Bite the Weenie – LD Ride to Eat

Part one, Escape from PDX:

"Do you want to go grab a hot dog?" asks a riding friend of mine......

"Sure" says I.

"In LA?"  He replies.

Sooooooo, I say what the heck and borrow his old fuel cell, install a bulkhead fitting and install the 4 gallon fuel cell and Givi rack on the back of my FJR.....on Friday.......while dealing with a major water leak in my water feed line to the house........and about a dozen other things that needed my attention.

Ok, so I violated one of the basic principals of distance riding.  Never go on a long ride with an un-tested modification.  Buy hey, *I'm* not with-out skills. 

I worked Friday night, got maybe an hour of sleep, then took off at 0230 to head to Stayton and meet my fellow FJR owner Doug C. to ride to Los Angeles to have a dog at Pink's in Hollywood.  It was 32F when we left Stayton at 0330 and only got colder and foggier  (is that a word?) as we headed South on the 5.  Day break had us at Ashland and there was a heavy frost everywhere, but the road was dry, so we made our first gas stop of the trip and had breakfast at "The Breadboard", then continued South over the damn cold Siskiyou range.

Once over the top, the clouds parted and the sun came out and it was a different world.  A kinder, more biker friendly world with faster speed limits, warmer temperatures and oh yes, self serve gas.

For nine hours, we are the only motorcycles on the road.  Then we spot a solitary rider headed North.  Then, an hour later, 200 more.  Most are HDs and we later discover it's a toy run to one of the local casinos.  Lots of smiling folks out having a fun ride on a sunny November day.

A couple of gas stops later, it's 6 pm and we're in Hollywood testing out the GPS unit's ability to locate a Motel 6.  How about that, there *is* one in Hollywood, and after a quick phone call, they even had a room at a decent price.  We go grab the room, get cleaned up and grab a few winks of sleep. After all, we're not supposed to meet the other riders at Pink's until 11 pm.

Later, we use the GPS to route our way the 3 miles to Pinks and join the seemingly 100 other people in line at 11 pm for a hot dog.  We all got a laugh at the competition's bill board advertising "You ain't had nothing yet!" within sight of Pink's waiting line, as we wait in the rain to order. Yes, that's right, rain.  I go there for the first time in 15 years, and it rains in LA.  Who'd a thunk it?

The dogs have snap.  And are pretty darn good too.  I had a 'Muholland Drive' and some onion rings.  We sat and ate, talked moto and farkles and generally had a good time bs'ing with the other LD riders there for the RTE. About 1 am, we said our parting words and headed back to the motel to grab a couple more hours of sleep.

Part two,  Escape from LA:

0430 comes waaaaaaaay too soon and we get up, gear up and vacate the room. We're on the road at 0500 on the dot.  The dark and only semi vacant streets are still wet, but no rain is falling as we back track our way out of LA and return to the 5 for the long ride home.

I worry about snow on the summits, but the wind has dried out the roads and the clouds have kept the temps up, so no problems getting up and over the Grapevine.  We fight Mr. Headwind and his bitch of a sister Ms Crosswind, but still make good time as we head North.  Day break sees us 150 miles out of LA and well on our way.  I ride the rocking chair between the two V-1's and we make good time North to Los Banos where we wave goodbye to our riding partner and continue on North as a pair of Oregonians trying to blend in with all the Californians ignoring the speed limit.  The sun is out and it's a nice day to ride.

15 hours after I left Hollywood, I arrive at my home in Oregon City.  Not too bad for a November ride.  Only wind to battle.  No rain or snow anywhere on the way home.  The sun stayed with us all the way, nearly to Roseburg before it sank behind the hills for good and darkness deepened to leave only the headlights along the highway.

A new experience, only 2 gas stops for the entire 970+ mile ride home.  Fuel cells rock.  I think I'm gonna have to get one of my own for those long solo rides I enjoy.  Might make Hyder Seek a little easier next year too.   Oh, and not a single leak or other problem with the install either.

So, what did *you* do this weekend?

Eric Vaillancourt

Oregon City, OR