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Day 7 – Kalaloch Lodge to Seattle
Well, that went quickly.
The last day dawned early. And saw us up early, also. It was time to hit the road, and being to a close our little odyssey. It was gorgeous to wake up to a view of the ocean. A cup of coffee in the cabin before breakfast got things started, and then we packed up and headed up to the main lodge for breakfast.
Day 6 – Lincoln City to Kalaloch Lodge
Well, that was epic.
We started the day in Lincoln City. The hotel that we were staying in, romantic as it is, lacks a restaurant. So the first order of business was to forage for food. This took us a little further down the road to the Wildflower Grill, one of my favorite restaurants in town.
Day 5 – Crescent City to Lincoln City
Without question, our accommodations of the previous evening were on the spartan side, but serviceable. This would also be an apt description of the continental breakfast. As such, we opted to get on the move earlier, and have our first stop of the day be our source for first breakfasts, rather than our usual second breakfasts.
Day 4 – Point Arena to Crescent City
Today dawned a little earlier than expected. A night of weird dreams had me up a little earlier than my alarm required. Actually, I attempted complex time zone calculation at several times in the night, but I finally figured out when I was close, and chose to get up. A cup of coffee, a bath and trying to sort out my technology gremlins (yes, all at the same time) and I was mostly ready to start the day.
Day 3 – Monterey to Point Arena
Today was the day it all came together. It was going to be a long day. We had about 250 miles to go, and many of those would be intricate and technical. So your basic “miles at freeway speed” calculation falls pretty much by the wayside.
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Day 1 – Getting to Santa Barbara
The first ride of the season is a journey of acclimatization. You are reacquainting yourself with your bike, and with riding in general. You are shaking out the cobwebs, finding equilibrium and generally embracing the rhythm and balance of life on two wheels. As a general rule, then, starting out on an LA highway just before Friday rush hour on someone else’s motorcycle would at the best of times be considered unadvisable.
Day 2 – Santa Barbara to Monterey
Saturday started off a little bit foggy. There was also some pretty heavy mist outside. Both fogs promised to burn off later in the morning.
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Days 5 & 6 – Frolics, Fumbles, Friends & Family
Yesterday marked the end of our miniature motorcycle expedition through Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. Today we return to our previously scheduled travels, visiting families and friends. Not to say that there aren’t adventures afoot (because that seems to have a certain inevitability, particularly when I’m involved). But they are changing their tone. And they don’t quite have the same epic scope of time and distance.
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Day 4 – Wandering to Weymouth
If I am very honest, yesterday felt a whole lot like work. I spent a lot of the day fighting with the bike. It was running roughly first thing in the morning. It started overheating after a long run through a narrow laneway in first gear, something it kept up with every time I had an extended run at very low speeds. And the bike stalled what felt like an enormous number of times (although that part may have been me).
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Day 3 – Navigating To St. Ives
I am starting to sense a theme for this trip. And that would be “failure to navigate.” Having struggled for the last two days with where the GPS was guiding me, I’ve come to a couple of conclusions. Firstly, what the computer thinks the route should be when I program it is not the route that the GPS calculates when it gets it into its scheming clutches. Secondly, no matter what route I’ve chosen for its scenic qualities, the GPS always thinks it has a better way. Thirdly, I’m pretty convinced it’s trying to drive me mad.
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