At about 9am on Sunday, Aug 16th, I left San Jose, 280 south to 680 north, over to 80 west, stopped in Suisun for gas and a quick snack. Back on 80 for a few miles, was going to take 505 north to I5 but there appears to be a big traffic jam on the interchange so I head on up to Dixon and cut across on a hwy 113, a small two lane black top, the last one of these I would see for a number of miles. Hit I5, the temp was up in 90's at least, cranked on the throtel and let the bike have its head.

Time to stop for gas again and a bottle of water for myself, stretch and hit the road again, soon I can see Mt Shasta in the distance, still covered in snow, it draws me onward.
As I head up grade into the Shasta lake area, I come up behind a group of Harleys, nice bikes, mostly women riders. I follow along behind for a while till there is break in traffic and then pull out around them, we exchange waves and I twist the throtel again and watch them dwindle in the rearview mirrors.

Soon its time for yet another gas stop. I find a small gas station/convinece store just off the interstate and pull in. About time to streatch the legs anyway. As I pull off my gloves I notice that my wrists are looking kind of red. Very red.. Appears I have a small gap between the selve of my jackets and my gloves. In addition to gas, water and snack I add a small bottle of sun screen to the bill. To late to prevent the burn, but I can at least stop it from getting worse. A check of the map and I decide that I can bypass my original destination of Redding for day and make it on it to Medford Oregon for the night. Mount up and off I go.

I pull into Medford about 6 that evening, There is nice selection of motles right at the off ramp, I spot a Travel Lodge and pull into the lot. Check the odometer, almost 400 miles exactly. Not bad for my first day on the road. After tossing my bags in the room and washing a few of the bigger bugs off me, I head out in search of food. I haven't really eaten all that much during the day. Just a couple of light snacks at the gas stops, so I am looking for something substantial in the way of fuel for myself. A quick question to the clerk at the desk and I am soon sitting down to a nice fried chicken dinner with a big slice of banna cream pie, ahhh now that hit the spot.

Up early, look out side. overcast and cold. Fortunatly don't have far to go. Down 205, over the Comlubia river and into the drizzle. 205 merges back into I5 and up the road about 30 minuntes to the first rest stop. Now I love Washington state rest stops. Each one is manned by a volunteer group that offers free coffee, tea and dounuts to travelers. An offer that I was more then willing to take them up on. As I am sipping on a cup of hot tea, trying to get some feeling back into my fingers, a guy pulls up on 650 enduro with a small pack on the back. We get to talking and it turns out he is from San Deigo and is on his way to Alaska. That quickly put my little jaunt into perspective. I finish up my tea, check my watch I better get moving. Its still cold and wet, and its not long till I start counting the miles to the next rest stop and the inviting warmth of another cup of tea. This one actually has fresh baked cookies! Just as I am pulling out again, with the feeling once again retored to my finger tips, I see the Alaska bound enduro pulling in. We wave and off I go in search of some fuel for the bike. A quick fill up (its not covered pumps) and on down the road to the next rest area and another cup of tea. This time the Alaska guy is ahead of me. That little bike can move. We ride out together this time and ride along together till my exit comes up. Wave good bye, and pull out the directions to my friends house. As I pull in they come out to see what the reacket is, the stock pipes may be 'quiet' but they are still loud enough to be heard in a quiet neighborhood. Since I am a little late, didn't plan on all those rest stops along the way, I unload the scoot and we hop in the car and head off to lunch.

After eating, I tag along into his work and get a tour of the Evil Empire's (aka Microsoft) offices. An impressive collection of building, complete with its own museum. The place is big enough to be its own town. After stocking up a few goodies at discount prices from the company store, we head back home and get down to some serious visiting.

Wednesday is spet doing the typical Toursity things, Seeing the water front, etc. While having lucnh on one of the piers I notice there is a ferry terminal with service to Victoria. Hmm I say to myself, Self? How about a nice ferry ride tomorrow straight to the island instead of taking the long way around up through Vancouver. Good Idea self! Lets do it! (or something to that effect anyway). Later that after noon we hop into their 4 wheler mountains to take in the sceanry and plink at a few cans. If it wasn't for all the rain up there I could seriously consider moving up here.

