Saturday - 5-31-08

Lately I have just had short rides around town doing mundane things. Today, I told Carol I wanted to go ride the bike a bit today. She said she wanted to go along. We decided to go look around at other houses to see what color we liked the best. We are trying to figure out which colors to paint our house. It needs a face lift.

At first we criss crossed around there and there looking all around. Then we decided we needed lunch. We rolled into the Tides.

The service there was TERRIBLE today. That sort of surprised me... The good news was that Carol wanted a longer ride. She asked if we could go to Mt Rainier or maybe the Olympics. Due to the hour and the way the skies looked, we decided to save those rides for a better day.

After lunch, we crossed over the bridge and drove along the waterfront to Steilacoom. Then we headed up to Pt Defiance and poked along 5 mile drive and back to Gig Harbor.

By this time I thing we figured out that we needed a shade of green and lighter trim. We also figured out the we needed some dessert. A short stop at the Harvester and we were in good shape again. While we were working on the pie, we decided to look through our travel books and find a good ride for a future weekend.

Sunday - 5-18-08

Today, I washed my bike (Babe). I removed the saddle bags, the seat, scrubbed the whitewalls, spit shined everything. It took me about two hours. After that it was about 11:30 and I was hungry. I fired up Babe and took her to Anthony's where I had Sunday Brunch. Seafood scramble if you must know (by the way, I named my bike after Paul Bunyon's blue ox. We were both raised in Minnesota. We used to play together her as children. But enough about that).

I was sitting there looking out of those huge windows they have there and came to the realization that I had to get the bike out on the road again.

I called a few of the Road Dawgs. I don't have all of them saved in my phone, but I got a "no-go" from all of the ones I called. It seemed that the Road Dawgs had been kenneled. I managed to dig out under the fence and went home for my camera. I wanted to go up around Mt Rainier the "other way." For me that is through Enumclaw. I just decided to take Hwy 410 all the way.

Here is a shot of the Mt from Bonney lake:

I made my way through Enumclaw and was pointed toward the Mt. I passed a sign that said Cayuse and Chinook passes were closed. Bummer! That meant I wouldn't get to go all around the mountain.

I stopped into the Greenwater General Store and grabbed myself a soda. Riding can be thirsty work.


Here is the Green River. Does this look green to you?


I passed Skookum Falls:


The view point sign comes with it's own bullet holes:


410 is closed off right at the turn off to Crystal Mt Ski Resort.

I decided to go up to Crystal Mt. It was only 6 more miles. Besides that Road Dawgs don't quit, dammit! There is one spot on that road that has a pretty good view. See?

See, that the snow is almost gone... so open the road up, already!

This is a bit of snow where the skiers do their thing, but not very much.

This is how far up into the snow I got today (how many guys do you know that take pictures like this? Arent you glad you know me?).

The parking lot had a lot of "snirt" around it. We used to get a lot of that in the spring in Minnesota. Snirt is a mixture of snow and dirt.

See, you can learn real cool stuff by reading this blog. How many guys can say they know about snirt.

After all of this scientific snow research, I headed back down the way I came. Back at Green water, I stopped in at the Naches Tavern for something to eat. The service is non existent there. I forgot to bring my own, so I left.

Continuing on, I passed by a real good shot of Mountain scenery from Hwy 410. Here it is:

I tried to call the bride several times on this trip but there was no cell service up on the mountain. I finally got "cell service" when I got to Enumclaw. She was home! With her now dog, "Mandy". While I was in Enumclaw I stopped in at a place I had found on http://www.rrobsnet.com/. This guy rates various places, roads, even hamburgers! He rides around with a cameras attached to his bike. His site has video clips of his rides. Check it out one day. Anyway, the place I stopped at was Wally's. Here is a shot of it:

There were a bunch of bikes at this place when I got there. I handed out some of our club fliers. These guys said they were a group from Destination Harley from Puyallup. I wanted to get the word out to as many people as possible!!

I continued on home on 410 then Valley Ave. As I was going past the Firwood Tavern (which had just burned down on Friday) I saw a Fife cop doing site security. He got some fliers too.

I decided to take Ruston Way home today. It seemed like a nice day for it. I stopped by and talked to a friend I saw down there and jawed for a bit. Speaking of jawing, JAWS came by on his bike. Jaws retired something like 5 or 6 years ago. It was good to see him. He got a few fliers also.

Today was a real nice day and a bit cooler than yesterday. It was a good time. When I got home, my wife had returned with her prize. Her name is Mandy. Here she is:

Its good to have them both home!

