The Shortest Day

The plan for today was to ride to Paradise H-D, have Garry's front wheel properly balanced, make a quick stop at Beaverton Honda, then make the run up I-5 to Mount Vernon and be ready for the short ride to the border tomorrow morning. Except, that's not how things worked out.

We arrived at Paradise H-D to find that the staff was having their regular Friday morning meeting, so no one was available until almost ten o'clock. The service people took Garry's bike in so Tom, Jim & I rode to Beaverton Honda to check out the goodies there and to look at the classic motorcycles that they have on display. Along with a wide range of Honda motorcycles on display, there were also quite a few BSAs and Triumphs, along with one Norton, and a 1972 CB750 Honda Four.

Two Indian Chiefs

1973 Triumph X-75 Hurricane, one of six hundred produced

1970 Norton Commando

1957 Matchless

1972 Honda CB750K-2

Garry's motorcycle was finally repaired just after noon, so we headed north through Portland without missing any turns and crossing the Columbia River into Washington State. The already threatening skies began to spit rain around the time that we pulled off I-5 near Longview, WA. With the late start from Tigard, we figured that we would hit Seattle by the time rush hour was at its height. When we checked for rooms in Mount Vernon, we found that the cheapest one was running at about one hundred and thirty dollars.

Crossing the Columbia River between Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA.

Our plans changed so we reserved rooms in Tacoma instead. The rain began south of Olympia at about the same time traffic slowed down to a crawl. For seventeen of the next twenty miles it was stop and go with our speed rarely going above twenty mph, (30 kph). It took us almost an hour and a half to make that distance while the rain continued to fall. Despite getting off the road one hundred miles short of our goal, given the weather and the traffic congestion, we made the right choice. 

Tomorrow morning we will need to make up that distance so we plan on an early start with hopes that we get some minimal cooperation from the weather. If we begin early enough, we should be able to beat the heavier traffic that occurs later in the morning. Usually, things clear up north of Everett, WA, and the ride to Canada is usually quite effortless. 

After ten days of flawless weather, we have been subjected to less than perfect conditions for the past three days. Maybe things will begin to change tomorrow, because we are all ready to get home and have a few days off. And we are all ready for a change in the nasty weather we have been experiencing for the past three days.