Monthly Archives: June 2009
June 24, 2009
CFR 2009
In June, 2009, I rode my FJR to Nakusp, British Columbia for the CFR 2009 Rally.
- Day 1 - home to the Virgin River BLM Campground in northwestern Arizona, with a stop at Cal Poly Pomona for Sheehan's graduation.
- Day 2 - Arizona to Pocatello, ID
- Day 3 - Pocatello, ID to Clancy, MT, with a stop at the Flint Creek Dam west of Anaconda, MT
- Day 4 - Clancy, MT to Waterton Springs, AB, with a stop at the Rainbow Falls Dam in Great Falls, MT
- Day 5 - Waterton Springs, AB to Nakusp, BC
- Day 6 - R&R in Nakusp, BC
- Day 7 - the Vernon Loop - Nakusp to Revelstoke, onto Vernon, and back to Nakusp - with two ferry crossings
- Day 8 - Nakusp to Richland, WA, with stops at the Dry Falls Dam in Coulee City, WA, and the North Scootenay Dike Dam
- Day 9 - Richland, WA to Bend, OR, with a stop at the McKay Dam southeast of Pendleton, OR
- Day 10 - Bend, OR to Red Bluff, CA, with stops at the Toketee Dam northwest of Crater Lake, Hyatt Dam east of Ashland, and the Keswick Dam west of Redding.
- Day 11 - Red Bluff to home.
CFR - Day 11
Red Bluff to home. 522 miles. There's not much more to say about a long slog down I-5, other than I was glad to get home to see my family. While I was gone, Carole, Justin, and Jeremy had moved everything into the new bedroom setup, and I was surprised that the new den had a brand new recliner just waiting for me. Too cool.
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June 23, 2009
CFR - Day 10
I had finished Killing Floor overnight, so first thing in the morning I headed to the big Barnes & Noble I had passed on the way into town yesterday to pick up Die Trying, the next book in the Jack Reacher series. (Reacher is kind of a cross between Quiller and Elvis Cole.)
After a quick bite, I headed south from Bend on US-97, with a bunch of other folks. At Diamond Lake Junction, I peeled off west on OR-138, which quickly became one of my all-time favorite motorcycling roads.
The first five miles or so are straight and reasonably fast, but I quickly became unreasonable. The highway takes a big turn north past Diamond Lake, then settles in to an excellent series of twists, sweepers, and mile-long straights.
I peeled off for the Toketee Dam, and met up with a group of four riders on cruisers, also doing the Dam Tour. We chatted a bit, and they snapped a picture of the FJR and me, holding the placard, in front of the dam. I hung with the guys for 15 minutes or so, then we each headed out on separate routes for the Hyatt Dam east of Ashland.
My route was to backtrack a few miles on OR-138, then southwest on OR-230 and OR-62 into Medford. More really fun riding. I stopped for lunch on the northern outskirts of Medford, gassed up, then headed down I-5 to Ashland.
At Ashland I went east on OR-66, and ran smack into a chip-seal construction zone. It was bad a few days ago when it was only the loose gravel on the road; today we got a lane closure, fresh oil, and even fresher gravel. After a slow log up the hill I hit the turnoff for Hyatt Lake, and pulled in to the day-use area to take my pics of the dam. Just as I was about to leave, the four guys pulled up behind me. They had taken a southeasterly route from Toketee, which I admitted was more scenic than my route. We chatted some more, and I found out that they're all retired, and they ride the Dam Tour together every year. A cool bunch of guys.
I slogged back through the fresh chip seal into Ashland, and headed south on I-5. I contemplated stopping off in Weed to buy a couple of t-shirts, but inertia overcame me, and I stayed on until Redding. Keswick is a few miles west on the Sacramento River. I took a couple of pics from the east side of the dam, then rode over to the west side for some better late-afternoon lighting. After a fill-up, I headed south to Red Bluff.
Over the years, I've stayed at various Motel 6's in Northern California including Redding North, Williams, Willows, and I think Yreka, but for some reason I never stopped in Red Bluff. The desk manager and I chatted for about ten minutes, about riding, motels, whatever, and I told him about my 5:45am air horn wake-up yesterday. He gave me a nice, clean, quiet room on the second floor. I got some KFC grilled chicken to go, and ate it in my room with my new book.
