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Western US 2011…Wyatt Earp & The Rocky Wonder Show
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Across the top….we just can’t believe our luck.
What a pearler of a day to be here!!!
The universal greetings…Hogs included!!
Dropping into the Northern Californian lowlands….
….where things get stinking hot, temps are stifling and we’ve still got all liners in the gear!!:kna:kna
Mt. Shasta to the far right… somehow it’s weird seeing the snow up there while the sweat runs in rivers.
Across the flats at Redding and up the hills on the other side of the valley, Jimbo promised some spectacular twisties along route 299 to Weaverville.
What a pearler of a day to be here!!!
The universal greetings…Hogs included!!
Dropping into the Northern Californian lowlands….
….where things get stinking hot, temps are stifling and we’ve still got all liners in the gear!!:kna:kna
Mt. Shasta to the far right… somehow it’s weird seeing the snow up there while the sweat runs in rivers.
Across the flats at Redding and up the hills on the other side of the valley, Jimbo promised some spectacular twisties along route 299 to Weaverville.
And of course, he was right!
Route299 is called the Eureka Way in those parts….and bloody EUREKA it is!!
Goodie’s on fire, the little Drizzer’s screaming its head off….and the light traffic through the uphill twisties becomes the salt-in-the-soup.
There’s something to hunt down… and deftly dispatch of …. on any available line, straight or otherwise.:devil:
A rare 10 minutes of “in the zone” riding…which feels like an hour afterwards.
Last night on-the-road is at the 49er Gold Country Inn at Weaverville, re-visiting old digs from last year.
By now, the RJays Explorer bag and Ventura Panniers are pretty much history…the DRZ is a sad picture from the rear (without the rider, of course, SLAP!)
Is this stock on a K12?…if yes, hats off to BMW for some smart thinking. Variable fore/aft and height-mounting of the clip-ons or handlebars as a stock item should be mandatory on any bike.
The much anticipated re-visit for the last-nights-celebrations at the “La Grange Café” fell rather flat, the place has sadly taken a major dive in the last 12 months, having gone from excellent to very average at best….and piss poor on this particular occasion.
It made last night’s Taco-Bell look rather “arte-cuisine”.
Not to worry…’cause we are back in Black Butte Porter country…and every servo in town has a fridge full of the stuff, yeeha!!
Last day tomorrow…let’s see what the weather comes up with (as, traditionally, the last day always turns shitty on our trips…ONLY the last one, mind you!).
A BIG Thumbs-Up to Lassen National Park...would LOVE to spent a few weeks with a backpack and tent there!
Route299 is called the Eureka Way in those parts….and bloody EUREKA it is!!
Goodie’s on fire, the little Drizzer’s screaming its head off….and the light traffic through the uphill twisties becomes the salt-in-the-soup.
There’s something to hunt down… and deftly dispatch of …. on any available line, straight or otherwise.:devil:
A rare 10 minutes of “in the zone” riding…which feels like an hour afterwards.
Last night on-the-road is at the 49er Gold Country Inn at Weaverville, re-visiting old digs from last year.
By now, the RJays Explorer bag and Ventura Panniers are pretty much history…the DRZ is a sad picture from the rear (without the rider, of course, SLAP!)
Is this stock on a K12?…if yes, hats off to BMW for some smart thinking. Variable fore/aft and height-mounting of the clip-ons or handlebars as a stock item should be mandatory on any bike.
The much anticipated re-visit for the last-nights-celebrations at the “La Grange Café” fell rather flat, the place has sadly taken a major dive in the last 12 months, having gone from excellent to very average at best….and piss poor on this particular occasion.
It made last night’s Taco-Bell look rather “arte-cuisine”.
Not to worry…’cause we are back in Black Butte Porter country…and every servo in town has a fridge full of the stuff, yeeha!!
Last day tomorrow…let’s see what the weather comes up with (as, traditionally, the last day always turns shitty on our trips…ONLY the last one, mind you!).
A BIG Thumbs-Up to Lassen National Park...would LOVE to spent a few weeks with a backpack and tent there!
“The Nugget” comes good for brecky… no “Arte-Farte” here, just solid, old-fashioned tucker.
A quick fill up at the local Chevron, then north past the long-drawn Trinity Lake on local route3…the sweeps never stop, up and down dale, the pine forests are blocking the views to anything around.
A bit of prime, tight stuff just after the turn-off to Weed/ Edgewood gets the juices flowing…then Jimbo pulls up at Callahan.
“Looks like I’ve got a few things on the “urgent” list, I better get home and get things organized. You guys want to turn west here to Cecilville and Forks of Salmon? You’ll remember your way from there, do you?”
One look at the map, the clock, the skies….Forks of Salmon, eh??
That means that absolutely delicious single-laner to Sawyers Bar and out to Etna…and lunch at the brewery !!! 
“Yeah, we can handle that!! What’s the road through Cecilville like?”
