Road King to Frisco I

By Robert Turner

The plan is to pick up Harleys in Seattle and three days later drop them off in San Francisco. It's a big trip - 900 miles if you go straight down the interstate. Of course that is not the plan. The plan includes a lot of Highway 1 and the Pacific Coast, as well as deviations into the mountainous hinterland. Maybe 400 miles on day one, 500 on day two and another 400 on day three - a total of 1300 miles or 2100 km. This distance is a normal Alpine Run three day weekend from Sydney, except of course they start with a good 200-300 km on the night before, and the last day extends well after dark with a commute up the Hume or the Princes. This trip is topped and tailed by Eagle Rider's shop hours: 9 AM opening and 5 PM closing.

I'm at Oracle Open World in San Francisco, still trying to find a taker to join me on this epic adventure - something I've been doing for months to no avail. So I’m thinking about just heading home. I ring my wife Janelle who tells me to stop being silly and just do it - what a great woman! Mind you it comes with a warning - next year she may join me and any such trip will be in a car. That settles it and I get to work altering my travel plans. Two hours later and my flight home is rescheduled, I have booked a flight to Seattle, accommodation just up the road from Eagle Rider for Thursday night, booked the Harley - a Road King, made arrangements at Hotel Monaco in San Francisco to store all my luggage.

Fully kitted, Rob wondered if he had enough left over for a new ride.

Since I had headed over with no firm plans on doing the ride, I've only brought my leather pants, boots and helmet. My 22 year old Dri-Rider needs replacing badly and with the exchange rate so good (over 92c!) the plan is to hit the Dainese store in San Francisco. Arriving on the Sunday before the conference, I have the afternoon to spare so I hit the Dainese store. Here an extremely helpful lass, Shelli, sets to work kitting me out. Shelli also has a new starter, so I provide the ideal training ground, covering nearly every item in the store. After 3 hours I have a wish list that totals a very scary US$2700 and includes a one piece Laguna Seca perforated suit, top-of-the-line D-Dry jacket and pants, wave back protector, AGV Raptor helmet and tinted visor, full metal racer gloves and an under-suit liner. Shelli happily puts this all aside for me for two days whilst I consider the cost. On Tuesday morning I bite the bullet and get the lot, and decide on a pair of boots that match the suit so well. Shelli knocks some more dollars off the price and throws in a Dainese umbrella and mouse mat. (Note to Supe: it's time for a track day to try out my Laguna Seca suit.) Maybe Janelle will come and be my umbrella girl?

So the solo road trip is organised and I'm all kitted out. The next challenge is to fit all this gear into Qantas' luggage allowance. A challenge but I succeed. I then turn my attention to the weather outlook and it's not so great for Oregon and Seattle. The D-Dry will get a thorough test. I arrive in the Seattle motel at around 11 PM but am too keyed up to sleep, so I head into the bar for a quiet beer and make some work phone calls. As a result I sleep through to 9:30 AM and don't get to Eagle Rider until after 10. The guys here are really helpful. I get a choice of three Road Kings and choose hard panniers in red (had black last year). Also it is the lowest mileage model – an 09 with 13k on it. We do the damage report and Matt says he just puts big circles wherever there is any damage as sometimes the guys at San Francisco can be a bit picky. Someone had been pushing this bike at some point as the RH foot board support is heavily ground as is the engine bar. Good, I don't have to be too concerned about the lack of clearance on that side. The left side looks like it has a new footboard and side-stand. This could be a problem for me when it's time to give the King back. I also check the tyres to make sure there is plenty of tread - the Oregon coast is rather wet.

I set off at 11 AM and it's already raining heavily so the full D-Dry system is donned, along with rubber over-boots and a neck gaiter. It's down I-5 then head east on 12/101 to Aberdeen. I stop here for lunch and the summer leather gloves are already saturated, but otherwise I am dry, even though the rain never let up and got torrential at times. This is to be the pattern for the rest of day one. Rain never stops, road is never dry, fog comes and goes and I only ever get glimpses of the Pacific Ocean, despite it being very close by. I pull up for a coffee at Long Beach, but can't find anywhere open. Odd for two thirty PM on a Friday. End up sitting under an awning with a local guy who is waiting for the coffee shop to open. He's a regular and says the lass will be along soon - normally she's here by now. I pull out my map and we get into discussion on my route. Long Beach is not quite where I expected to be but it's no big deal. Twenty two miles and I'll be in Oregon - up river then across a 5 mile bridge, which you can apparently see from 5 miles away as you emerge from a short tunnel. Only not today with all the rain and fog. I spot the bridge from about 1500 feet. I persevere with the Oregon coast and Highway 1, but the weather continues in the same vein. Decide to ride through to dusk - about 6:30 pm. Hit Lincoln City at 6 PM so decide this is it. Three hundred miles and the King has been great. The screen keeps most of the rain off my front and the D-Dry pants have not let a drop in. Just the hopeless old gloves make my wrists damp. The inner jacket liner has elastic wrist bands which stop the moisture seeping further up my arms. I've also had a little moisture down my neck at the front, the polar fleece gaiter is saturated as well.

