Last chance to see...

[Hairnet600]

chin up mike

you had some time off the bike - maybe a little more?

having recovered from serious medical in january - thoughts and things even though what has happened has gone - it still plays on yer mind and i know all about that - but it will pass and you will move on

it will be better - it cant not

the sidestand sucks but you should be able to sort that

i was upset when it fell over the second time in case it landed on you or it unable to continue

 

[MikeO]

20th September 2023

Thanks for all the kind words...

I have done nothing for the past 48 hours here at Tonopah, except sleep and thought about what to do next. I had a chat with Jorge and have decided to take a slow trip back to Portland, where the replacement side stand should be by then. I'm aiming to do 200ish miles per day, and - by the look of it - will be dodging some weather in Oregon.

I'm booked into the same Motel 6 in Reno tomorrow night - about 230 miles.

I have come up with a strategy to deal with the difficulty I have with the lack of a side stand. I'll refuel each morning, or evening, with the bike completely unloaded, which will make its weight and balance manageable. If I need to stop during the day - I will rely on the kindness of strangers to 'spot' me when I need to get off or on.

So, don't expect the report to be exciting - it will just be a method of getting back, fixing the bike, and then (probably) going on again.

 

[DrFarkoff]

20th September 2023

Thanks for all the kind words...

I have done nothing for the past 48 hours here at Tonopah, except sleep and thought about what to do next. I had a chat with Jorge and have decided to take a slow trip back to Portland, where the replacement side stand should be by then. I'm aiming to do 200ish miles per day, and - by the look of it - will be dodging some weather in Oregon.

I'm booked into the same Motel 6 in Reno tomorrow night - about 230 miles.

I have come up with a strategy to deal with the difficulty I have with the lack of a side stand. I'll refuel each morning, or evening, with the bike completely unloaded, which will make its weight and balance manageable. If I need to stop during the day - I will rely on the kindness of strangers to 'spot' me when I need to get off or on.

So, don't expect the report to be exciting - it will just be a method of getting back, fixing the bike, and then (probably) going on again.

What about hiring a car (big or small doesn't matter ) where you are ?? (A GMC Denali would work for me since you are living our dream )

Enjoy the scenery from Air con comfort maybe even load the GS in the back and drop off back at Jorge's

What ever floats your boat Mike We will still be reading it

 

[MikeO]

I awake before the alarm and have a long shower and general ablute, before getting dressed. First order of events - refueling

The Adv is a big bike, but devoid of all its luggage is easy to handle - I get it off its centre stand and swing my leg over the saddle without a second thought. I ride down to the Chevron station without a jacket or helmet - what an outlaw...

I fill up with Premium at a seemingly reasonable $5.29 per gallon, then ride back towards the hotel, stopping at the Strawberry Hill Diner...

...which I had spotted on the way down...

It's a great little Mexican restaurant, with friendly staff and a full car park. I choose from an extensive breakfast menu...

...and select New York steak (medium) with two eggs over easy and hash browns - with sourdough toast...

I also had three large glasses of strawberry lemonade and coffee. It was all great.

I ride back up to the motel and have a bit of a rest before starting to pack.

With the ease I'm able to get the bike on and off its stand when it's unladen - I'm wondering if the difficulty I'm having when it's loaded is just inside my head...

 

[LOLGEOFF]

You haven't mentioned a Mom and Pop restaurant yet, are they all gone now where you are?

 

[MikeO]

I get on the road at exactly 1100 - check-out time. The Travel Inn looks a little rough and ready from the outside, but the room was huge and spotless, the bed very comfortable and the AC works - definitely an upvote.

It's unusually a cool day - about 60F - but that's no bad thing. I head out of Tonapah, passing a sign warning that the next gas is 100 miles. I set a cruise at about 75mph (it's a 70 limit) and watch the miles tick down.

Today's ride isn't going to be infected by too much scenery...

I notice something really bright a few miles off to my right...

Here's another pic. I think it's a solar furnace - and a quick Google search at the end of the day suggests I'm right...

The hills on the horizon appear out of the haze...

There are lots of clouds about - a combination of which, with hills, never ends well...

I get to the end of Bettie's 100-mile leg in the dusty town of Hawthorne. There is some form of Army munitions unit here, and oddly configured buildings dot the landscape...

I decide it's time for a break. No sign of any small diners, so I stop at...

...the El Capitan Casino (everywhere is a casino in Nevada)...

