Gremlin's Tall Stories

Alarm at 7.30am, and a slightly more leisurely start for Murray and I. He’d had a long previous day, and I simply liked sleeping, bit of a late starter etc.

The Humboldt had a complimentary breakfast, so across to the room for that, more cereal, orange juice, yoghurt etc. The rest of the bikes were away early again, I took my sweet time, Murray even had a quick 20 winks in full gear on his bed (minus helmet and gloves).

Heading towards the freeway for the gas station the maps said existed proved a failure, with nothing around, so back into town for the other gas station. Saw a couple on R1200GS’s, and complimented them on their fine choice of steeds (as you do).

Murray was waiting on the outskirts of town, just before the freeway, so we set off. First stop was The Avenue of the Giants, a winding road through the redwoods that ran parallel to 101, far less boring and more winding. As you can see from the pictures, sometimes the trees were right on the edge of the road, and it was stunning to ride through. The only tricky part was the dappled light from the tree canopy, which made it more difficult to see the road.

The road follows 101, at times coming alongside, for vehicles to transition from one to the other. I rode the entire length of the avenue, most of the same, but a far better choice than 101. Others rode a section, then returned to the speed of 101.

One car did set a very respectable pace, when I pulled out in front of him after one of many photo stops, but eventually I left him behind, and he re-joined 101 at the next intersection. I tried going down a small side road near the northern, but after a turn it became a private driveway, so no view to be had there.

Re-joining 101 I went straight through Fortuna and Eureka, even though there was a car show on. Some stopped, I didn’t think it would be worth more than seeing all the scenery. Of course, it’s the coast, it’s morning, it’s foggy (hence why no photos for you readers – you had to be there ) but it was still enjoyable, albeit a bit damp and chilly.

This section of road is also known as the Shoreline Highway, and it was pretty damn good indeed. A mixture of more open roads, and then tighter roads, coupled with great scenery. Just north of Orick, my desire for a road less beaten returned, and I took Bald Hills Road, expecting to get some height, and offer some great photos.

The road was sealed going up, and shortly, there was a car park, full of vehicles. No point stopping, I carried on, eventually coming to a lookout over the valley. The road was bumpy, badly sealed but still highly satisfying. Pictures taken, I thought the usual “I wonder where this road goes… it looks like it goes back to the coast… let’s see”, and on I continued.

This wasn’t to be one of those days, the official Garmin maps proving inaccurate when things got really important. A road I should turn onto was a locked-gate forestry road, and the subsequent promptings usually didn’t exist. I certainly got my wish, climbing to over 1000m, breaking through the tree canopy and it had now properly turned into a gravel road (at first, it was dangerous intermittent, hidden by shadows). I took the time to stop, reset my suspension for off-road, raising the ride height and making it softer (which only helped a little). As time went on, and the road continued, there was a problem…. I was going east.

In the end, I had to throw it in… it was almost mid-afternoon, I still had to cross into another state, and I had no idea if I could actually get back to the coast by continuing. The detour still used probably more than an hour and about 80-100km but it sure was fun. I’ve also learnt my right mirror is not fully tightening. After the two bolts have locked together, the mirror continues to rotate round and stops a quarter turn too far Gravel is excellent at loosening it.

Back on the 101, with tarmac beneath my wheels, the usual pace was resumed, trying to gain some of the time lost. Didn’t stop for lunch, didn’t feel too hungry, and just wanted to check into the Hotel.

Entering Coos Bay, the rest of the group had ended up going to the gas station and Harley shop, so I was actually one of the first to arrive, with the group right on my heels. Checking in, there was a brief mix up of the rooms, with 4 blokey guys assigned one double double room. We’re getting to know each other better, but NOT that well! Mix up sorted, I started to unpack, only to come to the aid of a Harley.

I know, the things you do, but fat girls need love too. One of the guys with a hire bike was trying to hook his intercom into it, to speak to his pillion, but wasn’t getting anywhere with his limited tools, when he was confronted with Torx. I lent a hand, but stopped short of advice when asked what was what. I mean… do I look like a farmer? I’m just here to help pull it apart. In the end, with a bit of picture taking by others (the shame) we had it sorted, hadn’t blown up the bike and everything was working sweet.

The others had been disposing of a few beers, one lady needed help changing settings on her phone, so I obliged with that and we headed into the hotel’s restaurant for dinner. I was a bad boy, having a hot dog, but nothing like us Kiwis have. 12 inches long, onion, chill, cheese, fries etc, it was probably one of the unhealthiest, and I put the whole thing away. One of the others at my table had one, but decided not to finish. The cheese was like no normal cheese I’ve had, probably typical yank cheese… normal for them perhaps….

Back to the room, a bit of blogging and then I hit the bed. Slightly shorter day tomorrow, with 230 odd miles to cover.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jzgy2oaHbKxBaKsBA