I'm home safe and sound as of 4:30pm yesterday!! Whew...what a long ride. Best news is that LRB, my faithful companion in this epic trip to Salem and back, was outstanding..nary a blip of any trouble. None! He seemed to just get better humming along with the liveliness of a newborn lamb at 5000 rpm at anywhere from 63-70 mph, constantly for 8 hours per day. He travelled 6,183 miles or a bit over 10,000 kms! His white rims are filthy but it is brake dust and road dirt. Not as much oil even on the rear! I may have a brake light switch to repair as a fellow in a truck in a tailback said my brake light wasn't working...may be just a bulb too.
I mailed UPS'ed my camping gear home along with all excess gear. UPS steered me wrong when they stated the total cost...I had asked specifically if it would be cheaper to carry the gear into Canada and send it from there but they quoted me a price I thought to be reasonable so I sent the box from Salem at the rally site. They were wrong...brokerage charges almost doubled the cost...so I learned a lesson there and UPS should have known too. Still it was worth every penny NOT to have to lug that extra weight around all the way home and have to climb aboard looking like a "John Cleese" leg move!
LRB pretty well got 56-60 mpg too! Just add gas, watch oil (only added a bit) and check the tires for pressure...that's it. He got a brand new Avon AM26 rear tire at the rally as the Bridgestone was close to its TWI marks. I took the wheel off at the oak grove campsite across the road from the rally site and carried the wheel with a new found lady rider friend from LA who helped me put the new tire back on. Then Chris Walstow happened by to visit...Chris from BC....remember from our forum here and he buttoned up the bolts/nuts for me so I felt it was done by an expert. One less thing to worry about!
This long trip..one month...but time with friends too in BC....gave me lots of time to contemplate so when I am rested up I'll try to write out the thoughts I had about tripping on the R65LS, 30 years young!
Saw Neal or R65Guy in the beer tent! You know I met Bengt and Earle Phorqs and now Chris our old forum friend. So glad all got home safe and sound and I have quite a few people out there to contact that were nice to me enroute. I don't think I'd ever go so far again without company. It gets lonely out there alone but it is less stressful when riding when one is alone. It is the dinners and evenings that drag and there is a tendency to not stop as much. But I did fill the gastank about 130 miles intervals just to be sure I'd always have enough on those long empty stretches. I was very aware of the troubles in '08 when I had the accident in Saskatchewan after the Gillette rally. Not knowing quite what happened there and also thinking about micro sleeps that can come over you without warning gave me pause! To get out there I travelled hwy 200...Lewis and Clark route and home I tried out the Trans Canada and was impressed. Prairies in Canada more interesting...rolling etc....but road still dead straight! Highlights...Lolo Pass, North Cascades Parkway, Crowsnest Pass, North of Lake Superior and parts of Olympic Peninsula Hwys.
More later........yawn!