I walk in and am immediately hit by the smell of tobacco smoke - in Nevada, smoking is permitted anywhere food is not being served...

I find my way to the restaurant area - which doesn't have doors closing it off from the slots - and order a Cobb Salad and sweet tea, as they didn't have lemonade...

I'd parked the bike quite confidently and was thinking that I may be able to put this funk and lack of confidence behind me...

I get the bike off the stand, and - a bit shakily - get on it and follow Bettie's directions out of town.

There is a roadside museum of sorts, obviously playing to the Army camp that appears to be the sole source of income for the town...

It has lots of exhibits...

A little further up the road is this venerable old lady...

...fenced off to keep her safe. Any guesses for make/model/year?

I follow Bettie's directions towards Reno - about 140 miles away - and wonder what transgression some poor soldier would have to be caught doing to secure a tour here. One hundred miles from Tonapah - itself hardly a sink of bohemian depravity...

I almost pulled off the road to take a pic here - and if I had, I would have a pic of a Cessna following the edge of the water, a few feet above the level of the road...

Leaving the lake behind, we're soon back in the long. lonely highways which Nevada loves to make - and at a very civilised 70mph limit...

Things start getting interesting on the horizon...

In fact, they look like hell on toast...

I stop at a Dairy Queen - and very nearly drop the bike getting off. Luckily a chap getting out of his car behind me helped me stop it from going over. I manage to tweak a few muscles in my back and shoulders...

Anyway, I order a lemonade and - in honour of @GSgal, A Peanut Butter Parfait - as it was her favourite...

I get back to the bike - and coopt the help of a kind chap to spot me whilst I get back on.

All the confidence I had felt earlier today has deserted me - I actually feel shaky and I'm dreading the rest of the ride to Reno.

Sorry for the shaky pic - just moving off from a red light. There's a Naval Air Station at Fallon, NV - any guesses for make and model?

Weird number plate and surround - Military Police?

But there's more!

As I follow Bettie's directions toward Reno on Highway 50, I run into a sharp squall - with a vicious gusty wind from the right. I maintain my speed, but passing box trucks is an exercise in coordination, as the bike is whipped one way and then another, as you come out of the truck's lee side...

The rain comes quickly - cold, sharp, and light, but enough to chill me. I'm doing all the relaxation techniques taught me at Driving School, but cannot relax my jaw and shoulders. Both shoulders and my jaw ache as I type this a couple of hours later...

There is a relatively dry spell, then a steady drizzle starts to fall as I enter the urban freeway at Sparks. This is during a stop-and-go traffic snarl - rush hour.

I am looking at the next turn Bettie has for me - and realise I have put Reno Airport in as the destination, not the hotel.

Nine miles later, I pull in front of the hotel, at the same time as a chap in a pick-up truck. I ask for his help, which he cheerfully gives.

I check in for two nights.

I am done.

I will arrange to get the bike to Portland (likely via U-Haul or similar). If I try to keep riding I will either wreck the bike, injure myself, or both - my confidence is completely gone...

I call Jorge and tell him of my decision - I don't think he was surprised - he only wants what's best for me. We agree to talk over options in the morning...

 

[Tinytim]

I am done.

I will arrange to get the bike to Portland (likely via U-Haul or similar). If I try to keep riding I will either wreck the bike, injure myself, or both - my confidence is completely gone...

I call Jorge and tell him of my decision - I don't think he was surprised - he only wants what's best for me. We agree to talk over options in the morning...

Sorry to read this Mike but I think its the right decision and like Jorge, I'm not surprised. Always really enjoyed your trips but this one just hasn't had that "vibe" to it that you normally give out. ( I've been on the edge of my seat every time you stop and dismount!)
Like some of the interminably dull landscape that you've crossed, this has all come across as a bit flat. Chin up old boy, you win some, you lose some eh.
Best wishes.

 

[DrFarkoff]

I bet there is a lot of relief in making the decision Mike

Any value to reducing the volume of kit you have with you ?? and sending the panniers back to Jorge Thus lightening the load ? and making the GS a less unwieldy beast?

Whatever you Do? Thanks for sharing and only sorry that you have this issue

Next time Polaris 3 wheeler??


Keep Safe and have a Safe onward Journey Sir

 

[RedRick Esq.]

