Day 2 - Surprise Ride

Unexpected Ride Day

Today was a surprise. It was suppose to rain hard for the next two days. Instead I awoke to a dry overcast 40F morning. It did not take long to take advantage of this nice December day. A quick breakfast saw me out the door in 30 minutes with my cold weather gear. Three miles from home, I turned around and returned for more cold weather gear. It was a little colder than I thought. Thirty miles later I was in SW Portland, OR warming up at a Starbucks. I called my fried Bruce for cold weather riding advice. He quickly sent me to Cycle Gear to buy Widder electric gloves. I didn't have the tools I needed to connect them to the battery, but they were in instant improvement over the gloves I was wearing.

From Portland I rode north. The bike handled real well as I moved from highways to secondary roads and then to surface streets. By the time I arrived in Ridgefield, I was pretty cold, so I darted into Love Leathers to see if they had any insulated chaps. I was not disappointed. Tammy took measurements and said to come back in 3 hours and she would have my tailored chaps ready.

Places to See

Meanwhile, I decided to make one of my favorite loops: Battle Ground - Yacolt - Amboy - Woodland - La Center. The roads were mostly dry so I worked on cornering on NE. Lucia Falls Road. When I arrived in Yacolt, I spent a few minutes riding around town. One of the nicer buildings in town is the Yacolt Evangelical Free Church. It was after 1PM and the parking lot and building were empty. I obviously had missed my opportunity to visit with any of the locals. One thing that makes this ride interesting is the Chelatchie Railroad. Part of the route crosses the rail line several times. It wet weather you will want to slow way down when you cross the lines. Yacolt also has "traffic calming humps" which are not friendly at higher speeds. They are best negotiated at 25mph.

I rode on to Amboy and stopped for a cup of coffee at Nick's Bar and Grill. If you are not familiar with Nick's, it is a very biker friendly place to visit. It's often a stop for bikers making a loop through the area, and for some, it is a destination for some rest and refreshments before starting back. Nick's is a great place to get food, visit with some of the locals and meet other riders.

I eventually found my way back to Love Leathers by way of Woodland, WA. I retrieved my new insulated chaps. Wow, what a difference. Now, with warm hands and legs, I am ready to put on more that 30 miles at a stretch without stopping to warm up!

Safety Note

With motorcycle rider fatalities now accounting for 11 percent of total fatalities, and dramatically affecting the overall highway fatality rate, USDOT Secretary Mary Peters announced on November 7, 2007 a renewed focus on reducing crashes, and the resulting injuries and deaths. Peters unveiled the new 2007 Motorcycle Action Plan, public service announcement, and motorcycle crash report. It's worth a read.

Ambient Temp: 38-42F
Ending odometer: 000287
Trip Miles: 162
Fuel: $3.37 per gallon in Portland

The weather forecast for the next 10 days is rain with 32-45F temperatures. Who knows. Maybe I'll have another surprise ride?

Ride Safe.