When I closed the garage door this evening, I had just over 6,000 on my bike. I am finding that with this nice weather, I am having trouble keeping fuel in the tank and bugs off of the windshield. Such a problem to have...

Saturday - 5-17-08

What a day!!!

The weather was just about as good as it could get. The weatherman had given us a "heads-up" earlier this week, but how many times do we believe that bonehead? Today we will break out the sun screen. Bert (the Road Dawg king) has suggested we take a ride through this meteorological fluke and do the Road Dawgs proud (dammit!). Jim was tasked with planning our route (because he knows all the roads in the world) and we put together a half baked comedy of errors that turned out to be the most fun thing any of us had done in awhile. Here is a picture of our human map.

For starters, we had trouble finding a time to kick this thing off. "12?" "12:30?" "How about 1?" "Well maybe when I get the Direct Dish Guy off of my roof" (Bert)?? "How about we just leave him behind and go do our own thing?"(Jim) "I can only go for a short time... I have work to do."(Rob).

I was up for anything.

I had printed up some fliers for our annual memorial ride. Before we got going this morning, I took some to the Gig Harbor police station and to Eagle Leather hoping to drum up some business. While I was at Eagle Leather, I decided to get myself a new helmet... one that wasn't quite so hot. I got myself one of those black half-shell helmets with the removable neck collar. It doesn't offer as much coverage, but it makes me look cool like all the other guys.

Last night my wife left me a message on my phone. Why a message? Well because I didn't answer her. Why? Well I was riding through yesterdays blog entry (sure, go ahead and look it up). Anyway, she has been looking for a dog. Several she had found hadn't worked out for one reason or the other, so when she found one, she peeled out of here in high gear. The message: "Hi, honey I found a dog in Potlatch, Idaho. I am going to go get it. See you in a day or two. Love you, bye."

Two things immediately came to mind: 1) Who is going to feed me? 2) Whoo-Hoo I can ride as much as I want and I don't have to do the dishes! that last one is actually two things. There isn't room here to explain how my mind works...

After all of the goofy stuff we had to go through to get to this point, Rob, Jim, his friend Duane and I met in the park and ride in Gig Harbor at 12:35 and determined to attack the Hood canal. We hit SR 16 and made our way to Purdy, across the spit, and onto Hwy 302 around part of Case Inlet and onto Hwy 3 to Belfair. We needed something to drink by this time. We hit Starbucks.






After wetting out whistles, we readied ourselves for more of this beautiful weather.


Rob had to go sell some houses or some thing, so he bagged out on us. Here is a shot if him losing out on the rest of this world class Wheel Spinning Experience!





After getting rid of Rob, we planned the rest of our day. Jim And Duane conferred for a bit, then they told me what WE wanted to do. (Just kidding, these guys know their way around).



We hit the road "with both feet running", so to speak. We had decided to make a trip around the Hood Canal because it takes much longer than just going home (who wants to do that?).



We took North Shore Road to Tahuya, made our way to Dewatto, where the scenery is really great:




The roads seemed all to familiar because I had been down them just a few days earlier. The weather was so much better and it was a lot more fun having some company to travel with. Right around Dewatto the road gets real "twisty." I liked going over that part again. This motorcycle stuff is a real hoot.



Apparently Dewatto doesn't have a very good marching band...


We went down the road a piece or two (near Holly) then Jim pulled to the side of the road just after a great place to take a picture (timing is everything) and asked me if I wanted a shot. Here it is. 100 yards back it was spectacular...


At Seabeck we pulled over and took a short break. As it turns out, all three of us were addicted to technology. Like clock work we pulled out our cell phones and got our Jones on.


After that we headed for the Hood Canal Bridge and Hwy 101.


Somewhere between the Hood Canal Bridge and Potlatch, I realized that my 4 hour butt was beginning to sag. I was a bit relieved when Jim pulled over to take a break. A bottle of Snapple and a milky way and I was ready for a few more miles. Because the stars were aligned just right today, just about the time we were ready to zoom off into the sunset, Bert came rolling by and into the parking lot! He had Blanca with him. After exchanging "Hey, what are you doing here?" and "wow, what are the chances?" We headed out around the tip of the canal past the town of Union where I spotted another place to take a picture. I hollered something to Bert about stopping to take a picture, but I am sure he did not hear me. I pulled to the side of the road and dug for my camera. Bert went on a bit further, then made a u-turn and came back after me. He returned just in time to catch me putting my camera away. Of course, Jim and Duane just kept going (those guys are like that). Here is the shot:


What can I say?


