We got up at 0430 and started the slow process of quietly getting ready.\u00a0 I had taken everything off the bike the night before and half of it had to be re-packed before it could be put back on.\u00a0 That was okay though because I was moving a little slow anyway.<\/p>\n
Breakfast around 0600 at Aunt Emma’s Pancake House and at 0730 we filled up the gas tanks started the clock on hour journey into Mexico then up to Canada.\u00a0 Since Rich didn’t bring the sidecar bike, there was a chance we could actually make it in 24 hours and get the INSANITY patch but it’s a little early to start talking about that when we haven’t even gotten started.<\/p>\n
The drive into Mexico was just that – drive in, no problems.\u00a0 I got a bit of a scare when the agent informed me that she couldn’t “Return” us to the USA via the Returno gate right now which would make the border crossing back into the USA at least two hours.\u00a0 But then just as suddenly as she told me “sucks to be you” she said, follow me & we were back in line to get back on home soil.\u00a0 Guess it was just her little “joke” to start our day – I wasn’t laughing.\u00a0 Took a couple quick pictures to prove we were actually IN Mexico then we were bombing up Interstate 5 to Canada.<\/p>\n
We were making good time with a couple run-ins with some traffic which we were able to cut (white line) for the most part.\u00a0 Technically it’s called lane sharing and the only place I know of where it’s legal is California.\u00a0 You can even share the carpool lane, you just have to make sure you don’t cross the double line, that’s a no-no.\u00a0 Rich decided he was going to take the lead somewhere around Orange County but he didn’t see the motorcycle cop that had just pulled out from the speed trap they had set up on the side of the freeway. I saw the CHP Motor come out but he wasn’t after us – that is until Rich pulled up to pass the vehicle in front of us and crossed that double line to get it done.\u00a0 Our ever vigilant CHP set his sight on new prey & he and Rich were off to have a little chat.\u00a0 See ya later buddy\u2026..<\/p>\n
We hooked back up at Gorman.\u00a0 The cop was nice enough about the whole deal and after Rich told him he was headed for Alaska and must have just gotten a little anxious to get there – he just wrote him for 75 in a 65 and let the reckless driving & crossing the double yellow line thing go as a warning.<\/p>\n
From there things were pretty much like any time you drive on the 5, boring but you cover a lot of ground.\u00a0 Harris Ranch was the next stop, other than being a bit warm out, everything was fine.\u00a0 About 10 miles north, we ran into a lot of congestion – strange\u2026\u00a0 We picked our way up through the traffic and in the distance I could see the flashing lights of a CHP car.\u00a0 Okay, break in traffic – whatever; we’ll work our way to the front of the line so when we finally get to go, we’ll be first.\u00a0 Not so much!!\u00a0 When he got to the back of the stopped pack of cars he pulled over and went back to slow the next group down so nobody had a wreck coming to a screeching halt.\u00a0 We picked our way through these stopped cars best we could.\u00a0 When we passed what was left of a smoldering mini truck packed to the gills with everything that particular family owned – all of it destroyed – things got moving again.\u00a0 Probably lost 35 minutes for this inconvenience.\u00a0 If Rich had brought the side car it would have been at least two hours.<\/p>\n
The remaining daylight part of the trip was no problem, ride for about two hours, stop for gas, repeat.\u00a0 I had figured that we needed to average 60 mph in order to have a chance to make the run in 24 hours.\u00a0 My GPS actually figures total time average speed so I had a gauge other than just “reckoning”.\u00a0 With the ticket addition (about 10 minutes) and the border crossings taking away from our time right off the bat, it was very difficult to maintain that 60 mph average.\u00a0 It was getting dark as we crossed into Oregon but we were still fine.\u00a0 Grant’s Pass gas stop was a quick one as we were trying to keep from killing our average.\u00a0 I did have to call Robin though and ask her to look into why my credit card wasn’t working.\u00a0 I made a point to call in advance so they would put it in travel mode (or whatever they call it) so I wouldn’t have this problem.\u00a0 What a girl – she got it fixed and they “apologized for any inconvenience.”\u00a0 While talking to Robin she informed me that some friends of ours that lived just up the road might be out on the overpass when we went through Roseburg.\u00a0 I looked, but I guess it was past their bed time (around 11:30 as I recall).<\/p>\n
