Fool

in the Rain. I had the foresight to check ahead for inclement weather so I layered up for warmth, covered my bags from rain, and equipped a rain suit. I waited for my host to return from volunteer and had a delicious breakfast. Sadly I would miss the main event which included ribs, pizza, and other foods. I rolled out around 1015 PT which was later than planned. However, it would still be enough time to make it to my destination before sunset without any surprises. So hoping for the best but still expecting the absolute worst because life finds a way. With (9) nine hours ahead of me it was time to zone out with music and autopilot because that is safe to do on a motorcycle. Trust me, I am an expert.

Onto the yellow brick road I went again or back to to Interstate 5 if you do not use imagination. Weather was not an issue until I was approaching Redding. Ominous clouds ahead and a lightning strike in the sky, this is going to be fun. I was prepared this time though...well I thought I was. This was the most rain downpour I have ridden through, ever. So the rain suit is great; however, vented boots and gloves not so much. The hood on my hoodie was soaked too since it was outside the rain suit. Hearing rolling thunder in the helmet? It was a quick fright. Always the dilemma of: Is this going to be a quick ride through the rain or enough that I should pull over for a bit to wait it out? I checked the weather radar and it appears it would clear up, eventually. I continued although at a slower pace of ~55 miles per hour with my hazards on behind another slow moving vehicle. While it was difficult to see due to all the water drops everywhere I saw a low of 41F on the thermostat, cold! Slow and steady through the rain. I finally decided to pass the pickup with trailer. I do not remember when the rain cleared up but it was a welcome change. However, there is always a but. A welcome change, but I was still riding with wet gloves and socks.

While I no longer have footage because the camera looped over it, I did see a small plane flying over private land initially then cross over I-5 at a low altitude. I assume some farmer type person as I saw another one being loaded a ways down from the initial flyover. Riding with my soaked gloves all I could hope for was a washroom with a blow dryer of some sort to feebly attempt to dry my gloves and warm water to thaw my hands.

I continued north and eventually pulled over at a Shasta (Shasta) vista stop rest area to relieve myself. Thankfully it was not an emergency otherwise I might have had an accident in the suit because it is a struggle to get in and out of it. The sun was out and the washroom had air dryers, everything is coming up Curtis Milhouse! Not really great for such a short time, but I will take it. I walked around to stretch my legs for a few minutes and took a couple photos as well. As I was departing an older gentlemen told me to be careful and asked if I had taken this route before. I thanked him and nodded (indicating I have traveled this route).

I stopped in Weed for gasoline. Chevron in Weed had most pumps out of service and others not accepting credit cards. As if I would go inside and talk to someone so it was off to another petrol station across the street.

Remember my wet gloves? Both hands.

I know this has come up before but living in Southern California it is easy to forget about weather and road conditions. At least for me, it is something I do not usually think about. Not great, not terrible since I do like to road trip on my hog. As I approached stretches of road I was thankful to not see chains required flashing on signs for vehicle. It would have certainly been fun since there is not much around for miles. I would have to backtrack to take up shelter for the night and plan a longer route along the coast or something. I kept waiting to see some sort of road hazards that would have ended this trip, but you can read on for more details.

I finally crossed into Oregon and it was cold. Remember when I said rain cleared up? Well it was back, back again. While I enjoy windy roads I do not enjoy windy roads. I had air dried off from riding but now I was wet again. I even hit a new temp low of 38F...how much lower could it drop? Would I freeze up here? I could not tell if it was windy, loss of traction, getting into the grooves on the road, or a combination of it all causing me to feel the bike slide a bit. Would the weather clear up soon? Should I finally pull over now into the first town Ashland or continue to push my luck? I obviously chose the latter because I love taking risks. As the road descended, just on the other side of the median I saw a tractor trailer flipped on its side with a tow there for assistance. That could be me or it could be me under it so let us avoid riding near trailers whenever possible.

Weather finally cleared up again around Medford. Could this finally be the break in bad weather? Stay tuned. I stopped in Grants Pass for petrol and to my surprise I saw an In-N-Out. Temptation was strong, but I resisted since I still had too many hours to go. Now if you have never filled up in Oregon you may not be aware they still have people on standby to pump fuel for you. You do not have to leave your vehicle. They take your card, do the stuff at the pump, pump your gas, and might even clean your windows. In recent years they have allowed untrained persons to use fuel pumps now (HB2426), but as a foreigner it can still be an unexpected surprise. I opted for no help because motorcycle, but if I was in a motor vehicle I might indulge again. So back on the road with no food stop. I really wanted to make it to my destination before sunset. It gets dark out here, particularly in rural parts.

I-5 though parts of Oregon is great as it winds, ascends, and descends. I do not know that I will get used to open areas on either side of the interstate no matter how many times I go on road trips around the United States. I am sure I have mentioned this in a previous post, but it is such a stark difference from living in Southern California. Particularly near Los Angeles where everything is so clustered together you do not know where one city ends and another begins.

So anyway, it starts raining, again. I just want today to be over. I am cold, wet, and tired. Have I experienced this before? Perhaps a couple days ago? All I could think about is how did I do this ride in a straight shot in 2019? Los Angeles to Seattle in 26 hours with a power nap (saddled with my head down on the gas tank) in a gas station parking lot. It would have been shorter except for an overturned truck I had just missed on I-5 set me back a few hours. I suppose when you are young and dumb anything is possible. I am just dumber now. I finally made it my destination as the sun set. It all went (mostly) according to plan. Of course this was without any gas stops for me and only for the motorcycle. A lot of the ride is listening to music. Most songs on my playlist consist of top hits. I also watch the estimated time of arrival adjust on my Garmin as my speed fluctuates trying to make up for gas stops increasing it. I unpacked, settled in, and now it is time to rest.

p.s. I have no love for Redding. The other times I have passed through my helmet camera shutdown from it being too hot. This time it never stopped raining. There is no in between for me, only extremes.