...so I'm captured by the pictures, stories and adventure of all of this and it ends with the last post of "your girlfriend seems prety hot"! What?! The timing of that was perfect! Laughin my butt off! Great series of posts. Thanks so much for sharing and I'm glad you survived the hotel!

 

Sooooooo, did you wake up to a hotel in disrepair falling a part with the sunshine coming thru the cracks in the ceiling with a skeleton between you and your girl friend???????? Did ya? Great story, one day I will do a long ride also.

 

The suspense! Oh the suspense!
Seriously great report, it makes me really want to takeva trip like this.

 

The only problem with your article is you type too slow. Now quit messing us about and lets get to the next chapter. And please no excuses about work or family commitments.

 

Love your pics to death, reminds me of when I went to colorado years back, didn't take nearly enough pictures. Riding a bike is similar to driving a ragtop. You see and notice so much more. In a few years I plan on doing something very close to what you did. Lived in Glendo wy for a year, and rode rice grinder thru colo for 10 days, We live in a beautiful and outstanding country!!! Thanks for your post!!

 

You are very kind - thanks for the great compliment. I'm working on the "next day" now.

Easy with the "wife" stuff Ken - Cheryl might get ideas.

Your "shed" was pretty much on par with our shed. That's hilarious. Thanks!

I was going to post that picture of a rabbit with the pancake on it's head in response to this. But, your timing, as mentioned, is flawless. That's just what this story needed. Thanks.....I think.

That was kind of my reaction. But, if I have to pimp my gf to get people to read this then so be it.

Thanks for the kind words!

Haha - thanks! I'm afraid the summation of our night will be a bit of a let down. Obviously, we lived to complete our trip. Although Cheryl has seemed different ever since that night. Hmmmm.

I type with 2 fingers - both of them thumbs. I could ride across the state and back in the time it takes me to type one days worth of road report. It's pathetic really. But......the "next day" will be done this weekend for sure. Thanks for the compliment!

 

We have friends/family that can't fathom a trip like this - I'm sure you all do too. Some took a trip out to South Dakota to do the usual (Badlands, Rushmore, Devils Tower, etc), and the car ride damn near killed them with boredom. They just don't get that the ride is never boring and the time passes so quickly. Just as you said, on a bike, the ride is the adventure. You see so much more. It's like being in the movie, vs just watching the movie. On a bike, you taste the adventure, rather than view it from the sterile environs offered by something on 4 wheels. And I agree 1000% - our country is an amazing place. All of us can roll down our driveway and in a relatively short distance, be somewhere that some guy is dreaming about thousands of miles away.

Thanks for tuning in!

 

This thread probably ranks up there with the best I have ran across yet, on any bike forum (HD or Goldwing).

You know, if you were to get a trailer you can pack more. Remember a happy wife, a happy life. Or at least that is what I am told by you know who!

 

I can think of no finer compliment - thank you. You should check out the ride reports over at ADVrider. Some amazing reads over there. Anything by RTWDoug will blow you away. He travels around the world on various Harleys. The guy is seriously hard core.

I considered the trailer idea. But, Cheryl and I were determined to travel as light as possible. Yes, her definition of light has significantly changed since the trip. The Ultra really has a lot of room to pack belongings so for now, I think we'll stick with just two wheels. If we camped, I would probably go the trailer route however.

 

Day 8 - Ghost steals wallet, time portals, and Zombie Bunnies

I woke up. It was pitch black. There was an icy coldness in the room. If I could see, I was sure I would be able to see my own breath. It was also quiet - very quiet. I listened for Cheryl's breathing, but heard nothing. As consciousness took more ground, I became aware of a sharp pain in my side - it felt like bones. Pointy bones. I reached slowly down to feel what it was. Cheryl moaned as I dislodged her knee from my liver. Yep - it was bones alright. But these were covered in a very thin layer of skin. Like most women, I think Cheryl should have to register her knees, elbows, and fists as weapons. Small, boney, hard, and they seem to always come into direct contact with my most vulnerable areas, like a nut seeking missile.

"What time is it?" I have no idea. I can't see a thing but it's f-in cold in here! I fumbled around for a light. After spending the last seven nights in different places, this light will not be turned on without knocking over a few items. Once the light is on, there is a ceiling, the bones have already been explained, and the cold is because we left the window open last night to let some fresh air into the stale room. I couldn't hear Cheryl breathing because I am deaf. Forty five years of motorcycle riding has done nothing for my hearing! It was about 6 and the very first hints of daylight were beginning to illuminate the trees outside the window. We had slept the whole night through without incident (that we know of).

We went through our routine of cleaning up a bit (showers wait till after the ride because what's the point?), packing, and getting our gear on for the day. Judging by the room temperature from the window left open, it's chilly out. We opt for the everything we have. At this point I will tell you that aside from the obvious (appropriate jacket, gloves, pants, etc) the best thing I packed was a Land's End down vest. I had bought it a few years back on the fly when I did The Slimey Crud run -

http://www.slimeycrudrun.com/

It's an annual rally put on by some folks here in Wisconsin. It's quite a bit of fun and people bring out some very interesting machinery. Anyway, I was freezing my *** off before I even made it to the start and ducked into a Lands End which was, fortunately, very close to where the rally starts. It was $25 bucks and it made all the difference. Now, if I even think it might get cold, I pack it along. Light, packs small, and cheap enough to lose. Of course brand does not matter here.

