KRATZMC

Sunday, June 6th, 2010……Clear Lake Resort Hwy 126, Oregon to Bandon, Oregon……..210 miles

We awoke on the Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion and it was raining. We packed our bikes and it was raining and when we left the Resort it was raining. Did I mention it was raining?

The resort had no cell phone service but did have Wi Fi for the lodge. Unbeknown-st to them I  hacked into their network to get a quick Facebook message to my girl back home. I got a message from Cecilia with an attitude, so I thought I should call and hash it out ASAP. As usual, I was packed within ten minutes and Merritt was still skillfully packing his kit. Impatient, I told him I would head down the road and stop at the first fuel station which was about 22 miles west. I left Merritt and headed out.

I reached a fuel station, topped off my tank and got my bottle water for the day. While I waited for Merritt, I called Cecilia. I guess after 3 weeks of separation nerves were raw and we got into an argument regarding her text with an attitude. Needless to say I was pissed to have something domestic ruin my trip and was becoming sick of riding in foul weather. Shortly after I hung up on Cecilia, Merritt arrived and topped off his tank. We continued west into the rain. My only thoughts centered around being angry at the home front, the slick road and the inability to see through my foggy and rain beaded face shield.

I had told Merritt that it would be a no brainer to the coast, as we would just stay on Hwy 126. Due to the rain, there was little photography going on. Traffic was pretty light because no one else was stupid enough to be driving around in the rain. We rode at slightly above the speed limits until we reached Eugene, Oregon. As we reached the city limits, I noted that Hwy 126 went north and the Business Route 126 continued straight ahead. When we went past the northern route and reached a red light at the next intersection I yelled to Merritt and pointed to the route north. After the light turned green, Merritt continued on the Business route. Knowing that the Business route would go through the downtown filled with signal light after signal light, I made a U-turn and took the route north. The route north was a loop around the center of town. I figured I would beat Merritt and would end up ahead of him and allow him to catch up.

I continued west on Hwy 126 until I reached Mapleton. It was still raining, so I decided to stop, top of my fuel tank, grab a Red Bull and wait for Merritt. After 15 minutes, I saw Merritt approaching the fuel station and flagged him down. As Merritt got his stuff together, I checked the doppler radar on my Iphone. We would luck out and would continue to get rain until we reached Bandon. Thank God for Aerostich suit!

We continued west and vowed to find some fresh seafood place in Florence, the Oregon namesake to my Texas hometown and on the Oregon Coast. As we entered town we realized it was Sunday so the food fare would be limited. It looked like the bad economy had hit Florence, as two of its Sea Food restaurants were closed for good. I spied a Coffee.Sandwich shop whose name escapes me towards the south end of town. We got in a half an hour before closing and the staff looked at us like we were freaks for riding motorcycles in the rain. To break the ice, I asked if we could sit outside and they all laughed.

Soup De Jour was Lentil and I am a sucker for a good Egg Salad Sandwich, which I received. After the hearty meal I was in better spirits and ready to tackle riding some more in the rain. I stopped briefly just down the road to take a pictures of the bridge at the south end of town. Many such bridges exist along the Oregon coast and they look like they were all designed by the same Architect.

The sign for the bridge. I’ll let the sign speak for itself. As we continued south on Hwy 101 in the rain!…you can see Tsunami Escape route signs posted with frequency. It must be a precaution following the big one that hit Asia in 2004, since I don’t remember seeing so many of them on my last trip along the coast.

With all the rain, I thought I was getting a Tsunami one ounce at a time. We missed a lot of good scenery because of the rain and it finally started to let up once we reached Coos Bay. From experience, I knew we were only a half hour from Bandon, so I was looking forward to getting to a Motel and hopping inot a hot bath. I am usually not a bath person but today it seemed like something I needed. While riding through Coos Bay, Merritt’s attention was caught by a couple on another Motorcycle. They were yelling but Merritt thought they were arguing. They were trying to tell Merritt that his fishing line was trailing off the reel and pole strapped to the back of his bike. I had removed my reel and packed it in with my camping gear. After a brief stop Merritt secured the line and we finally made it to Bandon.

The Oregon Coast, Bandon, Oregon. We found the Best Western with another hotel across the street with views of the coast. Merritt went to check the rate across the street, while I checked the rate at the Best Western. When Merritt returned I told him the price in front of the desk clerk. Merritt said the Motel across the street had a cheaper rate and ocean view to boot! This prompted the economy weary clerk to best the price and we each got our own rooms. I told Merritt we should try this tactic from now on to get cheaper rates.

Weary and wet, I got my bath and the restaurant at the Best Western was serving a special Texas BBQ assortment. I was craving Lobster after reading their fresh Lobster sign and when I ordered the Lobster, I was told they were out. With my hopes crushed, I settled for the BBQ special which was okay but shy of what we get in Texas.

After three weeks on the road, half of which was ridden in less than perfect weather I was spent. With my belly full I laid down to watch TV for the weather forecast and fell fast asleep.

I was falling behind on my daily Blogs and hoped I could catch up once I reached California. There I would have a few days of down time before heading towards home. Tomorrow would be good weather for a change and it was about time.

The wet route for Day 18. Clear Lake Resort to Bandon, Oregon.

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