A mile or two down the road we found Jim and Duane waiting for us at an intersection. Jim signaled for Bert and I to take the lead. By this time my fuel was getting low and we stopped into a gas station at Belfair. After that, we turned the wrong way and headed to Gorst. We had planned to go through the Key Peninsula, oh well.


We went through Gorst and back onto SR 16. Jim and Duane went home while Bert and I peeled off and headed to the Hy Iu Hee Hee where the waitress worked the tap a bit for us. I snapped a shot of Bert and Blanca at the "Hy Iu":


Bert, Blanca and I discussed world problems and solved the universe. Then we hopped on our bikes one last time and headed for the barn.


All in all, this was a great day. We rode about 220 miles and logged 1,000 smiles.




I will be heading out Monday somethere. I am not sure where I might go yet. Stay tuned for more "Wheel Spinning Adventures!" But first it's time to wash my bike.

Friday - 5-16-08

Today I went for a burger... in Port Townsend. It started like this: One of the guys at work (Mike) bought himself a brand new Road King. Mike had ridden his new toy to work and I just HAD to help him get home. What are friends for? Besides that I had just picked up my ride vest. I had taken it in to have all my patches put on. Its looks pretty good. Now I feel like a real Road Dawg.

It was about a 70 mile ride - each way. Yes, he is a power commuter. None the less, the weather was beautiful. We took SR 16 To Bremmerton where we turned off onto Hwy 3 and went to Silverdale where we made a brief stop to deliver some fliers to the Harley Dealer there. A tank of gas for Mike and we were back on Hwy 3. We made our way onto 104 and across the hood Canal Bridge. The cool breeze off of the water felt good. I am not yet used to our unseasonable weather here yet.

I always like the view when crossing the Hood Canal Bridge. It reminds me of a post card (remember those?). As soon as we crossed the bridge, we made the first right and got onto Paradise Bay Road. Its a nice scenic jaunt with a peek-a-boo view of the canal now and then. The roads are good. We followed Paradise Bay road to Port Ludlow and turned right onto Oak Bay Road. Port Ludlow has a dynamite view of the Hood Canal.

Making our way through Port Ludlow, Oak Bay Rd turned into Ness Corner Road and we took that to Rhody Drive where we turned right again. After a short time we turned right onto Airport Cutoff Road. I could tell we were on Airport Road by the small airplane that buzzed us as we passed by! Just a few hundred yards down the road we turned right (again) onto Hwy 20. Hwy 20 turns into Water Street, which by the way, goes right along the water front (who knew?).

After all of those right turns, we needed something to eat, which brings me back to my opening statement. (You went up and peeked didn't you?) We rolled into the Public House Grill where I had a fabulous burger. We stuffed our faces and flapped our gums a bit before I headed back to Gig Harbor.

After leaving the restaurant, I went back a slightly different way down Beaver Valley Road. Lots of nice farm land settings there. I saw a couple of Bison grazing in one field there. It was a bit of a surprise. After a few miles I was back on 104, across the Hood Canal back to Bermmerton then Gig Harbor.

Of course, I didn't bring my camera so you don't get to see any of this stuff. It's a nice ride. I throttled back on this one and enjoyed watching the scenery roll slowly by. If you have the time one day, I recommond it.

Gorst-Dewatto-Seabeck-Silverdale

Today the sun was shining and it just looked like a good day to be out.

There were a few clouds in the sky and I hadn't checked the weather, so I was taking a gamble around these parts, but I wanted to get out anyway.


The first stop I made was at the gas station. After a brief conversation with the banker and a second mortgage, I was on the way.


I made my way to SR16 and pointed myself west. When I got to Gorst I went onto the Belfair Rd where the scenery started immediately. I went just below Tiger Lake and got onto Dewatto Rd then onto Bear Creek-Dewatto road. This took me to a tee intersection where I turned left and went down to Tee lake. After that, I had to back track a bit, but going through the windy road to and from Dewatto was pretty fun. backtracking wasn't a bad thing here at all.



I was in a bit of a rain forest (dry today) and there was lost of moss hanging in the trees.

These pictures do not do this place justice. One has to come here and look around. Preferably on a bike!

There were several spots where the canopy has grown over the roadway. It looks pretty cool.


These roads were not very busy today and it made for a real nice ride.

At one point right around here, a coyote ran across my path. I was hoping it wasn't the same as a black cat.






Here is some more, incase you didn't get enough already.

I began going north and went through Holly (wide spot in the road) and onto Seabeck. I took the Anderson Hill Road into Silverdale where I found a picnic table and had lunch. I brought it with me today.


I wanted to try some of that camp food they sell at REI because it is easy to carry around. I have a small camp stove and a canteen of water. The only other thing I needed was a spoon (which I had) and I was in business.

