Last chance to see...

[Paul G (BHT)]

The clue is in the registration plate...

Indeed it is, TEA159.... that will be a Teal 59 then.
This one was built in 1995 and has a 3.8-litre Jaguar XK engine

Another great trip report Mike

 

[Dave56]

Excellent, looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[Hustler]

Just posted by Jorge on ADVrider...

F'ing Brits

Chicken-Mole
Pork -Al pastor
Beef- Carne asada Jalisco style

Rubber Cow.
Good name.
I'm not going to ask why.

 

[Lord Snooty]

Welcome back to the master of the travel report, wonderful Mike.

 

[Traffic893]

What a great report so far. Looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[Redboots]

Just posted by Jorge on ADVrider...



Rubber Cow.
Good name.
I'm not going to ask why.

Airhead rider. They are known as the gummikuh in Germany for their sharp handling.

 

[MikeO]

14th September 2023

I woke briefly at about 0300, to find an invitation to book a Covid booster in the UK - I did so for late October, but will probably get one here too. I turn the light back off and am awoken by a knock on the door at 1035

I ask the receptionist for a late checkout - no problem, it's extended to noon from 1100

Best get packing - more later...

 

[MikeO]

14th September 2023

After such a long sleep, I feel fuzzy-headed and the shower wakes me up. I pack everything into its place, then load the bike, which has been patiently waiting outside.

It's a beautiful day - not a cloud in the sky and about 75F. I'm on the road at about 1145, with 250 miles to run to Reno, my target for tonight. The bike is running well (the ABS behaving impeccably) and all's well with the world.

I decide against refueling, or stopping for breakfast/lunch in Klamath Falls, as I want to get into the ride first.

First barn of the day. A bit modern and well-maintained...

It's a 55 limit to begin with. The route is what Bettie has decided is the quickest. I should be at Reno at around 1700 plus stops.

That's more like it - a properly rickety-looking structure...

Pretty soon, traffic dies away and I'm on my own for a bit. I enter California, and the speed limit raises to 65...

Captain Jack's Stronghold restaurant comes into view - time for some lunch...

I order lemonade, which comes in a big Mason jar - but tastes none the worse for it...

It looks like a family place - although no Captain Jack is apparent...

I order a BALT (Bacon Avocado Tomato and Lettuce) sandwich, which arrives promptly - on a Shawshank-themed aluminuium tray...

As expected, it was delicious. I'm back on the bike in half an hour or so, heading south to the Nevada border.

Bettie's screen went into darkened 'night mode' after sunset last night. For some reason, it has stayed in this mode, which is not ideal for day travel. During lunch, I deselected night mode and pushed the brightness to 100%, but the dark theme remains. At least it's legibly bright now...

The motor keeps running, and the miles to Reno ticking off...

A queue of cars wait at some roadworks - I overtake them all and get to the front...

Enforced stoppages like this in hot weather aren't fun - no shade to be had out here...

Pretty soon, though, the pilot car turns up and leads us through about five miles of highway - and a couple of areas of road work...

The fuel light comes on with 252 miles on the trip meter - Bettie tells me there is fuel in about 28 miles...

I fuel up - at an eye-watering $5.82 per gallon...

...at the Juniper Junction. I initially rode past the filling station thinking it was derelict - thankfully it wasn't...

Back on the road, the miles click down towards the Nevada border. Oddly, the speed limit has reduced to 55. I use this as a guide, rather than a rule...

I ride past Eagle Lake - but, judging by the vegetation on the banks, its level must be pretty low...

We climb just over a mile, then descend into the town of Susanville - named for the Susan River...

I decide a cold lemonade and a bump to my blood sugar are in order. Being unable to find an independent café, I stop at a Jack in the Box - a burger chain that hasn't (as far as I'm aware) made it to the UK yet...

They were out of lemonade, so I made do with lemon iced tea. It was cold and slaked my thirst...

For the bump to my blood sugar, I got a strawberry shake.

The drinks were fine, the AC worked and the staff mechanically polite, but my goodness, what a soulless place to work...

Suitably refreshed, and with less than 80 miles to go to my hotel, I get kitted back up and press on.

I turn onto the unimaginatively - but accurately - named Long Valley road...

...at one point passing this cool Airstream trailer (caravan)...

There is a very long stretch where all vehicles are mandated to have their headlights on...

Eventually, we enter Nevada and ride past Stead Field, where the air races are being held this week. I intend to make a brief (couple of hours) visit tomorrow...

I get delayed by a couple of snarls of rush-hour traffic, but get to the Motel 6 reception without difficulty.

I check-in and ask the receptionist if I can get a late checkout. My plan is to ride with an empty pannier to the field, securing my jacket etc when I get there.

Unfortunately, the latest he can allow me is 1130...

The good news is that they've renovated the place since I was last here - it's a nice, pleasant room.