“No idea, never done it”
“See ya late arvo”
And while Jimbo goes to fight the battle of the deer on his way home…
….the 2 of us duck west, into the rugged, narrow valleys of Northern California.
Sweepers and tight stuff change rapidly and regularly on the way to Cecilville, which looks rather like a squatters camp…no idea why they built such a wide and well-made road to this place.
Looks like it hasn’t been used for a while….which sits perfectly with this forgotten pocket of the globe.
Check those ingenious road-repairs….no signs, no nothing….whenever part of the road disappears down the steep slope into the river below, they just paint a wobbly white line onto the remaining asphalt, right along the broken, ragged edge.
More often than not, the one-inch blanket of tar hangs in fresh air, as the earth and stones underneath keep eroding away….there'll better be another special on white paint at Walmart before Xmas.
Or…I wonder how long a 4-liter tin will last once the road’s completely gone and they have to start painting the side of the hill ??
Bloody awesome piece of road, that!!
Eventually we hit the road that comes down the other fork of the Salmon River….and apart from the lonely post office; there isn’t a building in sight.
Tell you what….it’s got the works!!
All the signage, concreted parking spots incl. a generous disabled-parking slot, some roofed area over the entrance, a flagpole, parking spot for staff around the back…the works.
In the middle of friggin no-where!:???::???:
The postmaster must be bored shitless…AND… love her gardening. What else would one do with a full-time job in this place?
Check those ingenious road-repairs….no signs, no nothing….whenever part of the road disappears down the steep slope into the river below, they just paint a wobbly white line onto the remaining asphalt, right along the broken, ragged edge.
More often than not, the one-inch blanket of tar hangs in fresh air, as the earth and stones underneath keep eroding away….there'll better be another special on white paint at Walmart before Xmas.
Or…I wonder how long a 4-liter tin will last once the road’s completely gone and they have to start painting the side of the hill ??
Bloody awesome piece of road, that!!
Eventually we hit the road that comes down the other fork of the Salmon River….and apart from the lonely post office; there isn’t a building in sight.
Tell you what….it’s got the works!!
All the signage, concreted parking spots incl. a generous disabled-parking slot, some roofed area over the entrance, a flagpole, parking spot for staff around the back…the works.
In the middle of friggin no-where!:???::???:
The postmaster must be bored shitless…AND… love her gardening. What else would one do with a full-time job in this place?
Not a bad view out the front, eh?
Sending off the last postcard “ Oh shit, I promised so-and-so….”,
we’re also told about the migration of the salmon, which is currently underway.
“ If you’re going back just around the corner down there…yeah, just where you came from….remember the concrete bridge? Yep…just walk the bridge and look straight down, there should be 200 salmon in the deep pond under the bridge, all big buggers, too! “
Can’t miss that, eh?
It’s impossible to get all the detail into one shot….but she sure was dead-right. Most of them are a good half-meter… a few smaller, many bigger…what a spectacle!
Towards Sawyers Bar then….how’s that for a phone-booth?
Just the phone and a phonebook under cover… you don’t want to make a call in a wet, stormy night.
Yeah, Iphones don’t work here.
Sending off the last postcard “ Oh shit, I promised so-and-so….”,
we’re also told about the migration of the salmon, which is currently underway.
“ If you’re going back just around the corner down there…yeah, just where you came from….remember the concrete bridge? Yep…just walk the bridge and look straight down, there should be 200 salmon in the deep pond under the bridge, all big buggers, too! “
Can’t miss that, eh?
It’s impossible to get all the detail into one shot….but she sure was dead-right. Most of them are a good half-meter… a few smaller, many bigger…what a spectacle!
Towards Sawyers Bar then….how’s that for a phone-booth?
Just the phone and a phonebook under cover… you don’t want to make a call in a wet, stormy night.
Yeah, Iphones don’t work here.
One of the my favourite spots from last year….the Etna Brewery.
And no disappointment this year either!
A couple from Bend/Oregon stops by the table… the talk turns to bikes, then travelling…. things get animated instantly. The waitress chimes in as well… and it all turns into a truly enjoyable “extended lunch” under the shady vines of the beergarden.
Oops….forgot to mention their fantastic tucker and dynamite Old Grind Porter, didn’t I?
Fiiiingerlickin’ Schtuff!!!
Emerging from under the shady canopy, the heat’s like a 2x4 right between the eyes, jeez!!
Filling up at the Shell just at the edge of town, Goodie walks inside to “deposit” cash for the cashier to activate the pump, the way it goes around here if you don’t pay via card at the actual bowser.
Suddenly there’s some raucous laughter, swelling into a belly-laugh unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. The volume alone is stumping!...It’s one of those, which make you grin instantly, then grin from ear to ear, then giggle, then laugh your head off….and you haven’t got the faintest idea what it’s all about.
And it all started with some little joke that the Fijian/ Islander lady behind the counter thought so funny….
Goodie comes out of the shop, grinning, laughing, giggling.
We’ve gotta get out of here before both of us just sit down, leaning against the bowsers, wetting ourselves… and now the truckie delivering bags of ice starts giggling, too.
