The next few posts are catch-up. I took a few photos as we rode, but not a lot, and I didn’t blog along the way. We camped part of the time, and cell service3 and wifi were in short supply, so the laptop mostly stayed in its sleeve until we got home. As a result, I’ve probably forgotten more than I remember, but I’ll give it a go, and will probably update as I/we remember moments of interest.
This was “The Master Plan”
The day before leaving I’d noticed that my ABS light was coming on at around 40km and staying on a bit before going off again. I called up Burnaby Kawi and brought it in for a quick look. Andi cleaned the sensor and figured that was the problem. Bottom line was that the worst thing that could go wrong with that not working is thatI’d have no antilock braking…not that I’ve ever engaged it except when I bought the bike and wanted to know what ABS felt like on a bike. So not a real safety issue if it decided to quit working. Kirk topped up the fluid reservoir and we called it a day. Hans arrived after dinner and we enjoyed an evening talking about roads and bikes. We also gave him back the bungee cords that he’d used to keep my luggage from self-ejecting a third time …. nine years ago (see Self ejecting Luggage – Part 2 for that story) .
Day one saw us out the door in the morning, gone by around 7:30am. A quick run into the Village to fill up, and a reminder to the other two parties that I am the weak link where fuelling is concerned….I can only go about 230km on a tank of gas because my bike is less efficient and runs at higher rpms at pretty much any speed. When I reach about 200km I am actively worrying about finding a gas station. If I hit 220km…I’m pretty much starting to panic. I really don’t like that blinking amber gas tank icon…. Both Kirk and Hans have about 100km more range on a similar volume of gas compared to the Ninja…..the bikes are all clearly made for slightly different purposes.
We booked it out to the Sumas border crossing and Kirk abandoned Hans and I to the regular lane while he took the Nexus lane. We caught up with him at the gas station down the road where I realized that the front brake fluid reservoir was leaking because Kirk had overfilled it a bit and the heat from he bike was pushing it out. Quick fix and on our way.
I took the lead and headed off down Kendall Road and onto hwy WA542, and then onto hwy WA9 to Sedro Wooley. I should have put on another layer; despite it being 17C when we left, it was a cold ride along the forested roads. At Sedro Wooley we field and put on another layer and I changed into warmer gloves, I don’t like shivering while riding.
Then it was time for the first real bit of fun….Washington State Route 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway, or simply SR20. It’s a 140 mile (225km) stretch of beautiful scenery that extends from Sedro Wooley to Twisp. I can do it on a tank of gas, but it’s tight and I have to fill up at each end. I’ve done it on this bike before, so I knew I had enough fuel to make it…but no more.
We stopped a couple of times along the way to stretch and drink some water.
I wanted to stop at the Diablo lookout, and I thought Kirk had missed it because I recalled it being after a bridge. We turned around and went down a road that led to a learning centre…..but it was not the right road. Even so, it was an interesting ride across the Diablo dam and the wind was wicked. After a brief break and a consult on the map, it was back across the dam, which we’d thought was one way because it was so narrow….but apparently not…and it was interesting to go past. couple of vehicles heading against us…not sure what two trucks passing might have looked like…or if someone would have ended up backing up.
We found the right turnoff and looked out over the lake/reservoir, it’s beautiful spot and we could see the dam we crossed far below.
The road then took us to a lookout above the hairpin corner that drops down into the cooker of a valley below and eventually into Winthrop, a crazy little theme town that has covered boardwalks and an old western flair. The mountains on the other side of the valley created the most amazing ridge and it was such a cool sight along the road before getting to the rest stop. The photos don’t do the original view any justice.
A quick refuel and we headed out of Winthrop and down towards our destination of Bridgeport and the Bridgeport State Park Campground. One wrong turn along the way, and a short stop to stand in the water at a boat launch to cool off because the heat was so oppressive, made more so by the gear and the heat of the bikes, and eventually we found our way to the campground. The landscape along the way was dry, sun-bleached, and desert-like and we were all a little concerned that the campground would be on an open desert but it was a lovely green and treed park with plenty of shade alongside the river.
Along the way we passed the Chief Joseph Dam and the associated salmon hatchery….no one let me stop …. any of the several times we passed it. Sitting on the edge of the concrete ponds was a Northwest Marine Technologies marking trailer, something we newly have a few of in SEP.
We set up camp, found a Mexican restaurant back in town to have dinner at (huge portions and low cost), and then relaxed back at the campsite until we turned in for the night.
And this is what the first day ended up looking like….