Friday September 10, 2010. Start kilometers 29301. Finish kilometers 30048. Total today 746.
Sunday September 12, 2010. Start kilometers 30048. Finish kilometers 30536. Total today 488.
TOTAL JOURNEY KILOMETERS 9970km.
The GS didn't quite get 10,000 total kilometers on this trip and I was tempted to drive around the block until I racked up another 30 kilometers on the odemeter but the rain was a deterent and it did feel good to be home.
Thursday saw us up and on the road by 9am to miss the tail end of the LA rush hour and we drove steady most of the day stopping for fuel, coffee and food only. Friday did not differ much from Thursday and we arrived at Johns' house in Beaverton Oregon at 5:30 pm. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to ride up the coastal highway due to time constraints as we wanted to be with our wives and to celebrate my 34th wedding aniversary on Saturday September 11.
Saturday afforded us the first day in weeks where we did not put on a helmit and ride and the day was spent exploring Portland with the girls and of course visiting my favorite bookstore.
Sunday morning I departed Beaverton and John rode with me up to the Oregon/Washington State line before breaking off with a wave and a thumbs up. A better travelling companion I could never find. We are fortunate to have created many good memories, met a cast of wonderful and interesting people, travelled wonderful places and had more laughs than one could imagine. I felt somewhat melancholy as I waved good bye and my trip north to Vancouver was uneventfull other than encountering rain from Mt Vernon until home. And so in closing I will leave you with this tune whose lyrics were written by Bobby Troupe in 1941 and presented to Nat King Cole who recorded the hit in 1946.
"If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way, take the Highway that's best
Get your Kicks on Route 66.
It winds from Chicago to LA
More han 2000 miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66.
You go through St. Louie, Jopllin, Missouri
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty
You'll see Amarillo, Gallop, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona, don't forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino
Won't you get hip to this timely tip
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66."
Until next time, so long for now.
Jim Laurence, aka John Dillinger, aka Biker Bandit.
September 12, 2010.
PS; For those of you interested I will have my images on my flickr site by the end of the month. You can view these by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/big_easy/
Also my riding partner John has created his own Blog of this journey and it is well worth reading by going to http://john'smotorcycleadventuresandmore.blogspot.com/
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| Glor takes a final picture of us in front of John and Renee's house in Beaverton Oregon. |
Great trip and interesting writing, looking forward to hearing all the stories.
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