todays route.
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- our weather for the day, gray and drizzle with a high temp of 61F
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- clear cut portion of forest
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- road construction, only one lane available (RV towing a Ford Explorer)
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- Along highway 101
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- Along highway 101
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- Along highway 101 – bridge across the Columbia. Oregon is on the othe side.
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- Along highway 101- Oregon coast line
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- Along highway 101- Oregon coast line
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- Along highway 101- Oregon coast line
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- Along highway 101- Oregon coast line
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101- one of the many beaches along the Oregon coast. People where actually in the water! Crazies.
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- Along highway 101
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- looking important ;-), actually calling hotels in Tillamook
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- to cut down on the number of trips to the third floor. Yes, all that junk is on our bikes 😉
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- evening
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- evening
Riding the Olympic peninsula
Overcast skies greet us in the morning. After a brief test ride yesterday afternoon I felt the seat was hard so I wanted to go for a longer ride early in the morning. If more adjustments were needed they could be done before we left. I was on the road by 6:30 for a 90 minute ride (temps in the fifties with drizzle). I felt the seat was firm but at least I wasn’t getting butt burn/numbness anymore. I thought all was well.