Thursday, August 17, 2017

Chasing the 2017 eclipse

On August 21 there will be a total eclipse of the sun in a 60 mile wide path from Oregon to North Carolina. Northwestern Nebraska is in the path, and I intend to meet sister Vanya and daughter Vanya there, along with Big Vanya's friend, Michael, and his sister. Naturally, I plan to travel there by motorcycle - my BMW R1150R.

My departure on Wednesday, August 16 began inauspiciously when the bike wouldn't start. Although the bike has a new battery, it had been sitting for several weeks, so I thought that might be the problem. My Weego portable starter battery wasn't fully charged, but the bike did eventually start and I was off across the Golden Gate bridge and east on Highway 37 to Vallejo. Traffic wasn't bad on I-80 and I went north on I-505 to Winters (about 90 miles from home), where I stopped for gas, only to have the bike refuse to start, although it did eventually. I decided to return home and switch to the Suzuki. When I arrived, I parked and checked the voltage, which was good, although the engine turned over very slowly and the voltage dropped to under 8 volts when the starter was engaged - not good. I called Sean, an independent BMW mechanic who has been looking after the bike, and he said to bring it down to his shop in Redwood City and he'd take a look at it. When I got there and turned off the engine, it started up just fine. He put a voltmeter on the battery and started the bike up about 10 times, and it started right away every time and the voltage never dropped below 10 volts when the starter was engaged, which is about right. He said to have a good trip, and I went to a nearby IHOP restaurant for a late lunch and to ponder what to do. If I returned home and swapped bikes, I would lose an entire day, so I decided to continue with the R and hope for the best. By this time it was 4 PM and traffic was building up. I split lanes through the Central Freeway maze in San Francisco, and part of the Bay Bridge, and again through Berkeley and Richmond. By the time I got to Davis the traffic wasn't that bad, and I had a good ride through Auburn, Truckee, and all the way to Fernley, arriving at 9:30 PM. My motel reservation in Lakeview, OR went to waste. I got the last room at a Super 8 in Fernley (I'd called from a rest area on I-80), and when I arrived I asked the clerk why they were so busy. She replied that they'd been busy all summer - the new Tesla battery factory is under construction nearby, so a lot of the workers stay at the motel and other motels in the area. She also said that Toyota and (I think) Nissan are building facilities in the area. (490 miles)

Thursday, August 17. The breakfast at the Super 8 featured scrambled eggs, but only frozen waffles and not the make them yourself kind. The bike started just fine, and continued to start right away all day, although the starter seems to make more noise than I'm used to. This may be my imagination - yesterday Sean said that it sounded normal. In Winnemucca I exited for gas and turned north on US 95 to the Oregon border, where I stopped at a casino for lunch. The weather was pleasant all morning - 80 to 85 degrees. It would warm to 90 or so later in the day, but for mid-August I can't complain. US 95 in northern Nevada is bleak desert and there is a fair amount of traffic - no other north-south roads nearby. Passing isn't a problem, and the cars and big rigs move right along, but it isn't like US 50. The road becomes slightly more interesting in Oregon with a few hills, some 4500 foot passes, and even a few curves. I stopped in Jordan Valley for gas and soon entered Idaho. In Oregon there were more ranches and even a few farms, and once in Idaho there were more farms and greener landscape. In Murphy, ID I turned south on ID 78, which was a pleasant and mostly deserted ride to ID 67 where I went east to Mountain Home AFB and then to Mountain Home, ID where I'm spending the night at the Hilander Motel. At one time a steakhouse and swimming pool were part of the motel, but both are now defunct. Dinner (a taco salad) at nearby Grinde's Cafe was good, and the place does a lot of drive up ice cream business. For future reference...