The receptionist told me that due to the air races, and some motorcycle event that starts tomorrow (apparently they close off the centre of town to non-motorcycle traffic), the rate I paid back in February is a bit of a bargain - walk-up price today (Even if they had rooms, but they're full) is $360 per night

I decide to have a snooze whilst I work out what to do tomorrow. I wake at 2130 without a solution - other than to appeal to the day receptionist (if they are not the same person)...

 

[Decompressing]

Great trip report so far and excellent photos as always! Are you still using that Cannon compact?

 

[MikeO]

Great trip report so far and excellent photos as always! Are you still using that Cannon compact?

Yep - several of them , although, when not riding, I'm using my iPhone 14 Pro - which has a spectacular camera. Glad you're enjoying the trip...

 

[MikeO]

15th September 2023

I sleep from 2300-0730 when my alarm wakes me. I'm abluted and dressed quickly, then walk around to reception to find a new Receptionist, Anil, on duty. I explain my stupid situation and he says he can't extend beyond 1130, as the hotel is full and the cleaners need all day to get rooms prepared. However, when I explain I only want to leave kit there, he smiles and says he's happy to keep it in the reception area for me. Excellent! I ask how long he can keep it, and we agree to about 1400.

Perfect.

I put a stellar review of my stay online, then book a room in Sacramento for a couple of nights. It's only 120 miles or so, and I need some downtime.

It's a beautiful day - 74F already and not a cloud in the sky - great motorcycling and air racing weather.

I start organising my kit...

More later...

 

[MikeO]

So, by 0945 I'd organised my kit so that I could secure the bike. I left the roll bag, with the tank bag and some other stuff inside it, with Odessa at reception, and set off for the airfield...

Traffic is pretty heavy, and there are large signs telling people how to best get to the races. I leave all that stuff to Bettie, who does an excellent job, navigating me close to the main gate, where I meet Jeff...

Jeff's retired now, but spent all of his working life running a bike shop near San Francisco. He deliberately left a gap in front of his pick-up when he parked, to allow room for a motorcycle - what a top chap

I lock my helmet to the helmet lock, then stuff my jacket into the empty right-hand pannier - job done. In a moment of genius (it seems later), I wear the CamelBak...

I join the throngs of people heading to the main entrance, whilst watching a spirited and very tight aerobatic display - from a Beech Bonanza

I learned today that an aerobatic version was built - and it was an impressive performance...

As some of you know, this will be the last year Reno Air Races will be here. The organisers are working hard to find an alternative home, but there's not a lot of optimism about this possibility...

I turn up at the 'turnstile' and we can't get my eTicket to load. He apologises and points to the queues at the ticket booths. Thankfully, just as I got there, they opened a booth purely for this problem, and I'm in and wandering about in a few minutes...

Every year I come here there's something that surprises me - this time they've knocked me for six. This is a Privateer - a version of the B-24 Liberator specially designed for low-level shipping attack. I had no idea any were still flying - although I did see a couple, years ago over at Grey Bull, which finished their lives as fire bombers. I believe this may be one of those, now repainted in US Coast Guard colours...

This beautiful Grumman Albatross would be the one I'd take home with me

The late Jimmy Buffet had one and put it to good use island-hopping in the Bahamas...

The props look a little odd - I wouldn't mind betting those engines have been breathed on a bit...

Beautiful P51...

...next to...

...the B-25 Pacific Princess...

Something else is leaving smoke trails across the sky as I photograph this Fairey Firefly - which is in beautiful condition...

Its neighbour is easy to identify - even in its early 'razorback' style before the teardrop canopy became standard fit...

Nothing has the presence of a P47 Thunderbolt...

It's quite warm - over 85F, and the food and drink stalls are doing good business. I grab a large iced lemonade - there's only so much lukewarm water tasting of plastic that you can stand...

This is the queue to the pit area. Not to buy tickets - that queue is longer. This is just to get in...

Apparently, they still haven't found what they're looking for...

This was taken using my iPhone at maximum tele-zoom - about 16.9x I think. All the pictures at the races were taken with the iPhone - its camera is phenomenal...

These trailers run a continual shuttle up and down the public areas. I will admit to taking advantage of them more than once...

Here we go - Sea Fury row...

The amount of disposable income you need to run one of these is beyond the grasp of my imagination...

I'm just glad someone does it...

So, these big birds often get towed back to the hangar, rather than being pushed...

I'm not sure if this Yak will be racing this year...

This P51 is painted in markings of the famous 'Red Tails' - the Tuskegee Airmen...

Whatever you do - avoid watching the George Lucas film Red Tails - I lasted nine minutes...

T-6 Texans, or Harvards, are here in their dozens - about ten of them are on the flight line as I walk up this row...

How about that? What a beautiful old car (make is obvious, but points for identifying the year)...

It lives in the hangar, with a slightly newer Bentley, and this beautiful old Cessna 180J...

It will be 50 years old next year - and is as shiny as a new pin...

There's some serious maintenance work going on in Harvard Row - can't be easy when it's 90F...

...but this is what is needed if you wish to be competitive...

Starters are coughing and radial engines bursting into life on the flight line, as more Harvards get ready for their next heat...

