Last chance to see...

[ahebron]

The Rolls Royce

1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Drophead Coupe VIN: GLZ10 - CLASSIC.COM

Vehicle history and comps for 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Drophead Coupe VIN: GLZ10 - including sale prices, photos, and more.

www.classic.com

 

[MikeO]

I spend the day in blissful idleness - doing some personal admin, but otherwise whiling away the time reading and listening to podcasts. I feel all the better for it.

Around 1600 I decide to revisit Brookfields Restaurant...

It was started in 1981 - and is still run by the son and daughter of the founders...

I peruse the menu - and spot this sandwich...

That'll do - with lemonade to drink, I think...

It arrives with sweet potato fries, and was delicious...

My waitress, Lori, tempts me further...

...and brings me Berry Pie and Icecream...

I pay my bill, then stagger back to the hotel to the sound of my skin stretching - I'm stuffed...

 

[MikeO]

The Rolls Royce

1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Drophead Coupe VIN: GLZ10 - CLASSIC.COM

Vehicle history and comps for 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Drophead Coupe VIN: GLZ10 - including sale prices, photos, and more.

www.classic.com

Interesting it says Left Hand Drive in the listing - I can't imagine that it has since been converted...

 

[DrFarkoff]

Interesting it says Left Hand Drive in the listing - I can't imagine that it has since been converted...

probably the same auto entry thing as facebook listings where it says auto as a default

 

[Hairnet600]

thanks mike

for them gas aint cheap in CA or NV

3.89 usd for regular (premium was 4.59 ) in upstate ny and 1.70 cad (99p) a litre in ontario last weekend

put 40 bucks in the rental car in seneca and filled it

 

[MikeO]

17th September 2023

Another great night's sleep - I think I may have adjusted to Pacific time...

I'll be staying here tonight, and doing some planning for the next few days.

First though - shockingly - breakfast...

I climb the dusty bank again to Brookfields, which is packed...

There's a buzz of conversation, as dozens of people enjoy their Sunday breakfast. One table had 14 seated at it - three generations of the same family I'd guess - the wait staff are really earning their pay today.

I'm quickly shown to my table and asked if I'd like coffee. I say yes, and ask if I could have it served in a takeaway cup...

Since childhood, I have suffered from Essential Tremor*. This means my hands shake. It has become more pronounced in recent years, despite medication. It's not Parkinson's, or anything nasty like that - but when it's bad, it can just make me slop coffee if it's not in a sippy cup

Anyway - to business...

Decisions, decisions...

That'll do, I think...

It turns out to be an excellent choice

I pay my bill, waddle back to my room and start planning.

More later...

*My doctor tells me that Essential Tremor means "Your hand shakes and we don't know why"

 

[LOLGEOFF]

*My doctor tells me that Essential Tremor means "Your hand shakes and we don't know why"

You don't think it could have anything to do with your cheese intake do you?

 

[MikeO]

I've just heard that two T6 Harvards collided on recovery after a race heat at Reno. Neither pilot survived...

 

[MikeO]

You don't think it could have anything to do with your cheese intake do you?

Eh?

 

[MikeO]

A final visit to Brookfields for dinner this evening...

I order a Chef's Salad, which arrives with a side of...

...cornbread...

So - tomorrow's plan - early start to get about 100 miles under the front wheel before stopping for fuel and breakfast, then into Yosemite National Park, exiting through Tioga Pass, then striking across country to Tonopah, NV.

By preference, I would have stayed at Lee Vining, Bishop, or Mammoth Springs - but nightly rates are ridiculous. So, a long day (350 miles or so - but factor in very slow traffic in Yosemite), so an early start...

 

[EVskiy]

Yup

If I think who that’s is, then I have watched a few of his air accident reports on YT

 

[rjsmith26]

@MikeO loving the trip report as every, reading while recovering from Covid I picked up bike trip to Pico's (pretty sure the packed ferry at start of week culprit). Your report lifing my spirits whilst feeling a bit crap. Keep up the good work!

 

[Phil Reynolds]

Hey Mike, great to be reading your latest trip report. I have wondered where you have been so glad to see you back.
travel safely and enjoy.
look forward to following your report.

 

[MikeO]

18th September 2023

I wake to the alarm feeling well rested - I load the bike, avoiding the security tukey...

...and I'm setting off on the I80 south at 0835...

It's a beautiful morning, but I've (obviously) hit rush hour. That said, traffic moves at a good pace and the miles start clicking down. My plan is to do 100 miles or so, which will get me off the freeway, then stop for fuel and something to eat...

Quite abruptly, the traffic slows to a crawl. In California, you are allowed to filter (called lane splitting here), so I do so, for about seven miles. At the head of the tailback I find...

...that the lane closure has been due to the road being swept. During rush hour. On a two-lane road...

Two CHP vehicles are supervising this...

Onward. The land around here is heavily cultivated - vineyards here...

...but, when I get off the freeway, orchards that stretch for miles. They have buried irrigation systems that you can see water misting from near every tree...