 

The 50s era sign for the Hilander is the best part of the motel. That, and the avocado and almond color scheme for the bathroom tile and fixtures. (449 miles)

(August 18, Friday) After a cup of bad coffee at the motel I headed east on US 20, intending to find a cafe on the road. This turned out to be optimistic, as the first place that offered food was a gas station/general store/burger place in Carey, about 100 miles down the road. Still, it was a nice ride over Cat Creek summit (5600 feet) and there was little traffic on the road. I left at 8 and it was 60 degrees, so I wore my heavier gloves and the jacket liner. After breakfast (they still had a breakfast biscuit sandwich at the Exxon station where I stopped) I continues in US 20 and turned off at Craters of the Moon National Monument. I did the quick 7 mile loop and took a picture, but I'd been there before with Andrew so there was no need to explore more thoroughly.
 

After a gas stop in Arco I stayed on 20 to Idaho Falls, where I stopped for lunch, and then rejoined US 26 to Swan Valley, a serene and beautiful vacation and ranch area. Many years ago Andrew and I rode down into Swan Valley from Jackson, and I thought that it was the most lovliest place I'd ever seen.  US 26 continues past the Palisades Reservoir until it hits US 89, where I turned south. There was a lot of traffic, mostly going north towards Jackson, Teton National Park, and Yellowstone, but it moved along at the limit and the R bike has plenty of power for passing. It's a scenic ride with several towns along the way, one of which is Edna, where Freedom Arms is located. If you've read the Joe Pickett novels by C. J. Box, you know that Joe's friend, Nate, carries a Freedom Arms Casul .454 revolver. US 89 goes over Salt River Pass (7600 feet) and then I took WY 89 (also known as highway 61, although the AAA map doesn't show this) and when it ended at US 30 I went east past Fossil Butte to Kemmerer, where I'm staying at the Fairview Motel. This is another one of those places where I wouldn't stay with Carol, but it's good enough for me. Kemmerer is a strange little town with a few rock and fossil shops, a small downtown park, and quite a few empty storefronts. It is also home to the original J. C. Penny store. (442 miles)

 

(Saturday, August 19) The bike thermometer showed 40 degrees when I checked it this morning at 6:30. Kemmerer is at 7000 feet, so that isn't surprising. The motel office didn't have coffee yet, so I walked to the nearby Maverik station and purchased a cup of coffee and an egg, cheese, and English muffin - both were fresh and not bad. It had "warmed" up to almost 60 when I left at 8:45, so I wore my heavy gloves and jacket liner and was comfortable enough. I rode north on US 189 for 25 miles and went east on WY 372 for the same distance and then east on WY 28 over South Pass on the Continental Divide (7500 feet). The road is interesting enough and all but deserted, and the temperature stayed at 60 degrees. Just before 28 ends at US 287 I rode by Red Canyon, which provided a little color to the otherwise beige grass and dusty green sage brush.

 

I decided to ride the 7 miles into Lander to get gas because my GPS showed none available for many miles on 287 east. I also switched to lighter gloves and took off my jacket liner and opened the vents on the jacket. It was 80 degrees, and would warm up another 10 by mid-afternoon. I should have had something to eat as well, because in addition to no gas along my route there were no places to eat. US 287 follows the Mormon Pioneer Trail and after 70 miles I turned on WY 220 towards Casper. There was a fair amount of traffic (by Wyoming standards) heading west on 287, and on 220 there was a fair amount of traffic going east. I'd planned to have a late lunch in Casper, but my GPS directed me on a bypass around the city. I decided to go into Casper anyway, but found that the road I was on was all tire stores, repair shops, and fast food places - rather unattractive. I went north on I-25 for 30 miles to WY 250 which I followed to Midwest where I finally had a pre-wrapped sandwich and coffee at a Big D truck stop, the Tumbleweed Cafe that my GPS showed having been closed for many years. There is a lot of oil production in the area and the small town of Midwest, which is really in the middle of nowhere, consists of a few dozen small bungalows, presumably to house the workers and their families. 

