Delta blues...

[MikeO]

18th June 2016

I sleep fairly well and wake during the night to find an email from Delta - the bag will be with me at 0900 - excellent. I slip back easily into the sleep of the gullible...

I eventually get up around 0800 and stumble about trying to feel vaguely human. A cup of tea helps - it always does...

0900 comes and goes without any sign of the bag. The Adv, waiting patiently in the garage...

...can't be loaded until the luggage arrives. I email Delta, who eventually reply and tell me that the 0900 refers to the time the bag is picked up by the delivery company, and that they have a six hour window to deliver it. They give me a link to a picture of the person delivering it, a picture of the car he will be driving, his mobile number and a link to a GPS tracker which will show me where he is. Super. The mobile number is not receiving calls and the GPS link is out of service.

Jorge uses his clout as a Delta Elite member to try to get things escalated, but without success. It's a poor show - as the airport is only 40mins or so away, and we could have arranged to go and pick it up if we'd been told what their actual plan was

Hey-ho - i have a shower and feel a little better.

Jorge, Jen and Rachel go and do stuff and I wait for the bag - it eventually arrives at about 1230, completely intact

I go into a packing frenzy and stuff all the gear into various panniers, roll sacks and tank bags until it's all gone. The snag with being delayed this long is that it has now put me in the clutches of some very unpleasant weather that I'd been hoping to race east and beat. When he returns, Jorge and I discuss various options to avoid the weather and I opt for heading on a scenic route to Eugene.
Eugene is only about 130 miles or so away, but I'm going to be setting off mid-afternoon and I don't want to be late, as the jet lag is still affecting me...

I eventually get on the road at about 1540, with Jorge's call of "Don't fucking break it Oughton!" ringing in my ears...

Doris (Bettie's American cousin) steers me through the backstreets of Beaverton and out into the Oregon countryside...

It's a beautiful cool afternoon with a slight westerly breeze - all is right with the world...

I spot this old lady at the side of the road - anyone like to guess make/model/year? It looks to still be in daily use, but he's going to have to get some paint on the bonnet pretty soon, I'd think...

A quick barn pic - I'm trying to get into the rhythm of the ride (and the ride report) - last September seems a long time ago...

Doris's route is superb - nothing earth-shattering, but just mile after mile of good roads with pleasant views...

I realise I've had nothing but a bowl of cereal since I got up - so make a quick McDonald's stop (it was the only convenient place) in West Salem, and burger-up...

Onward!

Doris's 'Winding Roads' option is great - it has taken no effort on my part to plan a great route, avoiding any dual carriageways (divided highways) or the centre of any towns.

About time we had a bridge, isn't it?

I keep pressing south...

The remnants of some of the storm cells are still around, but I only encounter a couple of drops of rain on my visor...

Here are a couple of elderly residents (I expect Grizz will be in tears at the state of the pick-up) - any guesses?

This one should be fairly easy, but how about this fire truck?

...or - whatever this is?

Nearly there now - and I'm quite glad of it - I'm tired despite last night's decent eight hours or so...

I'm soon entering Eugene and checking in at the Value Inn Motel, which has everything I need at the moment - a shower, huge bed and free wifi...

A good day - I type up yesterday's journal and then climb into bed - I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow...

 

[MikeO]

19th June 2017

Despite being alongside a main road, I sleep pretty well at the Value Inn Motel. I don't feel like breakfast, so just grab a Sprite from the drinks machine whilst I pack the bike.

I have no real plan for the day, so put a very distant point into Doris's software and ask her to take me there on a winding route. This takes a while so I carry on packing...

I'm on the road just before 1100, heading broadly east towards the distant point in Utah I have told Doris to take me to...

It's warmer than yesterday, with a high overcast. The roads are fairly busy, it being a Sunday and also Father's Day. I reckon getting lunch anywhere is going to be difficult, as most cafes and restaurants I pass have full car parks...

Covered timber bridges apparently last twice as long as uncovered ones.

I stop at a run down little gas station and market on the MacKenzie River and refuel the bike with Regular and myself with a slice of pizza and an ice cream sandwich (brunch of champions). I put two litres of cold water into the Camelback...

I liked this - some really positive action...

Onward!

A little further down the road, the Christmas Experience is open for business (although, it must be said, the car park was not exactly crammed full...).

Doris turns me up the MacKenzie Scenic byway, but it is not to be. This is the route I came down on my last visit - the snow must be hanging around unseasonably late this year...

I push the 'Roadblock' button on Doris and she sends me back onto the main road...

