Southern Exposure

Monday & Tuesday, November 17-18

We moved slightly down the road from Fontana to Carlsbad to visit my cousin Elizabeth and her family. They were kind of enough to put us up for two nights in their beautiful home. It was nice to catch of with family I don’t get to see very often. I even got to give my cousin-nephew(?) Christopher a ride on the motorcycle. Unfortunately his parents wouldn’t let us take him with us. Thank you so much Elizabeth and David for your hospitality.

Instead of relaxing during the day at their home, we spent the day running a seemingly endless series of errands. I think we’re in a consumer preparation overload. We keep thinking of supplies to pick. We even thought we were done at the end of the day when we spotted an REI and were sucked in to buy some insect repellent for the mosquito net. I look forward to being out of the preparation phase of the trip and to be doing rather than preparing.

We had the bureaucratic snafu of the trip. When I did an advance renewal of the vehicle registration for the bikes, the clerk renewed the registration twice for the same bike and not at all for the blue bike. Thanks, clerk. I should have noticed it earlier, but with identical bikes the registrations vary little. I slept poorly Sunday night wondering if I would have to fly back to Seattle, but with a few phone calls and a document scan & email, we were set. My good friend Tim went and picked up a proper registration and overnighted it to us in Carlsbad. Thanks Tim – that was a great save.

Saturday, November 15

Today was our final stop for bike maintenance. I had ordered some parts to my friend Steve’s house in Fontana, where we were staying. The bike have new chains and sprockets. We went shopping at the Chaparral motorcycle store and I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was as big as a WalMart but entirely dedicated to motorcycle parts.

Despite the thousands of tires on hand, I couldn’t find a satisfactory matching pair of tires. In the end I decided to put Continental TKC-80s on the rear and Bridgestone Trailways 42s on the front. I already had one TCK-80 on the rear of my blue bike, and have been very happy with it. I bought two extra TKC-80s to take with us on the trip, which should allow us quite some range before we have to find a new rear tire.

Running these errands took most of the day. My friend Adam drove in from LA so we had dinner at Steve’s and then spent the night playing Rock Band with a full set of instruments. We even had Inna singing the songs she knew. I’ll have to get this setup when we get back to Seattle.

Friday, November 14

Only five days into our trip, and I already feel the demanding effects of riding the bike for hours on end. Not only do I constantly feel the nagging pain in my neck, back and sit bones (though I count on the muscles to adapt soon due to daily “training”), we are always at the mercy of environmental and road conditions which could change at any minute, exposing us to some extreme unexpected situations.

Coming down 154 into Santa Barbara

Today started out nicely as we rode through mountainous parts of sunny Southern California on the way to a friend’s house in Fontana, 50 miles East of LA. The beginning of the ride down 101 was quite the change from the beginning of the trip. The thermometer on Matt’s bike showed 91 degrees. We cut the corner on 101 by taking Hwy 154. We had heard there were fires in Santa Barbara, and as we rode we passed probably 50 fire tracks going the opposite direction. We rejoined 101, then took Hwy 126 to I-5 to I-210 to try to avoid the Friday evening LA rush hour traffic.

We were traveling on I-210 East, and, as in previous days, were breaking the first rule of motorcycle travel by riding in the dark. We weren’t concerned as we were on a well lit, big interstate. At about 7 pm and with only 10 miles left to go, we passed a highway sign that warned about the “gusty winds ahead.” The minute I read the sign, out of nowhere a severe gust picked up my bike and threw me into the next lane of traffic missing by a foot colliding with a passing car. Blood rushed into my head and my whole body got covered in adrenaline sweat as I tried to get back into my lane gripping to the bike for dear life. Struggling to fight the wind and stay in my lane, I prayed to my deceased mother for help. Tears were rolling down my face, and as I weeped loudly, it was Matt’s words of encouragement via the intercom that kept me from giving into the absolute panic. It seemed almost impossible to be able to cross the four lines of traffic to get off this damned road without being blown into the passing cars. We kept waiting for the right moment, and finally on Matt’s command safely merged to the exit and got off the freeway. After a short windy ride through the streets we were finally at the destination.

As soon as I got off the bike and took my helmet off, I started crying again, this time from being happy to be alive, totally shaken up by the this horrifying experience. I hugged Matt tightly not wanting to let go as if seeking assurance that the ordeal was over, and thankful that both of us made it through this hellish ride in one piece.

