The Queen boys on the coast

DAY 5 IMGUR ALBUM

Started in The Dalles, and headed over to Mount Hood on Dufur Valley Roady. Side note - in the first couple of pics below, the green crops on the hillsides are asparagus! Don't know why, but that's just really neat.

The roads were dry, and it was C-C-C-C-C-COLD for the first hour or so.. we pulled over to warm our hands in the exhaust at one point!
South from Mount Hood we went on to Crater Lake, and if you go to Oregon and don't see Crater Lake, you're an idiot. Not much else to say there. Haven't seen anything like it. The pictures don't do justice to the scale and majesty of the place.

Day 6 IMGUR ALBUM

Started in Klamath Falls, Dad headed East to get back to Graham, while Mckinley and I made our way on extremely curvy roads to Ukiah, California. There was almost no straight road on this section, and it also included 10 or so miles of EXTREMELY potholed and bumpy roads, and then 18 miles of washboarded, potholed dirt roads. On our Harleys equipped with hard bags and mine with a full front fairing. The rear wheel of my Street Glide was bounced somewhere around a foot off the ground at one point due to a ridge hiding in a shadow.
But other than the dirt and potholed section, the roads were excellent. We made around 360 miles and called it good.

Day 7 (same IMGUR album as day 6)

Took Hwy 253 West out of Ukiah, and then 128 south back to 101 so we could visit our cousin in Petaluma. Both of those roads were AMAZING! More twisty and tighter, with less sweepers, it took a lot of concentration just to keep a good flow going. We took 101 into Petaluma, which is basically a freeway, spent 3 hours chatting with our cousin, and then headed into San Francisco to turn the bikes in at 4pm (after washing off the copious amounts of dust from day 6). Walked into Chinatown for dinner, explored just a little, and went to bed.

Total mileage for us was just under 2100 miles for 7 days of some of the best riding we've ever done. Renting the bikes made it a lot easier to manage the logistics. If I had unlimited time off, I would've ridden out and back, but this is the longest vacation I've ever had, and I was able to really enjoy all of it.

Next time Washington to New York maybe?

Great ride. I just got through the whole thing now I need to open all the pictures.

mitchntx said:

Happy father's day, James. Yer a lucky man.

Click to expand...

Yes I am.

Awesome ride, so glad you are sharing. Yachats, Oregon...wonder how many folks know it's pronounced like "yawhots"? [emoji10]Crater lake on a bike was on my bucket list got a check mark about 4 years ago. To bad you hit so much rain.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

You guys are awesome. What a trip!

The West Coast is one place I haven't ridden much at all and need to get to.

Well Bear with me a little as I tend to wander, am easily distracted and confused most of the time. I'll try to relate the the facts and just the facts the best that I recall.

Prep bike. New chain and rear sprocket (+- 2000 miles on them before I left ) and lubed ,new battery, Check valve lash, new Michelin PR4 rear and used PR4 front ( still has probably 2000 miles left in it, thanks Kevin ) mounted a week before leaving, change oil and filter. Tools open end and socket with 1/4 & 3/8 drive ratchets, pliers, spark plug tool, front axle 17 hex, 8" crescent, cable ties, jump cable, allen tools, tire plugs and tools, internal casing patch, 2 air pumps, CHAIN MASTERLINK. 1 gal gas strapped on in front of my topcase.

Personal had a full change of clothes with extra set of under clothes. toiletries, medications for 28 days, jeans and Tshirt top, mesh over pants and Jacket w liner and rain liner, wind and rain resistant top and bottom, pullover wind breaker, LJ bottoms, Safety hoodie and frog toggs rain suit. 3 pair gloves. Toboggan and neck warmer. At one time or another I wore every layer. The only part of me that got really cold was my hands. I will have better gloves next time. I always had at least one more layer I could put on.

Emergency bivy sack, thermal blanket, butane lighters, 1st aid kit, and Butler maps for every state I intended to be in.

All this to say I was as prepared as I knew how knowing that I was going to be solo for about 4000 miles in some pretty remote country. ( 6,235 miles total)
Route to Oregon

Start Mileage



Return to Texas


Return Mileage




Day 1 I pulled out of my drive at 5:00 am. I changed my original plans and took 180 west, Hobbs, Carlsbad, El Paso, Deming, Pulled into motel 6 Lordsburg @ 6:00 pm, 690 miles. There was very little traffic the whole way. It was a bit warm but not terrible. Wind blew the whole trip, but still pretty enjoyable. Best section of riding was surprisingly the 25 mile loop 375 around to the north side of El Paso. OK OK so that's not saying much for the rest of the ride, but the loop is fun. Checked in and went next door to Kranberry's Restaurant for supper back to the room washed my undergarments, showered and off to bed. On the way out of town the next morning I found a neat little war memorial down town, but that's a story for Day 2.

