Victoria BC, the l..o..n..g way (Trip Report)
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infinity&beyond · 08-06-2002, 07:05 PM

Here it is!

Who: Me, 36 and my DB, 47
Where: Sacramento to Victoria BC
Why: Get some miles on my new motorcycle, and go to the Vintage Chevrolet Club Northwest Meet

I like to get an early start on my vacations, but this was definitely the exception. By the time we got our motorcycles packed up to go it was about 2:00 in the afternoon. After we roll the bikes out of the driveway, gear up and get gas and it’s about 2:30 when we actually hit the freeway and start heading north. Yeah! We’re on our way!

When riding motorcycles, you have to stop every 150 miles or so for gas and to rest your weary hind end. So our first break was in Chico. With the thermometer past 100, we are feeling pretty warm in our armored jackets and full helmets. Lots of water and some fun discussion with our friends at Ozzie’s BMW in Chico and we’re ready for the next leg of the trip. We fill up with gas and continue North….shouldn’t it be getting cooler?

Nope, we come into Redding after 5pm and the thermometer reads 105! There is another motorcycle at the gas station and we talk with the driver. He is coming down from Oregon and tells us that it has been pretty hot up his way. We break the bad news that it only gets worse, but at least the sun is headed down.

Once we leave Redding it’s like we are on a different road! We’ve left the flat valley and are headed up into the redwoods and pine forests. The road twists and we head up a couple of thousand feet in the next couple of hours, until we get to Weed. This is actually a pretty nice town, with snow-capped Mount Shasta towering over it. The Hi-Lo Motel is calling our name, so we drop our gear off, lock up the bikes and walk over to the café for an awesome dinner! This is one of those places on the old highway that hasn’t changed for decades. I’m a sucker for old neon and cheesy placemats! We both have the potatoes covered with veggies and cheese and served with a side of salsa. Too bad we didn’t split our entrée or we might have had room for dessert! The man at the bar told us that they have the best pies in the County. Suppose we’ll have to wait for the trip back to find out. The man at the bar also shared a cute joke with us:

A woman from the backcountry goes to a mall and discovers this fantastic gadget called a thermos. The woman who sells it to her tells her that it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold. Well, she takes it home and invites her sister over to see her new gadget. Her sister is so impressed that it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold. She asks “What did you put in it?” The sister responds, “An ice cream cone and a pot of coffee.”

Okay, it’s not that funny, but you had to be there.

Tomorrow: the search for another four-letter town where we can spend th

PS - I LUV WDW · 08-06-2002, 07:15 PM

Thanks for posting! I just called my DH in to see this as I knew what his reaction would be to 1) your travels on a motorcycle and 2) the Vintage Chevrolet Club. It was a big 'Oh yea!'

Can't wait to hear more!

infinity&beyond · 08-07-2002, 11:25 AM

Day 2
We have to have breakfast at the Hi-Lo Café in the morning, and the return trip is just as good (oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon!) Then we fill up with gas and head on to our next destination. Here is where we turn off the main highway (so long I-5, yippeee!!) and start on the smaller highways headed to Crater Lake. Aha! Up ahead is the sign I’ve been waiting for “Welcome to Oregon.” I pull over, and my boyfriend pulls up too. We take the very important pictures of us, our motorcycles, and the sign (while 18 wheelers barrel past at 70mph) and then we are back on the bikes!

Oregon is beautiful, and it surprises me again to see how much of a desert environment it is on the Southern side. We stop for gas and I forget how weird it is that you can’t pump your own gas. Fortunately, motorcyclists are allowed to, but a person still comes over and hands me the gas nozzle and takes my credit card. So this is where all the old gas pumps went that don’t have the self-serve credit card things!

I want to have lunch at the rim of Crater Lake, so we head up the mountain. Cool, switchbacks and beautiful views on two wheels! It is a beautiful as in the pictures, except since the entire state is on fire practically, the visibility is weird…like looking through a faded lense. We are taking pictures, and I’m wearing my “Women on Wheels” t-shirt. A couple come up and the woman asks what chapter I belong to. It ends up she is a member of a chapter in Illinois! We chat for a while and then we walk along the rim to the lodge. Another thing I’m a sucker for is National Park Lodges (Wilderness Lodge is a pretty darn good replica!) and this one doesn’t disappoint. Too bad the restaurant is already closed for lunch, I wanted to eat there but didn’t want to wait until 5:00 for dinner. So we go to the snack bar and have something forgettable. On our way back to the motorcycles, we head down a trail to the look out. It is really neat! We spot wizard island and the ghost ship, and then things get really difficult to see because the smoke is filling up the crater. It’s time to head on, so we get geared up and start heading down the hill. Now I’m a little nervous because my fuel light has come on and there doesn’t seem to be another gas station for at least 20 miles! Well, I decided to slow down a little, and at 180 miles on the tank we finally find a gas station! Yeah!

Just another 20 miles and we find another town with four letters in its name, Bend. There is this adorable little old hotel (yeah, it’s got the cool neon thing going on, too!) called the Pine Lodge, with these little log cabin rooms, so we get a room and unpack the bikes. I’m not in the mood for going out after the long day of riding and hiking, so pizza delivery is definitely the plan!

Tomorrow: Switching two wheels to four!

GoofyMom · 08-07-2002, 01:10 PM

So far, so cool! Loving this TR! Can't wait for more. [img]graemlins/puter.gif[/img]

infinity&beyond · 08-07-2002, 06:18 PM

Day 3
Cold leftover pizza for breakfast (my favorite) and we are on the last leg of our trip to Lebanon, Oregon where we’ll meet up with friends and drop off our motorcycles. We take Highway 20, which is nice and twisty and goes through beautiful forests. I love it on my quick and maneuverable Ducati, my boyfriend on his big BMW isn’t so happy with it. We arrive in Lebanon about noon, and park our bikes in front of “The Filling Station,” the business our friends own (they sell vintage GM parts). Everyone oohs and ahhs over our bikes, and we take a walk through the tiny downtown in search of lunch.

We end up in a Mexican restaurant and who should walk by but the mayor of Lebanon, (and the brother-in-law of our friends). He comes in and we spend the next hour or so discussing small-town politics, including the battle over the expansion of the local Wal-Mart.

Back at the Filling Station, it’s time to get the old cars ready for the trip. A 1954 Bel Air Sedan will be our ride, and a 1931 Chevrolet sedan is coming along as well. Finally, there is the 1968 Buick. Air in the tires? Oil levels checked? Give it a good washing! Now let’s get it packed.

We packed light, being on motorcycles, but I couldn’t believe all the things they stuck in those cars…including a SPARE TRANSMISSION! Perhaps I should have sensed the impending problems, old cars aren’t exactly reliable but at least they are easy to work on.

We ride over to our friends’ house. They have a fantastic Victorian that they have beautifully restored, filled with antiques and old family heirlooms. I can just browse around there for hours! We lock our bikes up in the garage and finish getting ready for the trip. Pizza for dinner, (can’t have too much pizza!) And then it’s off to bed, because the cars are going to be on the road at 8am tomorrow!

Tomorrow: See the USA in our Chevrolet! (Or at least the side of the highway)…