The next day we found out that 30-50 mph winds with 70mph gusts were responsible for the huge fires in LA that destroyed hundreds of homes.

Thursday, November 13

We awoke on this morning to what we desired most: sunshine. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was already almost 70 degrees. After the cold and wet days prior, this really lifted our spirits.

We headed west on Highway 68 to Monterey. We rode past Laguna Seca and after all the years of going to the races there, it was strange to see it deserted and locked. We headed south on Highway 1 to Big Sur. It’s easy to see why this is considered one of the most scenic drives in the country. The sun, the surf, and the twisting roads are hard to beat.

I learned a good lesson while taking the above picture. The bikes are heavily loaded, so they sit lower than normal, which means that while they’re on the kickstand, they are more vertical than normal. I parked with the kickstand on an upslope and a strong gust of wind knocked the bike over. Tipover #1. Lesson learned.

My parents’ friends in Pismo Beach, the Buchers, had sent us a fantastic email recommending stops along coast. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide. Our first stop on the list was lunch in Big Sur. The first restaurant recommended, Cielo, had burned down, so we went to #2 on the list, Nepenthe. It’s hard to imagine how this was the second choice. We were seated at a bar overlooking the coast, and it was perhaps the best view I’ve ever had at a restaurant. We treated ourselves to a glass of wine at lunch and had an excellent meal. We didn’t have too many miles to go today, so relaxed and soaked up the sun and view.

Our next stop on the coast was Sand Dollar Beach. When you park, you can’t see this beach from the parking lot. We haven’t worked out a good system for leaving the bikes unattended, so we took it on faith that our hike down to the beach in our riding gear, carrying our helmets and tank bags would be rewarded.

What an amazing beach. Another hidden gem on the California coast. We parked our gear amongst the rocks and had a nice walk on the beach. The tide was out, so beach area was quite expansive. The surf break far out past the rocks and made for a great soundtrack to our walk. I would have loved to have been able to spend a day and picnic here, but we still had many miles of gorgeous coastline ahead of us.

Our final stop of the day was at the elephant seal beach. Since they were protected as an endangered species, the elephant seals have established a colony on this beach, and we were lucky enough to catch them there in large numbers. The males are huge, as big as a horse. The seals were hard at work sleeping in piles on the beach. It was quite comical to watch a big seal roll over on top of a smaller seal and see the effects ripple through the pile as they all struggle for a new position.

We continued down the coast until we reached our destination in the Pismo Beach area. The Buchers were gracious enough to offer us their hospitality, and they took fantastic care of us. Their home up in the hills was magnificent. Jeff & Mary took wonderful care of us, and we had an enjoyable evening drinking wine, telling stories, and eating Jeff’s delicious spaghetti carbonara. Thanks so much Jeff & Mary! I hope one day we can visit again and try their wine made from their vineyard behind the house. I hope the sticky buns shop is still around when we come back.

We tried to talk Jeff into trading his car for our bikes, but no deal. Jeff said our bikes were just too nice and he couldn’t bear to take advantage of us like that.

The last two days on the road have not been easy. Tuesday morning, we started out from Crescent City, CA, heading South on 101 through the redwoods. The scenery would have been enjoyable if not for the constant rain, wind and fog, that pretty much lasted all day with various degrees of intensity, making me wish I was cozied up with a cup of hot chocolate somewhere by the fireplace. The one thing that kept my spirits up was our scheduled visit with the Original Adventure Rider, the man who inspired generations of motorcycle adventurers, the author of “Jupiter’s Travels” – Ted Simon. We were introduced to Ted by a mutual friend (Hi John!) about six months ago, when Ted was visiting Seattle on a promotional tour for his recent book. We invited him for dinner at our house, and after a few bottles of wines, a few rounds of vodka shots, some good laughs and stories we felt like we received a proper blessing for our trip from the maestro. Before leaving on the trip we contacted Ted and were extremely excited to be invited to visit him on our way down.

After a quick lunch in Eureka we were on our way to Ted’s. The road conditions were getting worse with every hour. Our last stretch of 30 miles of twisty narrow road off 101 was a rider’s nightmare. While it was only 5 pm, we were riding in complete darkness, the fog and the rain were so severe that we could not see more than a few feet in front of us. Matt was leading, we were going very slow, struggling to stay on the slippery road and make the tight corners; on top of all the hazards, a few times we encountered a deer on the side of the road completely oblivious to our troubles. It felt like the road was never going to end, but it did, and we finally made it to Ted’s land.

