After a week of sweltering heat, the weather has now taken an opposite turn. It was cool and windy in Reno this morning but generally bearable. We weren't able to get an early start on the day's ride because my motorcycle was still in the shop so we had a relaxed breakfast at the buffet. While I was leaving a gentleman with a 101st Airborne hat on remarked on my shirt saying that it was good that I was riding an American built machine. He then asked if I has served but I told him that because I was a Canadian I hadn't been in any of the services.
Tom sees the elephant
The main attraction of the Silver Legacy Casino
Machines on the casino floor.
This guy was there with his grandson and he said that he and the other men in the restaurant who were wearing 101st insignia were having a battalion reunion for soldiers who had served in Vietnam. He mentioned that sixteen of the men who would be about my age were no longer with them. It was quite sad. It is amazing to me that so many of these men seem to be defined by their membership in a branch of the US military and by their service in various wars in different parts of the world. I suppose that it is natural given that the experience would have been one of the formative experiences of their lives. I think it is wonderful that these men have maintained their connection after almost fifty years.
I took a cab to Chester's Harley-Davidson to pick up my bike which had been in the shop for repairs. The stator plug was leaking then the mechanic found that there were issues with the clutch that had been installed last fall, less than 5500 kilometres ago. The people at Chester's were terrific, especially Justin, doing a large repair job with no notice and getting me back on the road in under twenty-four hours. Fortunately, the majority of the costs was covered by the Extended Service Plan that I bought for just such occasions.
As we left Reno it was somewhat windy, but withing fifteen kilometres we were faced with horrendous cross winds. For more than one hundred kilometres we were tossed about by sixty to seventy mile per hour crosswinds. At sixty miles per hour, it was a tense experience, especially when meeting large trucks. South of Susanville the wind eased but as we climbed the pass to the north the temperature began to drop.
By the time we were seventy miles south of Klamath Falls it was about forty degrees F (5C) with strong winds. Closer to Klamath Falls it began to rain in combination with the wind and cold and as we went further north the rain became heavier and it was mixed with sleet and hail. Garry and I have open faced helmets for our faces were quite numb when we reached the city. Today's ride was probably one of the most miserable, if not the most miserable motorcycle rides of my life.
Into the rain & sleet
The final insult to the day was losing Jim. When we left the gas station, he didn't follow us and we didn't discover that until we pulled into a restaurant up the road. Garry went looking for him where we came from while Tom and I waited on the sidewalk in case he rode by. I headed to the Starbucks store to see if he had gone there. No luck. On my way back I saw him ahead of me and he turned in to the parking lot. We were reunited. In summary, while Tom waited and Garry and I were searching for him, Jim was sitting in MacDonald's enjoying a hot coffee. However, all is well and we were reunited.
We found a motel in Klamath Falls and immediately turned the heat up to 75F, partially to warm up, and partly to dry my wet jeans. The temperature here is supposed to drop to 2C overnight with a high of 13C tomorrow,so we have decided to make a run to I-5 where it will be warmer. I'm not sure I can face another two hundred and fifty miles of winter temperatures again tomorrow. This is the kind of weather Kerry Hill would appreciate. The rest of us, not so much.
As we left Reno it was somewhat windy, but withing fifteen kilometres we were faced with horrendous cross winds. For more than one hundred kilometres we were tossed about by sixty to seventy mile per hour crosswinds. At sixty miles per hour, it was a tense experience, especially when meeting large trucks. South of Susanville the wind eased but as we climbed the pass to the north the temperature began to drop.
The weather that we had just passed through
Sandstorm on Honey Lake
The final insult to the day was losing Jim. When we left the gas station, he didn't follow us and we didn't discover that until we pulled into a restaurant up the road. Garry went looking for him where we came from while Tom and I waited on the sidewalk in case he rode by. I headed to the Starbucks store to see if he had gone there. No luck. On my way back I saw him ahead of me and he turned in to the parking lot. We were reunited. In summary, while Tom waited and Garry and I were searching for him, Jim was sitting in MacDonald's enjoying a hot coffee. However, all is well and we were reunited.
We found a motel in Klamath Falls and immediately turned the heat up to 75F, partially to warm up, and partly to dry my wet jeans. The temperature here is supposed to drop to 2C overnight with a high of 13C tomorrow,so we have decided to make a run to I-5 where it will be warmer. I'm not sure I can face another two hundred and fifty miles of winter temperatures again tomorrow. This is the kind of weather Kerry Hill would appreciate. The rest of us, not so much.
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