It's a beautiful morning, and I maintain about 60mph through the 55 limit...

I spot this crop duster being refilled with chemicals - does anyone want to guess the make and model?

Palm trees - I must be on holiday!

The landscape changes - this prairie is presumably what it would all look like without irrigation...

I climb into some hill country - very pleasant with long sweeping bends. The temperature is just perfect - around 75F...

At just under 100 miles, I turn off into the unlikely-sounding town of Copperopolis, to fill up with fuel. Having filled up, I swing my leg over the saddle to pull the bike upright, when - with a loud CRACK - the side stand snaps and the bike falls to its left...

Well, shit...

Regular readers will recall that I had the stand bend last year, and had a welder repair it by inserting a steel rod through the centre of it...

I'm aided in getting the bike upright by a chap at another pump. I put it on its main stand and examine the damage - which thankfully seems to be limited to a scuff on the crash bar.

I wander over to Copper's Java House for an unmemorable iced tea and an apple Danish.

OK - this is a snag. The Adv fully laden is enormous - and all my 20 years riding on one has involved me using the side stand, even when taking it on and off the centre stand. To pivot on one leg whilst holding the bike up is quite a manouevre, and one I am not relishing.

I manage to get back on and continue my route toward Yosemite, and my hotel, which is over 180 miles distant...

The countryside is very pretty, and traffic is virtually non-existent. I should be feeling brilliant.

But I'm not.

I'm feeling lousy.

Confession time.

For the previous several weeks I have been diagnosed as suffering from anxiety. It's something completely new to me - although the number of people I have met since my diagnosis who are or have been suffering amazed me.

I thought that this trip - doing something that I enjoyed, and was familiar to me, might be what I needed to get myself back to 'normal' (or as normal as I ever was).

But I haven't enjoyed any of it. The stress of getting on the road the morning after I arrived was silly - but, in fairness, was planned before I started getting this illness. But every day I have been on the bike, I have just wanted it to be over. There's a large part of me that wishes I was back home in surroundings I'm completely comfortable with.

The idea that I may have to ride the rest of the trip without a side stand has - I fear - been the final straw.

I ride on, feeling miserable and considering various options for the rest of my time in the USA...

Still - always time for a bridge, eh?

I start a steady climb into the foothills of the Sierras - beautiful country...

The road is cut into the side of the hills and we gain altitude surprisingly quickly...

Traffic is light and I'm able to keep a reasonable speed up...

I arrive at the entrance to Yosemite National Park, where Ranger Kim sells me an annual parks pass for $80...

Were I a US citizen, being over 65, I would be entitled to a lifetime pass for the same price...

A bargain either way. Entrance here is $35 - and I will hopefully make use of it a few more times in the next 12 months...

Jorge has a saying, "Yosemite has a way of making your camera work better" - and he's right.

Unfortunately, it's pretty hazy today, so the pics won't be the best. It's absolutely beautiful...

It's not too busy (it would have been a zoo at the weekend), and the speed limit is a not-unreasonable 45...

I slowly make my way down to the valley floor - El Capitan looks magnificent...

It's not hard to see what draws people here - nature at its finest...

I start the climb out of the valley and towards Tioga Pass, still some 40 miles away...

I desperately need to stretch my legs - I've been sat down on the bike for hours...

I pull into a layby and - carefully - swing my right leg over the bike. All was going well, until the cuff of my jeans caught (ironically) on the broken side stand I had strapped to the tail pack, I lost my balance and the bike went over...

Before I could do anything, a motorist who was passing and had seen what happened, stopped and helped me get the bike upright and on the centre stand. He waved off my thanks and - once sure I didn't need further help - carried on with his journey.

I sat on a log and stared at the bike for a long time.

I hear a twig snap and look around to see a local seeing what the noise was. She stood there for a bit, then scampered up the hill opposite.

I still have a long way to ride. My confidence to get the bike off the stand and get on it has deserted me. In fact, I feel very shaky. I decide to swallow my pride and flag down the next motorcyclist I see and get them to 'spot' me whilst I do it.

Salvation arrives in the delightful form of Dylan and Ellena, who stop immediately and don't bat an eyelid at helping. I'm on the bike in a couple of seconds and they are continuing their journey into the park. Lovely couple...

I continue towards Tioga Pass...

There are some healthy-looking cumulus clouds forming in that direction...

I wonder if I might see some rain...

I exit the park - a reasonable queue to get in this late in the day...

...and ride to Tioga Pass...

...the scale of which is dramatic...

Soon I'm approaching the bottom...

...and pulling into the Mobil Service Station there - which is an oddity, in that it houses a superb cafe...

I co-opt a couple of chaps to spot me getting off the bike and putting it on its stand to refuel...

Then enter the cafe. Jorge has advised me what to order - Fish Tacos...

They're delicious - I wash them down with some Sprite.

Co-opting another kind chap to spot me getting the bike off the stand, I'm off and running towards Tonopah, some 150 miles away...

