Uncle Phil - West 2009 Day 09

West 2009

Day 09

September 4

Today will be one of 'shorter' days - a run of just over 330 miles from Bandon to Fort Bragg down the beautiful coast. We are out early and are greeted by a gorgeous sunrise from the Master Painter.

As I am packing up and enjoying the view, I hear Dave fussing.

"I'm locked out of my room. My key no longer works".

Having been through that before, I always leave the throw bolt out so the door can't lock on me. And I'm mighty glad I did as when I check our keys, they don't work either. So Dave has to go over to the office and try to wake somebody up so he can get back into his room to retrieve the last of his items - which is no trivial task at this early hour. When he gets back, I share my advice about the throw bolt a little too late to do any good now but maybe later.

Soon we are moving down an deserted highway 101, making good time. When we get into Port Orford, I see this 'sign' and do a U-turn to see if it's true.

And it is - our first lovely open view of the Pacific which will be followed by many more lovely views.

And the views just keep getting better as we move on down the road.

As many times as I have ridden this road, I still love the beautiful views - especially as the sun comes up to brighten the day.

The ocean is relatively calm this morning with small breakers gliding into the beach.

But then highway 101 turns a bit inland and for all intents and purposes you would not know that the ocean is anywhere within a 100 miles. The thick forests have endured the test of the howling winds and stand as a strong barrier to the ocean storms.

I radio Dave -

"There used be a really good breakfast place right across that bridge. We'll check it out when we get there."

I remember Tom, John and I stopped there on our Alaskan trip and it was a great place with a great view and great food right at the Rogue River at Golden Beach.

The old boat is still there, a little worse for wear, and I try to sell it to Dave so he can say he has an American yacht. But for some reason he does not seem interested in the transaction, so I walk inside the shopping area and ask somebody that looks official -

"Is there still a restaurant in here that serves breakfast?"

Looking at me like I just came in on a space ship, she replies -

"No. There's a coffee shop over there."

Seems as if somebody by the name of Jerry has taken over the place and ripped out the restaurant. But somehow, though the sign says "Established 1958" I remember it being a little more recent that he wasn't here and the restaurant was.

I tell Dave and Andy -

"Well, another place I put out of business. I guess we'll have to move on down the road. If I see something that looks like it'll work, I'll go for it."

So we mount up and force ourselves to enjoy the beautiful views before us - on empty stomachs. It's a tough job but we're the men for the task at hand!

But our revelry is soon cut short by the ever present construction zones. I guess with all of the 'free' money flowing out from Washington these days, everybody has decided to tear up the roads.

Whale Rock lies just in view of the road and it does remind you of a massive whale plying its way through the waters of the Pacific.

And since it is such a short day, we stop frequently to enjoy the numerous ocean views.

As Dave says -

"Some of the ride today along the twisty road following the coast reminds me of Scottish B roads ... but with sunshine."

The myriad hues of blue are a striking visual treat for me.

I hope to snag the California state line sign but when we pass it, it is laying face down in the dirt. I knew the California budget crisis was bad, but I didn't think it had come to that. Since I know of another sign we'll be passing, I just keep on rolling. When we get into Crescent City, I spy a Denny's off to the left and figure that it will work nicely for breakfast. They even have a bear standing outside to greet us as we come in.

As it turns out, this is one exceptional Denny's. The service is absolutely top notch and the food is excellent. They just can't seem to do enough for us and do it all with a smile and warmness - something that is missing in a lot of places these days. But we need to get rolling, so we polish off the last few crumbs on our plates, settle the bill, and get back to highway 101.

This section of 101 moves inland a bit and we see the beginnings of the giant redwoods.

But once again we hit the malfunction junction of one more construction zone.

We get around the traffic carefully and get back closer to the coastline, only to be greeted with a fog that is beginning to roll in from the ocean.

It is hard to tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins when masked by the fog.

Once we get near Humboldt Bay, the fog seems to stand back and for that we are thankful.

It's just a beautiful day with some great friends and some unbelievable scenery. This is a trip I would not have made by myself since I have done it several times, so I am thankful that Andy and Dave are giving me an excuse to do it again. I just never tired of riding beside the ocean and soaking up the views.

As highway 101 head inland again, this interesting sign greets us. I wonder how many truckers have done the old 'shake and bake' on this bend.

Unfortunately, the fog has found us again and I think it is a cousin to the black cloud that followed Dave over from Scotland.

But soon we pop back out into the sunshine and I see the turnoff for the Avenue of the Giants - one of my favorite rides in the United States.

This is a special place for me - an arbor of quiet and solitude, far away from the maddening rush and noise of a world that is far too busy about being busy.

With the giant trees overshadowing the road, it takes on the subdued and peaceful atmosphere of an old world cathedral.

I radio to Dave -

"There's a little store up ahead that's pretty neat. Let's stop there and take a break".

Unfortunately, it has fallen victim to the hard times and it too has closed. Once again a place that I have visited is shuttered which seems to be happening far too often.

So we pull back out and make our way through the forest with a planned stop at Founder's Grove. One thing that I do love about this road is how the builders just paved right around the trees - in some cases right up to the trunk.

It is hard to imagine a tree so tall that you cannot see the top of it when you come from the eastern part of the United States. But here it is a regular occurrence where only the sunshine sees the treetops.

Dave stops to get a shot of his ST1300 against one the giants for a frame of reference back home.