We stayed up till midnight eating Ted’s “poor man’s stew”, drinking $2.99 red wine (which tasted better than many Bordeaux wines I’ve had) and enjoying spirited conversation. All in all the day ended on high note, and we felt vindicated by our good fortune.

The next morning we hit the road, and yet again encountered a technical problem, this time with the GPS that refused to turn on. We stopped in a smaller stoner’s town called Willits in Mendocino County where Matt spent a few hours trying to fix the problem, and on the phone with the GPS manufacturer without positive results. Even though we had a significant layover dealing with it, we weren’t able to make contact with our friends living in town. Sorry Erika & Jerod! We decided to keep going in order to make it past San Francisco that day. In the afternoon, we finally enjoyed some sunshine and were happy to take the many layers of clothes off for the first time. We met a friend for dinner in San Jose (Hi Daryl!) and finished the day at Salinas. I hope our luck with the weather has turned. Tomorrow should be a pleasant day!

Other than the custom seats, the best KLR upgrade I made by far is the heated grips. With just a flick of a switch on the dash, my hands go from freezing cold to toasty warm. The last 500 miles of cold and rain would have been a far less pleasant experience without them. I think they were all of $30.

We’re 0 for 2 on easy starts to the day’s riding. We got early to hit the road only, the bikes were loaded, helmets were on, only to find that the key would not turn in the ignition on either bike. Frustrating to say the least. I sprayed lubricant judiciously in the keyhole, furiously jiggled the key to no avail. On the red bike, the key wouldn’t even fully insert.

Out of options, I called a locksmith. Fortunately we were able to get back into our room while we waited. The locksmith arrived and had no real answers as to the cause. He used a pick and other tools to inspect the lock and it didn’t seem damaged. He ended up using a hammer and pliers for 20 minutes to force the keys into the lock and turn the keys. It was a bit annoying to pay $70 for something I could have done myself, but if the key had broken off in the lock I couldn’t have fixed it. Having all the tools at hand allows one to take more risks.

Needless to say, this was not a confidence inspiring experience in Kawasaki lock quality. The locksmith and I both theorized that the bikes had been maliciously tampered with, because it’s amazing that both locks had the same problem at the same time. It was a miserable, cold rain overnight though, and I can’t imagine someone bothering. I’ll have to get the locks looked at in LA.

We finally got on the road at noon. The upside of the delay was that we missed most of the rain while we were waiting for the locksmith. The clouds were low and broken in interesting patterns over the hills and mountains. Sadly, I broke the cardinal rule of the trip and didn’t take any pictures today. The view was nice, but stopping on I-5 was not an option.

We stopped for lunch in Roseburg, OR. The section of I-5 between Roseburg and Grants Pass was really beautiful, twisting through the mountain passes draped in low clouds. It was a great break from the monotony of the previous 150 miles of straight line slabbing.

In Grants Pass, the sun set as we exited onto Hwy 199. It was a great 2 lane road through redwood forests. Too bad it was already dark out and we couldn’t see anything. This was the coldest day of the trip so far, hovering in the upper 40s and low 50s. We ended the day in Crescent City, CA, for a day’s ride of 307 miles.

After plenty of last minute tasks with a blown fuse thrown in for good measure, we finally made our departure this afternoon. It’s been a long time coming after all the talk and all the planning, but it felt good to finally lock the door and get on the bikes.

It was a typical November day in Seattle, 50s with a very light rain. Since we left at such a late time, we have only made it to Woodburn, OR, just over 200 miles. We’re past the Portland commute traffic, so tomorrow morning’s departure should be easy.

It hasn’t really sunk in yet how many more miles are ahead of us, but the journey has begun.

Just over a week to go before our scheduled departure, and I still have all of these bits and pieces to work with. The Red Star needs new handlebars, heated grips, a center stand, and Acerbis handguards. Both bikes get new, sealed batteries. The rest pictured is the to-be-mounted tool tubes, medical kits, a mosquito net, and spare levers.

Welcome to the blog of Matthew Thorn and Inna Shmelyova.  Here we intend to document our motorcycle adventure trip from Seattle, WA, USA to the southern most tip of the world, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.  Leaving our dear Seattle home and friends behind, we depart the day following the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, and head south on and along our companions two Kawasaki 650 KLR’s.  Join us!