Last chance to see...

[Paul G (BHT)]

Only just finished reading your trip report Mike.

A pleasure to read as always but so sorry to hear things haven't gone too well for you on this one.

Our minds are very complex things and sometimes it's the simplest of things that can trigger unexplainable responses.

There are many people experiencing and suffering with anxiety right now..... you will undoubtedly come through this a stronger person, although you may not feel that way right now.

Thank you for taking us along and sharing the trip, warts and all.

 

[DrFarkoff]

Ah, but is it?

Vought A7 Corsair II ??

 

[DevonAl]

Ah, but is it?

No, Nose is different, A7.

Al.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Mike, first off, many thanks for sharing your trip, second I commend you on your openness about your challenges, you are not alone, third, and finally, know and reflect n the fact that there are a bunch of virtual mates here wishing you all the best on your travels and willing you on

 

[MikeO]

23rd September 2023

I sleep fitfully - at about 0300 there is an enormous crashing sound from outside - I quickly cross to the door and see that a large van has driven over a 'sleeping policeman'...

I wake at 0745 and start getting stuff organised - I have a quick ablute and shave off the three days of stubble I'd managed to accumulate. The sink is a slow drainer, so it looks like it has been coated in silver Alcantara...

I pack the bike carefully - it's a beautiful morning - hardly a cloud in the sky and already warm (about 72F). Nearly all the motorcyclists staying here have already departed, presumably for the morning coleslaw wrestling tournament or something similar...

I ask a passing chap to spot me whilst I get on the bike - which he does with pleasure. This has been a pain in the arse, but it has improved my opinion of the average bloke - they've all been happy to help...

I have given an ETA of around 1400 at Davis, CA - it's about 140 miles and I'm allowing for traffic. Bettie steers me straight onto the I-80 West, and tells me to stay on it for 139 miles...

There's very little traffic - virtually none in the Westbound carriageway. There are clutches of motorcycles in the Eastbound carriageway, heading for the fleshy delights of the Street Vibrations Rally in Reno...

This is the same Interstate I used when travelling from Reno to Sacramento last week - for a motorway, it's a pretty ride...

I enter California at about 1030, and notice an increase in the number of Teslas...

I climb up Donner Summit - someone has really missed a trick here by not opening a Donner Pass Diner...

I roll off the throttle from my 75mph cruise when I notice the CHP on the shoulder, but they are busy with checking a truck...

It's that damned bridge again!

I'm making seriously good time - looks like I'm going to be at Davis by about 1230 or so...

The Freeway splits, and I continue West toward San Francisco. I pull off at a junction to text my updated ETA...

Of course, immediately afterward, I enter the causeway to Davis, on which traffic is crawling along at about 10mph.

I start doing some filtering (lane splitting) and make good progress, turning off at Davis and arriving at Ramiro and Nicole's beautiful house at about 1245...

I knew it was the right place because it had a framed copy of Jorge's BMW advert on the wall...

Ramiro 'spots' me as I get off the bike in the huge garage.

A very small, very dark part of my mind says, "That might be your last ever ride on a motorcycle". I try to ignore it...

Time to meet Lacy...

...who is Jorge & Nicole's Mum Loretta's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - it's her ninth birthday today. At least she is spared the humiliation of having to wear a birthday hat, as dogs in my household are required to do...

Jorge had warned me not to eat too much, as Ramiro and Nicole would be feeding me...

Wonderful - the green sauce...

is homemade Chimichurri - and is delicious...

Always room for pie, though...

Stuffed, I go back into the garage and start unloading the bike. Ramiro and Nicole have very kindly offered me their spare room for the night - and will take me to the car rental desk tomorrow - an offer I am delighted to accept.

As I carry stuff through the utility room, Nicole tells me to leave anything that needs laundering on the counter, as she's doing several loads this afternoon. I leave her a bag of toxic waste and say thankyou...

My room is beautiful. Bright, open, and cool - thanks to the ceiling fan...

...and, of course, piped AC...

The rather impressive computer set-up in the room is Nicole's suite when she works from home. Nicole is a radiographer, and more often these days travels into the office, as the monitors here aren't a high enough resolution to deal with Mammograms - her main focus...

I manage to get the Adv unloaded, so that it's ready for Jorge to ride back when he arrives next weekend. He's asked that I leave the hard bags, tank bag, and GPS on the bike.
He later texts me to ask if I have his BMW waterproof gloves - I have, but thought they were mine...