We arrive at the Founder's Grove, where the really big trees grow and make our turn. The last time I was here I was with V.J. and Rich, two of my California riding friends that we will meet tomorrow.

This gives you a little more appreciation of just how large these trees are as Dave stands beside one of the fallen giants.

It's great place for a break, so we have a little mini picnic, breaking out the beef jerky, cheese, nuts and drinks. But I when I speak of nuts, I am not referring to the two in this picture ...

But we need to get on to Fort Bragg, so we pull back out and follow the winding road as it follows a peaceful stream off to our right.

Once we are out of the shadows of the giant trees, we realize just how warm it has gotten. We decide to pull off and adjust our laundry before we get back on highway 101.

I know of a little shop just down the road that has some really interesting stuff. It's once of the supposed places where Sasquatch (or Bigfoot to his friends) has been sighted. I don't have the heart to tell Dave that this is only a statue and he does not have to try to make friends with him. He wouldn't understand Dave's accent anyway...

The later in the day it gets, the heavier the traffic becomes. But it is nothing like we will encounter once we get into the Bay Area tomorrow.

Finally we come to some of the best riding in these parts - where the old highway 1 turns off of the new highway 101.

It's a road less traveled, full of twists and turns and ...

more stunning beauty.

This particular scene is well guarded by a resident sea gull who is demanding payment for taking any photos.

But we snap away and then escape his clutches to make our way on down the road. We just figured he was trying to help the state out with their budget crisis.

As we move along, I find myself asking -

"Just how many pictures do you want of the ocean?"

And yet it seems around every bend there is a unique vista that bears stopping for a moment to capture.

We tend to switch the lead back and forth as we each determine what scenes are important enough for us to stop and look. The nice thing about riding with Andy and Dave is that we are liked minded so we really don't care who is in front. Where riders generally get in trouble is when someone's ego demands that they always lead - whether they are qualified or not.

It's just another day in rider's paradise and we all three are thoroughly enjoying it.

And sometimes the view is so interesting that we all three pull off to get a shot.

There is just something peaceful about the ocean as the waves continue their endless march to the shore, caressing the beach with each landing.

I find these trees, twisted and bent by the ocean's fierce wind, still standing strong. It is a silent testimony to the fact that troubles may twist and bend us, but we can still stand at the end of the day.

We have made great time today and we arrive in Fort Bragg earlier that I expected. But now I am confused as to exactly where the Surf Motel is located. As is our usual custom, we stop for fuel so we will be ready to roll in the morning and I ask the clerk at the counter about the Surf Motel. She knows exactly where it is and tells me -

"Just keeping going south and you will see the sign on the left."

I thank her and we mount up to make the last few miles of the day.

The thing that strikes me the most as we pull into the motel parking lot is the profusion of flowers everywhere. I know that takes a whole lot of work and energy so I am thoroughly impressed.

We get checked in quickly and get to our rooms, eager to unload our beasts of burden. Since we did get here early, I figure we can do some much needed maintenance after supper. I plan on tackling my heated gear problems, Andy's missing in action radio, and Dave's aggravating push to talk button that's failed.

Once we get the road dirt cleaned off of us a bit, we wander back to the office, seeking dining assistance. The sweet lady that checks us in tells me -

"Well, the Cliff House Restaurant is really good but not cheap. It's just down the road a little bit."

Having been in Fort Bragg before, I don't think anything is cheap around here so I thank her for her suggestion and we take it. Once again, we pass by some more beautiful flowers just outside the office.

It's not too bad of walk, and the walk always does me good after a day of riding. It's located right on the ocean side and looks like a popular place.

The hostess sits us at a table that gives us an excellent view. The service is also excellent and the food is delicious. While we're waiting on our food, I tell Andy and Dave -

"I'd really like to get a detailed map of California so I can figure out a shorter route to Don's place. I think there's a shopping center next door to the motel. Maybe we can walk over there and check it out."

And being the gentlemen that they always are, they agree.

We make short work of the excellent fare laid out before us, There is not much better than enjoying a great meal with great scenery after a ride like we have taken. And to be able to do it with dear friends makes it even more special. But there is work to do on the bikes, so we settle up and head back so we can do our fiddling in the daylight. The retail area next to us has a grocery store so I head in looking for maps. I search most of the aisles and come up empty handed. They have just about everything from spatulas to spinach, but I can't find any maps. That is until I start to head back out the door and there is a rack full right where I came in. I grab a California one and a couple of Diet Cokes, pay for them then head back outside to Andy and Dave. It's a short walk back to the motel and then we start our 'chicken killing' on the our equipment.

Dave and Andy wrestle with Andy's radio but it appears that the electronics in the adapter cable are shot. I am less than pleased with that since I just bought the Autocom cable for this trip and it is only the second time Andy has used it. Dave comes up with work around for his push to talk button that works sometimes. So I reckon Autocom is zero for two on this trip. I manage to dissect the left glove plug on my Gerbing jacket with some careful pocket knife surgery and twist and tape the wires together. That at least solves that problem so I will have heated gloves to go along with my heated jacket. Next I tackle the heated grips problem which requires removing the windshield and the handlebar cover. I check the relays, wiggle wires and cannot find anything that appears to be amiss. But I must have disturbed something, because the grips start working again with no short. Thankful that I am back in business, I button Frost back up and hoping the 'fix' stays fixed. Tiredness of body and fullness of stomach conspire against me to send me off to bed in short order at the end of a great day.