Day 2
Left Lordsburg 6:00 am Texas time (I was on Texas time all the time, early to bed and all that), and stopped at a war memorial on the way out. Still dark but I manage a couple pics.











Intending to overnight in Winslow, I was just going to take it easy today. Stopped in Clifton for coffee, gas and a bit of looky look. Springerville chatted with an elderly gentleman for a minute. Conversation went something like " You better watch out for them people out there they'll run over you. I try to watch. Run smooth over ya. What kinda bike is that? Its a Honda. Is it one of them quiet ones. Yeah its quiet. BMW huh? All them BMW s are Quiet. I use to ride. Rode a Harley. It was loud. All Harley s are loud. I don't ride anymore. Pull up to a red light and fall over. Just fall right over. Stop signs too. Been thinking about one of them 3 wheelers. They're nice. Well young feller watch out for them people out there they'll run right over ya." Been a long time since I been called young feller.

Then on to Winslow Mickey D's for lunch around 2:00 pm. Met and visited with John ? a bit and then went to the park to stand on the corner.














I can only take it easy for so long and it was only a little after 2:00 pm so I decided to go on to Flagstaff. Flagstaff Motel 6 about 4:30 pm. I can remember when they would have left a light on for me, but no more had to turn it on myself. Wind was brutal all day, and the heat was impressive., Hwy 191 spectacular.

I passed John who I met in Winslow and then he took same exit I did and stopped to say he was going to eat at Cracker Barrel. Turns out I was at the wrong Motel 6, got to the right one then headed over to CB for supper. John was leaving but came back in for a cup of coffee. Turns out he is from Southern California and had riddden an older shaddow to Baltimore Md. by way of Waco to visit his daughter and was on his way back home. Black leather bags, no wind shield, he was envious of my 54 horsepower.

Few more pics From Day 2







That's all for tonight more tomorrow after lunch.

This is not the typical jq ride report.....no flats?

Great rr, keep it coming!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Love that convo with the older gent, thanks for including it.

Great write up, Mr. Queen. Looking forward to more.

More day 2

S0 Day 2 I started hearing chain noise, stopped several times and checked, little slack but nothing to be concerned about right

misterk said:

This is not the typical jq ride report.....no flats?

Great rr, keep it coming!



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Ain't it great. The no flats that is. Then there is this.


before




After

Day 3 Flagstaff to South Rim to Monument Valley to Mexican Hat to Blanding Utah. Pulled out of Flagstaff 5:30 Texas Time 3:30 Flagstaff, trying unsuccessfully to beat the wind. I-40 to Williams then north to Tusayan for breakfast and first chain adjustment At Mickey D. About 10 miles before Tusayan vehicle kept flashing light at me as we met. Anothe couple mile huge Bull Elk dead beside road. I stopped an took a couple pics, but won't post them here. Instead how bout this guy munchung the pansies at the south rim entrance. Nice size bull in Velvet.







Several female Elk in city limits of Tusayan that I didn't get pics


South Rim



















Well just about every stop I would adjust the chain. Too tight, too loose, too tight. Could not figure out what was happening. Knew it had to be stiff link put it on center stand spin wheel, could not spot the link. Finally adjusted where it was a little loose and wasn't getting terribly tight in rotation.

On to monument valley.

Thru Mexican Hat to Blanding Utah, room at 4 Corners Inn. Unloaded and put bike up on centerstand again. Finally spotted the missing clip on the masterlink. Don't know when it came off or why. I know it was put on correctly because I know the installer personally and he makes very few mistakes that are public knowledge. I also found the stiff link that was causing the problem. Well I had a spare master link with clip. Th groove inthe link were clearly visible and it appeared the side plate had not moved at all, so put the clip on the masterlink. Spinning the wheel backward could not spot the problem, link, spinning it forward easy to spot. The chain needed to be replaced. So now do I turn and go in the opposite direction for the nearest MC part or do I continue my intended route?

Met a couple guys on a Wing and a King from South Carolina and and we chatted for quite a while. They had been touring and were headed back to SC. We all agreed the prudent thing to do is head toward Mesa Verde in the morning in the hopes I could get a chain. Meanwhile I called number 3 at home and told him to bring another ML I had at home along with a front CS. He also pulled up some alternatives and sent them to me.