With a roar, a clutch of P51s enters the race pattern, the race marshall's T33 climbing out of the way as the race starts...

I set the tele at max and just took about a hundred pics - mostly of blue sky. These are the ones with racing aircraft in them - once again, the iPhone does a great job...

The noise is indescribable (in a good way

)

Blimey - a Curtiss Warhawk...

It's time to go. It's nearly 1300 and I have 125 miles to do to reach my hotel in Sacramento, my target for tonight. Jeff is asleep in his truck, so I don't say goodbye...

I take a slow ride back up to the Interstate - noticing that a couple of people are not having the best of days...

I stop at a Chevron station and put $30 worth of Premium in. I go into the air-conditioned shop and think I'll chill out for a few minutes, so ask the girl for a lemonade. She asks, "What size", I reply that medium should do. She looks confused, "We don't have Medium, we have Small, Big, Very Big, Biggest". I order a Big - it was huge...

America, eh?

To be continued...

 

[MikeO]

I arrive back at the Motel and sort my kit out in the air-conditioned comfort of the foyer, before transferring everything onto the bike, filling my CamelBak up with ice, thanking the staff for their help, and then heading out...

I'm heading west on I80 - it will take me all the way to Sacramento...

It's a freeway, but it's not exactly the M4, is it?

I reenter California. The speed limit is 65 - I treat it as a guide...

Traffic is not heavy, and I keep up a decent average speed...

Everyone has to go through an agricultural checkpoint - all car drivers and motorcycles were waved through - I saw officials talking to the drivers of a couple of pick-up trucks...

We start climbing into the Sierras, the temperature dropping slightly as we do so...

This is the top of the infamous Donner Pass. Not unreasonably, I'm feeling hungry - I missed breakfast again...

I ride about five miles off the next junction to find a bar and grill...

I order a superb glass of lemonade from the bar, then order my food from the cafeteria-style cafe in the next room...

They give me this buzzer, which will tell me when my food is ready. How Pavlovian...

This is a Ski bar - the lift terminus is behind it. The whole area is teeming with people on dirt bikes - there's obviously a big competition running here - the place is swamped with campervans and the smell of two-stroke oil fills the air...

My buzzer goes off, making me jump, and I dutifully go and collect my late lunch...

Bacon cheeseburger with a huge mound of fries - that'll do...

I finish my meal, get kitted up, and have a pleasant five-mile ride back to the Interstate...

About 70 miles to run and I'm looking forward to reaching the hotel. As we descend out of the other side of the Sierras, the heat comes back with a vengeance...

Whoa - what kind of crazy bridge is that?

This chap had done something to catch the eye of a CHP motorcyclist - I casually roll off my throttle until my speed reaches 65...

I arrive at my Super 8 north of Sacramento at about 1700. Unfortunately, the design of the hotel precluded being able to park outside your door. Plus they don't have a baggage trolley

I carry my kit in bit by bit in several journies, then - at last - step into the shower. It was like a religious experience...

I upload the pics from today (took ages - slow wifi) and make a start on the journal.

I am here for two nights and really enjoying the fact that I don't have any deadlines (not even self-made ones) for the rest of my stay. I intend to get a good night's sleep tonight, then have a potter about, off the bike, tomorrow.

Good day, but tiring...

 

[Doc]

Looks great. Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book for my trip reports.

 

[Arsey]

Reno races look fab . A mate Juan Browne was commenting there


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Thetwatcantalk

 

[Micky]

Looks great. Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book for my trip reports.

Yes, he does them rather well doesn't he Doc

 

[Posh Pete]

This is the top of the infamous Donner Pass. Not unreasonably, I'm feeling hungry - I missed breakfast again...

Excellent report. I especially enjoyed the Reno air races bit. Speaking of which, look what's happening later today! ...

 

[MikeO]

16th September 2023

I sleep right through to 0815

I ablute and dress - I'm going to make a positive effort to eat regularly - believe it or not, everything you've seen on this blog is everything I've eaten since I arrived in the USA. I've effectively been living off one meal a day, and that can't be good.

I ask at reception and they tell me there is a restaurant that backs right onto the hotel's parking lot - great.

Of course, this being the USA, there's an assumption that you will drive. Pedestrians get to scramble up the dirt path :lol3

I'm soon seated in the Brookfields Restaurant - it's quite large and abuzz with people coming out for their Saturday breakfast...

Nevertheless, I'm quickly seated, and the lovely Ketelynn...

...brings me strong coffee...

...and the menu...

That looks intriguing...

Katelynn comes back, tops off my coffee, and takes my order...

...which arrives in no time at all. I wouldn't generally think of crab meat and avocado for breakfast, but it was delicious...

I pay my bill - tip heavily (the service was superb), and stumble back to the hotel.

To quote Ron Swanson, “I’m a simple man. I like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food.”

More later...

 

[digby]

Reno races look fab . A mate Juan Browne was commenting there


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Thetwatcantalk

Blancolirio ??

 

[Arsey]

Blancolirio ??

Yup