Day 14: Hard and Fast

Ride Hard and Fast

With the sun shining, I just HAD to ride today. It was a hard and fast 42 miles just before dark. The roads were dry with a little bit of loose gravel from the sand trucks during the last snow. But that did not stop me from leaning hard on the serpentine roads of North Clark County. I probably rode a little too fast and leaned a little too far, but it was intensely satisfying. I have not been able to ride since January 7th and I was surprised at how nimble the bike felt as I pulled out of the garage. The temperature during the ride was 34F, but with wind chill, my Harley's air temp gage read 30F.

We buried my dad on Saturday and he is now resting securely in his final resting place. For some of us it is time to go back to work. For all of us, it is time to deal with his passing and move on with our lives somehow. My friends who have lost a parent tell me that each day it gets just a tiny bit better than the day before, but you never forget. Rest in peace, dad.

Places to See

On my quick trip I thought I would stop for a brief photo shoot in front of a historic building. I found this one in Amboy, WA. This is the North Clark Historical Museum. There is a large open park next door. This is a great place to stop for a while and learn about the history of this rural area. Their web site announces: "Local citizens, artisans, businesses and organizations of the North Clark County area are developing a museum located in Amboy adjoining the Territorial Community Park. The former church building, dedicated in 1910, is in the process of renovation to house Native American, Pioneer and Logging Exhibits."

End of Day

It was a much needed ride today. It was very cold but sunny. The road hazards were minimal and traffic was fairly light. The forecast is for snow and rain in two days. Too bad I can't take a few more days off work and get some more miles on my bike.

Ambient Temp: 34F
Ending odometer: 000976
Trip Miles: 42
Fuel: none needed

Ride Safe.

Day 13 - Final Salute

Final Salute

After WWII an eager G.I. returned from the war in the South Pacific. One of the first things he did? He purchased a used 1936 Harley-Davidson. I remember sitting on a Harley when I was a little boy. I remember him telling me that they used car tires that had a flat surface instead of rounded like today. He would have to heave the Harley over when he cornered because the tire surface was so flat. I wish he still had that Harley.


End of Day

Ending odometer: 84 years
May he rest in peace.

Ride safe dad.

Day 12 - Interstate Riding

Riding the Interstate

Today I opted for some highway riding. I needed to run an errand to Kalama, WA so I thought I would ride on to Castle Rock, WA also. Kalama is a port town nestled tightly between the the mighty Columbia River and Green Mountain. I-5 and the railroad mainline are shoehorned in between downtown and the river. Kalama has one of the best boat moorages in the area and the waiting list to get a slip is long. Kalama has one interesting claim to fame. Elvis stopped in one day and ate at the restaurant and stayed at the motel. They have a photo of him in the restaurant as proof.

Places to See

The 16 mile ride to Castle Rock was a breeze. The pavement was dry and traffic was reasonable moving along at the posted speed of 70. I saw one trooper checking an abandoned vehicle, otherwise the trip was uneventful. I arrived at Castle Rock and thought I would stop in to see my old acquaintance, Bob Heuer, Chief of the Castle Rock Police Dept. Bob was in and we had a nice visit. He humored me by letting me take a photo of him with my Ultra just before I left.

While Castle Rock is not a destination town, it boasts of a few good places to eat and several gas stations. Many bikers are familiar with it's location as they travel north and south on I-5. This is one of the best places to jump on Highway 504 for a beautiful 52 mile ride to Mt. St. Helens. This is not a good time of year to try the ride since the roads are usually snowed in starting around mile 30.

End of Day

I headed south on I-5 and could see some dark clouds in the distance. I figured I would get a little wet and I wasn't disappointed. As I approached Woodland, the rain started. I needed some fuel, so I dove in to a covered filling station. It was inevitable I guess. I've heard of other Harley owners spilling fuel on their gas tank. Today was my turn. I'm usually a lot more careful than this. It got soaked pretty good. I took note of a fire extinguisher near by and quickly dug out the rag I carry with me and cleaned up the mess. The rag was so wet with gas that I just threw it away. I swapped out my 3/4 helmet for the full face and hit the road again. Since I was only 5 miles from home I decided to take the back road and enjoy some curves. Once again it was a pretty cold day, but my heated gear made all the difference.

I spent the last 30 minutes of daylight washing and drying my bike. It was fairly dirty from winter riding the last few days. All in all it was a very enjoyable ride today.

Ambient Temp: 38F
Ending odometer: 000934
Trip Miles: 73
Fuel: $3.31 in Woodland, WA.

Ride Safe.

