Bear Canada 002 - Flight to Mexico

This is an epic tale written by an idiot, full of sound and fury, yet signifying nothing. I'm finally putting my ride report on here so I could share with all of you. (And I'm so in need external recognition for my efforts.) [Warning author can be a self-depreciating sarcastic basterd.] So sit back, grab a and popcorn and enjoy. I've already posted on my own site earlier, so I'll be playing catchup on here.

The reason for the trip is simple. I used work as electrician in Vancouver. Well that dried for the time being, so I had two options. One would be to sit around and twiddle my thumbs, collecting EI, waiting for work to restart and get repetitive strain injury. Or two, cash in my vacation pay, load up the bike and head to Mexico. Most of you can figure what option I picked. (Hint: this site is not called loafingaroundunlimited.com now is it.)

One thing I can say is that I thought I was an old hat at this traveling to Alaska and across Canada. Boy I've found out later that I was wrong.

Mike

PS: The Bear theme was a tradition of my old motorcycle racing club, Team Grizzly. All our projects had to have a bear in it's name. As the sole remaining member, I have a tradition to uphold!.

PPS: If you say you've seen this before, you probably have on other sites. I just read Susan's "rant" on the ezine, and thought I best stay on her good side and supply some fresh content.

PPPS: As I'm reposting this, I will add comments and observations in italics that have become painfully clear courtesy of hingsight. Also understand that every moment is a learning experience, especially if you keep your mind open to it.

Now on to boring you senseless...

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Day 1 - April 13th
Surrey BC to Kalaloch WA
Today was a mixed day. I didn't bolt out the door at first light. So I hit the border around 9:00am. I got grilled by a US customs officer with questions, like how long have you had the bike, and have you done long trips like this before, etc. Apparently my laizez-faire attitude towards planning should be hidden at border posts.

The ride south was fairly uneventful, aside from dodging crap rain. I hit a patch outside of Seattle, but once I got to Olympia is was all fine and sunshine. While slogging through the rain I thought of diverting west from Olympia and going straight to Aberdeen on the coast. But I was lulled by the nice weather, so I decided to head north up the Olympic Peninsula like I originally planned. Well I was rewarded by finding more cold rain. I did hit Port Angeles and veered back south. I pushed daylight a bit and finally stopped in the sun at a nice campsite at Kalaloch. The temps were barely in the double digits. Thankfully my gear has held up. I may regret taking my heavyweight riding gear later, but not now. So I'm typing this in the dark at Kalaloch while the Pacific Ocean roars away outside. (Tip: Earplugs are priceless! Get custom ones if you can.)


Day 2 - April 14th
Kalaloch, WA to Cape Lookout OR
Another day of nice riding. Well almost all nice riding. I did get lost in Astoria, OR but that's obligatory and best to get it out of the way. Also I did have some minor mechanical issues forcing me to stop early at 5pm to do some maintenance on the bike. But the weather was nice and the roads were good so it all ends up on the plus side.

I did see another rider pull into camp. So I decided to say "hi" I ran into Zack. I found out that he was not only from BC, but he was from New West. (a rock's throw from home) I also found out that he's an electrician like myself. Then I find out that he works for Granby Electric, which is the industrial branch of Goodwin group of companies. I incidentally work for Bridge which is the commercial branch of Goodwin. (Cue "It's a Small World After All")


Day 3 - April 15th
Cape Lookout, OR to Orlick, CA
The sun is shining and the roads starts to be good. The day didn't start out so well since I found out my tent's fly was leaking. It was a wet messy start. But the roads were nice and twisty. I rode with Zack. It was quite fun trying to keep up with a GSXR-600. The views were awesome as well. A nice oregonian lady also filled us on a nice little little detour. Traveling route 101 is best done with a sense of exploration. There were few nice little detours along the way.

I did crash a hotel in the end since arriving in California I found out that a campsite for tenting ran around $30. So I spent the extra $20 an got a hotel room.

Day 4 - April 16th
Orlick, CA to Olema, CA
OK, I have to say that it looks like too much of a good thing has nearly did me in. Heading south I rode along Route 101 and detoured into the Avenue of the Giants. This section was really cool since the road meandered through the giant redwoods. Some of these huge trees were right at the edge of the road.

Then I veered off of Route 101 at Legget and turned on to Route 1. All I can say is "wow!". The road quickly turned into a pile of "whoa, this is cool" corners. (read: super tight and slow speed.) Once I reached the coast, the corners eased up into sections of "wheee!" (nice and faster twisty sections) and "wah-hoo" (Stupid fast straight sections). There were a few "holy crap" (decreasing radius) and some "son of a ..." (sudden sharp) corners. Then after the road starts hugging the coast in sets of wild sweepers. Attacking this whole road is not recommended in one shot. All the twisting and turning got me to the point where I wasn't as sharp as I should be. I did try to stop, but several campsites were full. I figured that I was competeting with the weekend warrior, and they snuck into camp while I was out playing. I rolled into Olema and set up camp in the dark. (Tip: Head mounted flashlights are also priceless.)

Day 5 - April 17th
Olema, CA to San Fransisco, CA
The run to San Fransisco was a short one. I spent most of the day wandering the city by bike and some time at the bay waterfront. I stopped for lunch at Pier 39's Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The shrimp was good, but I recommend watching Forrest Gump before going. Why, you ask? Because I got grilled on trivia from the movie. (They drop hints so you won't feel like a complete idiot though.) I decided to hole up in a hotel for a couple of days to take a break and explore the city. Also I can use this opportunity to catch up on a few things. (Like Grant pointed out in the Achievable Dream, sometimes you need a vacation from the vacation.)