Another early day, pack up and head down the pier to catch the ferry, the Princess Margaritee They have special rates for motorcycle, and we even get to load first! I was a little concerned about dealing with customes, from other reports I have heard from some members, it is appearntly not unheard of to give bikers a bad time about crossing the boarder. So when the customes inspector came (Canadian) out to check things before loading, I was prepare with all the proper documents and ready for the worst. All he did was look at my pasport, ask me wheere I was going (Vancouver Island), Reason? (Family Reuinon), How long do you plan to stay? (4 days). Have a good trip. That was it!
The ferry pulls in, unloads and then loads us up. I was first on the ship, they directed me to park it up along the side of the hull where they have some ropes and a set of blocks. You just tie the bike off to some cleats on the bulkhead with the ropes and shove a couple of blocks under the wheels. Made sure it wasn't going to go anywhere, unless the weather got *very* rough, and headed up on deck. The cruise was up the sound was beautiful. I highly recomend this trip. Once we got into port in Victoria, I first off the ship and on my way again.

Crusing up Vancouver Island was one of the best parts of the trip. Lots of over looks out into the sound, lots of trees, light traffic. Just remember that the speed limit signs are in Kilometers per hour not Miles! The speed limits are lower then what we are used to here in the states as well. One other point worth mentioning is the price of gas is much higer and is measured by the liter instead of the gallon. I finaly pull into my final destination ,French Creek Cottages (about 100 miles) around 9pm that night. A whole day early.

Family stuff. Much fun was had by all. After all the reuniting was done, it was time to pack it up and head home again. First stop is back to Victoria, where I stayed with some family and checked out the ferry schedule for the next morning. On the recomendation of my cousin Gilbert, he rides and says that the west side of Puget Sound is well worth it. I decide to take the Blackball ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles Washington.

An early start and its off to the ferry terminalkAn early start and its off to the ferry terminal for tickets and customes. Turns out that the US Customes are taken care of when you exit the ferry instead of prior to boarding. Once again motorcycles are first on and parked right up front. Tie downs provided, but no blocks for the wheels. The cruise to Port Angeles is much shorter, which is just as well considering the price of food on the ship. The Blackball is not as nice as the Princess Margaritee, but it does the job. Once again, am first off the ship, customes on the U.S. side consists of a set of drive up booths. Rode up, inspector asked the typical Why, Where. How long questions, checkd my passport again, and said have a nice ride. First stop now is gas! I was already running on reserve when I started out this morning, but snce budget was important, I decided to push it and wait to gas up back in the U.S. for about 1/2 the price of what I would have paid in Canada. Once I'm all fuled up, its time to roll. Now Hwy 101 does some rather odd things in this part of the country. Since it follows the coast up and curves around back down along the sound, you actually have to take it North to go South towards Olympia. Once you get that figured out, its easy.

The ride down here is *definately* worth it. The road is mostly two lane black top, lots of overhanging trees and the occasional view of the sound. Stay on 101 all the way to its end, then a short hop, 12 miles, on WA-108 over to WA-8, 6 miles then to US-12, a stop for gas and lunch then 55 miles to I5 south. The nice part is over for awhile, I have two days to make it back to San Jose, so its time to put on some miles. At least the weather is nice this time, so I bypass the rest stops and hit Portland about 5:00 pm. I stop for more gas just before hitting the city then a little creative lane spliting here and there (not sure if its legal there or not) gets me through the wors of the rush hour traffic. Once through the city I open it up again and hit the wind. I don't think it ever stops blowing through here. At least this time I got to see the country side at the opposite angle. After a few more gas and stretch stops I roll into Roesburg (426 miles) around dark, find a motel with a vacancy sign and unload the bike and go in search of food. Is been a long day, started early and lots of wind. I fall into bed after dinner and get a good nights rest for tomorrow big finish.