I aint fancy, but it was pretty good. Some people don't like stuff like that, but I don't mind it. I used to eat things like that all the time when I was a boy scout. I camped all over the place back then.


Well, by the time I got home, I had put just about 130 miles on Babe. I left about 11:30 and got home right around 2:00. Just about right for a days outing.

Saturday - 5-10-08

I was riding home last night and discovered that my left turn signal under the windshield was burned out. I found this by pulling up at a stop light behind a pick up truck. I could see my reflection in his tail gate. We can't have any burned out lights!

I called the dealer in Tacoma and was told I could maybe get it in for someone to look at next week, they weren't sure. After that, I could make arangements to have it actually fixed later. I could leave it there and they would see if they could get to it... Then I called the other dealership and was told to bring it right in. Which do you suppose I did?

I also discovered that the dealer has a BBQ going every saturday. By the time I made my way through a double cheeseburger and a coke, Babe was waiting for me. Don't you just love a happy ending?

On a completely different note, today was shampoo the carpet day. I ran the machine around and around then I took a nap. Because I was "dog tired."



My life is so complicated.

Wednesday - 04-30-08

Hood Canal Run

Today started as a pretty nice day. The sun was shining and it was warm. Neither of those things has happened around here much lately. My wife’s boss called this morning (and woke me up) saying Carol did not have to come to work today because of a light work load. Carol had put her name on a list of “let me off the hook” names for just such an occasion. Suddenly, we had a day off together!

I brought Carol’s car to Fife and ran it through the testing station so we could renew the license tabs. This was the first time this car had to go through the test. It is just 5 years old now (and 95 thousand miles). I learned that these newer cars do not have to run on the rollers like the old ones. They just plug into the computer and it’s done in a flash. Sorta makes me feel like my $15 was a bit of a rip off, but it passed, allowing me to spend $43 more for the tabs. What a system. I wonder if any of Al Capone’s relatives ever worked for the State of Washington?

Upon returning home I ran the mower around the lawn then came inside all proud of myself proclaiming that my chores were done for the day and it wasn’t even 10 yet. I asked the babe what she wanted to do today. She thought a bit and said we could maybe go for a ride on the bike. She didn’t have to say THAT twice. In no time at all, we had our leathers on and I began warming up the mufflers. “Where should we go?” I asked her. “If the mountain is out, let’s go up there” she said.

I made a couple of corners and got to a place where we have a magnificent view of Puget Sound with the mountain behind it. The Mt was "gone" today. She hit the intercom button and said I should go where ever I wanted since Mt Rainier was missing in action. I decided to head for the Hood Canal. Last time I was there, it was scenic. Maybe I’d get lucky again.

I took the back way through Olalla then onto SR16 and Gorst. Once at Hoodsport I turned off and followed the water around to Quilcene. We had encountered a bit of rain and the bride was getting a little cold. Being the Chivalrous knight that I am, we turned into the Twana Roadhouse and took turns chugging hot coffee. While our butts were warming, I noticed they had “today’s specials” listed on a board hanging above the counter by the till. There were 5 kinds of pie in the list! What can I say? It was pretty good too.




Before leaving, I dug out my rain jacket and had Carol put it over her leather coat. I found a scarf to keep her neck warm and gave her my heavy leather gloves to compliment my newly acquired “hero” status. The rest of the trip was gravy….

I had purchased my rain suit large enough to fit over my leathers. My jacket was pretty big on her, she said. Here is a picture of my Babe.


We made out way over the Hood Canal Bridge, Down Hwy 3 through Gorst back to SR 16 and home again. "I60 miles" the odometer said. It was a pretty good ride even if it did rain.

My GPS didn’t work today. It would not turn on. I assume there is not power going to the unit. I will have to open the tool box and fiddle around a bit. Let me see… "E=IR" if I remember right. Give me a couple minutes here (insert noises of rummaging in the tool box here).

As it turns out I have approximately 12 volts of potential between connector one and two on the power side of the cable. The mounting bracket has continuity through all points. The grounding circuit was complete. What I get from this is that the GPS unit itself has an open circuit. I hope this was not too technical for some of you. I just thought it sounded better than “that one little thingy didn’t seem to work.” It’s under warranty, who cares what the deal is?

Tomorrow I will take Babe (the blue one) into the dealer in Silverdale to get the right handgrip replaced. The chrome cap came off and decorated the scenery somewhere between here and there. By the time I get there, I will have just over 5,000 miles on my shiny new toy already. Hard to believe. Every one of those miles has been pretty fun so far (put a big smile here). Hopefully it won’t rain on me tomorrow.