Somewhat refreshed the, next 60 miles on WY 387 were pleasant enough and in Wright I went south on WY 59 for a couple of miles and then east on WY 450 through Thunder Basin National Grassland. Right in the middle is the Black Thunder Coal Company and I saw several mile long coal trains and a huge processing plant that had a couple of hundred automobiles in the parking lot - this on a Saturday. WY 450 ends at US 16 and I went east 4 miles to Newcastle, where I'm spending the night at the Sage Motel. When I called from San Francisco to make the reservation the man at the motel asked, somewhat incredulously, why I was coming to Newcastle, and indeed there's not much here. Dinner at Pizza Barn (a steakhouse as well as pizza and other italian dishes) was OK, and the motel is a cut above my usual accommodations. (498 miles)

 

Although you have to wonder about the motel's clientele if they have to post the sign below.

 

(Sunday, August 20) This was to be a short day (270 miles) so there was no rush to get moving early in the morning. Also, the motel didn't serve breakfast until 8 AM, and after coffee, bagel and an orange I was on the road at 9 AM. While looking at the map the previous night I noticed that my route took me past Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park, and I decided to stop and see what was there. Outside Newcastle US 16 becomes interesting as it climbs into the Black Hills and soon I turned into Jewel Cave. There were few cars on the road, and when I reached the parking area I discovered why - everyone was at Jewel Cave. The tours were booked two hours in advance, so I wandered around the visitor's area for 20 minutes and left. In Custer City I went south on US 385, a scenic road with hills and curves that led me to Wind Cave, where I discovered the same situation that was present at Jewel Cave - full parking area, many families with kids, tours full for the next couple of hours.  

 

The road descended into Hot Springs, SD and I stopped at Mornin' Sunshine on River Street for a real breakfast and coffee, and I asked the lady behind the counter if the Mammoth exhibit just south of town was worth a visit, and she assured me that it was. Again the parking area was full, but this time I waited and bought a ticket to enter the paleontology exhibit, which included an actual digging area as well as skeletons of extinct bears and mammoths. Of course the gift shop was as large as the dig, but I showed restraint and didn't purchase anything.




  

US 385 joined US 18 in Hot Springs, and in Oelrichs I stayed on 18 which goes east through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I stopped in Pine Ridge for gas, and continued on US 18, and since this is a reservation the landscape is bleak and barren. There was about 15 miles of road construction with a few gravel sections, but little traffic, a few small towns, and not much of anything. The landscape gradually turned into the Nebraska Sand Hills and there were more ranches and farms. At Martin I went south on SD 73, which became Nebraska 61 in 10 miles. I rode east on US 20 (also known as Euclid Ave. in Cleveland) to Valentine where I'm spending the night at a Comfort Inn. I did laundry and took a short walk in town - Main St. is about four blocks long - and had dinner at the Buck Horn Restaurant. Unfortunately I forgot about Game of Thrones until Carol mentioned it when I called her, but I did manage to catch the last half hour. I'll watch the whole thing on TIVO when I return home.

(August 21, 2017 - Monday) Well, that was spectacular! 

 

Without a lens filter my little camera doesn't do a good job with the corona flare. Be assured that in real life the full eclipse looked just like the awesome pictures you've seen on TV and the Internet - a huge black circle in the sky surrounded by a thin, irregular line of yellow. 