Next gas stop was Eugene – it’s past midnight now and 1,006 miles to this point; we had to decide whether to continue this madness or get a hotel room and wrap it up tomorrow.\u00a0 I did the math and I figured we still had a chance if we kept the gas stops short & could average 70 mph while we were moving.\u00a0 We decided to keep going until it looked like we weren’t going to make it in 24 hours then at that point we would stop and rest for a while.\u00a0 There is a lot of night time construction in Oregon & Washington that takes the road down to one lane so for five or ten miles you’re only going as fast as the slowest tractor trailer in the line – that wasn’t even close to 70 mph.<\/p>\n
We put our cold weather clothes on before we left California but the gas stop after Eugene it was time to get out the serious gear.\u00a0 But by then, it was too late for it to really warm you up – I think you have to start warm and try to stay that way – of course it could have been that we were so tired.\u00a0 We both had a couple stretches where we were less than the most alert bike rider out there, but we were pushing through it.\u00a0 Last gas stop before crossing the border – it’s getting light so the sun must be coming up but in Seattle – it’s just a little brighter shade of grey.\u00a0 Fine with me, I didn’t want to have to dig around for my sun glasses anyway.\u00a0 Rich said, “Can we make it?”\u00a0 I told him that it was going to be close.\u00a0 Rich’s bike wouldn’t start – SHIT.\u00a0 We fussed around with it and after 3 or 4 minutes it fired up and we were off.\u00a0 I’m going as fast as I dare, nine or ten mph over the speed limit the whole way.\u00a0 Even if we just get a warning, getting pulled over is going to kill our chances.\u00a0 Invigorated by the rising sun and having our goal in sight we are both feeling much better.\u00a0 The signs show little or no wait at both the Peace Arch & the Blane border crossings but I’ve chosen the Blane crossing because I’m pretty sure they are going to have the closest gas station so we can get the receipt that will officially be our end time.\u00a0 GOD I hope they have a good time stamp on the receipt.\u00a0 Great news – we are the ONLY vehicles at the border.\u00a0 It takes less than 5 minutes for both of us to get across. We needed receipts earlier than 0730, Rich’s receipt says 0715, mine says 0718.\u00a0 That’s cutting it pretty damn close.\u00a0 Total number of miles ridden, 1,405.\u00a0 Now I know that there are people out there that have done more & that our little Border to Border ride would be child’s play for them – we were maxed out!!<\/p>\n
At this point everything seems pretty anticlimactic but we need to find John (our friend over from Hawaii that is waiting for us and will go with us from here).\u00a0 He is in Abbotsford and if my phone weren’t dead (I had to use the cigarette lighter on my bike to keep the GPS powered) I could check the voice mail he left.\u00a0 We made it to Abbotsford (about 15 miles) but finding the hotel was a bit more difficult.\u00a0 What??? no rooms until after 2:00 – they are all dirty.\u00a0 Great – we call John and go over to get a bite of breakfast.\u00a0 John makes his room available until we can get one of our own & we both collapsed.<\/p>\n
We got a room around 3:00 & spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking – repacking, getting a shower and going through receipts, and logging our ride.<\/p>\n
For dinner tonight John suggested\u00a0 Chinese Food that was within walking distance of the Hotel.\u00a0 When we walked in, he said, “this kinda smells like they cooked the cat”.\u00a0\u00a0 We all laughed and enjoyed some medium quality Scehezwan cuisine.\u00a0 Back to the Hotel, a couple loads of laundry & we are off to try to catch up on the sleep we missed last night while we were riding north.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We got up at 0430 and started the slow process of quietly getting ready.\u00a0 I had taken everything off the bike the night before and half of it had to be re-packed before it could be put back on.\u00a0 That … Continue reading