Monday, September 23rd
Well we are in Bodega Bay. Stopped to spend a couple of days to slow down our trip South. We
can't be at Big Sur until Wed.
The trip has been smooth and trouble free. Had to get the oil changed today. I believe we
are near 4000 miles so far.
My friend Don Basta was curious about the price of gas. In Washington it was $1.39 per
gallon for mid grade. In Oregon it was about the same. When we hit Calif (on the coast) it
went to $2.05 per gallon on highway 1. Yikes Glad we have a smaller truck. We are now in
Bodega Bay and its $1.69. An interesting fact is that in Oregon you cannot pump your own gas.
The attendants really get upset if you do. They have some kind of law that protects jobs.
Really interesting because the price of the gas does not reflect the added labor.
Speaking of Oregon, does anyone know why they have speed limit signs in Oregon?? Seems the
drivers forget the speed limit and the signs remind them to speed up !! It is really weird.
The speed limit is 55, then they slow to 50, next 45 WAIT there's a sign, back to 55.
Go figure. Now when there is a passing lane, wham from 40 to 70 to make sure no one passes
them then back to 50. Marjie says it's like they are driving in the snow all of time. The
drivers in Oregon are terrible.
Marjie and I were / are amazed at all of the motorcycles and motorcycle shop we've seen on this trip. If a town has a population of at least 1500 you can bet there is a HD dealer or a custom motorcycle shop in or very near it.
When we were campin in te rain forest of the Olympic Peninsula at the Sol Duc camp ground, we were looking through a gift shop and found a lady wearing a Harley's House of Harleys (Oceanside) t-shirt. We were pretty amazed and started up a conversation with her. It turns out her daughter lives in San Marcos and had sent her the shirt. Anyway, we found out that she and her husband ride an electra glide. She said that in the Washington area, most riders use electric vests and full leathers (chaps and heavy jackets). They can ride about 80% of the time. They do expect to get wet and cold but bundle up as required.
Now as for what type of bikes. In Washington, Harleys are the bike of choice. I saw one Roadstar like ours while we were there but that was about it. A few sport bikes but very few. There are HD dealers everywhere you go.
In Oregon Harleys are still the most popular with a lot of Kawasakis ?? thrown in. The Drifter seems to be the most popular Kawi. Saw a lot of those. Did not see any sport bikes up there. Also, the gas station folks will let a bike rider pump his own gas. In a car, no way.
In Ca. In Northern CA, we saw a lot of Harleys again. However, when we got onto Highway 1 in Northern CA, BMWs were all over the place. Couldn't figure this one out till we got closer to the bigger cities. The riders are the people from Santa Rosa etc etc. They are the "Engineer" type that also drive BMW cars I bet. You could just tell it by looking at them. Now we are in the Central CA area and BMWs are still the common bike. BMWs and the BMW gortex riding outfit. Frank otta like that :}
A couple of things we noticed that pertained to all of the areas. There are a lot of ladies riding their own bikes. It is rather common place (too cool). The riders are very friendly and even wave back to idiots like me riding in a car. These bike riders in the North country really enjoy riding. It really shows. The average age is probably mid fifties. Most Harleys are pretty much stock and very clean. I have not seen one bad rider yet. All of the riders are taking it easy and drive really smoothly. A great bunch of people.
When Marjie and I were in Coos Bay, we drove past a HD dealer and just had to stop in. I wanted a Coos Bay HD Tshirt. Big dealership. Larger than San Diego Harley. We were greated by everyone in the store with a friendly good morning. By the time we left, Heather (the sales lady) was almost adopted by us. Everyone was very friendly with no typical Harley attitude. They did not have any new bikes on the floor but they did have several used soft tails. The prices are about $3k less than in CA. Also, no sales tax in Oregon. Hmmmm
When we left, they all wanted Marjie and I to come back for a Lighthouse Run which is occuring next month. Hey Jeff, you up for a looong ride ????? (just kidding)
Marjie and I think the "bikers" in Wash and Oregon don't seem to be a threat to the people and the stereotype of "The Biker" is non existant. We would be very surprised if there are any motorcycle gangs in these area at all. Amazing considering the number of bikes up there. I would venture a guess that the number of motorcycles per population unit is higher in Wash and Oregon than in CA.
Anyway, these are a few observations we made. Now it's off to do some bird watching.
ron and marjie