Downhill & Heading Home

Overnight in Klamath Falls it rained and the temperature dropped to 2C. North of the city snow fell, and in one of the passes To the north there was a six inch snowfall. Outside our room it was very chilly this morning as we prepared to leave for our breakfast stop at MacDonald's. Jim wore his heated vest and he and Garry turned on their heated grips. I pulled out my cold weather gloves, put my rain pants under my chaps and wore my sweatshirt under my vest.

At our stop at MacDonald's I noticed two things. First, in walking by a row of booths I saw three of the four people who were sitting there using their smart phones. Second, a young man had his perhaps three year-old son with him. The child was playing in the play area while the man was on his smart phone. The boy looked at us and smiled, looking to make a connection because his father was ignoring him. It occurred to me that fifteen years from now the man will still have a cell phone. He will not have a son who wants his attention. It was sad to observe this missed opportunity for him to connect to his young son who so obviously wanted to be with his father.

Jim needed oil for his motorcycle so we stopped at the Honda dealership. In several of the dealerships that we have visited, there are relatively few motorcycles, but many ATVs. Many of the communities are rural and four wheeling is big. It is not unusual to see pickup trucks with ATVs in them. With the availability of open land in the west, I suppose that it isn't surprising.

Klamath Falls has a US Air Force base where F-15 pilots are trained so there is a lot of flying. This morning we saw F-15s flying around. The salesman said that it was like having an airshow every day. So, on this trip we have seen the places where the Navy has its TopGun (Fighter Weapons) school and where the US Air Force trains its F-15 pilots. It wasn't planned.

With the weather the way it was we decided to head west where the weather was warmer, rather than remain east of the mountains where it was colder. We took Oregon State Highway 66 between Klamath Falls and Ashland, OR, so we could hit the warmer weather sooner. Highway 66 is a secondary highway that threads its way through the mountains for more than sixty miles. It is a fantastic motorcycle highway and we enjoyed riding it this morning. Coincidentally, Jim and I rode this same highway on our Norton Commandos when we attended the International Norton Owners' Association rally in July, 2014. It was different riding the Harley than it was the Norton.

Highway 66 to Ashland, OR.

At the end of the road we found a Starbucks where we stopped for a coffee before heading north on I-5. At the first rest stop, Garry mentioned that he had lost some wheel weights so his front end wasn't rolling smoothly. We made the decision to head to Doyle H-D in Goshen, OR, just south of Eugene. The shop wasn't able to work on his bike because it was almost the end of their work day.

When I pulled into a parking space the man who was parked there commented on my motorcycle. We had a good conversation about riding and bikes among other things. Pat  and his sweetheart Gerry were at the dealership to buy a 2008 H-D Road King. While we were taking a break, he was doing the deal  and as we were leaving we heard a bell ringing inside the showroom.  Pat had closed the deal and the bell was the signal that a motorcycle had been sold. I honked my bike horn & when Pat waved I gave him a thumbs up.

Pat and his sweetheart, Gerry, Goshen, OR.

As we rode north on I-5 I glanced to my right and saw dark heavy clouds that looked threatening. Thes clouds were over the highways that we would have had to take to get to I-5. Had we not taken Highway 66 this morning, we quite probably would have been hit by rain, or possibly snow in the higher passes. Sometimes you get graphic proof that you have made the right decision. This was one of those times.

Since Garry couldn't get his bile fixed today, we made the run up to Wilsonville, OR, so we could get an early start tomorrow and get to Paradise H-D in Tigard, just south of Portland. the ninety-five miles passed quite quickly and we rolled into the motel at about 6:30 after riding 563 kilometres today.

Before we walked to the restaurant for dinner, Jim showed up with his fancy pants again. The light was better and I took some photos. We debated having him walk behind us on the way to the restaurant. When my friend Richard saw a picture of the pants he wanted to know if the store where Jim bought them sold men's clothes too.

Jim's fancy pants

Last time we were here we discovered The Beer Station, a place where the owners have more than twenty-four local craft beers on tap. People can bring food or order in while they have a beer. It is good to see that the couple is making a go of it because it seems like a great idea. 

Tomorrow we plan on stopping at the H-D shop in Tigard, south of Portland,  so Garry can get his front wheel adjusted. We will also go to the Honda dealership as well because Jim wants to go there. Then it will be on to Mount Vernon for the last night of our trip. The big problem will be how to get through Seattle without being caught in a traffic jam. I hope we can figure that one out.