By June 13th we were in Redmond, Oregon, after a nice ride up Highway 97. We opted
to drive central Oregon rather than Interstate 5 and take back roads. On the way
we drove past Mt. Shasta which was covered with snow as if it were January. Beautiful!
We rode 489 miles in 11 hours.
June 14th found us dodging flying fish at Seattle’s Pike Place Market (that’s GAMA’s
destination #3). We take country roads to Portland, Oregon and then pick up the Interstate
on the way to Seattle. Got a little cloudy in Portland and encountered a bit of drizzle
approaching Seattle, but not enough to consider it rain. En route, we had great views
of the Cascades and drove through the mountains to elevations of about 4000' under
the shadows of a fully snow capped Mt. Hood. We ran into a couple of riders at the
gas station near Mt. Hood and talked motorcycles for a few minutes. This was a terrific
ride through the mountains. Temps got down to about 48 and I was on the border of
throwing on the heated vest. Decided to keep riding and we were out of the mountains.
Temps ran about 57 to 65 during the day. We rode 343 miles in 5.5 hours today. Easy!
We arrived in Walla Walla, WA, on June 15th and selected a good-looking place to
eat. Turned out it was one of the best. It was one of the many buildings that formerly
housed....uh…ladies of the oldest profession. I understand Walla Walla has quite
an unfortunate history of that. Anyhow, we hung out and enjoyed the town.
The evening of June 16th found me in Bozeman, Montana. Only 500 miles but I'm beat.
I ended up taking Highway 12 out of Walla Walla, instead of getting on the I-90 slab.
It was definitely worth it as I saw some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere.
Starting with the Palouse hills and ending with the Lolo Pass at the Idaho--Montana
border. Elevation 3250, but it was chilly and
I went into this (mis)adventure to assist a friend by accompanying him and providing
real-time first-hand feedback on a motorcycle ride he put together. It's called the
GREAT AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE, or GAMA ride. I left on June 11th, right after
helping to set up the Blue Knights VI Charity Ride.
The ride was supposed to be a 17-23 day ride around the Great USA. Here's the GAMA
description and the gist of my ride:
The Great American Motorcycle Adventure requires you ride to 12 pre-selected destinations.
The sites you visit are uniquely American such as the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls,
and Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center). It is a tour around the country on a 2
or 3 wheel motorcycle allowing riders to visit remarkable American locations. This
is a ride I would probably do on my own (or something very much like it). About 10,000
miles in 18 days is what I routinely do. I had some reservations about the sites,
as I'd already seen some of them, but most appeared to be worth visiting again. We
scheduled some serious side trips to manage personal visits, but nothing too out
of the way. The time of year was good and things looked peachy.
I departed San Diego by the afternoon of June 11 and was in airfield, CA, by 9:30
PM on June 12. That’s after picking up my friend (who rides a new Goldwing) in Orange
County on June 11th and taking a 13-hour, 540-mile ride on the 12th, mostly on the
I-5. Our first stop was Bakersfield, CA. where they were kind enough to charge $4.80
a gallon for gas. We stopped by the Aquarium in Monterey and Fisherman's Wharf in
San Francisco. Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl! Great weather and light traffic
until we left the Monterey area. Bumper to bumper traffic for about 40 miles. For
those that split lanes: It's hair raising anywhere, but in California—yikes!
