Saturday, June 30, 2012

Starting the Four Corners


June 30, 2012
South Medford OR 

I made it to Blaine on Friday the 29th around 1pm.  Took some time to get a number of different photo’s.  One at the Marine Park on the bay, one at the Peace Arch Park and one at the Post Office.  I tanked up at the chevron but forgot to get their telephone number for the SC-MA form but substituted it with the Post Office phone number provided by the Postal Clerk.  George from West Coast FL took my pic at the Park and Peter, from Blaine took the pic at the PO. 




I tried to find the café that offered WiFi but it wasn’t to be found.  So I headed over to a Burger King for a small hamburger and a coke.  With that done I headed south for Tigard OR.   
The weather was sunny and clear once I was north of Seattle.  But cloudy and drizzly from Seattle and south.  I took my rain gear off at the PO because it was getting to warm with armor, leathers and rain gear.  
Found out that Seattle is like LA….horrible traffic.  Heading north through there it was stop and go for many a mile.  But heading south I hit the city around 5pm….peak rush hour for sure.  It took me 55 minutes to reach downtown from only 10 miles north!  Took a brief break from the hard riding and got something to eat and drink…very much needed.  Back on the road again I just got past McChord AFB when it started to rain again.  I decided to exit and don the rain gear.  Boy was that a good decision!  It rained on me all the way to about 30 miles north of Portland.
But the next worse thing happened….WA Dept of Hwys decided to close all but one lane of hwy for late nite repairs.  It took a good 45 minutes to finally get clear of it all.  At one point I pulled off from the blocked up traffic to open my rain gear and leather jacket so I could cool off! 
Finally got in to my family’s place around 1130pm.  Way too late for this old man.  I had a little to eat and then crashed. 
Next stop is home in Orange County (South of LA) to get rid of some of the gear I’m carrying and to restock with some other.  Also, will replace the lexan windshield on the fairing.  It is too tall for riding in the rain.  My thanks to BuzzCap7, SC-MA IT extraordinaire, for explaining to me how to ride in the rain and still have visibility. 
This is kinda déjà vu all over again!  Last year I started at Madawaska and promptly ran into bad wet, cold weather.  This year I’m better equipped to deal with all these adversities. Or at least I hope so J. 
But it’s a good feeling knowing that I have started the Four Corners run. 
C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Cell: 949-433-0761


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