Turnin' the corner...

8/5/07
It was a heavy fog when I awoke. I walked to the Country Kitchen and
had breakfast. The waitress told me about a fire raging just south of
us. She said she could see it as she came from Bakersfield yesterday
so its a good thing I didn't go that way.
It was actually raining lightly part of the way toward Los Angeles. I
knew I could get most of the roughly 200 miles before I needed gas and
I decided that riding as close as possible would allow me to avoid a
gas stop in LA. I was dreading riding in LA as you hear horror
stories about the traffic.
I stopped in for gas and then called Ruth from there. She was driving
but I told her what I needed off my computer and when I'd call her
back.
I don't know if I said this before but I left without loading all the
GPS points into my GPS that I should have. That meant I first relied
upon Kira to load some maps on the computer and now I rely upon Ruth
to tell me locations I'm supposed to go to for the AMA tours.
At the very next exit was a sign for the Channel Islands National Park
visitor center. I turned and went there. I'd never heard of them but
I did get the stamp and the ranger (with a distinct French accent)
told me about the movie they had. I had her start it and learned
there are 5 Channel Islands and they are accessible by boat only. You
can camp there with reservations and there are 6 species of seals
(pinnipeds) there. Its sounded fascinating and I'd like to return and
actually go to the islands.
I called Ruth and she gave me the details on the two AMA points in LA;
the Hollywood sign and a cemetery in Hermosa. Because of my aversion
to city driving, I decided to only do the Hollywood sign. I couldn't
find the address on the GPS so I stopped at a CA Welcome Center and
they got the directions off Google for me.
On the way to the sign, I found the visitor center for the Santa
Monica Mtns in Thousand Oaks, CA. I stopped and got a stamp for both
the National Recreation area and for the Juan Baptista (sp?) trail.
I then headed to Hollywood. I got off of 101 fine but then my GPS
stopped telling me street names. I don't know why but that data isn't
in the GPS. I did have the Google directions and found my way as far
as they'd let me go before I came to a locked gate. I took the photo
from there and then headed for San Ysidro. I did stop at a rest area
and called Ruth just to say where I am. We also found a KOA in Chula
Vista that is about 10 miles from here. Its really early to stop but
in celebration of turning the second corner, I'm going to do laundry.
;)

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach

California's Pacific Coast Hwy

8/4/07
It was easy to get ready and get going this morning. There was a
Denny's nearby so I got a good breakfast and got on the road.
It was very foggy and cold. I didn't put on my electric jacket but it
would have been welcomed. I do have heated grips on the bike and I
turned those on full blast.
The fog made it difficult to see anything along the coastline. I
could see the road ok (but the road was so twisty that you can't see
very far anyway) and there was almost no other traffic. I cruised
along following the speed limit. There were plenty of 15 and 20 mph
switchbacks. A California Quail ran across the road in front of me.
The weather would then clear up within a matter of minutes. I'd ride
out of the fog and into bright blue skies. The coastline was rugged
and gorgeous. I know its getting redundant saying its beautiful but
it is. Everywhere I turned I saw another rocky outcropping with waves
beating it. There were cliffs and some long stretches of shoreline.
Periodically, the road moved more inland and I could see (and smell)
dairy cows. I got to thinking about a commercial I saw with cows
playing "Marco Polo" in the fog. It was exactly like in that
commercial (except the cows didn't talk to me).
The road then straightened out and traffic picked up as I neared San
Francisco. I saw a sign for the Golden Gate Bridge and headed that
direction. On the north side of the bridge is the GG National
Recreation Area where I could get a NPS stamp and at the vc, I
actually got three (or maybe it was four). From there, I returned to
a vantage point where I could barely see part of the bridge. This was
only because of the heavy fog. It literally poured off the mountains
into the bay.
I crossed the bridge and on the other side paid the $5 toll for
crossing. The operator told me where the official viewing site was
and I went there for a AMA TomTom site and a photo. The fog was too
heavy to see much but I did get something.
The next stop was another TomTom site in San Jose. The GPS took me
down Hwy 1 in town and eventually onto an interstate. I traveled the
40+ miles and went to the intersection of Olsen and Winchester. There
was a cinema there, shopping, and some other building. The other
building was the Winchester Mystery House, a CA State landmark. I'll
have to check it out on the 'net and see what it was about. The
parking lot was full so its a popular spot for some reason.
I should also mention that San Jose is MUCH hotter than San Francisco
was. I'd moved inland and the temperature must have risen by 20
degrees into the 90's.
I now pointed my bike toward Monterey for an AMA Everywhere city.
This is based upon Johnny Cash's "I've been everywhere" song.
Monterey has lots of streets and all angles and I tried to get a
picture at the post office but it didn't say Monterey. The Police
Dept and Fire Dept did but I couldn't park anywhere there but there
was a library across from the Fire Dept that I could get a photo at.
Now I pointed south toward Bakersfield. That was also in Johnny
Cash's song but as I neared the turnoff, I saw how far it would be to
get there so I continued south.
It was already time for me to stop but I wasn't finding any
campgrounds. There was a KOA in Bakersfield but that was too far
away. I thought I'd find one near the coast and followed 101 to where
it merged with 1 at San Luis Obispo. They had a fair of some type
going on so no rooms/campgrounds there. It was now dark and I was
still searching. In Pismo Beach, all the motels had no vacancy signs
so I ended up in Santa Maria at a local motel. I went to a nearby
restaurant where I saw the Giants playing and they told me Barry Bonds
tied Henry Aaron's record. I then went back to the motel for the
night.