I was up at 5:30 in the morning and had breakfast at the motel. There were a lot of people up that early, all of whom were probably eclipse chasers like me. There was heavy fog and the bike was wet and there was also a circle of dampness directly under the bike the size of a dinner plate. I was worried that it might be transmission or engine oil, but it didn't taste like either, so I figured that it was just condensation that had dripped off the bike. More on that later. When I headed south on US 83 a little before 7:30 it was still foggy and damp and I stopped after about 30 miles to put on my overpants and rain gloves because I was getting wet. I stopped in Thedford after 65 miles to top off the gas tank since I didn't want to have to look for gas after the eclipse. In that part of Nebraska you often can't find gas in the small towns on the secondary roads. From Thedford I went west on Nebraska 2 to Mullen, and then south on NE 97 to Tryon, arriving around 9:30. NE 97 is a small, country road through farmland and rolling hills. A couple of farmers had opened up their fields and were offering parking. In Tryon I found the official viewing site and paid an extra $10 to park in a field near the viewing area. I could have parked for free farther away and taken a shuttle, but I wanted access to my bike in case I forgot something. I showed my ticket at the viewing area and put my things on one of the long benches that had been set up on a hill. Sister Vanya and Daughter Vanya (referred to from now on a SV and DV) were to meet me at several white tepees that had be put up in the center of town, but I didn't see them. As I was walking back to the viewing area, SV and DV went by in the back of one of the eclipse volunteer's golf cart. DV and SV drove up from North Platte in DV's car, which she parked right in town (that should be "town" - Tryon has a populate of 167, although it was considerably higher today) We did our greeting and decided that where I had put my stuff was as good a place as any -it was convenient to the port-a-potties, and there was a guy nearby with a very friendly Labradoodle named Vince. DV and I went back to the town center (we took a shuttle, although it is a short walk) to pick up coffee and a couple of folding chairs from her car, and I stopped at the bike to get something I'd forgotten. Back at the viewing area we chatted until it was time for the beginning of the eclipse, which started about 12:15. There were maybe 300 people scattered in the viewing area - the site could have easily handled three times that number. 





 

I didn't know it was a costume party! There was a rising sense of excitement as the time for eclipse approached. 

Through the eclipse glasses (as opaque as welder's goggles) you could see the slight crescent of black as the moon began to move into the path of the sun. SV had rigged up a eclipse glasses over the lenses of her binoculars, and the view through the binoculars was very good. When the sun was almost obliterated the sky began to darken, the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped. 

 

 

Applause and cheers went up at the beginning of totality, and then the people became quiet and mostly silent for next the two and a half minutes of totality. As the moon began to move out of the sun's path you could briefly see the "wedding ring" - the corona around the moon and a tiny dot of the sun. By the time the sun was a quarter back in business, people began packing up and moving out. There had been a bit of haze earlier, with scattered clouds that became more prevalent. DV, SV, and I had lunch at a barbecue truck, and twenty minutes after the end of the eclipse, a large cloud blocked the sun - if that had happened during the eclipse we wouldn't have seen a thing. Most people had left by the time we departed - DV and SV driving back to North Platte, where DV would drop off SV at the motel and then drive back home to Boulder.

I packed up my things, and put on my gear and by that time the field was empty of cars. I started the bike and pulled in the clutch, and - nothing. The clutch was not working at all. I managed to get the bike in gear and went to the gas station in town. They had brake fluid, and I opened up the clutch reservoir to see what I expected - it was almost empty. Remember that wet patch under the bike? I filled up the reservoir and worked the clutch handle until the air in the master cylinder bled out. I put everything back, started up and now the clutch was working fine. 

Back on the road I went west on NE 92 and then north on NE 61 to Hyannis, and then west on NE 2 to Alliance. If there had been traffic on the roads earlier it had dissipated this long after the event, so I had a traffic free ride all the way to Alliance. There were, however, many State Troopers and Sheriff's Deputies on the road. The municipalities in the eclipse path had cancelled days off and vacation and put officers on overtime to handle the anticipated crowds and extra traffic. NE 2 is a scenic ride through the Nebraska Sand Hill country, and I enjoyed the ride to Alliance, where I stopped for gas and then went north on US 385 to Chadron, where I'm spending the night. 

(Tuesday, August 22) After breakfast at the motel this morning, I packed up and headed west on US 20. There had been a wet stain under the bike again, and I refilled the reservoir, which was low. The clutch was working fine, but I knew that the slave cylinder could fail at any time. I stopped after 9 o'clock in Crawford at a city park to call shops in the Denver area to see if any of them had a slave cylinder in stock, and if they could work me into their schedule. After several calls I decided to go with a BMW shop in Centennial (south of Denver), which could order the part and get it by the next day and also work on the bike as soon as they got the part. 