Day 11 - Along the River

Along the River

Today's ride was 57 miles non-stop. For short rides, heading up the Lewis River system is always a sure bet. Today I rode along Cedar Creek to Amboy then rode over to Yacolt and down the Lewis River. The Lucia Falls Road is a scenic ride anytime of the year. This photo was taken just above Lucia Falls.

The road provides lots of varying conditions. There are several long straight stretches where you can open it up. But, watch out for that next set of turns, they will probably be 25-35 MPH. You don't want to take those too fast in winter weather. One thing that made the ride interesting was an oil sheen in the middle of the lane for about 5 miles. I was fortunate enough to have room between the sheen and the center line. Not much traffic, so I didn't have to worry when cornering to the left.

Harley Social



I'm a member of the HD Forums and receive way too many posts each day. But today I found one link of interest in an inbox of 1000. There's a new Harley Social web site out there. Take a look. I thought it might be interesting, so I signed up and linked to this web site.

End of Day

I decided to grab some freeway speeds on my way home so I jumped on I-5 at Salmon Creek. Traffic was heavy but moving fast. It started to spit rain, so I didn't want to waste any time. My heated gear worked wonders for me today. It's quite different to ride in cold weather with heated gear and ride non-stop. No hot coffee every 30 miles trying to stay warm. It makes for a much more enjoyable ride. Bruce told me to call him if I decided to ride this weekend. He's going to kill me when he reads this blog. Honest, Bruce. I was just going to take the Ultra for a 10 minute spin around the neighborhood. :o)

Ambient Temp: 37F
Ending odometer: 000861
Trip Miles: 57
Fuel: None.

Ride Safe.

Day 10 - Windy Day

Short and Windy Ride

With an hour before dark, I decided to take a quick ride since it was not raining. The wind had been blowing pretty hard during the day and dried out the roads. The gusts of wind made the ride even more interesting. I was pretty successful in keeping the bike on the road. My Ultra weighs over 800 lbs. and held the road real well. The weather report was calling for gusts to 35 MPH but I think that may have been a little underestimated. The ambient temperature was a surprisingly high 47F. It felt a lot warmer with all my cold weather gear on. I didn't bother plugging in the heated gear.

Places to See

Just outside of Ridgefield is Carty Road. It's only about a mile long but has a few good curves. Along the road you will find a fairly old church building that belongs to the Bethel Methodists. Click on the picture to see the interesting architecture.


End of Day

This was a pretty short ride, but I got into some good curves and freeway riding. At least my itch to ride today was scratched! Once at home I left the garage door open while I finished putting things away. A few friends stopped by to look at the bike. Here's a picture of one of them.


Ambient Temp: 47F (felt like 55F)
Ending odometer: 000804
Trip Miles: 28
Fuel: None.

Ride Safe.

Day 9 - Polar Bear Run

24th Annual Polar Bear Run

Well, this was a fun day. The weather actually cooperated, except it was cold. Or, at least cold for riders who did not have heated gear. I, for a change, was toasty warm the entire ride. The road conditions were actually excellent for this time of year in the Pacific Northwest.

I arrived at the start point in Portland at 10 a.m. and had trouble finding a place to park amidst a sea of iron. I joined a long line of leather clad bikers standing in line in the 37F (felt like -20F). Hot chili and hot coffee were being served and were much appreciated by many. As soon as I got in line I was greeted by Randy who introduced himself with a warm smile. We talked about our FLHTCU's (his is a beautiful white 2002 with lots of chrome). We good conversation the wait to the registration table went quick. After registration we were joined by Al and Donna who know Randy. We are all Harley owners and had good conversation. Al has an 08 RK Screaming Eagle. What a great looking bike. Al will have years of enjoyment with this one.

The Ride

I was graciously allowed to ride with Randy, Al, and Donna. Donna has her own Road King, but was riding 2 up with Al today. I won't go into a lot of detail here, but the riders with heated gear had a much warmer ride today than those without. I shared the story of what made me decide to get heated gear. It was an October 2007 ride around Mt. Hood. The weather was a little colder than I had anticipated. By the time I arrived at Hood River I was hypothermic enough that my reaction time and decision making was slowed. This was a bit of a problem as I tried to navigate the city street. It took me an hour to warm up enough to continue. That was the day I started looking for heated gear.

Here's the nicest looking bike on the ride today:

End of Day

I put together a small web page with a map and photos of the run. The ride officially ended at "Jimmy O's Pizzeria" on Beaver Creek Rd. in Oregon City. I rode a total of 150 miles today on almost all highways. It was a good day with good conversation with new acquaintances. Thanks Randy, Al, and Donna for letting me ride with you today.

Ambient Temp: 37F (felt like -20F)
Ending odometer: 000776
Trip Miles: 150
Fuel: $3.37 in La Center.

Ride Safe.