I’m not planning on getting any motels on this trip.  I will either stay with friends or relatives that I get invitations from, or sleep on the pavement beside my bike in a truck stop parking lot, in a layered fashion.  Looking at the layers top to bottom, street light, me, my handgun.  lol

After leaving my brother’s house, I stopped to top of my tank at the gas station in Brownsville then on to my first destination, The Corner Cafe,  another RCGT check point in Metolious, OR.

It looked like rain to the East…the direction I was heading, so I decided to just put on my riding suite there rather than stopping later to do it.  As I started into that Cascade mountains it started to rain.  No big deal.  My bike is my only vehicle so I ride year round anyway.  I’m used to riding in the rain.

But as I got higher, the rain turned to snow!  Now this was exciting.  And not in a good way!  Ok, so it did give me a bit of pleasure…how many other people are crazy enough to ride motorcycle in the snow.  I know I’m not the only one, but hey, it kind felt good to be in a small group of crazy people.  lol  I had snow to start with.  But getting snowed on while riding a motorcycle is not something I want to repeat.  The road was to wet for the snow to stick, but it was sticking to my windshield like feathers on a honey coated window!  With no windshield wipers, I just stuck my head out the side enough that I could see where I was going.  Fortunately my eyeballs were warm enough that the snow didn’t stick to them!

The snow only lasted for about 10 miles. Once I got to Sisters it the sun was shining again and it was warm.  That was a relief.

This is the Corner Cafe in Metolius, OR. It is one of the check points on the RCGT, but they went out of business, so they passed the stamp and paper work on to the Desert Inn Bar in Metolius.

When I got to my first destination in Metolious, OR,  I found out that they cafe had gone out of business.  There was a sign in the window telling the RCGT riders where the check point had been moved to.  It was just down the street a ways, but I decided to take pics of my bike in front of it anyway so so that I would have proof that I had been there.

After taking a pic of my bike in front of the Corner Cafe, I headed down the street to the new check point…Deasert Inn Bar.  When I got there I found the place locked.    It was about 11:00am by that time.  I figured, it’s a bar so they probably won’t open till noon.  I went to the business next door and asked what time the bar opens.  They told me 11:30.  So I decided to wait.  At 12:20 a pickup truck comes flying into the parking lot.  The drive got out and ran to the door of the bar and opened up.

As it turns out, she was the hired help and was late because of some family issue.  She had a misunderstanding with her boss and didn’t realize that she was supposed to open that morning.  Oh well.  I was the only one waiting on her anyway.  I just thanked her for stamping my Grand Tour Passport Book and was on my way again.  This time on to the next check point in Boardman, OR.

Shaniko Wedding Chapel - Shaniko, OR

The ride form Metolious was very beautiful and uneventful.  The weather was warm and sunny.  It was a great feeling to be on the road, out in the open.  Non bikers just don’t have a clue what they’re missing! 

The route to Boardman took me through a small ghost town in Eastern Oregon called Shaniko, which as of the 2000 census, had a population of 26…making it a virtual ghost town.  After stopping to take a few pics, I continued on to Boardman.

After getting my RCGT Passport book stamped in Boardman, I decided that I still had enough time to make it to my next check point, the Best Western in Moscow, ID.  I know, I said I wasn’t going to get any motels on this trip.

Shaniko jail and farm house - Shaniko, OR

Somewhere after riding through Pasco, WA I started feeling like my bike wasn’t running quite right.  It seemed to be short on power when climbing hills, but ran fine on the flats.  I stopped to check things out and found nothing.  It seemed to be running just fine.  So I continued on to Moscow.  The problem seemed to have gone away for about 20 miles or so, then started again. This time it was worse and before long there was no doubt I had a problem.  I was out in the middle of now where and didn’t know for sure what I was going to do.  I finally came upon a wide spot in the road just West of La Cross, WA about 5:30pm.  There was a gas station/convenience store there, so I stopped and asked if there were any motorcycle shops in the area. They said there was a

Harley shop down the road, but that they thought it was already closed for the day.  A quick phone call confirmed that.  I didn’t have much choice but to try to make it to the next town. So off I went.

Just a few miles down the road I realized that there was no way I was going to make it to the next large town, so I decided to stop in La Cross and find a park to sleep in until morning and then see if I could get some help.  As I pulled into the small “Poke & Plum” town (a town so small, you see a dot out in the distance, and by the time you get to it, it’s plum gone), I noticed an auto mechanic shop with a light on inside.  They were closed, but were working late in the back.  I knocked on the window and a young man came out to see what I needed.  I told him of my situation and said I suspected the fuel filter.  They were just the kind of people that you always want to find when you are broke down.

RCGT Check Point - The Riverside Grill and Lodge in Boardman.

The mechanic found a fuel filter that was bigger than the one on my bike, but it looked like we could make it work.  I was told that this was a car and truck shop and they knew nothing about motorcycles. But if I was willing to do the work they would let me use their shop and tools and would help where they could.  So I pulled my bike in the back door and started taring my bike apart.  Actually not that hard to get to the fuel filter, but did require taking some things apart.  We got the new filter on and started the bike.  It ran like nothing ever happened.  They said my bill was $23 for parts and labor.  I was so grateful for their willingness to help me that I just gave them $30 and told them to keep the change.

With my mechanic’s bill settled, I headed East again.  I was fairly confident that the fuel filter was the problem and that it had been fixed.  So I decided to try to make it to Moscow yet that evening.  I figured that if my bike quit on me again, I would just dig out my tent and pitch it beside the road wherever my bike quit.  I didn’t really relish that idea, but how bad could it really be? 

About 9:00pm I pulled into the Best Western in Moscow, ID.  Fortunately, it was a motel and thus open all night.  I got my coveted stamp in my Passport book.  Now it was time to find a place to sleep!  I chuckled to myself at the thought of what I was doing. Here I stood in the lobby of a nice motel, and I was looking for a parking lot to throw my mat on for the night.  lol  See, I told you I wasn’t going to buy motels! 

RCGT Check point in Moscow, ID was a Best Western.

Well, the irony of the motel/parking lot situation just got better.  As I walked out of the motel lobby, I notice a construction trailer in the parking lot of the Winco across the street.  I got on my bike and rode over there.   I figured the chances of that trailer being moved before morning were pretty slim. So I parked my bike beside it and put my mat and sleeping back between the trailer and my bike, and went to sleep.  Thus ended my first day on the road.  And in spite of the breakdown, what a great day it has been.  Now if my night ends up as good, I’ll be in great shape and ready to hit the road again in the morning!

It’s an old Piper J3 Cub and has been restored to almost like new condition.    I have flown a lot of different airplanes, but this was the most emotional flight I’ve ever done.  I actually got teary eyed at the realization that I was flying the airplane of my grandfather who I had never met.  To find out why I never met him, check out http://www.propspinner.com/zprop/donald.headings/index.html

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