I retire upstairs for a bit of a nap, then re-enter the public arena and get started on today's journal, in between scratching Lacy behind the ear, and drinking iced water (which, after you've been riding in hot weather for a few days, seems a positively decadent luxury)

More later...

 

[Wapping]

An excellent trip report. Thank you for taking the time to put it all down.

 

[LOLGEOFF]

A very small, very dark part of my mind says, "That might be your last ever ride on a motorcycle". I try to ignore it...

I can't believe that Mike you've just been overtaken by a series of events that have very nearly broken the camel's back, the fact that you did get back on to ride to Jorge's sister's place after you had resigned yourself to having already given up proves the point, and that annual ticket for Yosemite ain't going to spend itself.
Are you heading back home after you get back to Jorge's or are you spending a bit of time there?

 

[MikeO]

23rd & 24th September 2023

After finishing the first part of the journal, interspersed with playing with Lacy (I needed some dog therapy), Nicole said, "We're just having leftovers for dinner".

Only in a Carbo household could a sumptious meal such as this be considered 'leftovers'

Ramiro gives me a glass of 'Inkblot' red wine, made locally...

It's delicious - but I can't understand why the label has a picture of my parents arguing printed on it...

Soon it gets late, and I have a long way to go tomorrow. I say my goodnights and climb up to my room.

24th September 2023

I sleep like the dead - the house is completely quiet, save for the distant rumble of the AC unit switching on now and again. Nicole tells me that they are benefitting from the main road being resurfaced - this is tomato season, and normally the trucks are running 24/7 along the main road with the harvest...



I rise, ablute, and come downstairs carrying the odd assortment of stuff I am going to try to fit into a hire car later today. There seems to be an inordinate amount of it.

Nicole, Loretta, Ramiro, and Lacy greet me. The plan is to have breakfast, then transfer all the stuff into the back of Nicole's Discovery (there seems to be a Carbo family addiction to Land Rovers), and she'll whisk me into Sacramento to collect my rental car.

Spot of breakfast first, though, what?

Jorge starts sending a flurry of texts, asking for pics of the side stand mount (the replacement part he ordered has arrived, and he wants to check it's the correct one). I try - and fail - to get good pics, as the bike is against the wall in the dimmest part of the garage.

We finish breakfast and load the Discovery - I'm starting to realise why the side stand broke - there seems to be tons of kit (and that's not counting the British elephant in the room).

We set off at 0900 and head east. Jorge texts and asks for the condition of the tyres and the pannier mounts - I assure him that - other than beginning to 'square off' as a result of being used on freeways for a while - the tyres are fine, and that the mounts are solid.

After negotiating some traffic and a couple of areas of roadworks...

...we arrive at Budget Car Rental and I fill out the paperwork (despite having already done so online) necessary to hire a car for a couple of days. As usual - there's a recommended extra - despite paying for a damage waiver online, there's an additional $14 a day 'complete coverage' - I just sign it to get it done. Car rental places must be the last people in the world using fan-fold computer paper...:lol3

Nicole helps me load all the kit into the car (she says, "Hard to believe you were carrying all this on a bike" :lol3), gives me three bottles of water, some cleaning cloths, etc (she has an 18yr old, Juliette, at home and is clearly used to thinking of contingencies ).

I thank her effusively for her wonderful hospitality and generosity and we say our goodbyes...

The Toyota Camry (pictured here on a wet Monday morning - as it always should be), is the car you buy when you have lost interest in anything to do with motoring. Or anything else, for that matter...

I eventually work out how to get into the boot (trunk) - why not have a catch in the handle? I set the AC up to chill the car, link my phone to the system by Bluetooth, and activate Waze on my phone, which gives me turn-by-turn directions. The car doesn't have satnav.

I set up a new audiobook - Killing Thatcher, by Rory Carroll, and then set off. My plan at this stage is to stop halfway to Portland, as it's just under 600 miles - and I don't want to put myself under any unnecessary extra pressure.

I am soon on Interstate 5, and Waze tells me to turn off in 594 miles. The speed limit is 70, so I set the cruise control at 78, and start heading north. I soon realise that this car has active cruise control, so it starts decelerating as I approach slower traffic ahead. This is OK to begin with, as I learn to change lanes early before it kicks in, but becomes a pain, as it activates on the central barrier and decelerates as you are negotiating bends (and there are a lot of them on I-5). It can be overcome by pressing the throttle, but it feels like a flawed system - built to cater (as ever) for the lowest common denominator - the poor driver.