From Crawford I went south on NE 71 to Scottsbluff, which has a peculiar smell and wasn't very attractive, at least the part I saw. NE 71 crosses I-80 at Kimball and I filled the gas tank and had lunch there before going west on I-80 to Cheyenne and then south on I-25 which would take me through Denver. Just south of Fort Collins the traffic on I-25 stopped, and it would remain jammed, slow, or stopped almost all the way through Denver. I couldn't figure out why the traffic was so slow - there was several areas of road construction, but there was (typically) no actual work taking place and all the lanes were open. I pulled off to find a motel near the BMW shop, and after making a reservation I went back on I-25. By this time the evening rush had begun, and I longed for the lane-splitting that I can do in California. I finally turned off the Interstate in Aurora, and checked into my motel. 

(Wednesday, August 23) This morning there was no stain under the bike. The BMW dealer was less than a mile from the motel, and I was there when they opened. They moved the bike inside the shop after I unloaded everything, and I looked at the new bikes on the showroom floor, and also the used bikes. There was a 2008 R1200R and I asked a salesman about the history. It had only 8000 miles, and had all the accessories I would want except a tank bag. It had belonged to a doctor who just rode it to work every now and then. Due to illness he could no longer ride, so the dealer was selling it on consignment. While the salesman was telling me this, Linda, the service manager, came over and gave me the bad news the the clutch part hadn't arrived in the parts shipment that morning. We also discussed the fact that the clutch could be contaminated by the leaking slave cylinder, and with 155 thousand miles on the bike, it would make sense to do the clutch at the same time as the slave cylinder since there was considerable labor overlap. The clutch parts they didn't have in stock could be expressed shipped for the next day. So, I had three choices:
1) Ride home without having anything done to the bike, and take a chance that the clutch would keep working OK.
2) Have them just do the slave cylinder.
3) Have them do the slave cylinder and a new clutch. 
Instead, I decided to buy the doctor's bike, and trade-in Victor (the R1150R). I got very little for Victor (high mileage), but the doctor's bike was a very good deal with the low mileage and all the accessories that I wanted.

After all the paperwork was done, I was out of the shop by mid-afternoon and headed up I-25 to US 6 to I-70. There was a brief traffic jam on I-25, but after that it was a good ride up into the Rockies. I had been 90 degrees in Denver, and I had all the vents on my jacket open. It began to cool of the higher I went, and then the sky became dark and cloudy. As I neared the Eisenhower Tunnel it began to pour with lightning and thunder. There was no place to pull off to put on my raingear, so I just kept riding and getting soaked. Somehow I had the idea that it would be clear and sunny on the west side of the tunnel, but of course that was not the case. I exited in Silverthorne (elevation 9000 feet) after 20 more minutes. I hadn't eaten since an early breakfast, so I ate in a Mexican restaurant in a small strip mall. I noticed a Super 8 right across the street, and since it was 4 PM I decided to just stay there for the night. After I checked in at the motel I went back to the strip mall where there was a laundromat - the main thing I wanted to do was to wash and dry my riding jeans. I came out of the laundromat to a sunny sky and a beautiful double rainbow.

 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and getting used to the new bike. 

 

Victor is just shoved into the corner of the shop.

 

The new bike. The windscreen isn't as tall as it looks in the picture, but it is still taller than I'd like, and too upright. That will be the first change to the bike. 

(Thursday, August 24) Well, that was an easy 600 mile day. It was 44 degrees when I left the motel a little before 8 AM this morning. The sky was overcast, but the weather report said no showers until the afternoon. I wore my overpants, jacket liner, and heavy gloves, and was quite comfortable. I amused myself by playing with the suspension settings and the information display screen, and discovered that I actually rather enjoy these newfangled gadgets. Last night I read a PDF of the owner's manual, so I had a good idea of the various functions that were available. After about 100 miles I stopped for gas in Glenwood Springs, where it was 75 degrees, and shed a layer and switched to lighter gloves. The clouds had broken up and the sun was shining and it was a good ride through Glenwood Canon along the Eagle River, only marred by the road construction, which seems to be a permanent feature along that stretch of I-70. At one point the road went over a bridge and through a tunnel, and next to the river under the bridge a train was going by - it would have made a great picture, but there was no place to stop.