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach

Redwoods National Park

8/3/07
I got out the door about 7 and rode a little bit before I found a
bagel shop for breakfast. I was only about 1/2 hour from Redwoods and
was a little early so a sit down breakfast would be nice. I called
Ruth and she'd sent me an email about a problem we have with the Yukon
River Camp in AK. It seems that someone there stole our credit card
information and was using it to purchase online subscriptions. She'd
discovered three charges from them already. She'd called them and
gotten them cancelled but I had to call the companies to tell them I
didn't authorize the purchase and they'd then reverse the charges.
One company provided me with the email and the IP address of the thief
so Ruth is going to file a police report also.
I got to Crescent City about 9 AM when the visitor center opened. A
volunteer named Ruth suggested a drive to the Stout Grove but she was
worried about me on a bike with it because it was a gravel road 7
miles long!!! Little did she know!! I also got a NPS Passport stamp
there. I headed the short distance out of town to the road and
started out. It was AWESOME! There was quite a bit of fog in the
woods but it was a dense rainforest. The weird part was size. The
trees were gargantuan! I stopped for photos but none of them can do
the trees justice because of how close you are to them. I did do some
size ones with the motorcycle but the drive was fantastic.
The drive comes out north of the park near a visitor center. I
stopped there and saw an excellent video about the redwoods and the
park. I also took some photos of both a Coastal Redwood and a Sequoia
(which doesn't actually belong there) for my biology classes. I then
headed back to Crescent City along another Redwood Grove.
In Crescent City I stopped at a hardware store to get some cotter pins
for when I need to tighten my chain. Since I stripped the rear axle
bolt, they put the stock nut back on which requires a cotter pin. My
Dual Star nut did not need one.
It was now noon and I'd not gotten very far. I drove south continuing
into the park driving down Hwy 101 and through more redwoods.
There was another visitor center on the south side of the park which I
stopped at but it had the same NPS stamp as Crescent City also.
There were signs for elk everywhere and near the southern visitor
center I saw some stopped traffic. Sure enough, it was for a herd of
6 elk. I took some photos and moved along. In about two miles, there
was another herd lounging at an entrance to an RV park and it had
about 20 members.
I found a CA Welcome Center and stopped for a good state map but they
didn't have one (although they had the official state one they gave me
in Crescent City). They did tell me where a AAA office was so I could
get maps. It was only 7 miles away so I went there.
I also stopped at a library in Eureka to post pics but I've run into a
snag. Ruth took my other memory card back to MA and the one I'm using
was never formatted so I can't read it with a USB reader. THis is why
I've not posted any pictures lately. Sorry about that....
After that, I just headed south. About 6 PM I turned onto Rte 1 from
101. It starts off with a 22 mile twisty road to the coast that was
tricky. It well all directions with lots and lots of turns while
inside a forest so you can't get a good idea of how the road is going.
It was fun!
Then I reached the coast. It was a rugged coastline much like OR.
The light was wrong for most photos but I tried a few anyway but I
made it to Fort Bragg before I stopped. I'd seen LOTS and LOTS of NO
VACANCIES because of it being a Friday night so I tried a couple of
motels but none were reasonable. I was given a suggestion and tried
it and ended with a $90 room. That is a bit high for me but it got me
out early this morning...
Today, I should make San Francisco about noon...