As I climb into the Cascades range, there is much evidence of past forest fires...

Mount Washington's snow capped peak dominates the horizon to my right.

Pretty soon I'm approaching the town of Sisters, named for these mountains...

Which definitely have more snow on them that last year...

I stop and take some pics at this Alpaca farm, the newly shorn Alpacas looking like dancers wearing leg warmers...

As I continue east, the landscape is becoming more arid...

...and I drink regularly from my Camelback...

By 1530 I'm feeling tired again (body-clock time is 2330), so I seek out a Best Western in Prineville and check in for the evening...

Huge bed, air-con, free coffee and - critically today - free HBO. Game of Thrones is on this evening...

I even get a 'Fresh Remote' - whatever that means...

Good day

 

[DC]

superb..absolutley superb….i just love these ride reports with the pics. Respect to you for posting them while away as it is a nightmare uploading just one ,never mind 20 of em

admin, this guys deserves a Tosser life membership ..see to it please

 

[UturnTony]

Enjoying this

 

[sparky56]

About time we had a bridge, isn't it?

I was just thinking that, we've had an old car, an old barn, we need a bridge.

 

[Ash]

More please ....

 

[Bryn]

About time we had a bridge, isn't it?


I was just thinking that, we've had an old car, an old barn, we need a bridge.

And some nosh pictures

 

[ShakeyGS]

Mike,

My sincere condolences for your Norwich AIrport experience but I'm afraid it will never get any better because; well; It's Norwich Airport - Nuff said.

Until 18 months ago I lived near North Walsham for 30 years+ and have had to suffer their uncaring amateurism many, many times.

Still and all, it looks like you now have the better part of the deal

 

[MikeO]

20th June 2016

I met a fellow rider, Dan Hughes, when checking in yesterday...

Dan's a retired engineer, who is on a tour of unspecified length (I think he said he'd been on the road two months and would have to be home for a wedding in August) from his home in New York State. We end up wandering over the road for dinner. At one point Dan asks
"Do you think there's something wrong with us, wanting to travel like this?" I assure him that some questions, including that - and totalling the cost of all the stuff you've bolted to your bike - are better left unasked, no good can come from knowing the answers...

I sleep well and wake early. I help myself to some breakfast from the well stocked buffet - and notice some 'must-have' footwear...

I pack the bike, refuel across the road and am on the road at just after 0800. I have about 350 miles to do today and want to get going...

Before I leave town, however, I spot a yard with a few ageing beauties for sale...

Any guesses on make/model/year?

Onward!

It's a beautiful, cool, clear morning and I encounter little traffic as I head east towards the Nevada border...

The landscape is high desert scrub, but the valley floors...

...are lush and green, either as a result of irrigators...

...or the river that has cut the valley.

I don't know anything about horses, but these looked beautifully groomed and fit...

There's a 55 mph list for most of the route - which is daft given the sight lines available, so I tend to use it as a guideline

Doris steers me off on a smaller (gravel) road and then tells me to turn left...

Hmm - seems the local ranch have different ideas. I push the 'Roadblock' button and Doris steers me up anther gravel logging road...

...which has been recently re-gravelled. I find it's more comfortable to stand on the pegs and let the rear end wag itself when it needs to - I can keep up a better average speed this way...

OK - this is getting repetitive...

Never mind, Doris steers me away at the touch of a button...

I'm soon back on tarmac...

...and making good progress towards Nevada...

At about 1100 I stop for fuel at some crappy truck stop in Burns and have a milkshake and a slice of pie served entirely to the waitresses's satisfaction...

Did learn something, though...

Straight after Burns, I descend into the Catlow Valley...

Which is green and lush with vegetation. It is also home to millions of quite large insects (couldn't work out what they were) which I run into like a hailstorm. It lasts several miles and my visor is smeared with the viscera of twenty or so. I stop and look at the oil cooler...

Can anyone identify them from that? (Don't worry Jorge - I cleaned the cooler )

Onward!

The temperature is steadily increasing as I head further east - I open the vents in my jacket...

At about 1330 I enter Nevada, and the speed limit increases to a more sane 70 mph...

One looks at the road tells me I'm in Nevada - the state was clearly founded by people with Roman lineage - they love a straight road here...

A Cessna along with other vehicles in the parking lot - I love it...

This building (abandoned and vandalised) is about 40 miles form the nearest habitation - it looks to have been a restaurant or similar...

I think the weird looking white structure you can see here is a VOR beacon (or something similarly aviation related). Sorry - after a lot of desert scrub, I'm willing to photograph pretty much anything...

