My Valentine's on two wheels.

What's a single guy to do? Well, let me rephrase that question. What's a single guy, whose bike is broken, to do? That's correct, fix his bike! Women will leave you, yes, even the good ones, but a man's motorcycle is forever (or can be repaired, improved or replaced, hopefully with something better - somewhat easily!). ;-)

So, what's a single guy to do, but to relearn, reacquaint and rekindle the romance and the passion which rises, when astride 1298 cc's of raw, sonorous power for hundreds upon hundreds of gorgeous miles!

This year, Valentine's day was to be for me a celebration of some of my loves. Motorcycling, photography and photography while motorcycling, among a few other things. It was only mid February, in the dead of Winter, but the weather gods had changed their mind and decided to let Spring in, if only for a few days. No better day and no better weather to be on (you guessed it) the California coast at Big Sur.

A 'Crappy' Ride Report.

Riding a bike is like learning to swim, they say. So they say, you never forget, but you do get a bit rusty. It had been over 4-1/2 months, notwithstanding the hour-long ride the week before to gently probe the extent of the cobwebs.

It was groundhog day, where we look to a rodent to predict the weather, which actually is just as good as any other method that we know of. The forecast was for sunny skies and 67 degrees. As I rolled over to Al's house at a leisurely 9AM, the weatherman was going to prove just as smart at predicting the weather as a rodent. No precipitation,but a chilly morning in the high 40s and the typical Sacramento valley low clouds/fog/smog had yet to burn off. Maybe after breakfast..

What do Sunsets mean to you?

It was labor day weekend and I had an extra day off secured after the long weekend. The question that my unquenchable wanderlust asks me is always the same...

"Wanna get away?"

Why, yes of course I do! How long does it take to pack my bags for a fun 4 day get away (2 day riding, and 2 day lounging at the beach)? No time at all when I am motivated. Never mind that I worked really late last night, or that the oft repeated question in my psyche wasn't posed till I woke up at 7:30am in the morning. I was heading out the door by 9:00am. 

The route, the exits, the gas stops, the food stops and the fun roads you can make great time on - I am beginning to have them memorized. Just point the mighty FJR in the right direction and shoot away through the central coast of California. The route being I5 to Hwy 156 to Hollister for late breakfast, Hwy 25 to Hwy 198 to Hwy 101 to Hwy 41 to Hwy 229 to Creston for a late lunch, to Hwy 58 back to I5 to I405 and then back again to I5 to have friends and dinner waiting for you. 

Which brings me back to - "Wanna get away?" Thanks Southwest, but I already got it covered, and I will pass on that groping hand up my legs till it "meets resistance". 

It's good to see the ocean.

The Redwoods along the Northern Calif. coast  had been calling me over for a visit all year, and every time I had been putting off their invitation. I am glad they didn't give up, because in August I finally had the opportunity to go see them again and reconnect after a couple year absence. 

I had a very late start on the first day, so it was mostly just a commute day. I did ride up the coast, but being a weekend day, there was traffic the mighty FJR had to muscle around, so I didn't make any stops for pictures. There would be plenty of stops for pictures the next couple of days. :)

I was staying in Fort Bragg at the Weller House Inn. This place is on the National Registry of Historical Places. The oldest existing house in the city of Fort Bragg and it has been fully restored as a B&B. It is a pretty place and the Innkeeper and staff (mostly foreign students from Europe and Australia) try really hard to provide you the best service that they can, but it seems this B7B is barely making it and it has started to show in it's upkeep. It is really expensive to maintain a really old house and the cutting of corners has started to show. In my opinion despite the great service, there are much better option in Mendocino about 10 miles south of Fort Bragg, for around the same price. 

If you are interested in knowing more. Here is a link to the B&B:

Link to Weller House Inn B&B.

The next morning, I took some pictures of the place before breakfast. The grounds are all organic and photogenic. :)

Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse: A Photo Guide.

At the crossroads of science, fantasy, prophecy and religion is a freakish possibility of an apocalyptic event happening in the year 2012 - A Zombie Apocalypse!

Here are some tips for survival that may serve you well, and keep you from becoming a meal for the undead.

Rule #1. No Girly Bikes. Get a real bike. The faster the better. I recommend an FJR1300. Just not the one below, this one has been beat down too much!
Remember, animals can be infected also. Looks like this one just feasted on some poor schmucks brains..

Mt. Rainier and the ride home - Getting your money's worth!

The Final and the longest chapter of the Ring of Fire tour of the Pacific North West, covering July 7th, 8th and 9th, 2012.

Get your money's worth. At least in pictures, all 39 of them! Fair Warning! ;)

July 7th, 2012.

The beginning of this chapter overlaps the penultimate chapter. I felt that the story flowed better, if I separated the two evenings of festivities at the cabin in Packwood from the riding adventures of the day in between. Brian and I took some time in the morning after we arrived at the cabin to go explore Rainier National Park. Tobie had given us some very helpful ride suggestions and points of interests the night before and laid out several options. We chose not to ride the longer routes and decided to forego riding some tempting roads in the vicinity, so we could spend more time visiting with friends who had rode in from all around North America.
With an eye to a lunchtime return to the cabin, we got ourselves an early start and headed towards the East entrance of Rainier National Park and Stevens Canyon Road. The picture below is of Brian riding sweep on Stevens Canyon Road. Even though it was not a super early start, we found not many people were heading this direction.

If You Hinkle Tinkle in Packwood - We See Your Johnson!

Chapter 3 of the Ring of Fire Tour of the Pacific North West, for the Packwood RTE.

July 6th & 7th, 2012.

I don't get the whole "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night". If I was staying at a somewhat comparable hotel I would rather stay at a Best Western Plus (or the Best Western Plus in Sutherlin, OR). Freshly baked home made cookies of all kinds - "free" for the taking and a made to order cooked breakfast in the morning. Good Morning Oregon!

We were heading towards Sweet Home. No, not home, sweet home, but Sweet Home, OR. About 411 miles to cover today and we took the easy start in the morning and slabbed it up I-5 to the Brownsville exit for Hwy 228. Despite oppressive enforcement of the retarded speed limits in this state, I was surprised to see how easy it was to find rabbits on the interstate. Don't mind us, just a couple of Dawgs chasing rabbits..

Our first stop was in Crawfordsville, as I spotted this covered bridge over the Calapooia River. Built in 1932, it was bypassed in 1963 and is now a pedestrian bridge across the river. There is also a park next to the bridge with picnic tables and a fire pit for you Iron Butt Motel aficionados.