CA to Seattle, WA Pics & Vid

[Logiks]

Sorry it took so long, guys. It was tough as hell trying to recover for the following days while having to work at 8 AM Mon - Fri. Then this past weekend we went river rafting at the American River for two days. So I havn't had much of a chance to post up everything I wanted to.

So it took me a good amount of time to cram a 1 hour and 2 minute video into 5 minutes of time. All for you guys who havn't been on 36 can actually see what it's all about. So let me give my full review.

First off keep in mind this was my first sport touring trip, so if I recite newbish things, you know exactly why. If you just want to see the pics and video, scroll below and click the vid link.

For a quick summer of everything that happend: It took us a full 7 days, we didn't get to complete our entire route of twisties (only half of it actually), I lost my wallet on the first day in Sacramento, there were no cop incidents and/or crashes, it was extremely damn fatiguing, we did make it to Seattle, WA and back, we only got lost/mixed up one time, and in the end we stank like crap.
Before getting into detail, I'd first I'd like to give off some lessons I learned that might help others who are thinking of embarking on similar trips.

1) I will never sport tour with a super sport bike ever again. As fun and kick ass the trip was, it was extremely fatiguing, and our wrist were utterely destroyed after about 8-10 hours of riding (with breaks) each day. Our bodies endured brutal constraints from the riding positions combined with the leather gear. I told myself I'd buy a Goldwing when I got home!

2) Following experience number one: if you're riding any kind of sportbike and are thinking of sleeping out with camp gear, think again. We took such beatings after each night, we said screw camping. I forgot who mentioned it in the first thread about getting good rest, but he was not kidding! The first night we 1/2 considered it, and then decided to throw the option out. After the 2nd night, we knew it wasn't happening, period. The small tent and 2 sleeping bags did not get used whatsoever. You cannot take that kind of treatment throughout the day and get crap for sleep and expect to perform the next. It an't happening. So we got a motel each night.

3) Camelbaks save lives! On Country Road 306 in Northern California, it got extremely hot: over 100 easy. With leathers and the bikes maintaing 200 degree tempetures fuming onto you, it was about 120 degrees. If we didn't have cold/cool drinking water, we wouldn't have made it a 1/10th of the way we did. There is no doubt in mind that it kept us concious and stable on the bike.

4) I love SPORT TOURING! I had a blast all around! You can never hit twisites like 36 and Oregon's road to Creater Lake in the Bay Area. 36 made 9 look like CAKE! Granted we took it slow, but with 0 speed limit, extremely few cars, and well paved road, there is no way NOT to have fun!

5) Communication is key! We got Chatterboxs and were glad we did. The investment saved us an immense amount of time and helped tremendously throughout the trip. From sharing thoughts, guidence around road tradgedys, to assholes on the road, they worked awesome. However, toward the end of the trip, they stopped functioning properly and only then began working intermitently. Just as the reviews said, they don't last that long, but while functioning, they rocked!

6) If you plan on washing your clothes along the way, bring laundry SOAP! We were ecstatic when we found a motel that had laundry facilities. However, once we realized we didn't have any supplies to wash them with, we had to go 2 days without showers and continue to slip into hot musty leathers. And granted we could ahve bought some at a local store, but with all the eating out and prices from motels, it would of been unwise to spend extra on such things.

7) If you're outside of city grounds, don't ride during dusk! One of the nights we were grunting it back on I-5 to CA, and decided to push further using the remaining remanents of light squeaking past the hills. Well, all the mosquitos, flying bugs, and whatever came out and it was HELL. Bugs littered our shields, leathers, and the front of our bike. It got to the point where we had to pull over because we could hardly see through the shields anymore. When we checked the front of the bike, it looked like a graveyard for bugs. Terrible site.

8) Don't take anti-allergies in pill form! Mike's (Slo1) allergies were reacting REAL bad to the different type of enviroments we travelled through. He took benadrile (sp?) and it caused him to get extremely drowsy during parts of the twisties that made it extremely unsafe. After drinking 1 Redbull and 2 Rockstars, he had hardly evened out. Use sprays and eyedrops instead!

9) Downtown Portland sucks

10) Bring both Dark Smoke shields and Clear shields! We did this, but I just thought i'd note it.

I guess those were the major things I learned on the trip. Even though I was thinking of it before, I'll definately be selling my R6 early next year, and buying a more comfortable bike.


