Once again I was up early, with the dawn, excited to get to Ashland for some delicious pancakes. After showering and packing I was on the road by 6:20.
I hope I don't have to ride under them ... It was already cold at 50F, I didn't need rain too. But to the east the weather was nice.
The wonderful pancakes are at a place called Morning Glory. I arrived at 7am. The sign says they open at 8am. What the hell. "Morning" my ass. So down the road I go, and find Brothers, a breakfast place that is in fact open. I had buckwheat pancakes - good, but not as good as Morning Glory's sourcream/blueberry cakes.
On the road again, over the Siskiyou mountains I go, with Mt McLaughlin outlined by the rising sun, like Mt Hood does on clear mornings when you look east at it. As I enter California the weather clears up, that's a good sign. However, clouds still obscure Mt Shasta, and as I break from I-5 to get on 96 towards the coast, the clouds are back. Although it never rained on me, the threat was there.
At one point I got behind a truck with a sticker stating "makes frequent stops". Well... It didn't stop once in the five miles I was behind it. Bastard.
Another time I came up behind what I thought was a motorcycle cop. I slowed down so it wasn't obvious that I was closing the distance too quickly ... whew, it's just a beemer with a black and white 'stich.
In the tight twisties I nearly rear-ended a police-truck. That's how slow he was going. There was another one up the road, their lights flashing, and people running along the road. Apparently the local high school was doing a run of some kind and the police escorts were there to prevent people like me from running over them.
96 is like most roads in California and Oregon: It has the statutory speed at 55mph then the corners are posted with the recommended speed, like 35mph or 15mph. It's still legal to go 55, and I like to go about 63. So we can have fun in the corners without legally speeding.
As I got closer to 299, traffic started to pick up, and 299 itself, which is usually fast and twisty, was a checkerboard of bridge construction and cars. Plus it crests a 2300ft summit before dropping into 101, and it got cold up there: 46F. Thank goodness I had my vest on.
The Pacific Coast Highway, 101, is not a fun road in the Eureka area. It's full of traffic and townstuff. At least one of those townthings is a Lost Coast brewpub which coaxed me into lunch and a beer (and a catnap on their couch). Ok no more eating out today. BTW, it's called the 'lost coast' because there's a section of the California coast where there are no roads. We rode Mattole Road a couple years back. South of Eureka, 101 angles inland, and Highway 1 doesn't start for a while. After lunch I continued south on 101, and took the much-beloved detour through the Avenue of Giants. 25 miles of really big trees. Something else happened in there. When I entered the Avenue, it was cold and overcast ... When I exited, it was sunny and warmer. No complaints from me!
The plan was to continue south on 101 then east highway 20, then camp at Clear Lake. Once on 20 facing east I could see the heavy clouds over the mountains and decided to stop at the first campground I could find, which was at Mendocino Lake. It was only 5pm and I didn't want to stop yet, but I had even less desire to camp in the rain so I pulled into the campsite. At $18 it wasn't cheap but it was sufficient. I was assigned a site next to another motorcyclist .. We chatted and I learned that he was from Spokane, and had ridden down to meet his son and daughterinlaw. His son was in the Navy, and his ship was at port in Florida so with his ten days of leave he was visiting his mother in the Bay Area. Tonight they had driven up here and are camping together. BTW, the dad (Richard) rides some sort of Harley softtail 88 Evo.
Well, I'm going to light up a cigar I got from Ron then hit the sack. Tomorrow is another day of riding ... Oh yeah, I learned Tioga pass through Yosemite is still closed, and that 108 (Sonora Pass) to the north would be a good alternative. That will be my last cold day ... After that it's all desert riding! I think.
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