Chirp-Chirp! It's 5:30 AM and the damn alarm has no sense of decency. OK. OK. I'm up already.
Shower, dress, do a little cursory packing before heading off to the lobby for breakfast. This one is pretty good fare as 'free' hotel food goes but I am selective, sticking with yogurt, unadulterated eggs and a toasted muffin. The coffee is pretty good and a glass of milk washes it all down. Lori likes to play with the waffle iron so she amuses herself making a waffle with I watch the news on the TV.
Today's plan is get to some sunshine, pronto. It's cool gray and threatening rain here on the outskirts of |Olympia so we load up and get the hell outta Dodge. The freeway is clear heading south although the northbound lanes are jammed up for a considerable distance so last night's decision to be past Olympia for the morning paid off. Since our goal is Nevada we need to make some time up today for losing Monday and spending all day Tuesday getting the seats done. Sadly that means using the Interstate or as I call it the Inter-Slab which we'll take all the way to Eugene then veer south-east from there. We make excellent time, ripping down the 'slab cruising around 80 mph most of the time. Like all my previous V-Stroms this one like to sit in the 70-85 mph range turning about 4500 rpm. That has always been the sweet-spot for these beasts who happily run at that speed and are miserly with their fuel consumption. This year they have shrunk the fuel tank by one litre but have noticeably improved the fuel economy. The only hitch to this is the 2014 requires a minimum 90 octane. so that equates to a more costly fillup. At the end of it I have a cruising range in the 375 to 400 kms.
Rounding a bend, the bridge over the Columbia River quickly appears and we're on the deck and heading into Portland...and the morning traffic. Sigh..there is a pile up close to downtown so we have to suck it up and crawl with the rest of the lemmings til we clear the fender bender and we're off and running again. A quick coffee break just south of the city and we're back to humming along. The traffic is not too bad but now we're in Oregon where the State Troopers have itchy fingers on the radar guns. The general traffic flow cruises around 10-15 mph above the posted limit but we don't take any chances by tempting the County Mounties so we try to maintain 70mph in the posted 65mph zone. Anything less than a posted fifty-five and we follow the letter of the law especially around the towns and construction areas.
We take a couple more breaks one just north of Salem and another in Eugene. It's in Eugene where we leave the I-5 and pick up Hwy 58 which will take us South-East to Hwy 94 and onto Klamath Falls, our destination for the night.
Hwy 58 is a joy to ride. I was on it once years ago but cannot recall much about it. Today's run was excellent! It was sunny, warm with very little traffic and the road curved and twisted like a snake which made for top-notch motorcycle riding. Lori, in the lead, laid down a quick pace with her smooth riding and tight lines.I've been watching her ride for several years now and she never fails to impress me with her handling skills and confident riding style.
A quick coffee break in Oakridge, a little texting with Mr. Dan Roots who helped us out..thanks again Dan, and we're soon merging onto Hwy 97 and heading south. The traffic picks up, especially the trucks but the road is wide and flat with ample double lane stretches and passing lanes. One last stop for a Rock Star Fruit Punch where we come across a couple from Ireland on a Motoguzzi. Touring tourists, they bought the 'guzzi on e-bay, registered it with a friend in Seattle and hit the road for the upcoming summer. Rental bikes and cars were expensive and out of the question so purchasing a used motorcycle made sense. At summer's end they'll sell it for what they can get for it and go home with a bagful of memories which got me to thinking about a similar idea for Europe. Something to mull over researching during the winter months.
Another hour or so and we're rolling into Klamath Falls and check into a hotel for the night. We feeling pretty good and head over to the Sizzler across the parking lot. Not too bad but you can see why it's cheap. Good, fast or cheap. Pick any two.
Tomorrow the plan is a quick run down to Reno, about a four hour ride so we should be there before midday. After that I want to take Lori up to Virginia City for the afternoon have lunch and play tourist for a few hours. All being well we'll overnight somewhere south of Carson City. After that.........
Good night.
Klamath Falls, OR
June 18/14
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