The car is comfortable enough I suppose - I can just wedge my 6'6" frame behind the adjustable wheel. There's a lot of road noise as if sound deadening hadn't been taught in Toyota's design school - and slamming the boot (trunk) produces a 'clang', rather than the 'clunk' that I've become accustomed to on my (VAG) vehicles. All the materials feel that they are made of stuff designed to last a couple of years. It might be painted a vibrant red colour, but its aura is the ashy grey of the abyss...

Weather is good (about 74F) and sunny - but Jorge warns me that it's raining in Oregon...

I amuse myself by taking pictures of signposts to weird-sounding places...

The audiobook is really interesting (as those that deal with history you remember often are).

Carroll starts off by saying that 'The Troubles' in Ireland have, and will always, be told with a degree of bias. His bias is towards the Republican cause - which, I have to say, I have always had sympathy for. I just abhor the methods of the Republicans used in pursuing it. Far from being an examination purely of the attempt on Thatcher's life, this (11hr +) book gives a history of the troubles and the inner workings of the IRA, Provisional IRA (Provos), and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

I find it engrossing.

In fact, I'm feeling well rested and the drive is easy, I stop for a drink and a burger, text Jorge and ask if it would be OK for me to pitch up at his place this evening instead of tomorrow - ETA about 2100?

Jorge says this will be fine (although he and Carolina will be out for dinner, returning around 2100). I set off north once again...

I have a gargantuan cup of lemonade in the cupholder in the central console, Waze warns me now and again of "Vehicle on Shoulder" - and is right every time (apparently the data is refreshed really quickly and users can report stuff like this - as well as collisions, traffic congestion, and radar checks - and upload it really simply).

The freeway goes through several ranges of hills/mountains (can you have a range of hills?)

These are usually accompanied by sets of bends that you have to slow a little for, but which - counter-intuitively - I am accelerating through, to offset the nanny-like interference of the adaptive cruise control. Jorge tells me later that all new cars in the USA fitted with cruise control have to have adaptive cruise - look out Europe, it's your turn next...

Mount Shasta appears on the horizon - it fills about six pixels in this shot, so you're going to have to take my word for it that it's beautiful...

It being a Sunday, I come across few active sets of roadworks - those that involve the narrowing of the carriageway to a single lane always cause a tailback.
You can't filter (lane split) in a Camry.
Typical.

Much of the time, away from large cities, traffic is light. The miles seem to be clicking down quite quickly (as well they might at 78mph), the car is behaving itself, and the INLA has just killed Airey Neave MP as he drove out of the House of Commons...

As I approach the Oregon state line, the light is beginning to fade, and I get the first light speckles of rain. I turn the headlights on, as the bloody 'Auto' selection hasn't bothered to

and keep heading north.

Somewhere around Eugene, my audiobook suddenly stops.

I realise I hadn't plugged my iPhone in to the USB socket and it has run out of power

I need to stop for fuel (under a quarter of a tank remaining) so do so, and attach the phone to the USB socket. It immediately asks if I want to use Car Play. Why not? I click 'Yes' and suddenly Waze appears on the central screen, along with the controls for my audiobook...

If all else fails, read the fucking manual...

I set off north again, into a steady drizzle, my route clearly showing on the Camry's screen. I suppose I'd better take back a few of the things I have written about it...

Nah.

It's fully dark now and the I-5 is busy northbound - visibility is fine, but the average vehicle seems to have its headlights set very high, so there's a lot of dazzle in the mirrors. I maintain my speed (when the cruise control allows me to), and - very soon - I am turning off the freeway at Junction 297 onto the splendidly named Terwilliger Boulevard.

Matt Groening, one of the writers of The Simpsons, grew up in Portland, and many names of characters are from the area. Sideshow Bob's non-stage name is Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr.

Waze gives me a few directions until I am turning into Jorge's driveway, and parking behind Carolina's BMW, as requested, at just before 2100.

I take a few minutes to let the drive leave my system, then learn how to open the boot (trunk) again

and take the bare essentials I need up to the house - I'll unload properly tomorrow.

Jorge meets me at the door - Carolina has a long day tomorrow and has turned in already. We sit at the kitchen counter and discuss how I am feeling and what my plans are. I suggest I spend a couple of days here and decompress and do some thinking. At present (weather dependent), I'm thinking of having a trip by rental car up to the Olympic mountains in Washington state, or something similar, before returning to Portland for a few days prior to flying out on 9th October.