The shop at Mesa Verde opens at 9:00 am. Utah Time. I'm up at 5:30 TT. Mesa Verde is 20 miles in the wrong direction, Panguitch is only about 270 miles or so on my intended route. I managed to hold off until 7:30 and then I left for the Ferry at Halls Crossing. Got to Halls Crossing at 9:30, the ferry leaves to cross Lake Powell to Bullfrog at 10:00 am. My senior National Parks pass got me in free. I chatted motorcycles with the park range for about 5 min filled up with gas and was in line for the ferry with 15 minutes to spare. The dogs in the car in front of me had obviously never seen a "young Feller" in a helmet before. We became fast friends. The were 12 year old litter mates one solid pure white, the other coal black.




















From Bullfrog to Burr Trail Road, Boulder, Escalante, Bryce and into Panguitch for the night. I included this on a recommendation from JMZ and it was a great choice. BLM 12000 turns into Burr Trail which turns into a graded dirt road for a few miles. The first half was smooth as a baby's cheek. Then it turned to washboard and the NC doesn't do washboard comfortably. Thought it was going to shake the topcase off. Stopped twice to see if I had a flat. Well riding from the southeast to northwest you start to climb out the first hairpin is pretty washboarded and kinda sneaks up on ya. The NC does pretty well, but it isn't a mountain goat and my skill may be suspect at best. At any rate the switchbacks certainly had my full attention.


Close to top of north end of Burr Trail Road. Notice 12% grade with hairpin switchbacks. Washboard rocky road coming up is a bit sketchy on fully loaded bike, at least for me.

Day 5 Panaguitch to Saint George Utah.
So everybody knows that Rocky Mountain ATV has a store in Saint George, Utah, right. And everybody knows that Rocky has every MC part known to man. I formulated a plan the night before. Saint George is about 145 miles if you take the scenic tour. Get up early, get on the road, eat breakfast in Saint George, be standing at the door at 9 when they open. Buy chain minimum and sprockets if they have them. Change em out in the parking lot, mount up and head back north to get back on track. That is exactly what I did....... It is Sunday......

Well this is the way I spent my Sunday.


Laundry dries quickly in the Utah heat.


Ernie and I have a meal of 7 layer dip, chips diet coke and some of his baked goods. I don't normally take pic of my meals, but this one was kinda special.



Stayed in my room and pouted the rest of the day.

Day 6 Rocky ATV, to Hawthorne, Utah

Got up fairly early, visited with a couple guys mounting knobbys on a KTM, they were prepping to ride some dirt. Ya know 9:00am and half the day is gone. Already lost one day now gonna get a late start on this one.

Standing at the door when they open.



Buy the chain, no sprockets. Tell me where the Honda store is they don"t have them either. I was not concerned with the sprockets, as I said earlier the rear was basically new when I left. The front was showing no wear. Still I would have replaced them just because if they had them. Still lots of miles to go before getting home. Went back to the motel parking lot replaced the chain and waved by at the guys mounting the tires. It is hot in Saint George Utah, and didn't improve a whole lot thruout the day. Had planned to ride from Pangutch north and catch 50 west across Utah.

Instead went south I-15 to Glendale 168 - 93 -318/375 - 375. Coming out of St George I fell in behind a couple 2 up on a Harley. I quickly realized they were doing +5. Everytime the speed limit changed he would adjust his speed and be doing +5. I maintained my distance and just enjoyed the ride lookin at the scenery thru the cuts. Not worrying too much about my speed we were passing all the traffic. Lots of truck traffic thru the hills and I lost them just before my exit 91. That was just about the last pleasant part of the day. Turning on 375 toward Tonopah I could see a cattleguard ahead and a sagebrush rolling across the road in front of me. I crossed the CG and instantly the wind was crazy. A small sagebrush hit my left leg and it was like being hit with a basketball. Due to the late start and already 1 lost day today was about making miles. One pic today and it was pretty appropriate.




Stopped in Tonopah for gas and an apple for lunch. Pulling out of Tonopah the sign said next gas 100 miles, and the scenery ahead will make you look at your gas gauge even though you just filled up. Miles and miles of miles ahead. Stopped in Hawthorne for the day 407 miles. Was having a coke at Mickey D an older gentleman asked if that was my bike with the Texas Tags. He was 81 and a former BMW rider who had just recently quit. Had a very pleasant 15 minute conversation. Checked into the Travel Lodge and walked across to EL Capitan Casino. 4 riders with Ontario tags checking in to motel. Had a Ceasars Steak salad, very good. Thought I would walk thru the casino drop 5 or 6 bucks into a one arm bandit to see if I could win a free trip to the west coast. Been a long time since I was in a casino, 40+ years. No one arm bandits, just buttons and bright lights. Think I'll keep my 5 bucks and buy a Blizzard. I could sure use some cool.

More tomorrow.

