The Ride Day 6 – Back to the Coast
Posted 13th August 2008 at 08:07 by glh
The plan had been to head further north on Oregon and into Washington, but there was rain forecast for pretty much all of Washington and much of northern Oregon. In the morning I did a much needed load of laundry and walked over to the Harley dealer looking for a small tank bag with a map holder. After my wrong turn of the previous day I decided I really wanted a way to quickly glance at a map without having to stop the bike and unlock the saddlebags. These cheap Mutazu hardbags have proven their value, even supporting the bikes weight when the wind blew it over onto a guardrail, but the only way to close them is to lock them.
The dealer didn’t have any tank bags, and called around for me to no avail. They did recommend a motorsports dealer just to the north in Sutherlin. I was going to take 42 to the coast, but was told that 138 to 38 was a nicer ride, so off I went. The motorsports dealer didn’t have a tank bag that would fit, but I did pick up a good pair of mesh gloves. The route to the coast was nothing to write home about. I did spend some time chatting with a couple bikers from the Seattle area who were headed back north, one whose brother lives in Lompoc so he was familiar with the area I am from.
From Reedsburg on the coast down to Coos Bay I stopped at every motorsports dealer I saw, still looking for the elusive small tank bag. I finally lucked out in Coos Bay at a Suzuki Dealer. I then stopped at Arby’s for a long delayed meal. While there I pulled out my Eee PC and phone to check on hotel availability. I had thought to finish my day at Gold Beach since it seemed like it would be a fun place to spend a Friday night, but when I checked the Motel 6 I found they were already full. This was not a good sign. I didn’t want to stay at the same place as on the ride up since it was across the bridge from the town proper, and there weren’t all that many options in Gold Beach. I checked the Coos Bay Motel 6 and they had exactly one room left. I booked it from Arby’s, and when I arrived at the desk the lady was shocked to find I had a reservation.
I ended up walking next door to the Lounge at the Red Lion Inn. This was a pretty upscale place, but I can handle myself in a number of environments. After the noise and weirdness at the Motel 6, It was nice, if not exciting, to sit there and watch part of the Olympic opening ceremonies. I had an interesting conversation about computer systems and tech support protocols with a pilot of private jets.
The dealer didn’t have any tank bags, and called around for me to no avail. They did recommend a motorsports dealer just to the north in Sutherlin. I was going to take 42 to the coast, but was told that 138 to 38 was a nicer ride, so off I went. The motorsports dealer didn’t have a tank bag that would fit, but I did pick up a good pair of mesh gloves. The route to the coast was nothing to write home about. I did spend some time chatting with a couple bikers from the Seattle area who were headed back north, one whose brother lives in Lompoc so he was familiar with the area I am from.
From Reedsburg on the coast down to Coos Bay I stopped at every motorsports dealer I saw, still looking for the elusive small tank bag. I finally lucked out in Coos Bay at a Suzuki Dealer. I then stopped at Arby’s for a long delayed meal. While there I pulled out my Eee PC and phone to check on hotel availability. I had thought to finish my day at Gold Beach since it seemed like it would be a fun place to spend a Friday night, but when I checked the Motel 6 I found they were already full. This was not a good sign. I didn’t want to stay at the same place as on the ride up since it was across the bridge from the town proper, and there weren’t all that many options in Gold Beach. I checked the Coos Bay Motel 6 and they had exactly one room left. I booked it from Arby’s, and when I arrived at the desk the lady was shocked to find I had a reservation.
I ended up walking next door to the Lounge at the Red Lion Inn. This was a pretty upscale place, but I can handle myself in a number of environments. After the noise and weirdness at the Motel 6, It was nice, if not exciting, to sit there and watch part of the Olympic opening ceremonies. I had an interesting conversation about computer systems and tech support protocols with a pilot of private jets.
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