Right now, though, I need a glass of water and my bed.

25th September 2023

I wake at about 0730, after sleeping straight through and feeling really rested...

I get abluted, dressed, and come downstairs. Jorge is at his office and he let me know that Carolina has a really busy week in her home office and I promise not to disturb her at all.

I set up shop in the dining room...

...as my preferred office is a bit damp today...

More later...

 

[EVskiy]

Some folks should learn from Mike how to do a Ride (Trip) Report.


Splendid stuff Mike. Thank you for sharing it with us all.

 

[MikeO]

I clear out the gear from the Camry - it's not due back until tomorrow morning, but I want it out of my life as soon as possible...

Using Waze, I'm directed to downtown Portland, where Avis and Budget have an office. It's conveniently located on the ground floor of a multi-storey (the first floor of a parking garage ). I take a ticket and am told to go to the 10th floor. Parking here must be really expensive - I haven't seen a car park this empty in years.

I take a pic of the mileage...

...and of exactly where the car is parked, then take the lift (elevator) down to the office. John, the chap behind the desk, checks the car in and sorts out my final receipt, which pings straight onto my phone.

He then helps me order an Über back to Jorge's house - I've never used the app before...

As everyone except me knows, Über works really well and Manase turns up within five minutes and drives me back to the house.
He has a sister who is a research chemist at the University of Nottingham and would like to visit. I tell him that anyone used to the weather in the Pacific Northwest should feel right at home...

In no time, we're pulling up outside the house and I am greeted by ferocious barking from Aster. Jorge opens the front door and Aster suddenly becomes this meek submissive dog, lying down on the step...

She's a weird little dog...

More later...

 

[MikeO]

The temperature has dropped slightly, and it's still raining persistently.

Only one answer to an evening like that...

Pizza!

 

[Udders]

Brilliant. But a shame at the same time
Do you still have your white 1150 GSA?

 

[MikeO]

26th September 2023

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.

So said Benjamin Franklin.

I sleep well but am acutely aware that my unplanned arrival in Jorge and Carolina's busy and high-stress working lives is in danger of changing their home from a place of quiet and comfort into something else, as I blunder through it like a sparrow through a spider's web.

I book a rental car for tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, planning to return on Thursday evening/Friday morning of the following week. I book a hotel for the first couple of nights and intend to explore the Pacific Northwest - an area I have neglected in favour of the deserts of Utah and Arizona in the past.

Having a roof over my head whilst traveling, may be a better way of seeing this notoriously damp part of the USA...

Of course, I'm not equipped for travelling by car - no jacket, other than the bike jacket, etc, but I'll just pack everything up into a suitcase and make it up as I go along - completely in line with my normal method of travelling.

I go about booking an Über - suddenly my favourite app - to collect me and take me to Portland International (PDX) at 0900 tomorrow, then start to pack my stuff into my carry-on bag and a couple of carrier bags. All the rest of my stuff can reside tidily in my check-in bag in the bedroom, so as not to make the place look untidy.

This pic epitomises Portland to me...

Jorge and Carolina call it "Pride Dog" - the owner keeps its tail and ears dyed year round, although Jorge took this pic during Pride Week - brilliant...

More later...

 

[MikeO]

Brilliant. But a shame at the same time
Do you still have your white 1150 GSA?

At the moment I do...

 

[MikeO]

26th September 2023

A day of planning, replanning, booking cars, tickets, and hotel rooms.

Aster completely ignores me throughout this process - won't even go out into the yard when I open the door for here...

So, I had originally booked a rental car from Friday for a week. On reflection, I decided I wanted it for a further two days, starting Wednesday 27th. No problem, right? "Oh no Mr Oughton, our system can't do that - you'll have to just book the two days separately and then be sure to tell the desk agent that it'll have to be the same car". How about cancelling and starting again? "Cancellation fees - best do the two-day thing"

Can you hear a bell tolling?

I go ahead and book a mini-SUV of some sort and then sort out my hotel.

Jorge and Carolina are back from their respective workplaces at around 1700 or so. Jorge goes straight into chef mode (this is worth watching - it's like watching the conductor of an orchestra), as he makes up a recipe he's recently been given - Chicken pot pie...

The main event is taken from the oven to rest...

But not for long! Delicious - and exactly the right sort of food for a wet night with the beginnings of a chill in the air...