Awesome!
“Pouted in my room the rest of the day.” LOL

Day 7 Hawthorne to Fallon, Silver Springs, Dayton , Carson City, South Lake Tahoe, Placerville, Sacramento, Petaluma, Days Inn, Novato California.
Had I been on my original track/schedule I would have awakened in Placerville this morning with a short 135 mile run into Novato or Petaluma. My plan was to come across Nevada on 50 from Ely. Instead I have about a 350 mile day, make that 370, but should be back on schedule.

Woke up 5:00 am still on Texas time, so I used the time to catch up some notes on my wanderings, ( see I do pay attention SAB ).

Leaving Hawthorne to Walker Lake great stretch of road. Down on the lake side of the road are what I believe to be several head of Desert Bighorn Sheep. Could be wrong about that as I flunked animal recognition in 4th grade misidentifying a black and white kitty cat.










There are several more head that had moved just below a little rise and out of sight before I could get the camera out.

I head out to Fallon, thru Fallon I miss my turn on 50 to Silver Springs and wind up in Fernley. No biggie catch Alt95 S and come in from the north to Silver Spring. Absolutely stunning view of Lahontan Reservoir so kinda glad I missed my turn. You'll have to take my word for it because I didn't see a good place to stop for a picture without turning around.

I've heard Montana called Big Sky country, so i figger it must be some where close to here. Absolutely beautiful.

Moseying on along I come across a horse herd grazing beside road just outside Dayton. Traffic whizzing by, no one seems to be paying attention, but me.. Have no idea if these are wild or belong to a ranch here as almost all is open range.






Carson City on to South Lake Tahoe stunning views, fun road heavy traffic mild temperatures.







Again I passed by all the really good places for pictures. Going thru the town of Strawberry rather large wagon train was forming up.

From Placerville into Sacramento then south on I-

80 to 37 (Sears Point Road) west toward Novato. Never ever will I be guilty of going close to Sacramento again, and 37 was worse. 2 lane bumper to bumper by San Pablo Bay. First road I saw turn north, I took. Didn't know where I was or where I was going but I was out of that traffic and that was good enough. Almost. Turned out to be Lakeville road which eventually led me to Petaluma, which was one of my destinations. Jump on ramp to 101 N to look for a motel, and realize I have just entered a huge parking lot. Managed to get to the first exit and make a U-turn and head south on 101 to Novato. No traffic to speak of. Now to find a room. Got a room at the Day's Inn for one night, they were booked the next night.

I have a niece in Petaluma I was intending to drop by and visit unannounced on my free day. I decided that if 101 was like that the next morning I was going nowhere and the boys could just come get me and lead me outta there.

Day 8, the day to rest up find a meetup place and catchup with my niece in Petaluma if possible. During the night somehow they managed to move the parking lot form 101 north to 101 South into San Francisco. I felt much better about may chances for escape now and headed to Petaluma. Talking with number 3 previously we decided to meetup in Olema on Hwy 1. Now if I could just find Olema. My wife says I should just stop and ask directions so I did. I got a door slammed in my face twice before I could ask where Olema was. All I could hear was "It's my Uncle James from Texas". So my niece opened the door again and I so wish I could have gotten a picture of her face the first time she opened the door. After a huge hug we visited for a couple hours with her and her husband. They told me the best way to get to Olema from where my Motel in Petaluma is. I left and made my way to Olema.







Made my way back to Motel 6 Petaluma to finish my day of rest. Check with the boys and talk with the better half.

Day 9 West Coast Thursday June 7.
I was up early again and ready for coffee. When they fired the guy that used to leave the light on for you, I guess he took all the coffee pots from all the Motel 6's as a severance package. Anyway the clerk was making some in the office. In the meantime I asked if there was a place in walking distance to get a cup of coffee and maybe a bite to eat. He told me there was a Starbucks just down the road about a 5 minute walk. I wasn't too happy about that. 5 minutes can be a long time for a "young feller" in bad need of a cup of coffee. I wasn't too thrilled about Starbucks either. Just as I turned the corner to Starbucks a Burger king came into view and saved the day. Back at the motel I was in and out of the lobby a dozen times for coffee. I wasn't leaving until just before checkout.

I got to Olema about 11:30 or so. Turned my GPS off and didn't turn it on again for 5 days. Hurry up and wait. Boys arrived about an hour and a half later.




























I had an egg sandwich the day before and pretty good so the boys have a sandwich and then we hit the road. I don't have a clue from here until I split off next Tuesday Morning where we are or what our destination is. We see some fantastic scenery. Found the best chowder I've ever had. I can't keep up with these hooligans so when they don't see me for a while they just pull over and wait. When the see me coming they take of.

I will post some more pics tomorrow. The trip so far has been great. It gets better.