I'm soon on finals for Winnemucca, with the fuel light on and a need to rest...

I check in to the room I booked at the Super 8, and unpack. I have treated myself to a six-pack of beer from where I filled up, and intend to have a quiet night in. The receptionist tells me it is 95 deg F...

Probably better clean that visor first, though...

Good day

 

[UturnTony]

The pictures are doing a great job Mike

 

[MikeO]

21st June 2016

The longest day dawns bright and early. The six-pack ensured I got an excellent night's sleep and I'm up, showered and dressed by 0630.

The Adv has survived the night unmolested and my usual check of levels and pressures reveal all is right. I pack the bike and - deciding to forego the lacklustre 'complimentary breakfast' of muffins and coffee, am on the road at just before 0700.

It's a glorious morning, with hardly a cloud in the sky and already warm - a pharmacy sign read 68 deg F. I follow Doris's directions, but am sidetracked (as ever) by elderly residents...

I could just picture Robert Deniro's character "Ace" in Casino driving this one (any guesses?).

No prizes for either of these...

...as the stickers kind of give the game away...

I have to say I think the pricing is a little ambitious. Still, if they are local cars, corrosion shouldn't be an issue...

My target for today is Wendover, on the Nevada/Utah border. Doris tells me it'll take just under six hours riding on the route she has selected. She gets me off on the Interstate (I80) for the first leg...

The speed limit is a sensible 75 and the Adv is comfortable at exactly that speed...

There's a ceiling of almost unbroken blue, the bike is purring along and all is well with the world...

I pass a couple of fellow motorcyclists, before Doris turns me off onto a well-made gravel road...

...with jack-rabbits bounding across all over the place...

It's a well made road, and I keep up a comfortable 70mph or so to begin with...

...but pretty soon it narrows and the surface gets less predictable, so my speed drops...

I ride through a dozen or so water crossings like this one - some deep, others less so. I get completely drenched three times, but the sun is so warm that I'm dry again in a matter of a few minutes...

I stop for a few minutes to admire the view - the silence complete except for the occasional hum of an insect and the plink and tinkle of the Adv cooling down...

This tiny Yurt was miles from anywhere - windmills and solar panels supplying its power needs - somebody's slice of paradise...

This one, not so much...

OK - I shall be really impressed if someone can come up with a make/model/year for this one...

Pretty soon, the dirt is coming to an end...

...and Doris steers me back towards the I80...

But not before I spot this foreign interloper...

...with his convertible cousin lurking behind him...

In Carlin, I stop for fuel and for breakfast. The State Inn had a creditably full car park (my usual guide to a good cafe), but they turned out to be good old boys drinking beer and playing pool next door - the cafe was empty...

Irene, the pleasant - if somewhat dentally challenged - waitress, brought me coffee and 'The Full Stack'...

...comprising three pancakes, two eggs 'over-easy' and some bacon. What's not to like?

Just as I'm about to set off again, a middle aged couple come into the cafe - they are from a small village near Gatwick in the UK - what are the chances?

I get kitted up and ride out of town, back towards the I80...

Another foreigner far from home...

It occurs to me that, although Doris is doing her best, there are very few roads out here. So what she's doing is taking me off at every junction there is a town, steering me through town, and then putting me back on the Interstate. This is fine when I want to refuel, or stop for a break, but otherwise pretty pointless, so I stay on I80 heading towards Wendover...

It's pretty warm now, and the cool of the tunnel was very pleasant for the minute or so that it lasted...

These are 'hoodoos' - rocks shaped by wind and sand over millennia...

I have all my vents open and am drinking nearly continuously from my Camelback (I got it refilled with iced water at Carlin)...

As Wending comes into sight, it is apparent it his built on the shore of a huge dry lake...

I swiftly find the Super 8 Motel, which, despite its rather austere looking exterior...

...reveals itself to be clean comfortable and cool. I unpack the bike, turn the ac to 'Pluto' and relax.

A good day...

 

[flatdog]

Old car with white bonnet and missing rear quarter = Studebaker Golden Hawk @ 1957 model. Lusted after one in the standard gold flake paint complete with brown plastic interior back in the early 80's.

Those bugs on the oil cooler look like juvinile locusts, if there were that many then they are swarming and will cause huge damage to crops as they mature.

Nice RR Mike as usual.

 

[MikeO]

Old car with white bonnet and missing rear quarter = Studebaker Golden Hawk @ 1957 model. Lusted after one in the standard gold flake paint complete with brown plastic interior back in the early 80's.

Yep

I think probably a 1955 - if that's the original door...

