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| Day 1 - Santa Clara, CA Day 2 - Lee Vining, CA Day 3 - Baker, CA Day 4 - Las Vegas, NV Day 5 - Las Vegas, NV Day 6 - Grand Canyon, AZ Day 7 - Durango, CO Day 8 - Glenwood, CO Day 9 - Highlands, CO Day 10 - Highlands, CO Day 11 - Estes Park, CO Day 12 - Craig, CO Day 13 - Jackson, WY Day 14 - Cody, WY Day 15 - Mammoth, WY Day 16 - Choteau, MT Day 17 - Kelispell, MT Day 18 - Sandpoint, ID Day 19 - Omak, WA Day 20 - Anacortes, WA Day 21 - Anacortes, WA Day 22 - Poulsbo, WA Day 23 - Poulsbo, WA Day 24 - Poulsbo, WA Day 25 - Astoria, OR Day 26 - Lincoln City, OR Day 27 - Bandon, OR Day 28 - Eureka, CA Day 29 - Anchor Bay, CA Day 30 - Martinez, CA FINAL THOUGHTS |
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| There are some things that occur to me now that the
trip is over. For the most part, this trip, if anything, confirmed
some of what I already knew or believed. First, people in general are friendly. We met some of the nicest people while on the road and it didn’t make any difference what they were riding. Harley, Goldwing, something else, people were just friendly. They were friendly at motels, restaurants, gas stations, and damn near anywhere else we happened to be. I do think that some of this apparent comfort level was because I was riding with my wife. Last year, when I was going solo, some folks seemed a little hesitant until they had some reason to talk with you. Second, the motorcycle, as well as being a great vehicle for seeing the road, is a great conversation starter. We would, of course, meet other people who were also riding and wanted to share stories, lessons learned, road conditions, and common places visited. We did not meet one grouch. Maybe grouches don’t talk to other people in the first place, but we never even saw one other rider who we thought might be a grouch. Then there are the people who have ridden before, want to ride again, or just think what your doing is cool and want you to know it. There are a lot of stories out there and all you need to do is be willing to take the time to listen. Third, the motorcycle is one of the best ways to experience the scenic beauty of this country. Maybe you can do the same thing in a convertible but I can’t imagine it would be as much fun. Our Goldwing was comfortable, reliable, and powerful enough to allow us to cruise at slow or fast speeds, depending on the road conditions, without effort. There are some down sides to riding a big motorcycle and, at about 1200 pounds, fully loaded; the Goldwing is a big motorcycle. A Goldwing isn’t nimble or easy to muscle around in tight spaces. Add a trailer and you don’t want to be turning into any narrow, gravel driveways. Related to this last problem, thank God for reverse gear. Who would have guessed I would like reverse. I only used it about 7 or 8 times the whole trip but when I needed it, I was sure glad it was there. Fourth, I’ve traveled solo and I’ve traveled with my wife and traveling with someone else to share the sights with, was more fun. Of course, I did get tired of her seeing things I couldn’t, like about a million deer or elk. I kept waiting for the damn things to jump in front of me since I knew they were out there because Linda kept saying, “There’s one over there in that field. There’s another one on the other side of the road.” Thanks. Last year when I couldn’t see them, I assumed they were off in the woods eating or something. This year, because Linda was constantly telling about her sightings, I fully expected to run into one of the things. We did actually stop to look at a small deer eating on the side of the road. She just looked up at us and went back to eating. You add to that, the fact that Linda would sometimes see a dead one that someone else had hit earlier in the day, and you can see where I was really gun shy. For a good long while, she would only see these critters at dusk but several times they took the time to run across the road well ahead of us so I could see them myself. Both times, they picked sometime before or slightly after noon to make their trip across the road. Now I was really bummed since I had felt pretty safe if it wasn’t dawn or dusk. Apparently, these deer and elk didn’t know the rules about when to cross the road. Fifth, I’m not entirely sure that we were as well prepared for the extreme heat we encountered as we could have been. The second day out and we were trying to get fluids in us and protect our heads from the sun. Having the ice chest with drinks helped more than I can fully express. But, on the second day out, we still had to duck into a motel with air-conditioning and a cold shower to fully recover. I ran into someone who used the “Wet Vests” and he swore it saved their lives. That may seem a little strong, but since I wasn’t there I really don’t know. I do know that I would have gladly tried one had I known the affect the heat would have on us. You have to have some idea of what you will do if you run into really extreme conditions. Sixth, the equipment I used worked better than I expected. For example:
Lastly, the website my son Brian created, and his continuous technical expertise, allowed me to share what we were doing with friends and family. It was nice to get comments back from them as they followed us along on the trip. Since seeing Muthuh’s web site last year (www.muthuh.com), I’ve decided to get more involved with this website sharing of touring stories. I’m going to put some stuff up about last years trip on the Beemer and start keeping track of local rides. . Who knows, I may even join a local Beemer or Goldwing club. Well, maybe not. The process of updating the website every night made it tiring at times. I enjoyed sharing but I didn’t always enjoy staying up to send text and photos to Brian when I wanted to be in bed. Still, I realize I start to forget details very quickly, having to write every night helped me remember things I surely would have forgotten. It’s a double-edged sword, I guess. Well, I’m sure there are other things I’ll think of after I’ve posted all of this. I hope you enjoyed the ride and will drop by again, from time to time, to see where else the Beemer or the Goldwing might take me. |
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