As usual I get up early and load Stan up ready for take off.  I have a coffee while I check my emails.  I did not worry about breakfast as I would have that when I get a down the road and need a rest.  The aim of today is to get to Eugene in Oregon which is just over 500 klms.

I had a couple of facebook notifications (I haven’t been doing much on that given the blog) and was great to see that my mate Lee had received his cigars.  Helen had taken a few back to Australia and posted them to him when she got home – fortunately for Lee our Customs Officer let them in as she had a couple too many.  Bill Hafferty also posted a few photos and said some kind words – as agreed Bill your cheque is in the post.

Time to leave and there is a bit of fog still hanging around.  I knew that it would be cold and the fog worse on Highway 101 given it is right beside the ocean.  I put on my thermals and go outside to fire Stan up.  I found this guy standing beside Stan but moved to cover before I could snap a photo;

It is only a short ride before I get on the 101 and have my first view of the ocean;

It was a good move to have the thermals on as its pretty fresh.  I ride on the 101 to Crescent City which which took me roughly 1.5 hrs to do 125 klms.  I have ridden the section twice before and it is so spectacular you just never get sick of it.  Riding through National Forests whilst beside the sea is what I call ‘soul maintenance’;

I arrive in Crescent City and pull up in Dennys Restaurant.  I try to avoid these types of diners as I prefer the local town types but it was too convenient as the carpark was right next to me.  I head in and have the usual cooked breakfast while I get the last blog finished.

Back on Stan we leave the 101 and take the 199.  When planning the route I was worried that the 199 would not be anywhere near as enjoyable as the 101 but that proved far from the case.  I had a ball riding through the massive Klamath National Forest.   Soon after leaving Crescent City I pull over and strip down to normal clothing;

I ride through a great little town called ‘Gasquet’ which I have no doubt is a hidden gem.  I has great camping areas and heaps of hiking trails with hardly a person to be seen – I am definitely coming back to this one.  I reach the border and cross into Oregon;

Not much further along I pull in to refuel.  I had forgot its law in Oregon that only a fuel attendant can fill up your tank – they are pretty good though as once they get you sorted they let us fussy motorcycle riders pump our gas.  The Station did have some weird bugs;

I also found this old girl that was complete with a bullet hole in the front windscreen;

I get to Grants Pass and stop at the local PD to swap a patch.  I head around to the Sheriffs Office at the local county jail and do same.  Back on the road again I see this sign;

Any Australian can tell you that if you want to stay alive you never ever stop at Wolf Creek!  A bit further along I run into a thick smoke haze and its evident that somewhere the forest is on fire.  It progressively gets thicker until I am convinced that I will have to take a detour.  I end up riding right past the fire which was located on a mountain side close to the highway;

It felt funny that the smoke was less closer to the fire than what it was further away.  Although no-one wants a fire it was great to watch the helicopters dropping water.

Only about 30 klms further up the road I call in and have a chat with the Myrtle Creek Chief.  He tells me that I am lucky that most of the fires are now under control as for the last couple of weeks you could not see the sky for smoke.

The rest of the days ride is uneventful and I arrive at Eugene.  I swing by Safeway (I now even have a discount card) and pick up some supplies.  I arrive at my Hotel and go to my room;

I laugh because I get a room with 2 x doubles – I am thinking maybe I should sub let?  I cool down and spend the rest of the evening watching black and white Andy Griffith show repeats.

I check my emails and I had a reply from the Canada Border Services Agency – the good news is that I ‘should’ be able to take Stan straight into Canada without too much drama.  I don’t have to do anything beforehand as it is done at the border control.  This may take my tour to a whole new level!

Next morning I take my time as all I have to ride is a bit over 200 klms to my Airbnb just outside of Vancouver, Washington.  I go to the front reception area and have my ‘free of charge’ continental breakfast.  I choose the bagels but can’t come at putting cream cheese spread on them – I chop up a banana instead.  I make a coffee and head back to the room to read my book.

Stan and I finally take off at 10:00 am and make our way to Albany.  I ride the 70 klms and go into town to try and find the Police Department.  For some reason my gps wants to take me to the county jail so I stop and ask a lad for directions.  He gives me enough info that I can input into the gps and the right address comes up.  I call in and swap a patch with the front office girls who were totally stoked to get one from Australia;

My plan was to stop at the next town but decide to have an early lunch as I spotted a diner right beside me.  I go in and kill nearly an hour before I get back on the road.

Next stop is Salem which is only another 43 klms.  I am dawdling at this stage and call in at the local PD and see the duty Sgt.  No dramas and away I go again – it is starting to get warmer and it is hot riding slow around town.

Portland is a further 75 klms and according to the GPS I only have  total of 100 klms to go for the day.  As I get closer to Portland I notice the traffic getting heavier and about 10 klms from the city I am gridlocked on the freeway.  

For a while I put up with it but Stan’s air temp gauge sky rockets to 47’c.  I then pull out and ride on the emergency stopping lane and weave in and out like a crazy man.  I eventually get over the bridge in Portland and out the other side but the traffic is even worse.  I continue breaking every road rule in the book and after 1.5 hrs it frees up.  It was easily the worst traffic for the longest period that I have ever been in.  If you are ever going thru Portland make sure you allow 2 hours for a car!

So after trying to kill time I end up being an hour later than what I thought to my Arbnb.  I park Stan in the shade and meet my host Vicki.  This stay is located on a small farm outside of Vancouver and it should only take me about 20 – 30 mins to ride the back roads to get to the Motocross track.  The way I am going I need to allow 5 hours;

Bring on the Motocross!

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