A hot shower and it's off to a karaoke bar for grub and trip planning. American food - it leaves a lot to be desired. Never mind, it's sustenance I need. As I finish eating the karaoke is just kicking off but I'm exhausted so it's off to bed for me. Need an early start tomorrow as I want to knock off 500 miles, and I am considering heading inland if the weather doesn't break. The weather channel puts the chances of this at about zero. Rain rain rain as far south as Eureka CA.

Day two dawns - or at least tries to dawn - bleak wet and blustery. So on goes the D-Dry and wet gloves, aiming for Florence OR and 100 miles before breakfast. At Newport, my original target for last night, I decide I need to do something about the gloves. In Fred Meyer's department store I head for the fishing section. Here I find some 'Arctic Blizzard' neoprene gloves. I get XL so that the cuff fits over the jacket's cuff, something my summer leather gloves were not achieving. Not sure if they will be waterproof but for US$15 it's worth a try. I also have Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy moment and buy a bath towel set - a bargain at US$8. Before I'm even at the check-out I've unwrapped them and am towelling off. I've been leaving a trail of inky water throughout the store. Over the next two days I come to fully understand what Arthur Dent was on about. The towel becomes my best friend.

So back into the breach I head and the Blizzard gloves feel good. They keep the wind out nicely and hold the water at bay for the 80 miles to Florence. The thought of another typical greasy American breakfast has me considering not stopping. However I’ve decided it’s time to abandon the coast and head inland so I need to consult maps. I spy a 'Health Food Cafe' and promptly pull up. It's run by a middle-aged American lady who shares all sorts of conspiracy theories revolving around wheat and red meat and the American medical system "we're all just guinea pigs for the multinational pharmaceuticals and surgical research". I get the best breakfast of the trip - hand mixed granola with a fresh banana and soy milk, black coffee, grapefruit juice and rye bread with some unknown berry jelly. It’s so good I stock up with enough for tomorrow’s breakfast.

I consult the maps and decide it’s time to head inland. I set my sights on Crater Lake which has me taking some secondary state highways – 126 to Eugene OR, then 58 to Chemult OR before cutting back west to Crater Lake NP. The term 'secondary highway' is deceptive. These are fantastic roads – generally open sweepers with smooth surface and wide lanes. The Road King eats this up. Despite the continuing rain, I’m buzzing cars wherever I find them and making great progress. To my surprise I find the side stand touching down on the occasional 35 mph corner despite the wet road. The Blizzard gloves are now wet, but being neoprene they retain their structure and basically just hold a skin of water without leaking/seeping into my cuffs.

Rob's Arthur Dent nav ribbon

Since I’ve deviated from Highway 1 I’m finding I need to keep stopping to check which road is next. My brain is fully absorbed with punting the King along and remembering to 'stay right – stay right – stay right'. First solution is to write a run sheet on plain paper and ‘paste’ it to the inside of the Perspex screen. It’s so wet that this works fine. Only when I emerge from the rain – and even see some sun as I approach Crescent Lake – does this system fail and the run sheet blows away. I pull up for fuel and ponder a new solution. The Arthur Dent travel kit comes to the rescue again. It came with a cotton ribbon around the bundle, so I tie this between the mirrors and hey-presto I have an enduro-style navigation ribbon!

I arrive at Crater Lake NP at 4 PM. It’s up high - 8160 feet. The lake itself is 8 miles across and 2000 feet deep. It has no overflow point, with the water feeding springs and streams through subterranean seepage. I am hoping to do a full circuit, but the higher East Rim drive is closed for winter. Even the West Rim drive has a fair amount of snow laying either side of the road. It’s cold but not sub-zero - a lot like going over Hotham and Dinner Plains in May or September. As I head off around the rim there is also a strong, swirling fog spilling up and over the road. The Blizzard gloves work a treat and the Dainese gear is also doing a great job of moderating my body temperature in diverse and changing conditions. As I head down from the rim it’s getting late and I need to make a plan that has me within max 400 miles of San Francisco – without too much of that spent on I-5. Being Saturday night in CA I am hoping to find a live telecast of the Australian MotoGP in a sports bar, so a decent sized city is also on the agenda. I settle on Redding CA, which has me blasting down 62 to Medford before dusk, then jumping on I-5 for 100 miles. Redding to SFO direct on I-5 is 220 miles so it gives me some flexibility for day three. 62 is through tall Oregon forests. The upper section is quite tight and I’m now grounding both sides of the King with panache. I’ve learnt to ease the pressure on the footboard so it can fold up and give more clearance. Can’t manage to ground the engine bars though! I suspect it would take a good mid-corner bump or stab at the front brake to make these hit.