Friday August 28

Today was a big improvement! But first, two photos.

At an old growth grove, I parked under a big fir tree

Here's the whole tree. Sorry I made you scroll!

I got out early, and the bike rode perfectly... the computer worked flawlessly... everthing was great, and it was one of the more scenic roads (especially between Bend and Sweet Home, which was twisty and fun)... but then, on the last leg to the sea, it started to rain heavily.

So here i am in the Elderberry Inn and Motel and General Store, about 30 miles from the sea. And of course, by the time I got the room booked and everything unloaded, it had pretty much stopped raining.

The bike road very well in the rain. I stuck on my raingear, and except for my boots, I stayed pretty dry (I need some overboots or something, I guess).and the bike gave no problems... although I noticed that the rear running light seemed to be out when I stopped at the motel. Brake light worked fine... guess I'll troubleshoot in the morning.

I'm finally in the land where Air Conditioning is Not Needed... there are none in the motel, just a big heater. Which I turned on as some of my stuff got a little wet...

But it was no real problem riding in the rain; the bike handled well... I just stopped because the traffic was pretty heavy and it was all drivers who clearly wanted to get home fast and didn't mind running over a motorcycle or two in the rain on the winding downhill grades through the mountains... so I quit when I saw the first motel light.

What a beatiful ride this morning, though... a perfect ride for a Royal Enfield.... twisting roads, constant changes in grade and elevation, and lots of "Rough road" signs... again, the bike being light and short, was a pleasure to handle throughout. I was not surprised by the "Falling rock" signs as the cliffs on both sides were pretty vertical at times... nor by the "Slides" signs as piles of rock lay at the foot of long loose rock hillsides... but the "Rock" signs confused me. What were they trying to say? We all knew there was plenty of rock, that much had been obvious for the past twenty miles....

Once ouf of the high mountains, I was in orchard and vineyard country.... beautiful, treed hillsides and lush farmland. I even saw a "sakery" which I must assume is to saki what a vineyard is to wine.

From here, it's about 25 miles to the aptly named town of seaside, and then north along the coast on 101 into Washington State.

Getting close now... I just have to keep my fingers crossed that it won't rain...

I'll have to wait on uploading photos as my internet access is only here in the restaurant... I don't want to go bakc

And a photo from yesterday... a timber industry wagon with solid wooden wheels....

I forgot to add mpg figures last night so I'm doing it at breakfast here this morning... Added 1.65 gallons of diesel in Bend OR and rode 262.27 miles (and here I have added in the missing 40 miles from when the Veypor computer stopped working) for an estimated total of 158.95 gallons... so it is still looking like I won't make my goal of ten gallons... I'm guessing a little over eleven, maybe? to go 1650 odd miles... still not bad I think! When I finish the trip I'll have to drain the fuel tank on the bike and do final calculations.