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach

A Run down Oregon's Coast

8/02/07
I started the morning near Astorai, OR. This KOA wasn't as clean as
the other one in Kent, WA. The restrooms were flooded this morning
and there was paper all over the floor. The breakfast wasn't as good
either. But, I did get out about 7:30. My first stop was right
across the street. Ruth told me that the AMA Tom Tom point was
somewhere in the park. I stopped at an open information desk and
asked what unique features were in the park. A junior ranger told me
the shipwreck and gave me directions to it. I went there and it was
the correct spot.
I then took a photo of Rte 101 sign for the AMA Roads tour.
I gassed up and headed to the Ft Clastop Historical Park. I went to
the sign where it said all visitors park and then asked a ranger which
way to go. I had about a 1.5 mile walk to get to the vc. I got the
NPS stamp and then headed down Rte 101.
The road was absolutely fantastic. The road was along the ocean where
I'd see the very rugged coastline and then the road would move inland
into forest. It wasn't clear but the fog made it even more beautiful.
I stopped to take photos regularly.
I also found a vendor selling cherries from a roadside stand and I
bought a bag. They were awesome and great to have for the day.
The only problem with the route was the traffic. For most of the
morning, the traffic was heavy and RV's made it slow. By 3 PM, I'd
only gone 200 miles. I'd gotten to the Seal Caves and I was going to
see them but I didn't realize there were a commercial vendor. I have
a problem with people exploiting natural habitats for their person
gain so I couldn't go in there.
I stopped for lunch about 4 and told Ruth how gorgeous it was. It
seemed that when I returned to the road, most of the cars had left. I
was able to ride the remainder of Oregon with relative ease.
I'm not in Gold Beach, OR. Its not quite into CA but is about an hour
away. I'll get there easily in the AM.

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach

Back in the running....

8/1/07
Well, they got me going about 4:30 PM. They were ready a little
earlier but then they said I should consider replacing the
sprocket/chain soon and I said I had spares so they put them on for
me.
I left Centralia and headed toward the Oregon coast. I thought about
going directly to the Washington coast but I knew that Rte 30 was a
better road and Stan said some of the roads in WA had been washed out
from last fall's flooding so I played it safe.
I got into Astoria about 7 and called Ruth to tell her I'm going
again. I found the KOA and set up camp for the night. I'm going to
have breakfast in the AM and get to Fort Clatsop and then head south
along the ocean. I wonder if I can get to California in 1 day? Time
will tell...

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach

The Rest of the Story...

8/1/07
Well, they got me going about 4:30 PM. They were ready a little
earlier but then they said I should consider replacing the
sprocket/chain soon and I said I had spares so they put them on for
me.
I left Centralia and headed toward the Oregon coast. I thought about
going directly to the Washington coast but I knew that Rte 30 was a
better road and Stan said some of the roads in WA had been washed out
from last fall's flooding so I played it safe.
I got into Astoria about 7 and called Ruth to tell her I'm going
again. I found the KOA and set up camp for the night. I'm going to
have breakfast in the AM and get to Fort Clatsop and then head south
along the ocean. I wonder if I can get to California in 1 day? Time
will tell...

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach

Well....

The m/c dealer in Longview is unable to help me. They don't have the part, they don't have the motorcycle to cannibalize the part (although they said they were unlikely to do that) but they've tried. They even said that with the time difference, they can't get me a part before Friday!!
I called back the shop from yesterday that is 50 miles north of there in Centralia. They're still happy to canibalize a bike on their showroom floor if I pay the expedited shipping to get their part. I just have to get the bike there....

Ok, now the plug for RV Roadhelp. They have stepped up and are going to issue ANOTHER tow call to get me to Centralia and to the dealer that can help. I don't know if they think that another tow is cheaper than two nights in a hotel but whatever.

I've already gotten to Centralia and the bike is currently being worked on. Its 2 PM now. My bolt gave out yesterday about 1:30 PM. With luck, I only lose about 1.5 days on my 4 corners ride. I think I can recover.....