Here is a short report on the Pacific Coast Ride....
Monday, September 18, 2006
Trip Report – Y2K+6 “SOUPCAN”
A late start on Sunday Morning, Sept. 10th was necessary as the prior week I was on “vacation” in Escondido. But that added a new excitement: Dave from Santa Cruz was to meet me at my house and we would ride together to meet the group at Ft. Bragg on Sunday evening.
Dave arrived promptly and was immediately established as a quality rider – already gassed up and ready to ride. So a half hour or so of freeway droning and we were soon on CA Hwy 128 in Napa – the renowned Silverado Highway. Calm traffic, scenic wineries & vineyards, and great vistas on wonderful roads took us through the wine country and around Calistoga where the road turned more twisty, rural, and fun. A short slog on Hwy 101 and then back on Hwy 128 in Cloverdale and into the remote and lovely Anderson Valley. A stop for lunch in Boonville and a shared Anderson Valley Brewery Oatmeal Stout was great! Then a nice leisurely ride until Hwy 128 terminates in the Pacific Coast Highway about 20 miles south of Ft. Bragg. Dave went to the Super 8 motel, and I continued to the north end of town to the Vista Manor Best Western – the “approved” hotel of the ride. What? Nobody there? Unknown to me, so many riders were not able to book there that the Super 8 became the motel of choice this year. Oh well, at least the room was superior with a new thick and oh-so-comfy mattress and divine pillows and nice cotton fitted sheets. Wow, if the entire trip is going to be as comfortable and refined as this night, I’m in heaven.
A fine dinner at the Warf (under new ownership) was excellent, with all Coasters served quickly and the food was better than ever. I broke out the package of Ann Reid’s “goodies” and after reading her Riders Prayer and explaining some exploits of Ann to the newer Coasters, we dove into the goodies: wooden nickels, plastic bugs, snakes, lizards, aliens, wall-riders, and other strange and childish goodies that Ann is renowned for. The favorite was a big assortment of finger lights – little lights that Velcro attached to a finger with colored LED bright lamps in colors that either were steady-on or that flashed at different rates. Wow, was that exciting! The entire restaurant was abuzz with wonder at the lights, and the staff (extremely attractive young ladies) bugged us for the lights, which the guys seemed willing to give the ladies and the ladies wore proudly as the evening progressed. The place was a light show, with a couple of dozen finger lights blinking and lit everywhere in the place, and we were the hit of the town. So while Ann couldn’t be with us this year, she really made her presence known.
Monday was cool and a bit overcast, and as we gathered at the beach for the start-of-the-ride photo, there were about 16 PC’s and 3 “other” bikes in attendance. One PC with a trailer; a one-wheeled Uni-Go, and another PC with a big wart on its right side.
Oh, that was no wart – it was Leland himself leading us in his red PC with matching Hannigan side-car. If you can ever get Leland to give you a ride in his sidecar, you are in for an amazing experience that is a totally different experience to “normal” motorcycling. Do it.
The ride continued north, and the “Ugly Iguana” of Hwy 1 from the ocean to Leggett was run without incident. I counted 325 corners in about 22 miles. While the Tail of the Dragon boasts 318 turns in only eleven miles, the Ugly Iguana still brings smiles and a good workout. What a great road.
On through the Redwoods in the Avenue of Giants after a satisfying lunch in Garberville, and on to the “Lost Coast” road – often one lane, rutted and pot-holed and full of gravel and sand and a terrible road, but such magnificent vistas of the ocean and the desolate Lost Coast that we ignore the beating the road dealt to our ‘cycles and ourselves. And no Fog. Honest! There was a finger of fog here and there on the coast, but the ride was not frigid and the vistas were as never before seen. What lovely weather we were treated to. I was able to follow Leland on the twisty roads for about 25 miles, and wow can he man-handle that PC with sidecar! He attacked the corners and you could see how hard he was working to turn and muscle into the twists, turns and hazards of the road. Try as I might to keep up with Leland, I often lost sight of him and the sidecar. Now Leland has always been a “cornering fool” where few can compete, but I was amazed that his sidecar weight, size, and width didn’t seem to slow him down. Leland sets the standards in cornering ability, both in a naked PC and with little difference in his sidecar unit.
Arrival at the Motel 6 in Eureka was not well anticipated as that is a nasty motel – one of Motel 6’s all time worst. While it has been renovated, it is still among my least tolerated. But dinner at the Woodley Island Marina was excellent, and the social fun lasted almost 2 hours of food and fun and fellowship.
