Friday, June 19th, came and went easily. My customers had all given me the clear for my vacation so my workload was light on my last day. I took off at the end of the day, heading for Reno so I could continue north to Lakeview, OR. Grabbed a quick bite to eat, and got the wheels spinning along a familiar path.
It's interesting what bits of landscape will trigger memories. This is the route my Dad and I would take to my Grandparent's place in Fort Bidwell. Just outside Susanville as we would turn towards Alturas, the conditions at night would be just right to pick up an AM station out of Los Angeles, allowing us to listen to old time radio shows on our long road trip. There is also an older rest stop that had a really old water fountain that used a pipe from a nearby stream to divert water to the faucet. Talk about fresh!
Pulling into Lakeview, I spotted a few motorcycles already in the lot for the weekend. One was a shiny cruiser that sat glistening under the street lights, while the other was a flat dull bug encrusted beast with far too many lights and mounts for a variety of gizmos. Experience told me the second bike belonged to a fellow LD rider and a quick check of the plate revealed the IBA plate backer. Oddly I was reminded of canines checking each other out with a friendly butt sniff.
The owner's name is Woody, one of those fellows who just goes everywhere. He's done many rides that are on my bucket list and I had the interesting position of having done several rides on his bucket list. Good chat with him!
I had arrived a day before the solstice, relying more on a childhood memory of Lakeview and the distance from anywhere rather than the more accurate figures from the map, so chose to venture out and see the sights. A geyser was nearby and sounded really interesting.
Having got my shot, I started the bike and noticed it instantly began pulling forward despite the clutch being in. I put it back into neutral, pulled the lever a few times, and back into first where it began moving forward again. Figuring on checking it at the motel, I rode down the road a ways and went to shift into second. The clutch lever was suddenly loose, no resistance what so ever! I crawled forward to a dirt lot in first and parked - where I discovered the cable had snapped.
Some frantic phone calls later got me a replacement cable from a Reno shop, my incredible awesome father agreeing to deliver it to me, two very friendly folks loaning me their cell phone, and a chance to use my AMA Roadside Assistance to have a tow back to town (all 2.5 miles of it - had thought of pushing, but since this was supposed to be a quick photo shoot, I had NO stuff, no water, no straps, no snacks, nothing.)
Major props to Mile Hi Tire and Services in Lakeview, OR - who not only showed up about 5 minutes after AMA finished telling me they'd be 30 minutes, but were friendly, professional, and got me back to the motel with zero issues.
My Dad arrived about 3 hours later and we set about unhooking the old cable and ready to install the new one... that looked different. *growl* They'd sent the clutch cable for the wrong bike! This was for a KLX250, which made it much too long, had a metal bend that hit the coolant reservoir, and an end piece that barely fit. A quick call back to the shop to explain the problem got a promise of the correct one being ordered and accepting the wrong one back after I returned from my trip. (This is not the first time they've fouled up parts, not a happy customer and am no longer going to them).
Had a impromptu Father's Day dinner with my Dad and he headed back to Carson as I settled into get ready for my long ride tomorrow. Prefilled my tank as Oregon has this silly law that says folks can't fill up their own tanks (or in the case of motorcycles, can fill up the tank but can't operate the pump) so when they shut down for the night, there is NO GAS available.
June 21st, 2015 5:04am found me with receipt in hand and heading down the road. It was really pretty as the dawn was beginning to light up the sky and I saw a lot of the Oregon back country before there were too many people on the road. I made a roughly straight line towards Ontario on the Idaho border, stopping for gas once along the way, before connecting up with the interstate running back towards Portland. My midway 500 mile mark came just as I neared a great pull out overlooking the Columbia River and looking across towards Washington. I was making good time, feeling good with my energy and attitude, and enjoying the sights of a much greener state. Some friends even rode out to meet me at one of my southbound gas stops, where I was given an official Oregon Road Map made specifically for motorcyclists! Down towards Ashland, then a quick turn around to head back towards Klamath Falls. Arrived late at night, and got a bit turned around looking for the chosen gas station. But after venturing down a main road and seeing the stations all closed for the night, went to the first lit business I saw. Luckily, Wendy's was open so a small order of nuggets got me my ending receipt at 11:03pm. 17 hours and 59 minutes for the day. It was a good ride!