445 miles.
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Toketee Dam
Hyatt Dam
Keswick Dam
June 22, 2009
CFR - Day 9
You know how a lot of newer cars will give you a beep or two when you lock the car from the remote? And you know how a few will even beep once or twice when you unlock the car? And you know how some guys put air horns on their shiny new pick-ups? Well, one of those shiny new pick-ups parked right outside my door — no more then five feet away. And at 5:45am, he decided to unlock his car. Yup — two air horn blasts, short but sweet, blasted me awake. Not my preferred way to start the day.
I couldn't get back to sleep, so I read Killing Floor for a while, then packed up and headed east on I-84. I stopped for breakfast at a Denny's in Pendleton, then headed south on US-395 to the McKay Dam.
I was feeling real good on the bike heading down 395. I had a good rhythm on the bike, and was having a lot of fun in the corners. There wasn't any rain, but it got pretty cold on the way up to the summit of Battle Mountain, so I put on my Widders and the wind liner. I turned west on Hwy 26. It was also a pretty nice road — except for the eight mile stretch of fresh chip seal and gravel that forced my speed way down.
The Motel 6 in Bend, OR wasn't as good as it's rate implied. I walked up to a Baja Fresh for fajitas, and finished Killing Floor.
332 miles.
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McKay Dam
June 21, 2009
CFR - Day 8
Sunday dawned bright but cloudy in Nakusp. I headed south towards Castlegar, and stopped there for coffee and donuts at the Tim Horton's. You can't visit Canada without at least one stop at Tim Horton's, can you?
Heading west on Hwy 3 caused me to meet the approaching storm head on. I rode through the rain for a few miles before I stopped in the parking lot of a provincial park to put on my rain gear — better late than never. It rained off and on the rest of day.
I stayed on Hwy 3 to Hwy 41, and crossed the border at Danville. The woman at the guard station was quite nice — I pulled away early to clear the spot for the next car in line, and was about to drive away with my sunglasses laying on top of my tail bag when she called to me to stop, then walked out and handed me my glasses. Very cool.
WA-21 was pretty nice. The northern section was mostly in dense trees, but it opened up some the further south I went. I intended to go west on Manilla Creek Road over to the Grand Coulee Dam, but once I got there the road didn't look all the appealing, so I stayed on Hwy 21 to the Wilbur-Kelly ferry over the reservoir. The ferry was tiny - three cars at the most, plus a motorcycle or two.
Hwy 21 south of the ferry was a pretty cool motorcycling road, climbing up into the mountains, then back down to the flats. I headed west on US-2, and stopped at the Rainbow Falls Dam.
Hwy 17 took me south, and I stopped at what I thought was the North Scootenay Dike Dam. After I got back, I checked on things and realized that I had stopped at a little flood control dam instead of at the actual Dam Tour dam. Since I was within half a mile or so, the nice lady at the Dam Tour gave me credit for it, but I'm going to try to make it back there in August to get the real deal.
The Motel 6 in Richland, WA is on the bottom half of the Motel 6 desirability scale. For dinner I went across the street to Zips, a poor imitation of Lucky Boys.
406 miles.
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Dry Falls Dam
North Scooteney Dike Dam
June 20, 2009
CFR - Day 7
This morning I lammed onto a group that was riding the "Vernon Loop". From Nakusp go north on BC-23 to TC-1, west to BC-97A, south to the fine city of Vernon for gas, then back east on BC-6 to Nakusp. Half-way up the 23 you take a ferry Galena Bay to Shelter Bay, which I had to wait all of 45 seconds to board. 30 miles south of Nakusp on BC-6 you take a ferry from Needles to Farquier. I had to wait 5 minutes for this one.
There were a bunch of riders on the Farquier ferry, with a mix of FJRs, cruisers, and Wings. I was the first rider off, which gave me a free run back into Nakusp. There was no other traffic, and the road is fine shape, so I set a new Canadian personal land speed record. Very fun stuff.