Tuesday brought excellent, but cool, weather. We wandered up Hwy 101 past Crescent City and into Oregon. On the coast past Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford and into Coos Bay to a much nicer Motel 6. A few more “Coasters” joined us and dinner at the Italian Restaurant was excellent in both food and service, and “goodies” were passed out and a motorcycle trivia quiz was played for a complimentary dinner. With sheer guessing, I won after tying Rick twice, so a flip of the coin purchased my delightful veal dinner. Lucky me!
Wednesday was also bright and cool, and we left Coos Bay and continued up the coast. The lighthouse side tour was passed on due to fog, and a bit of the ride was fog shrouded. Lunch in Newport at Mo’s on the water brought smiles as warm clam chowder in bread bowls warmed the chill off of some Coasters tired of the fog. The afternoon ride stopped at the Tillamook Air Museum in the blimp hanger – wow, what a huge building! Built in 1942 during WW2, the building is 1,072’ long, 296’ wide, and has an interior height of 192’. It was filled with actual flying antique and historical aircraft, many privately owned and all airworthy, and while we were there only about 60-90 minutes, I could have spent hours more exploring these aircraft. If you are ever in the area, make the Tillamook Air Museum a “Must Stop.” It is seen from Hwy 101.
The evening was spent at an upscale and roomy and very comfortable Motel 6 in Seaside. Big rooms, interior hallways, microwave and fridge – sure beats the Eureka Motel 6 by a factor of 10! Dinner at the steakhouse next door was good, with a really hustling waitress taking good care of us.
Thursday morning found new rain on our bikes with overcast skies and cool moisture promised for the ride. Across the mighty Columbia river into Washington. Now the famed north-west fir forests were the norm, with much of the road like a trench lined with green.
Lunch at Lana’s Hanger Café at the Hoquiam airport was a bit slow getting served, but as some riders were still trying to find us it all worked out. The motto seems to be reflected in the sign in the café: “Beware of Attack Waitresses.” A good lunch, this year with a higher ceiling and actual aircraft activity as opposed to the last time where the heavens dumped massive water on us while we ate and the airport seemed deserted.
Last ride I remember trying to ride the 207+ miles from Seaside to Forks on one tank of gasoline, and I woosied out and gassed up 2 ˝ miles off the road in a park, only to calculate that I could have made it to Forks on 4.0 gallons. So this year I decided to try it, and it worked! I limped into Forks after 216.3 miles on 3.855 gallons of gas, giving me an excellent 56.10895 miles per gallon. Amazing what shifting before 4,000 rpm and keeping speeds around 55 mph can do for good mileage. The motel was fine; dinner at the Smokehouse was excellent with Joe from Port Angeles joining us with his girlfriend. He brought his 33 year old Norton through hail and rain, and impressed me by starting it on the first kick. We were now down to about a dozen for dinner: 5 PC’s (one ridden two-up), a GL1800 also ridden two-up, a blue ST1300 and Rick’s blue FJR.
Friday morning was cool and sunny with patches of white clouds – a welcomed respite from the forecast of rain. Years ago Leland an I rode a 3 day, 1,000 mile annual Death Valley Ride where some 3.9 gallons of diesel fuel somehow found its way into Leland’s’ PC. I have been teasing him about it for years, and telling others, too. Every year we ride the same ride, and we always stop at the same Chevron station in Ridgeway and fuel up at the same pump. It is a ritual game we play, and the diesel was an anomaly due to 4 hoses at one pump – anyone could have made the same mistake. And to prove that anyone could make such a fueling error, it seems that Jim pumped almost 6 gallons of diesel into his ST1300 in Forks! So Leland was able to advise him what to do (experience IS the best teacher) and after an emergency fuel dump and thanks to the 5 gallon fuel bottle Leland had stashed in his sidecar, the ST1300 was back to its 125 hp glory. Well, after performing a great job of mosquito abatement blue cloud procedure for the town…
A picturesque ride past rain forests, deep-colored lakes, and into Port Angeles traffic. It was time to fuel before the ride up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Range in the Olympic National Park. While the ride up was enjoyable, we soon were in the clouds near the summit and had temperatures around 36 degrees. Cold!
The visitor center was enjoyed, much hot chocolate was consumed, and we briefly saw some peaks and glaciers between clouds. Descending from almost 6,500’ back to sea level we stopped at a few vistas: The Strait of Juan De Fuca, the San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island and British Columbia Canada and Puget Sound were all visible. Lovely!