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Great report as always Mike. Keep those roads clear for me and my lot in August.

 

[ButtonMoon]

This is great !!

 

[MikeO]

22nd June 2016

After unpacking yesterday, I felt a little peckish, so ordered a spinach and ricotta pizza from the local shop.

After writing up the journal, I watched some TV and then dozed off, waking at about 0200. I managed to get back to sleep, but it wasn't the most restful night. I think I may have passed from Pacific Time to Mountain Time, so I'm only seven hours behind the UK now...

I spotted this advertising hoarding on the road into Wendover yesterday - I Googled the website and found myself here, amounts some real conspiracy theory loons...

Anyway - I pack the bike and set off at about 1000, or 1100 - I'm not sure. I refuel just up the road at a Shell garage next to a couple of casinos (everywhere you go in Nevada there is a casino)...

A couple of pumps over is a chap filling two large diesel tanks on this monster...

...all set for the zombie apocalypse.

I set off across the Great Salt Lake - home to many land speed records...

It goes on forever...

Well, for 42 miles anyway. I try to think of what a forbidding place this must have been to the first settlers reaching here. Crossing this by wagon and horse must have been a test of endurance...

About halfway across is this odd structure, which turns out to be a piece of artwork by artist Karl Momen, called "Metaphor, the tree of Utah"...

Pretty soon we're clear of the Salt Lake and in sagebrush desert again. I keep the Adv at 80mph - it seems happy at this speed and the miles tick off. Once again, Doris is struggling to find a winding route for me - there just aren't that many options in the desert (would you build roads on this climate if you didn't have to?).

I once again see trucks with their fuel-saving aerofoils on the rear of the trailers. I wonder - if the claims of fuel saving are accurate - why I don't see more of them?

We descend into another flat valley floor, the water of the shallow lakes shimmering on either side of the road...

At length, after 85 miles on the I80, Doris turns me off onto a smaller, two lane road, Utah 36. We soon enter Grantsville, where I decide to have a spot of lunch (I skipped breakfast)...

At the Casa del Ray restaurant, I enjoy a couple of large glasses of iced lemonade, followed by...

...a chicken taco salad

Ellie and the team...

...are great fun and obviously enjoy their jobs - I like their attitude towards unattended children too...

I catch up on some admin and note that I'll have to stop stowing my iPhone in the map case in full sunlight...

I get kitted back up and point the Adv back towards Doris's route, spotting this old lady on the way...

Come on - this one's easy...

I rejoin the 36 and pass a sign saying that there is damage to the road surface - someone has written "for next 10 miles" in Magic Marker underneath. Well they weren't wrong...

There has been the occasional effort to fill some pretty big potholes with tarmac, but the most common 'solution' has been to pour tons of gravel on top of the tarmac surface and spread it about. It's really unpredictable, with deep patches of gravel appearing and some potholes which seems to have been missed. Not the best of roads, although the Adv took it all in its stride...

It's a bit warm. Jorge's bike doesn't have a thermometer fitted, but it's definitely a bit sticky. Although it's dry heat, opening my visor is like opening an oven door - it's actually cooler to keep it closed.

Found these two gems in the town of Vernon...

In the distance I can see that it's trying to rain...

...but the precipitation is evaporating before it reaches the ground. This phenomenon, called Virga, can lead to wildfires when it happens in a thunderstorm. The lightning strikes start fires, but the rain evaporates before it can hit the ground and help extinguish them...

It's gradually beginning to cloud over, and I wonder if we're in for some weather, but by this time I'm on short finals for the Days Inn at Delta, where I have a room booked.

Spotted this beauty on the way into town - any guesses?

It being a hot day and all, I decide to fuel up and buy something to drink. The girl behind the till asks if I am carrying a bird on the bike. One of the more unusual questions I have been asked, but apparently they had a chap come through yesterday on a bike, on his way to Kansas with a parakeet in a cage on the pillion seat. Apparently the bird did not look happy...

I notice a couple of fellow travellers from Texas checking in - like me they are keen to get into their air conditioned rooms and get de-kitted - we'll maybe get acquainted later - I discover it is 103 deg F...

I unload the bike, switch the AC to max chill and open a beer - good day

 

[Ash]

Superb as ever Mike...

 

[Nutty]

Enjoying this Mike.

I'd be interested to know how much weight you lose on one of these trips, as you must sweat buckets?

 

[UturnTony]

Again, great pictures Mike.

 

[flatdog]

Enjoying this Mike.

I'd be interested to know how much weight you lose on one of these trips, as you must sweat buckets?

The Nerdy GSER