COLD DECMEBER RAIN ON I-5
December 20, 2010
Yeah, I know it’s been awhile since I posted anything ----
let’s just say I have been busy with other projects and technical difficulties
that have kept me away from the computer.
For those of you who do not live in the Northwest; OR have
been hiding in a cave, the past 6 weeks or so have seen almost everything
nature could throw at us: rain, wind, snow, ice, rain, rain, rain, more wind,
and just plain COLD! Now, most of this has not kept me from riding, but I have
been confined to mostly commuting and running errands. My heated gear and raingear are seeing a lot
of use lately! The picture above was taken as I was driving (yes, I do roll in
a cage now and then) down I-5 in Thurston County today, so you know what I’m
talking about!
I have decided I’m going to post some stories of rides I
have done previously, some recent and some not so recent. Plus, in the next
couple of weeks, I will have a post to wickedly remind you just how much we
miss summer---I’ll be talking about parties and rallies!
As this will hit just before Christmas, sit back, have an
eggnog, or a hot buttered rum (or both!), and read on…
Yeah, I know it’s been awhile since I posted anything ----
let’s just say I have been busy with other projects and technical difficulties
that have kept me away from the computer.
For those of you who do not live in the Northwest; OR have
been hiding in a cave, the past 6 weeks or so have seen almost everything
nature could throw at us: rain, wind, snow, ice, rain, rain, rain, more wind,
and just plain COLD! Now, most of this has not kept me from riding, but I have
been confined to mostly commuting and running errands. My heated gear and raingear are seeing a lot
of use lately! The picture above was taken as I was driving (yes, I do roll in
a cage now and then) down I-5 in Thurston County today, so you know what I’m
talking about!
I have decided I’m going to post some stories of rides I
have done previously, some recent and some not so recent. Plus, in the next
couple of weeks, I will have a post to wickedly remind you just how much we
miss summer---I’ll be talking about parties and rallies!
As this will hit just before Christmas, sit back, have an
eggnog, or a hot buttered rum (or both!), and read on…
WAITIN' FOR A BOAT
From MAY, 2006
Jeff and I decided to ride to Victoria, BC for a 3-day weekend… cloudy but almost no
chance of rain all weekend. Headed out
on Friday morning about 4 or so, and opted to ride up the Hood Canal to Port
Angeles, rather than do the freeway....takes just as long but a much nicer
ride. Plus, riding up Hood Canal at
sunrise is a sight you just cannot beat! We hit a little rain squall through
Quilcene and Discovery Bay, but otherwise stayed dry. A little cold around the
edges by the time we hit Port Angeles, so we got the bikes in line at the ferry
terminal and went for breakfast. (Note: The Cornerstone Café is about a block
from the ferry terminal and has the best biscuits n gravy!)
Jeff and I decided to ride to Victoria, BC for a 3-day weekend… cloudy but almost no
chance of rain all weekend. Headed out
on Friday morning about 4 or so, and opted to ride up the Hood Canal to Port
Angeles, rather than do the freeway....takes just as long but a much nicer
ride. Plus, riding up Hood Canal at
sunrise is a sight you just cannot beat! We hit a little rain squall through
Quilcene and Discovery Bay, but otherwise stayed dry. A little cold around the
edges by the time we hit Port Angeles, so we got the bikes in line at the ferry
terminal and went for breakfast. (Note: The Cornerstone Café is about a block
from the ferry terminal and has the best biscuits n gravy!)
THE EMPRESS HOTEL IN VICTORIA
VICTORIA TO PORT RENFREW
The ferry ride over to Victoria went quickly, we made
it through customs and got to our hotel about 10:30am...and our room was
ready! Went and spent the day with my brother, had dinner and got a little sprinkle on the way back to the hotel, but not even enough to get wet. Saturday dawned cloudy and windy, but dry. We hit the Harley shop and bought the obligatory t-shirts, one for me and one for Erin. My brother called and wanted to meet downtown at 11:30, which gave us a little less than an hour to kill, so we headed out toward Sidney, a town about 17 miles out of Victoria along Haro Strait. Nice ride, a highway that rolls through farms and little towns. We made it to Brentwood Bay, about 14 miles, before time and the weather started to
turn against us--- the clouds were looking pretty evil. We got back to our
hotel at 11:30; put our gear away just as Larry and Laurie showed up. We walked around downtown, had a beer at the Irish Times Pub, and then went back to his house for dinner. Jeff and I went out bar hopping later that night, went to Bart’s...a small dark place with live music, then over to Big Bad John’s, the Irish Times, and Steamers, ended up
back at Big Bad John’s. Sunday, once again was cloudy and windy, but no rain.