Lunch was at a place Bruce recommended right on Hwy 101 at the junction of Washington Hwy 20. A burger stop. Burgers and fries. And what burgers! Two 1/3 pound patties, special sauce, fluffy buns – three of them! – and home-cut fries. Three of our brave crew were able to actually finish the burger…
Feeling all warm and frugal, I tried again to ride the day on one tank of gasoline from Forks to Tumwater. And I did it again, this time getting my all-time best mileage. I was able to go 216.2 miles to Tumwater and refilled with 3.785 gallons (just 87 octane, please) to get my best mileage of 57.12 miles per gallon. Yea! Keeping speeds down to 55 and less, and rolling gentle on the throttle and short shifting really pay off.
Motel 6 in Tumwater welcomed us, but it was a sad welcome due to the ride ending. Because of the late 3:00 pm lunch and the huge size of it, I and some others declined the dinner down the street at the Mexican place. Just too full, still.
The next am I was up and out by 7:20 am, waving goodbye at the few Coasters still there. How sad to end the ride……
It was so nice to re-meet so many Coasters, and meet new folks too. There seemed to be a lot of people that joined up for a dinner, a day, or a few days. Also, quite a few left early due to health or being needed at home, or dreaded WORK. Dave, I looked around and you weren’t there – where did you go? It felt like the family was moving away, and that is the saddest part of the trip.
There were only two “incidents” on the trip – one being the diesel fuel issue and another with Jason’s black PC developing a front shake. Bad wheel bearings. He was lucky to find another brand of motorcycle dealer who had the right sized bearings (in a pack of 3 for a quad) who installed them and Jason was back on the road. No known “tip-overs”, running out of gasoline, or crashes or breakdowns. Amazing machines, these PC’s!
Now, ignore the rest if you don’t like statistics…..
I had a reservation at Motel 6 in Weed, CA when I departed Tumwater, but like last Y2K+4 I thought I might ride straight through to home… And I did. The BIG DRONE down I-5. Weather was overcast through Washington, but lightened to blue sky and fluffy white clouds in Oregon. Portland to Eugene was a parking lot with stop and go traffic for almost 120 miles. Car after car was decorated in flags and banners and pom-poms in the Oregon team colors, and the off ramp to the University was backed up for about 5 miles in Eugene. How frustrating for me, but what a party for the Oregon faithful. The road then opened up, and I continued on running in Sacramento Valley heat of high 80’s or low 90’s under clear skies to my home in the SF Bay area. Thirteen hours from start to finish, 5 gasoline stops (including fill-up just before home) and I had covered 736 miles on 14.6 gallons for an average speed of 56.6 mph and a consumption of 50.4 mpg. Not bad for the 2 hours of stop-and-go and then cruising at 65-75 mph. This is much better than in ’04 when I averaged 44.7 gallons doing the same ride (738 miles) on 16.5 gallons and averaging a higher speed of 55.7 mph, when the weather was even cooler.
The total trip for me was 1,984.4 miles, with 37.8 gallons of 87 octane fuel used, for an average of 52.49 mpg. In ’04 the ride was a bit cooler and much wetter and I did 1,969.3 miles averaging 48.86 mpg.
My ‘94 PC with 63k miles has been tuned only once, at about 35k miles and since has run feeling “uneven” when throttle is applied and the engine is under load. It seems to chug and feels like the cylinders provide different amounts of power. More so if I lug it under 3,000 rpm. So maybe a “poor state of tune” helps to increase gas mileage? Or was I consciously riding with economy in mind?
Expenses:
37.8 gallons of fuel (avg. $2.978+ per gal) $ 112.58
Motels – 6 nights (avg. per night $60.19) $ 361.14
Dining & snacks (1 free dinner) $ 176.05
Admissions, gifts, toiletries, etc. $ 50.02 Total………………. $ 749.81
The average cost was $ 124.97 per day, or if you look at it as a 7 day trip (6 overnights) then it is only $107.11per day of riding. Where else can you have so many friends together, such great scenic views, and so much fun for just a hundred bucks a day on motorcycles? Just try booking a reservation anywhere for just just $100 all inclusive? And if you ride two-up and share a room, you can really get costs down to about $65 a day or less per person.
I ate real well – seafood and veal and gained 4 lbs.
"Tuppie" Tom, a.k.a. Hump-the-Grump
"Lemmings Non Sumas"
'94 black PC "Tuppie II", 67k rider
Lelands Rides, HSTA, AMA, No. Cal. PC'ers, ipcrc, all Y2K rides
President - Clayton Valley Pacific Coast Owners & Riders Club <grin>
In the shadow of Mt. Diablo in Clayton Valley, CA
In the End, it will be Alright.
If it is not Alright, then it is not yet the end!
CAUTION: The views here reflect only my poor memory and subjective viewpoints. Your mileage may vary. Not intended to imply actual facts. Not responsible for, well, anything, as I have proven so many times before. And will prove again in the future.