I don't check the air in my tires as often as I should, and it was a good thing that I checked them before the trip because they were rather low.
On the way out of town, I filled them up.
Filling up the front tire is always easy. Just stick in the little nozzle and you are good to go.
The back one used to be a pain in the buttocks until I hit on the solution. I was trying to fasten the nozzle at the opening between the spokes. If I brought the nozzle through the upper part of the spokes it fit. Duh.
So filled with air, I was ready to set out. (is there a blonde joke in there somewhere? I am not even blonde.)
I set out and the trip to the coast was rather uneventful.
I did do much better on the curves. I picked my lines much better than the last time.
The Valley was hot and the wind that was blowing was hot.
It wasn't until Burnt Woods that I felt my first gust of cold air and it felt quite nice.
It was my intention to get some clam chowder, but I knew that Mo's in Newport was going to be packed, and didn't want to repeat my trip to Mo's West two times in a row.
So I decided to stretch out my trip and eat at the Casino.
It turns out that I should have eaten an Mo's West.
When I got to the Casino, I noticed a custom chopper next to a trailer in the RV parking but did not pursue the thought further. I should have because when I rounded the bend, I was presented with a billion motorcycles.
So Chinook Winds was having some kind have motorcycle rally and the parking spaces were taken up by booths of some kind and music.
Yay.
Now I get to park further back.
Rally's are really not my thing.
A get together of fellow Rebel owners are okay, but I have just enough social anxiety to be uncomfortable in large groups of people.
But there were a lot of nice motorcycles there.
On the way home I stopped at the gas station right next to Chinook Winds.
They were having problems with their pumps.
Not interested in waiting to find out that I wasn't going to get gas, I went to the next gas station on my side of the road.
It's quite a ways.
After filling up, I had an almost uneventful trip home.
At Blodget there is a convenience store and a road splitting off right in front of the store.
The store was on my right and there was a white van in the parking lot moving to get on the road.
There was a car in the split off road (what ever road it was) waiting to get on the highway I was on.
The van commanded my attention because it was moving.
When I had my permit, my Dad told me that everyone else on the road was only there to hit my vehicle, or to hit something that would hit me.
He said that was their job, otherwise they would be at home watching TV.
So according to that rule, the van was bound to hit me because it was moving.
Fortunately for me, most people are not good at their job, because I had slowed down (because she was moving) and she saw me at the last minute. So I swerved to the left a bit.
I am willing to bet that the lady in the van was startled.
Cars that pull out in front of you are a challenge because you don't know which way to swerve.
If they keep going in front of you, you can swerve to the right and pass behind them. If they stop you can swerve to the left and pass in front them.
It's like that Crusader at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. "You have chosen . . . poorly."
Choose poorly and you end up a statistic. Kind of makes a motorcyclist pay attention.
Ta!
Balisada
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