The road is good and twisty to begin with, as it negotiates some low hills...

...but soon becomes flat straight desert scrub...

I turn left at Benton junction...

...and start my way north. No one does straight, lonely desert roads like Nevada does...

There are some textbook Cumulo Nimbus anvil-shaped clouds to the northwest - someone is going to get a soaking.

I arrive at my motel in Tonapah at about 1830. I manage to get a chap to spot me to not only park the bike but then re-park it outside my room.

I feel completely exhausted.

I unload the bike, turn the AC to Pluto, then upload the (190) pics from today.

After a breather, Jorge and I have a chat over Facetime. He's ordered a replacement part off eBay (from Hawaii!), but he's more concerned about my mental state at the moment - as am I.

I extend my stay here for a further two nights. I need to sleep and do some serious thinking...

 

[Schtum]

A motel in Tonopah. The Clown...?

Been there done that with side stands, Mike. Stuck on the shoulder of a freeway on ramp on I-70 halfway across Kansas one night on an ST1100 borrowed from Earache. The pivot bolt was very worn and the only way to raise the side stand was to get off and lean the bike the other way. At that point, after c. 1000 miles in 24 hours, I was too tired to stop the bike from going away from me and flopping onto its right hand side. A nice French couple stopped and helped me pick up the heavily laden Pan. It's trite to say, "We've all been there and done that..." but I'm sure many of us have. Rest and recover....

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Sorry to hear of your anxiety Mike and I fully understand you wanting to be back home in familer surroundings and I applaud your stiff upper lip approach to trying to come to terms with it. I know it might not make things any easier at the moment but I can assure you that I and probably many other forum members feel our hearts lift to see another MikeO post, open it and read your recent exploits and feel our anxieties seep away as we live your well written trips with you vicariously.

It might sound a bit selfish but keep them coming Mike if you can, we're all behind you.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Sorry to hear of your anxiety Mike and I fully understand you wanting to be back home in familer surroundings and I applaud your stiff upper lip approach to trying to come to terms with it. I know it might not make things any easier at the moment but I can assure you that I and probably many other forum members feel our hearts lift to see another MikeO post, open it and read your recent exploits and feel our anxieties seep away as we live your well written trips with you vicariously.

It might sound a bit selfish but keep them coming Mike if you can, we're all behind you.

Well said Geoff, sentiments we all echo here and whilst I have haven't read the latest posts until now, the pics and report are superb... as usual

The side stand issue is a PITA, no question

It'll get fixed, soon

Admire your resolve, I know the doom feeling and it's only happened to me on a trip once, when a series of 3 separate incidents/things conspired to thwart it, deep down I thought fate was against me and in hindsight I wished I had kept on going, but didn't (never happened since on a trip)

Sorry to hear about your anxiety, hope you find the inner strength to deal with it

 

[Tinytim]

Sorry to hear of your anxiety Mike and I fully understand you wanting to be back home in familer surroundings and I applaud your stiff upper lip approach to trying to come to terms with it. I know it might not make things any easier at the moment but I can assure you that I and probably many other forum members feel our hearts lift to see another MikeO post, open it and read your recent exploits and feel our anxieties seep away as we live your well written trips with you vicariously.

It might sound a bit selfish but keep them coming Mike if you can, we're all behind you.

This . Well put

 

[DrFarkoff]

I can only reiterate what the folks above have said

Mike You are out there doing it I am doing it through your efforts and I thank you for it!! As I suspect many others on here do too!!
Similar to you I have been suffering depression / anxiety etc this last while and had become deceidely anti social according to my wife, I just thought it was Idiot intolerance as there are PLENTY of those to go around!!


Anyhoooo! We did a weekend in Donegal and I viewed the open beaches and the hills and mountains as Chicken Soup for the Soul and I am back quite refreshed and undertaking tasks I previously deemed daunting! Including a molar extracted yesterday

I guess what I am trying to "Suggest" is:- Take a step back and take the pressure off yourself You have nothing to prove to anyone, (We are always hardest on ourselves Aren;t we?)

Anyway is there something local and not 100's of miles away that might interest you? UNload most of the stuff off the bike and maybe find another welder Dump the big travel plans and just seek out your Chicken soup for the soul

Anyway Thank you for your reports You are getting to places I will likely never get to and its good to share !

 

[2 wheel humvee]

Sorry to hear of your anxiety Mike and I fully understand you wanting to be back home in familer surroundings and I applaud your stiff upper lip approach to trying to come to terms with it. I know it might not make things any easier at the moment but I can assure you that I and probably many other forum members feel our hearts lift to see another MikeO post, open it and read your recent exploits and feel our anxieties seep away as we live your well written trips with you vicariously.

It might sound a bit selfish but keep them coming Mike if you can, we're all behind you.

Well said Geoff I couldn't have put it better myself.
Mike, as the good Doctor Farkoff has said above seek out a visit as a diversion, a treat to yourself, leave your kit behind at the Hotel and travel light, be kind to yourself.