Hwy3 towards Yreka and the I-5 interstate
Then the long climb up into the Mt. Ashland Gap and into Oregon, which is turning from hot-to-furnace.
It must be around the 40C (100F)
A freeway with a 10km long descent…and lots of long, fast sweepers.
Might as well shoot through to the Bike Shop in North-Medford and pick up the Klim pants Jimbo ordered for me a couple of days ago…and a few other bits.
Then we get stuck in the racks of “Specials”, oh maaan.
Outside, a little TW200 which looks like a lot of fun. It’s like a stubby DT175 with fatter wheels…or thereabouts.
Goodie's trusty, old Held gloves…there’s over 10 years worth of trips in those....and a few 100.000k's.
Another item that won’t make it back to Melbourne…
6500km and the cobbled-together-in-a-hurry rack extensions are good for at least the same again.
I’m on my knees before the one who came up with cable-ties, incredible stuff!!
One of the 2 felines at Chateaux Jimbeaux.
Bobby The Suspicious!!
From here, it’s the usual….clean up, sort out, service the bikes, find a bin big enough for all the junk not worth carting home…while doing the food and drink shopping for the night.
After all, no Taco Bell or Braised Bison disasters tonight, but some honest home-cooked grub.
And I’ve got to go back to the Bike Shop to grab that Thor parka, even if it’ll never get cold enough for it in Australia, but at 50 bux it’s practically free, nix, zilch, nada!!
A monumental THANKS to Jimbo for putting up with us…AGAIN…..for giving us the run of the place… for some exceptional ferreting out of routes and places to see, roads to ride and scenery to gawk at!!
Now it’s our turn to show YOU some of Oz, mate…pick the time, pick the bike you want and we’ll nick out for a long tootle, showing you some places that most of the locals never even heard of.
b
We still got a cold Black Butte in the fridge?
See you here after the next one!!
And no disappointment this year either!
A couple from Bend/Oregon stops by the table… the talk turns to bikes, then travelling…. things get animated instantly. The waitress chimes in as well… and it all turns into a truly enjoyable “extended lunch” under the shady vines of the beergarden.
Oops….forgot to mention their fantastic tucker and dynamite Old Grind Porter, didn’t I?
Fiiiingerlickin’ Schtuff!!!
Emerging from under the shady canopy, the heat’s like a 2x4 right between the eyes, jeez!!
Filling up at the Shell just at the edge of town, Goodie walks inside to “deposit” cash for the cashier to activate the pump, the way it goes around here if you don’t pay via card at the actual bowser.
Suddenly there’s some raucous laughter, swelling into a belly-laugh unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. The volume alone is stumping!...It’s one of those, which make you grin instantly, then grin from ear to ear, then giggle, then laugh your head off….and you haven’t got the faintest idea what it’s all about.
And it all started with some little joke that the Fijian/ Islander lady behind the counter thought so funny….
Goodie comes out of the shop, grinning, laughing, giggling.
We’ve gotta get out of here before both of us just sit down, leaning against the bowsers, wetting ourselves… and now the truckie delivering bags of ice starts giggling, too.
Hwy3 towards Yreka and the I-5 interstate
Then the long climb up into the Mt. Ashland Gap and into Oregon, which is turning from hot-to-furnace.
It must be around the 40C (100F)
A freeway with a 10km long descent…and lots of long, fast sweepers.
Might as well shoot through to the Bike Shop in North-Medford and pick up the Klim pants Jimbo ordered for me a couple of days ago…and a few other bits.
Then we get stuck in the racks of “Specials”, oh maaan.
Outside, a little TW200 which looks like a lot of fun. It’s like a stubby DT175 with fatter wheels…or thereabouts.
Goodie's trusty, old Held gloves…there’s over 10 years worth of trips in those....and a few 100.000k's.
Another item that won’t make it back to Melbourne…
6500km and the cobbled-together-in-a-hurry rack extensions are good for at least the same again.
I’m on my knees before the one who came up with cable-ties, incredible stuff!!
One of the 2 felines at Chateaux Jimbeaux.
Bobby The Suspicious!!
From here, it’s the usual….clean up, sort out, service the bikes, find a bin big enough for all the junk not worth carting home…while doing the food and drink shopping for the night.
After all, no Taco Bell or Braised Bison disasters tonight, but some honest home-cooked grub.
And I’ve got to go back to the Bike Shop to grab that Thor parka, even if it’ll never get cold enough for it in Australia, but at 50 bux it’s practically free, nix, zilch, nada!!
A monumental THANKS to Jimbo for putting up with us…AGAIN…..for giving us the run of the place… for some exceptional ferreting out of routes and places to see, roads to ride and scenery to gawk at!!
Now it’s our turn to show YOU some of Oz, mate…pick the time, pick the bike you want and we’ll nick out for a long tootle, showing you some places that most of the locals never even heard of.
bWe still got a cold Black Butte in the fridge?
See you here after the next one!!