That night, we had the Rally Dinner at the local Legion Hall. Turkey, ham, stuffing, potatos, gravy, peas, rolls, and a nice custard dessert. Some of the riders are also craftsmen, and had donated some items for the live auction (with proceeds benefiting the local Nakusp food bank). There were a couple of laser-cut plaques, and a couple of large, laser-cut stainless steel sculptures, both with CFR logos. Great stuff, but I was tapped out so I didn't bid on them.
I finally got hold of Dad, who seems to be doing well. It was nice to talk to him.
271 miles.
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June 19, 2009
CFR - Day 6
After five straight days in the saddle, I decided to take some R&R today. In the morning I had sausages and eggs at a great little diner down the street. Later, I walked a block down to the lake and finished The Unbearable Lightness of Scones on a bench, which was quite nice. I hooked up the Archos to the television, and watched the movie Gran Torino, a couple episodes of Weeds. For lunch I had a Caesar salad, and just generally took it easy.
I started reading Killing Floor, the first novel by Lee Child featuring Jack Reacher. Someone on the Quiller mailing list had recommended the latest Reacher novel, but I never like to start a series in the middle. It seems promising.
June 18, 2009
CFR - Day 5
When I woke up, it was cold at the Waterton Springs Campground in Alberta. Really cold. The walk to the restroom was not enjoyable. But, after I got moving, things started looking up, and I made good time packing up the bike.
AB-6 up to the Crowsnest Highway/AB-3 was about how I remembered it from my trip up here back in 2007. Back then, I stayed on Hwy 3 for only a few miles before heading north to meet up with Carole in Banff. Today, I was heading over Crowsnest Pass to Creston.
There was some decent rain showers going over the pass, but it wasn't too bad, all in all. I stopped for gas and an A&W burger (and root beer, of course) in Fernie, BC, a pleasant little town just into the Kootenays. The rain continued off and the rest of the day.
At Creston, I stopped for another small burger, and headed up BC-3A for the east shore of Kootenay Lake. What a fantastic motorcycling road! There were a few too many driveways for really, really fast riding, but the road, the scenery, and the light traffic made for a special afternoon.
At Kootenay Bay I began a tradition that would last throughout the trip: I only had to wait all of two minutes to board the ferry. The ride across was smooth and uneventful. From Proctor I headed north on the west shore of the lake on Hwy 31. If anything, this road was even better, if only because there were far fewer driveways and side roads. From Kaslo over the hill to New Denver, I passed one small group of cruisers, but otherwise I had to road all to myself. When I stopped for gas in New Denver, Nightshine (Sam) and his son stopped to say hi, which was nice. (Sam and I found ourselves at the same table a couple of times at last year's NAFO.) A bunch of other FJR riders went past as well.
After filling up I headed up Hwy 6 to Nakusp. I was riding pretty aggressively, but fell in behind Sam when I caught up to him a few miles before Nakusp.
The hotel is quite nice, and had a great system in place for handling large group check-ins. As a semi-late arrival, I got room 87 in the new wing, upstairs, which suited me fine. After a couple nights in the tent, I was looking forward to a nice shower and a warm bed.
I did the rally check-in in the lobby, and was very impressed with the goodie bag. The rally shirt is really kinda nice.
Waterton Springs Campground in Alberta to the CFR hotel in Nakusp, BC. 355 miles.
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June 17, 2009
CFR - Day 4
I rode about 10 miles into Helena, which seems like a nice little town, and had breakfast at a McDonalds. The trip to Great Falls was very nice as interstates go, winding along the head waters of the Missouri River.
The Rainbow Falls Dam east of Great Falls was on today's list. I plugged the coordinates into the Zumo, and it directed me, right into a construction closure. Unwinding the closure required a 14 mile detour — they apparently don't believe much in railroad crossings — but I found it in time. It was quite windy at the overlook, but I managed to tie down my placard well enough to get in a few pictures. There was no good way to setup the mini-tripod to take a picture of me with the bike and the dam; I contemplated asking the couple in the parked car if they'd do the honors, but I decided they were either there for a drug deal or were otherwise unavailable, so I left it alone.
