I took off last Saturday with a loose plan of riding up to Banff on the BMW. The crushing heat in Oregon and Washington made me change my mind. Instead I rode up to Seattle to visit some friends and came back along the coast.
Saturday - SJ to Grants Pass, OR, taking 101 to 199. If you haven't ridden 199, you're really missing something. It's a great road with amazing views and, at least when I was on it, wide open. I put on about 520 miles, which is a pretty long day on a stock seat.
Stopping for a break in Leggett, CA. They charge $5 so you can drive through a tree, but they seem to have a monopoly on the only restroom in town.
Reaching Oregon:
Sunday - Grants Pass to Seattle, ~400 miles. Was in a bit of a hurry to get up to Seattle so I took I-5 north. I-5 isn't a bad road when you start, but eventually Oregon turns into Kansas and road becomes insufferable. Coupled with the heat, I was ready to find a hotel with a pool and call it a day but I pushed on to Seattle, where sushi and loads a booze would be waiting.
I honestly don't remember much after sushi. Went a few doors down and ended up drinking furiously with some of the bar staff. Eventually made it back to my hotel.
Monday - Seattle to Newport, OR, ~350 miles. My plan was to make more distance on Monday but the construction delays on 101 in addition to just getting to 101 from I-5 slowed me down. I cut over on 12 to reach 101 more quickly but this backfired. In retrospect, I should've gone farther south on I-5 and taken 30 west along the Columbia River to 101.
At the Columbia River:
The Oregon coast really is beautiful. It reminds me of the Maine coast but on a larger scale:
In the end, I made it to Newport, OR and paid far too much for a hotel room:
At this point the stock seat on the K is a cruel joke. Looking forward to replacing it with something more comfortable, like a nest of fire ants or some broken glass.
Tuesday - Newport to San Jose, ~630 miles. Not much to say about the final push. After three long days, the stock seat on the K has become the devil's throne and I have stop every 2 hours for a break. Once I got back into California I got to look forward to 101 as a highway with all of the fun that entails. I made it home at 22:30.
Overall I'd say it was a good first long ride on the K. Other than the seat, the bike was outstanding and handled everything very well. Having cruise control was a huge bonus and heated grips helped along the coast when temps dropped into the upper 50s. I didn't really have any equipment problems. I need to get better about being less destination oriented and more about the trip itself. I had 9 days off and only used 4.
Next up is the 1500 mile Iron Butt ride, hopefully later this month.