Its up at 7, fuel up and go. The wind is not as bad this morning and the world is goes by at its normal orientation for a change. The sceanary improves today too, the ride through the mountains at the California border is also a nice ride. I was very happy with the Vulcan's performance on the steap grades, there was always plenty of power for passing when ever I wanted it. As soon as I hit California, the road construction started, and with each crew was a Highway Patrol car with a radar gun and a big sign reminding drivers that fines are doubled in construction zones. I make a point of staying with in the speed limit for a while.

Once out of the mountains, the tempeture soars back up into the 90s again. I make a point to stop at the rest stops along they way and have some water to keep hydrated. California rest stops tend to leave something to be desired. Those that aren't closed tend to be nothing more then a set of toilets and picnic table. At one of these stops I come across another dual purpose kawaski rider. Didn't catch the exact model, he had a small sleeping bag on the back and a back pack. He was coming back from Alaska, heading to Long Beach. Seems it got a bit too cold for him up there and the price of a hotel room was more then he cared to pay. I don't think he was cold now. Its about noon as I head back though Shasta again, originaly planning to grab a bit of fast food for lunch in Dunsmire and admire the view. A breif enquiry while getting some gas, informs me of my mistake. Turns out there is no fast food joints anywhere in town. Unless I want to take the time out for a regular sit down meal, I'll have to wait till I get Redding (50 miles) before I can eat. Good thing I packed some granola bars. I take the business route through Redding, figuring that there would be more places to eat along it then along the interstate itself. Wrong. Turns out they are all located where it loops back to meet up with I5 on the south end of the city again. While I was stoped anyway, I topped off the tank and checked the map. 240 miles down, another 260 to go. Another 130 miles down I5, I hit reserve just as I am pulling on to I-505. Looking at the empty road ahead I start wishing I had stopped for gas a bit earlier. Nothing for it now, I know there are some stations at the I-505/80 interchange, so I cross my fingers and keep the speed down to something reasonable head on down the road. Its a rather nice section of highway. not a lot of traffic and in good condition. A rareity for california interstates. I make it I-80 amd start keeping an eye out for gas station all the time expecting to come to a suttering stop anytime now. By the time I finaly roll into a station I have 170 miles on the odometer. It takes 4.2 gallons to fill the tank, thats cutting it a little closer then I like. With a sigh of releif and a full tank of gas I haed on the final leg home. I-80 to 680 south, across the Martinez bridge and right into some serious traffic. Bay area rush hour traffic is not the most fun at the best of times, its even less so after a 400 plus miles in the saddle, the last 100 miles is almost as much work as the first 400 was. I finaly pull into home around 7 that night. It was long day, and I am tired. But I it feels good.

This was a new record of number of miles in one day for me and the trip marked a milestone in my riding career. I now think nothing of a 200 mile more or more day trip, and am definately looking forward to taking more vacations on the bike. Even though I was pressed for time most of the trip and stuck mostly to the interstates, the trip was still extreamly enjoyable. I thought I would miss having some sort of entertainment along the way, Even brought along a walkman with a set of low profile head phones. Decided very quickly that it was more of a distraction then it was worth. I much prefered just the sound of the bike and the privacy of my thoughts. I did make a few observations about my bike on the trip though.

1. The stock seat is good for about 300 miles. then it gets really hard. I have now replaced the seat with a Mustang Wide Nostalgic.
2. No windscreen really takes it toll on you when running 85 mph for hours on end. I now have the Fire & Steel V-Force windscreen installed
3. Keeping your alternate riding gear handy is a good idea. I found having it in a sperate bag strapped to the back worked out really well. It made hot to cold weather gear swaps easy and quick.
4. Carry plenty of water and something to snack on. Never know when the next food stop will be.
5. Always know where your next gas stop is and have an alternate one picked out in case your first choice doesn't pan out.