Leaving Great Falls I headed northwest, first on I-15 then on US-89. I wound up in Browning, MT, a sad Indian town with too much wind and too little money. The Mexican fast-food place had run out of rice, and wasn't sure when they'd have more — what? — but I found something to eat, and filled up the tank with 40 miles showing on the reserve odometer.
I got twisted around and wound up taking MT-464 north and then west into Babb, which was probably a good choice. 464 was almost empty, and quite fun to ride. From Babb I headed up MT-17 to the Chief Mountain border crossing. The Canadian officer was great, and we compared notes on great riding roads in southern Alberta and southeast British Columbia.
The Waterton Springs Campground is only a few miles north of the border, and turned out to be really nice. I found a great tenting site, far enough but not too far from the restrooms. I had a granola bar for dinner, did a load of laundry, and took a nice shower (at CDN$1 per 4 minutes).
The view of the Rockies to the south and west was fantastic, but once the sun set below them it cooled down quite a lot. I watched Iron Man on the Archos, and settled in for what turned out to be a very cold night.
From Clancy, MT to the Waterton Springs Campground in southern Alberta. 312 miles.
My campsite was at the star below.
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Rainbow Falls Dam
June 16, 2009
CFR - Day 3
The rain had mostly cleared in the morning. I walked down to a Denny's for an omelet, and noticed something interesting.
Pasadena has a lot of intersections with combination left-turn signals. Traditionally, these start out with a solid green arrow for protected turns; when the protected period is over, the green arrow goes out, and the green ball indicates a permissive left turn period.
About six months ago, Pasadena installed a new version of these signals. The protected turn is still indicated by a solid green arrow, but for the permissive period it changes to a flashing yellow arrow. It sounds weird, but it actually works pretty well. (The part I don't like is that there are sections of Del Mar Blvd. by the Gold Line tracks where they have three intersections in a row, with old style, new style, then old style again. If the new style is the better way, do it everywhere. It's confusing to mix and match.)
Anyway, the motel and the Denny's are in a suburb (if you can call it that) of Pocatello named Chubbock. They are also using the new style left-turn signals with the flashing yellow arrow for permissive left turns.
There was the normal amount of rural traffic as I headed north on I-15 from Pocatello, but when I got to Idaho Falls it seemed like everyone got off. There was nobody left, and speeds went up accordingly, as I headed into Montana, where I stopped to put on my rain gear.
I got off in Dillon, MT for a bite to eat, and found it to be over 90° - which made me look silly in my rain gear and Widders. I had my first Dam Tour stop planned for the Flint Creek Dam west of Helena.
I got of I-90 at MT-1 heading west, and entered the fine city of Anaconda. I rode for the 5 miles or so through town at the well-enforced speed limit of 25mph. It took forever. The dam itself was nice enough, and Georgetown Lake was about what you'd expect, but it was fun to notch my first dam.
A navigational hiccup made me decide to backtrack through Anaconda. It was no better.
I stopped for the night at the Alhambra RV Park in Clancy, MT. The park itself is okay, but for $22 you get pit toilets, iffy running water, and no showers. To top it off, the place is about 20 yards wide, and sits between I-15 on the west and a semi-busy local road on the east. Bring your earplugs.
I had a nice grilled prime rib dinner at Chubby's, a nice local bar/grill on the other side of the freeway. I bought some water at a general store, since the water at the camp ground was intermittent.
From Pocatello, ID to the Alhambra RV Park in Clancy, MT, by way of the Flint Creek Dam on Georgetown Lake in Montana. 384 miles.
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Flint Creek Dam
June 15, 2009
CFR - Day 2
After packing up the bike, I headed out early, stopping for gas in St. George, UT, then settled in for the long slab ride. I stopped early for a hamburger at a McDonald's about 100 miles north of St. George, then again for gas and phone calls in Nephi.
I'd had a couple of brief showers throughout the day, but after passing through SLC, I hit some heavy, cold rain, and got off at UT-30. I geared up for the weather under the freeway, and checked the forecast on the Zumo - which did not look good. Camping is nice, but it loses a lot of its luster in the rain.