It's 2 AM right now. I need to get some sleep for work tomorrow, but I will come back and do a write-up/edit for a thorough story of the trip. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. For now, take a look at the pics and the video. THe first part of the vid is highway Country Road 306, after the bizarre intermission is 36. Enjoy:

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LINKS

Video Link. Hwy 306 and 36:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PKvAEDA5pw

Here is a link to a family of pics (not all the same):

http://picasaweb.google.com/junglego...eToSeattle2006

If anyone likes river rafting, this is what we did the past few days:

http://picasaweb.google.com/junglego...2006WWC?stop=1

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R6 Top View



The F3 Ready to GO!



Hehe yea, I bought Saddle Bags for the R6. It's Contents:



1/2 Through Highway 36:



Another one with me lookin stupid. Har har:



More of 36

[Logiks]

Posin, BIOTCH! Haha. Yes, I know we have the opposite boots and bikes to match our own schmit. Psh...



One other soul rider out there... HD guy:



Me Figuring out some directions:



Gas Prices in Fortuna, CA:



Portland, Or:



BORING Portland, Downtown:



As Cheap as we can be!:



Little bit of Bugs after getting to Seattle:



In Kirkland, WA

[Logiks]

A friend of mine's Geiko:



Rich Kirkland, WA area (thats just the garage):



Another:



Mike (Slo1) and I



Pumice Desert near Creater Lake:



Welp, we're lost...



Barren...



Oh yea... $ shot:



The road... yes, extremely tempting to fly on it... heh



Creater Lake, Oregon (9000ft Elevation!):

[Logiks]

More:



Another



The other side:




Slo1



Me takin a peak around:





Crazy that there was snow still... damn.



Thats it... check the link for more pics. Some are the same.

[GaryM]

I really enjoyed the pics. What a fantastic trip.

Gary

[slydrite]

awesome dewds.......I luv it!!.......ride wha'cha got and ride it like there's no tomorrow, that what motorcycling is about to me.........

[rumpofsteelskin]

Thanks for sharing.

[2legs2wheels]

Nice pics

[slo1]

What a trip!

Scary Moments:

1. Gusts of wind through Benicia... talk about getting tossed around!

2. Being caught in a semi-truck wind vortex...

3. Having a deer dart across us on HWY 36... I hate deer!!!

4. A harley davidson rider pulling over to "talk" to us... turned out he didn't want to murder us after all - yay!

5. Watching smoke pour out of Logik's rear tire when a minivan decided to do a random brake check for no apparent reason.

6. Being boxed in by semi-trucks, argh...

7. Sudden rainstorm on the road to Crater Lake

8. Nearly falling asleep because of allergy meds... yikes

9. Most motels

10. Nearly running out of gas in the middle of nowhere

[boney]

Nice write up! Sounds like a good time.

[niwrad_r1]

wow! you guys make me wanna do a Portland run....... maybe someday.

great pics and vid, thanks for sharing!

[Mike T]

ahhaa nicee!!! makes me wanna road trip...ahaha and damn..on a R6?! niceee....

[Sane_Man]

Nice Pics.

When you said you were going to take a small tent, I recommended that you get a larger one. I assumed one of you were female, but were both of you guys going to share a two-man tent???

They ought to make a movie about two guys traveling, working, and sleeping together.

[Logiks]

Yea it was a blast.

niwrad_r1: Yea up to Portland was pretty cool. I wouldn't care as much to go to Seattle, WA road wise unless it was thoroughly planned again with some nice routes.

Mike T: Hehe, yea, it was cool, but it sucked sitting in that position for so long. It destroyed me.

Sane_Man: First off, I am not gay and nor is that monkey bastard. We didn't have a shitload of $ to be buying crazy cool tents at REI. The single man small/travel size tents were extremely expensive, along with the 3 man tents. Once we started getting into the cheaper $100 - $150 range 3-person tents, they were bulky and cumbersome. It would of been impratical to carry such a huge item on the tail of either of our bikes. Additionaly, you were right in needing at least a 3 person tent, just to store gear in alone besides ourselves. I will admit we were not thinking when buying the 2-man tent. However, if you have $300 - $400 for a 3-person tent thats compact and light weight, awesome. We didn't. Like I said, it was a learning experience, and we didn't bother utilizing the camp gear we purchased (which will be returned). Oh well...

They ought to make a movie about two guys traveling, working, and sleeping together.

Sounds pretty gay to me. But if you like it like that, it's all good.

[elbacalao]

Looks like an awesome trip. Much respect doing that on an R6 man!! Thanks for posting the pics!