Hardcore

The past three riding days weren't the greatest in terms of weather. Wednesday's conditions were some of the worst I've ever ridden in. With one hundred to one hundred and ten kph crosswinds, riding the one hundred and ten kilometres (70 miles) from north of Reno, NV, to just south of Susanville, CA was some of the scariest riding I have ever done. Later on the temperature dropped from a balmy 13C (about 55F) to 5C (40F) and shortly after the whole crappy mixture was complete with rain, sleet and hail for the last 50 km (30 miles) into Klamath Falls, OR. 

Thursday was somewhat better with mixed cloud and sunny patches but for the last part of the ride into Wilsonville, OR, the skies went grey and rain again began to fall. Friday was a bit worse with rain for the last half of the ride to Tacoma, WA, and a traffic jam that lasted for 30 of the last 35 kilometres from south of Olympia, WA. 

The weather showed no mercy for our last day on the road. We started our final leg under cold grey skies and light drizzle until we were near Kelso, WA, when the rain began in earnest.It varied between light to medium in intensity, but it never stopped all the way from Kelso, through Seattle, Everett, Mount Vernon, Bellingham and even to the border. The only dry time of the day we had was on the ferry to Nanaimo where the rain was still falling. The one hundred and seventy kilometres to Campbell River were ridden in steady light rain until the last ten kilometres where it eased off to a light drizzle. Essentially, We rode for 450 km in the rain at about 13C. My leather gear was soaked and is still drying out in the foyer.

Big Red and me. Home after 6117km. I'm wet, cold, & happy to be HOME!

After all of that I think all four of us on this trip can qualify as 'Hardcore' riders. We all bitched and complained about the weather, but there was also a perverse pride in having overcome these conditions and gaining bragging rights about riding in really sh!*%y weather. Nobody call it quits and we all pushed through to the end. Tom even made the three hundred km ride back to Merritt, BC, after we crossed the border. Jim got home with no further rain off the ferry and Garry and I did the one hundred and seventy km in the rain after we got to Vancouver Island.

Still the trip was an experience of a lifetime. I have 6117 km on my trio odometer since we left on June 3rd. I often say that a great trip is one with no close calls, no mechanical problems, no a$$holes and no drama. There were none of the latter two but the first two were present this trip. I was almost run off the road twice by inattentive drivers - one an old guy in a big white Cadillac, and another by a truck driver who abruptly changed lanes as I was trying to pass. The third one was my fault and it's as close to buying the farm as I ever want to get. 

Tom had problems with his fuel pump throughout the trip but he managed to keep his tank more than half full for the trip so it worked out OK for him. I had a major oil leak and had to have the stator replaced because the leak was from the stator plug. When the mechanic at Chester's H-D in Reno, NV, pulled the clutch basket off he found that the previous repair at Barnes H-D in Victoria, BC had been botched and the clutch assembly had to be replaced. Fortunately, it was done under warranty so a US$1530 repair bill cost me US$150. And the service at Chester's was excellent. Justin, the service writer diagnosed the problem immediately when he saw the oil leak.

Garry lost some of his wheel weights so we had to stop in Beaverton, OR, to have that put right. Again, they got him in and on the road in short order.

While we were at Bob Lanphere Honda in Beaverton, a woman rode in on a red Honda CB1100A just like the ones that Jim and I are getting. We tracked her down in the dealership and aked her what she thought of her bike. She gushed about it. It was comfortable, nimble,quick, shed weight as it got up to speed and was just a joy to ride. Jim and I had smiles that just got bigger as she went on, and we are stoked about getting our 2016 CB1100As. 

The sales person at SG Sports in Victoria called Darlene to tell us that our motorcycles will arrive on July 3rd and they will have to be assembles before we can pick them up later. He was extremely pleased with himself because he says that Jim and I will have the only two of these motorcycles in Canada. I think that's pretty awesome.

So, with this exceptional trip in the books, the Vintage Gentlemen and Garry (who still has three years left before he can join our august group) are already talking about next year's adventure. Whatever it is, it will be sure to be great, and we hope that Kerry will be able do the whole ride with us. He was sorely missed even as the ride was excellent. It is good to be home however, to see Darlene, to enjoy being in my own place, and to soak in the view of Johnson Strait and the Salish Sea from our deck. Not matter how much we see and do, there is nothing that we have seen that is better than that which we have here in Campbell River and on Vancouver Island.