I called Carole and asked her to reserve me a room at the Motel 6 in Pocatello, which turned out to be below the line as Motel 6's go. It rained heavily overnight, with high winds, throughout southeastern Idaho.
487 miles from the Virgin River BLM campground in Arizona to the Motel 6 in Pocatello, ID.
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June 14, 2009
CFR - Day 1
The original plan was for me to leave for CFR on Saturday morning, but my nephew Sheehan was walking at commencement at Cal Poly on Sunday morning, and there's no way I would miss it. I rearranged my schedule a little so I could leave directly after the ceremony.
To smooth out the logistics, I arranged with my brother-in-law Cary to park my bike in his garage. Sam heard me pull up, and helped get me situated in the garage, and wished me luck on my trip. Carole met me there, and we drove in her car down to Cal Poly.
The ceremony was lovely, but maybe a little too warm. After pictures and congratulations, Carole and I drove back to Cary's house, with Justin following on his ZZR. I suited back up, and headed out.
Justin rode with me as far as the In-N-Out in Hesperia. After a quick bite, we parted ways, and I headed out for the Virgin River BLM campground north of Littlefield, AZ. Between Nevada and Utah, Interstate 15 cuts the very northwestern corner of Arizona, following the course of the Virgin River.
I stopped at a Subway in Mesquite, NV to pick up a sandwich for dinner, and made it to the campground with plenty of daylight to spare. Like a lot of desert canyons the campground had sundowner winds, which added a lot of needless excitement to the tent setup. Afterwards I took a bird bath and washed up some clothes in the bathroom (no showers...). It stayed quite warm overnight, making for some uneven sleep.
365 miles from home to Sheehan's graduation at Cal Poly and on to the Virgin River BLM campground in northwest Arizona.
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June 12, 2009
Leaving for CFR
Well, it's almost time.
Late last year, two different FJR rallies were announced. CFR is the Canadian FJR rally, and has traditionally been held in the eastern provinces. This year, they're holding it in Nakusp, BC, in the Kootenay's in eastern British Columbia, about 75 miles north of the border. WFO is the Western FJR Owner's rally, being held this year in Moscow, ID about 80 miles south of Spokane.
Carole and I talked about it back then, and I signed up for both rallies. And, since I was making two different runs up to the Pacific Northwest, I also signed up for the annual Dam Tour. Each year the Dam Tour folks select 8 dams in Oregon, 8 in Washington, and 4 more in (reasonably) adjacent states. You visit each dam, take a picture of your bike, your Dam Tour placard, and the dam, and send it in for credit. If you get all 20, you get a nice commemoration.
There's always lots to do at home and at work, and if I was deciding today I might not have gone for both rallies, but it will do me a world of good to get away from work for a couple of weeks to decompress, and hopefully recharge my sanity levels.
Originally Carole was going to try to come up and meet me at both rallies, but the logistics just didn't work out for CFR, so she'll only join me at WFO in late July/early August. I'll miss her.
My nephew who's great Sheehan gets his degree from Cal Poly on Sunday the 14th, and I wouldn't miss that for the world. I'm going to ride my bike out my sister-in-law's house in Claremont to save some time after the graduation. I need to get to a campground off of I-15 north of Littlefield, AZ for Sunday night, and leaving straight from Claremont will save me about an hour or so.
The plan is to camp every night on the way to Nakusp, stay at the rally hotel while I'm in Nakusp, and camp every night but one on the way home. I'm going to treat myself to the Motel 6 in Williams on the last night before I get home.
On the way to CFR, I'm going up I-15 so I can visit the two Dam Tour dams in Montana. After CFR I'm going to visit a bunch of dams in eastern Washington, eastern and southern Oregon, and a dam just west of Redding, CA. I'll get the rest of the dams in Oregon and Washington on the way to and from WFO in July. I'll need to make a special trip for the last dam - O'Shaugnessy on the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite.
Except for missing Carole, I'm really looking forward to some time off of work and some exploring. I'll post pictures when I get back.