I'm ready to go and waiting - nothing new here. That's the price one often pays for company on a motorcycle trip. Well worth it in Cheryl's case. Cheryl is searching frantically for her wallet. She is certain the pervert ghost stole it. Having survived the evening, I'm skeptical. Besides, I have a pretty good idea I know where it is. I haul my bags down to the bike, which is sitting right where I left it and covered in morning dew. In the tourpack is the towel I brought for wiping down the bike and Cheryl's wallet. Knew it.

After wiping down the bike I head up to the room to be the hero. "Found it!" Cheryl was VERY grateful. Everyone here who has traveled knows the feeling of "Where the hell is it?" when packing up to leave in the morning. We all hate it. Experienced travelers put fail safes into play to prevent this, such as placing everything important on some flat surface, or a checklist, etc.. It works to varying degrees, but never completely.

We didn't really talk too much about the night before other than a few comments about the sub par meal and the freaky staff. It seemed pretty silly now that it was daylight and things just seemed more normal. Cheryl still swore that the pervert ghost had been talking dirty to her, but we were more interested in talking about what lay ahead. We would be traveling through a big chunk of Redwood parks and Chery had a meeting to get to up in Medford - about 5 hours away. As it turns out, the pervert ghost wasn't quite done with us.

Cheryl on the veranda - it is a pretty place. I wouldn't wave you off of the Benbow. It was right where it needed to be for our trip, not very expensive ($85?), and the room was comfortable. Just don't expect too much from the dining room. My advice would be to order the cheapest thing on the menu to stave off starvation and leave it at that.

We had some of the Benbow's coffee (about as good as their food) and decided we would hit it to Eureka California (about 2 hours away) where we would surely find a Starbucks. It was a chilly 45 degrees in Garberville California. I was glad for the grip heaters because my Held Steve gloves have no insulation. Cheryl had thin leather perforated gloves so she had to tuck her hands in her pockets to keep them warm, which didn't really work.

Riding north on Hwy 101 in the chilly morning air was invigorating. The scenery is quite beautiful and the four lane road smooth and curvy. We could easily maintain 75 mph but at that speed we were leaning into the curves fairly aggressively. It runs through thick forests of Redwoods, among many other species, and it's very hilly, if not exactly mountainous. That early in the morning there were a few commuters, but not many. When we did come up upon slower traffic, there was plenty of room to pass. Fun stuff! We had our intercom on and listened to Tedeschi Trucks and chatted about Eureka. We pictured a charming old mining/logging town along the ocean, populated by rock shops, mining stores, clock shops where you buy clocks made from the cross section of some heavily burled tree, people wearing Seal skin boots and Hudson Bay jackets, driving all manner of rugged 4 wheel drive vehicle.

After about 2 hours, we arrived. I will tell you that there is probably not one person in Eureka wearing seal skin boots (lets set aside the political incorrectness of the boots for the time being), Hudson Bay jacket, and the vehicle of choice seemed to be a Grand Am. In the interest of not offending anyone here who happens to live in Eureka, I will simply say that it was not at all what we expected and we were glad we didn't push it to get there the night earlier. It was along the ocean, but it's been modernized - about 20 years ago. But, we still wanted coffee and Eureka was big enough (and commercial enough) that it probably had a Starbucks.

Three minutes later I negotiated the big V-twin through a line of cars blocking the parking lot, all waiting to place a coffee order at the Starbucks drive up. It was one of those Starbucks that occupied an existing corner space in an old office building which, not surprisingly, gives it a funky floor plan. We found a nice spot next to a fireplace and I went up to order food and coffee.

Big problem. No wallet! I frantically checked the rain coat pocket, motorcycle pockets, vest pockets, pants pockets, to no avail. I don't know how it is for you, but my mind immediately skips past logical explanations and goes straight to worst case scenario. I pictured my brown leather wallet, drivers license hanging halfway out, floating down the Colorado River, leaving a trail of credit cards in it's wake. Think. Ok - I had it at dinner last night, so it didn't actually fall out of my zippered pocket, down a 3000 foot drop, and then bounce hundreds of yards into the river - three days ago. That's a relief. I called the Benbow. The cheerful voice on the other end of the line told me she would have housekeeping look for the wallet right away. I was, at that point, glad I had left a tip for the housekeeping staff.

Cheryl bought coffee and did a really excellent job of not rubbing my face in the fact that I had actually lost my wallet, while she had only temporarily misplaced hers. That lasted for about 5 seconds (I'm sure it was an eternity for her) and she started into the heckling. Fortunately for me, I have the gift of being able to tune out verbal assaults. Her mouth moved, making words that I didn't hear, while I thought about where that damn wallet could be. I systematically analyzed the prior nights events. This would surely lead me to a logical explanation. Hmmm.....Paid for dinner....went to room.....slept....woke up....out to bike...I wonder. The only logical explanation was that the pervert ghost had stolen it. My phone rang. The cheerful voice told me that they had found my wallet. My not so cheerful voice told her that I would be there shortly to get it.