DAY 26 OF THE AROUND-THE-BLOCK MOTORCYCLE SOJOURN-JULY 26, 08

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July 26, 2008 - Saturday - Day 26
USA/MEXICO/CANADA
DOUBLE CROSS COUNTRY
& THE TRANSCANADA HIGHWAY
  -- OR BUST - SUMMER 2008
Miles Today - 414(!)    - Total Miles -  6834
- to  Albany,OR  (just south of Salem)
(-staying at a Travelodge Motel-)
(CA-WA)
- ONE LAST LOOK…. HOLY SMOKES! -

  I was all set to leave. Didn't need to look around the motel room a THIRD time, for pete's sakes… but for some reason (good habits? an inner thought? luck?) I did decide to flip the switch of the bathroom light to check there once more.  And there on the sink was my contact lens case and solutions. Whew!  (I have extras, of course, but still….)
  The air this morning was much smokier than last evening. All this because of the forest fires of late. Across the big highway and against the far mountains everything seemed in a haze
  I had a nice run down the big main street around 9am or so, and then came back, uncovered the bike, and had a bowl of oatmeal in the motel office.  I was glad I spent so much time polishing up the Nomad last evening. It looked shiny and great in the morning sun as I pulled off the cover. 
  The office person, a cute short Asian woman was standing smoking under the overhang by the front door. Among other things I joked with her by saying, "Are YOU the one responsible for all this smoke. This isn't all coming from YOUR cigarette is it?"  We laughed.
  Left the motel and motored out of the parking lot at 10:10am.
  As I made my way north on I-5, the smoke smell saturated everything for a good part of the morning and early afternoon.  Mary said yesterday that it was so bad at her house in Santa Rosa one time recently that she could barely see to the end of her block.
  It was straight north on I-5 today all the way.  There were curvy mountainous parts to negotiate for sure, but basically it was due north.
***
   I knew I wanted to make this my longest mileage day and so I broke it into four 100-mile gas station stop segments. And I knew to pace myself. (I've found that's one of the real secrets of life - you have a big something to do, you just break it into smaller segments. Get one of those more easily manageable  smaller segments accomplished, you feel good about it, you realize there is less to do, and before you know it, the big "insurmountable" job is done!)
***
  Most folks like my bright-as-blazes yellow jacket. A construction worker at a gas pump this morning made mention of it. I said what I say to everyone who comments about it, "You know, if I get hit by a car, I want to lay there, look up at them, and say, 'You didn't see THIS?????'" It always gets a laugh.
For one of my gas stops I inadvertently pulled into a truck diesel bay. I quickly found out that I was in the wrong place!
***
  There was a big commotion at the summit of the highest mountain. Just over the other side had been an accident. There were a lot of cars, and motorcycles, and an ambulance.  It wasn't clear what had happened. I wanted to stop and help, but it appeared there were enough folks there. I kept going.
***
  The 1000's of feet in elevation were ticked off in little signs by the side of the road. 3000 feet.  2000 feet.  At times, uphill and downhill, they seemed to whiz by.
***
   At one gas stop the attendant queried, "Where ya going?"  To that I invariably respond, "Everywhere!"  That gets a smile. This guy said, "That's the best place."
  I met Dave (on a Kawasaki 1400 and Tammy (on a Yamaha FV6) at a gas station stop. They were on two crotch rocket sport type muscle motorcycles.  I got a picture of the handsome couple, and one of Tammy in her great looking pink jacket.  I told them about the accident on the mountain, and Dave seemed to know the spot.
  We talked speed. When I told him how I made it a point to hit 100 most everyday, he came out with, "A day without triple digits, is a day without sunshine."  He admitted it was a stolen quote from a guy in his 60's who was a racer, and with whom 40-year-old Dave could not keep up.
  He then said that on their ride today, he hit 140!  I was astounded, and looked at his speedometer, and sure enough it went up to 180!
  Dave gave me a heads up to be careful with the speed limit in a little town near Eugene where the officers were very sneaky and careful with speeders.
***
   For a lunch break at a Taco Bell's I sure enjoyed a couple tacos along with catching up on email.
In the morning I was cheated of  some views. Only the tallest peaks could be seem poking their giant heads dimly against the heavens. And when I escaped the smoke, it was like being able to see in Technicolor again.
  All the magnificent natural beauty around me was intensified by the speed at which I was traveling.
  At one point, forty-mile apart towns just blipped by.  I viewed a giant body of water that was Shasta Lake.  Says Wikipedia: Shasta Lake is a reservoir created by the building of Shasta Dam in California, USA. Shasta Lake is the 3rd largest lake in California. For more info, poke on over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shasta_Lake.
  There was a really interesting looking step-like mountain bathed in sunlight in Roseberg, OR.  I managed to get a picture.
   Off to the left at one point were little clouds nestled right on the mountain top.
  It's great to look ahead and see a road wind around a hillside or mountain and slowly embrace it.
   I rode through valleys today so big and so wide and so expansive that one's eyeballs just can't take it all in.
  There were quite a number of mountain crossings. And quite a number of signs reading, "Caution 6% Grade".  One was for more than five miles. Typically I'd pass cars on the way up, and they'd pass me on the way down. I have to be much more careful heading down!
   The air blasted on my face as the blur of farmland, pastures, and trees moved by. Sometimes it seemed that the surroundings were moving and I was standing still. A wonderful feeling.  Much of the day my feet were planted firmly on the floorboards with concentration acute, intense, focused.  At least once during the day, the excitement brought out one of my spontaneous WHOOPS - at sheer enjoyment. And the vibrations from that WHOOP were like being at one with nature.
  The bike and I swept over wide swaths of valley floor and to the very tops of mountains.
  I had hoped to reach college friend, Ken, and his wife, Maria. But I fell short of the goal by about 25 miles. It was the most mileage day at over 400, and I just didn't want to push it.
   I again typed myself into even a wearier oblivion as my eyes shut in restful sleep.

Note:
To view the many photos from today and the whole trip, you can visit
http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?tmpl=45&user_id=42473&event=196141. Some folks have reported trouble with this link, but most find that it works. Sometimes it takes two tries… Also, you can check out the past day journal entries by going to joelperlish.com, and clicking on the appropriate trip down at the bottom on the left hand corner or just going to http://www.joelperlish.com/blog/blog.html.)



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