Mike

I have always loved your trip reports

However just sometimes discretion really is the best part of valour and on those days or weeks when the love for biking isnt there and all you can do is fear the worst happening ( in your head obviously) it is better and safer not to ride and feeling as you describe you have IMO made the sensible and correct choice

Such a shame but i am confident that you will get over this temporary mind fuck and be back in the sadlle with wonderful RRs soon

Enjoy the rest of your time stateside and relax and eat and drink and be merry

 

[de crowe]

Wishing you all the very best Mike. Take care. Safe journey back.

 

[Doc]

Great write up and pics.
All the best with the rest of your trip.

 

[DevonAl]

Sorry to hear this Mike, always enjoy reading your trip reports and the excellent pics, I hope you can work things out. The plane is a Vought F-8 Crusader.

All the best, Al.

 

[Lord Snooty]

Mike, have you tried mounting the bike whilst it is on the centre stand and then rocking the bike back onto the rear wheel and then pushing it forward off the stand? Or, another method is when astride the bike put it into first gear, rock the bike back onto the rear wheel and engage the clutch and drive it off the stand? Try it first without the luggage to get comfortable with it and then try it with the luggage.

All the best mate with whatever you chose to do.

 

[Simmo]

Mike,
We were at Fallon in August 2016 on our way to Speedweek at Bonneville.
Hope you are ok, always love your trip reports and they have inspired us to do similar trips.
Cheers
Paul

 

[tjmouse]

Feel for you Mike. Loving the trip report but hope you get the rest and headspace you need to recover. Look after yourself

 

[Arsey]

Mike . I’ve sent you a text to arrange your extradition from the war zone


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Thetwatcantalk

 

[Old Codger]

Mike all the best with your travels and well being. Don’t push yourself too much and get some decent rest in. Don’t beat yourself up over it there’s always a plan b , c ,d ……..

 

[seahorse]

Enjoying your report as we always do. Particularly given the hideous rain we are getting currently. Fair play for talking through your anxiety issues. That's difficult enough to acknowledge to yourself never mind others. Stick with it fella.

 

[MikeO]

22nd September 2023

I wake relatively early, after a troubled night's sleep. There's a text from Jorge on my phone saying he's tied up in meetings until 1100 or so, but may be able to chat after that.

On the face of it, this is a simple problem. One person and one bike have to go from Reno to Portland. But, as always, the devil is in the detail...

I ask for a couple of online quotes to ship the bike, having got a couple of recommendations from Sierra BMW. Only one comes through, at just over $1000 - and they can't do it until next week. In the meantime, I have been trying van rental sites - Penske has the van I want - but the minimum rental period is five days U-haul is out of vans (it is the weekend).

So, when Jorge and I have a text exchange, I'm not much further forward.

Suddenly he comes up with a solution - his sister lives in Davis, CA (just the other side of Sacramento - about 140 miles from here) - if I can ride the Adv there, she can store it in her garage, and Jorge can fly down in a week or so and ride it back.

Excellent. I can get a hotel in Sacramento for one night (I end up at the same Super 8 with the security turkey) and arrange to pick up a hire car on Sunday morning and drive to Portland. In normal circumstances, I'd plan to do this in a day, but extend the rental until Tuesday morning as a precaution. I'll travel from Davis to Sacramento, and the hotel to the car rental place by Über...

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's ride (during the squall) was that the left handlebar mirror started pirouetting about, as the nut had clearly come off the bottom (probably loosened by the falls). I grabbed it and managed to stuff it into the tank bag.

Jorge's local dealer has a nut available (they're a weird type - fastened by an Allen key), which is a stroke of luck. He'll bring this - and the replacement side stand - with him next week.

I go outside and the cleaning girls asked if I was staying another night, as I wasn't down to. I'd said I wanted two nights when I checked in, but I'd obviously not been clear. I go around to the front desk and meet the formidable form of Odessa, who is taking care of business this morning.

Yes, they can extend me - but the room price is $320

It's the Street Vibrations Fall Rally - which will mean everywhere else will be crazily priced as well.

I really don't care anymore and extend for the night...

I need to refuel the bike and get something to eat. I find a Chevron station and put five gallons of Premium in the Adv (once again, it feels like a different bike without its luggage), then spot a Denny's, a block away from my motel...

Those folks look happy - let's order some of that, then...

Bacon avocado Cheeseburger - delicious...

I ride back to the hotel to see the Adv is now in some eclectic company...

I slowly start packing stuff for tomorrow...

 

[MikeO]

Sorry to hear this Mike, always enjoy reading your trip reports and the excellent pics, I hope you can work things out. The plane is a Vought F-8 Crusader.

All the best, Al.

Ah, but is it?