Jorge gives me a roll of dog-poo bags for Marnie...:rofl

...and a Dark Brandon mug that I'd asked him to order for a friend in the UK...

I have an early night - I have an Über booked for 0900.

27th September 2023

I sleep well, hearing Jorge leave very early (he has conference calls involving teams in Europe, so needs to work to their timeframe). I get up, shower, and dress, packing the last of my kit into my carry-on bag and a large shopping bag. All the kit I don't need is in the checked bag in the bedroom awaiting my return.

My Über driver, Zelalem, is five minutes early, so we're already ahead of the game. Zelalem is a full-time Über driver and tells me he has to work long hours because he has six children, ranging in age from five to 19 ersHe's from Ethiopia and has been in the USA for 15 years. We discuss stuff like student loans (his eldest daughter is at college studying to be a nurse, and his eldest boy - 17 - wants to be an engineer) and how they differ in our respective countries. He has a great sense of humour and the journey seems to be over very quickly.

So, I arrive at 'Arrivals' - and am immediately directed by signage downstairs to the Car Rental Centre...

It's bloody miles away Thank goodness for moving walkways...

I present myself at the Sixt desk, where the irrepressibly cheerful Danica checks my booking. No problem at all - that's two days? No - nine days. I explain the process I have had to go through to achieve this. "I can book for nine days at the same rate, but you'll have to cancel your original booking, as you did it through Expedia". I check on this - there is a $100 cancellation fee.

"Tell you what, Mike - since you've been messed about by the system and you're going to have to pay the fee - how would it be if I gave you a big upgrade on the type of car you're renting?"

Which is how I come to be driving...

...a BMW X6.

Now, it's not going to win any beauty contests, but it's a long way from a Camry, isn't it?

I spend about 20 minutes 'entering my profile' into the car and familiarising myself with its controls, then venture out, with South Seattle entered into Waze, and Killing Thatcher back on the stereo...

To begin with, it's fine and dry, as I enter Washington State on I-5 North...

...but, as I snap a bridge pic, it's starting to cloud up.

This car has a head-up display showing the speed limit and the car's speed on the windscreen - excellent...

I stop at a rest area. These are unlike British Service Areas - and are more like the French Aires on their autoroutes. They have toilets and some vending machines, but no other food and no petrol.

BMW external design these days really is appalling, isn't it? It's a nice car to drive, but only a mother could love those looks...

...on a whim, I turn off up a scenic route, heading towards Mount St Helens. Of course, it immediately starts raining quite hard...

...not that this stops drivers conducting over-exuberant overtakes...

I decide to abandon my scenic route - it might be very scenic, but I'm not going to see it in this murk. The bomb in the Grand Hotel in Brighton has just gone off...

I stop at a little Mexican restaurant at the junction Waze tells me to take to regain my original destination...

...and - reluctantly avoiding the nachos on offer - order a taco salad with chicken...

...with lemonade, natch...

Excellent - back on the road...

The weather is really foul now - I'm glad I'm in a four-wheeled BMW...

Even the fir trees look like drowned rats...

Onward...

Someone has dumped (fly-tipped) their boat here...

A little further up the road I cross some railway (railroad) tracks and see this old gentleman...

I keep my eye out for old cars, but I think the climate around here would make storing any outside pointless, as they'd rust away very quickly...

I'm directed back onto the Freeway and - of course - the weather immediately brightens...

I arrive at the Ramada at just after 1600 and am checked into my huge rooms...

...although I'm slightly concerned about the sign on the other door in the bedroom...

I hope they don't have a night shift...

I'm here for two nights - off for an interesting visit tomorrow...

PS @Mods - I recognise this has turned into a "Drive Report" - if you would rather it was moved elsewhere, or - indeed - not posted on the forum, please let me know...

 

[Doc]

Weather looked rubbish. Like you say at least you are in a car.
Chicken pie looked.

 

[MikeO]

Weather looked rubbish. Like you say at least you are in a car.
Chicken pie looked.

Looks aren’t deceiving

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Those rainy roads remind me of the beginning scenes of First Blood the first Rambo film, watch out for the Sheriff Mike.

PS @Mods please keep it here.....

 

[Micky]

PS @Mods please keep it here.....

Yes Mods .... please keep it here

 

[Tinytim]

Those rainy roads remind me of the beginning scenes of First Blood the first Rambo film, watch out for the Sheriff Mike.

PS @Mods please keep it here.....

Ha! Same here Geoff.