Larry had said the ride up to Sooke and Port Renfrew was a good run for bikes, so we decided to give it a shot. Port Renfrew is at the end of Highway 14---the VERY end! We stopped along the way at French Beach, then rode up through Sooke and Jordan River up to Port Renfrew, which is about 70 miles out of Victoria along the south and west end of the Island. Fantastic road for motorcycling, but man do you have to work at it!
It’s basically a logging road that they just paved over. Lots of sharp turns, hairpins, bumps, and washouts to navigate. Port Renfrew gets about 144 inches of rain per year (thankfully none while we were there) and is in the middle of nowhere! We stopped at the one restaurant we saw and had lunch, played some pool and had a beer, then decided to head back.
it through customs and got to our hotel about 10:30am...and our room was
ready! Went and spent the day with my brother, had dinner and got a little sprinkle on the way back to the hotel, but not even enough to get wet. Saturday dawned cloudy and windy, but dry. We hit the Harley shop and bought the obligatory t-shirts, one for me and one for Erin. My brother called and wanted to meet downtown at 11:30, which gave us a little less than an hour to kill, so we headed out toward Sidney, a town about 17 miles out of Victoria along Haro Strait. Nice ride, a highway that rolls through farms and little towns. We made it to Brentwood Bay, about 14 miles, before time and the weather started to
turn against us--- the clouds were looking pretty evil. We got back to our
hotel at 11:30; put our gear away just as Larry and Laurie showed up. We walked around downtown, had a beer at the Irish Times Pub, and then went back to his house for dinner. Jeff and I went out bar hopping later that night, went to Bart’s...a small dark place with live music, then over to Big Bad John’s, the Irish Times, and Steamers, ended up
back at Big Bad John’s. Sunday, once again was cloudy and windy, but no rain.
Larry had said the ride up to Sooke and Port Renfrew was a good run for bikes, so we decided to give it a shot. Port Renfrew is at the end of Highway 14---the VERY end! We stopped along the way at French Beach, then rode up through Sooke and Jordan River up to Port Renfrew, which is about 70 miles out of Victoria along the south and west end of the Island. Fantastic road for motorcycling, but man do you have to work at it!
It’s basically a logging road that they just paved over. Lots of sharp turns, hairpins, bumps, and washouts to navigate. Port Renfrew gets about 144 inches of rain per year (thankfully none while we were there) and is in the middle of nowhere! We stopped at the one restaurant we saw and had lunch, played some pool and had a beer, then decided to head back.
ALONG HIGHWAY 14
YEP, FRENCH BEACH PARK
GOING MY WAY?
JEFF ALONG HIGHWAY 14
THE ROAD TO NOWHERE! (ok, actually to Port Renfrew)
Figuring the nearest gas was about 35 miles away (in Sooke), and we would be pushing it by
the time we got back, we saw a sign that said they sold gas at the Marina.
Turned down the side road toward the Marina, and rode...and rode...and rode.
Ended up on this back road, dodging fallen trees and washouts. All the while,
I’ve got the theme song to “Deliverance” running through my head...finally
turned around and saw the fork in the road we should have taken to get to the
marina. OK, so “marina” isn’t the best way to describe the dump we found, with
a 500-gallon tank and a gas pump that was probably set up in 1965! No way were
we putting that stuff in our scoots, so off we went, praying we had enough in
the tank to get to Sooke. An uneventful, but fun ride back down to Jordan River and Sooke, where we almost coasted into the first gas station we saw. We had checked out of the hotel that morning, and were staying at Larry’s overnight. After the hard ride, a cold beer sure was nice!
the time we got back, we saw a sign that said they sold gas at the Marina.
Turned down the side road toward the Marina, and rode...and rode...and rode.
Ended up on this back road, dodging fallen trees and washouts. All the while,
I’ve got the theme song to “Deliverance” running through my head...finally
turned around and saw the fork in the road we should have taken to get to the
marina. OK, so “marina” isn’t the best way to describe the dump we found, with
a 500-gallon tank and a gas pump that was probably set up in 1965! No way were
we putting that stuff in our scoots, so off we went, praying we had enough in
the tank to get to Sooke. An uneventful, but fun ride back down to Jordan River and Sooke, where we almost coasted into the first gas station we saw. We had checked out of the hotel that morning, and were staying at Larry’s overnight. After the hard ride, a cold beer sure was nice!
BC FERRY AT SCHWARTZ BAY
Monday morning found us up and on the road at 7 am, up to Schwartz Bay Terminal where we caught the 8 am ferry across to Tsawwassen and headed for the border. A 30-minute
or so wait to get through the border back into the US, complete with a grouchy crossing guard, and we were on I-5 headed home.
The weather report stayed true, no rain at all, and mild enough tempsthat made the ride down I-5 a piece of cake.
or so wait to get through the border back into the US, complete with a grouchy crossing guard, and we were on I-5 headed home.
The weather report stayed true, no rain at all, and mild enough tempsthat made the ride down I-5 a piece of cake.