The mountains gave way to high desert with a few craggy hills in the distance, and the first part of Utah was the same. I stopped for lunch in Green River and back on the road the scenery became more dramatic with red cliffs and rocky outcrops close to the road. 

 

The temperature reached 95 degrees, but the clouds rolled in and I stopped at a rest area to put on my rain gear - I didn't want a repeat of yesterday's soaking. At the rest area I spent 20 minutes talking with a guy from Philadelphia, who was heading home after seeing the eclipse in Oregon. He'd intended to go to Madras, which was on the center of the path of totality, but there was too much traffic, so he stayed in a rest area on US 26 near Mitchel, where the totality was almost two minutes. He said there were about 500 people crowded into the area. He was an amateur astronomer and a camera buff, so he was well prepared for the event and enjoyed it immensely. There were signs of earlier rain on I-70, and a few sprinkles, but no rain and once I crossed over a 7800 foot summit and the road began going downhill, the sun came out, and the temperature rose. I exited I-70 in Salina, and it was over 90 degrees when I stopped in front of Mom's Cafe to shed the rain gear and open the vents on my jacket. 

US 50 joins I-15 and I rode that south for 10 miles where US 50 exits and goes to Delta, where I stopped for gas. After 60 miles or so I entered Nevada near Big Basin Park, and the road went over several passes. There was very few other cars or trucks on the road, and on this afternoon US 50 earned its name, The Lonliest Road in America. The sky was gray and there was water on the shoulder of the road when I reached Ely - afternoon thunderstorm. I checked into the motel and had dinner across the street at Evah's Restaurant in the Copper Queen casino. 

The new bike is a joy to ride: It is comfortable, has more power than I'll probably ever use, handles well, and after 11 hours and 600 miles I'm not aching or even tired. Victor was a great bike, and we had some wonderful adventures together, but with the problems that I had recently, and with the probablility of more to come, it was time to say goodbye. 154 thousand very good miles. 

(Friday, August 25) It was 58 degrees when I checked the tire pressures in the morning, but had warmed to 65 when I left the Bristlecone motel at 7:40 and I probably didn't need the overpants and jacket liner that I was wearing. It was a clear and beautiful day and I enjoyed the 70 miles and three passes that I rode over on my way to breakfast at the Owl Club restaurant in Eureka, where it had warmed to 75 degrees. The restaurant was empty so service was quick, once the waitress, who was in the bar in the next room chatting with the bartender, noticed I was there. For once I didn't finish all my breakfast - the second thick pancake was too much.



Back on the road I enjoyed the ride to Austin, although I was stuck behind a slow truck for the last 10 miles or so - the last curves I would see on US 50. After a stop at the Chevron station in Austin I cruised along at the 70 mph limit and, sure enough, the enthusiastic local sheriff had pulled an SUV over about 10 miles west of Austin. Past the sand dunes, and the new shoe tree, and I was soon in Fallon, where I stopped at the busy Courtyard Cafe for lunch. By now it had warmed to 90 degrees and I opened the vents on the jacket before I continued on US 50 to Fernley, where I went on I-80 west at 75 mph through Sparks and Reno and gassed up in Verdi, just before the California border. Once through the agricultural inspection station about 10 miles east of Truckee it was clear road and light traffic to Roseville, where there was a bit of a slowdown, although nothing like the 5 mile long jam going the opposite direction - Friday getaway to the mountains, and the aftermath of a crash that wasn't blocking anything, but presented a "visual hazard" as the traffic reporters like to say. Once through a brief slowdown west of Sacramento where business 80 and 50 join I-80, which shrinks from 5 to three lanes, I was again riding at the limit up the hill and past the rest area at the highway 37 turnoff through Vallejo. Again I was going the right direction on two-lane 37 as I moved along at 60 mph and the traffic going east was barely crawling. South on US 101 in Novato, through San Rafael, and over the fog-enshrouded Golden Gate Bridge, where the temperature was 58 degrees - it had been 102 degrees in Sacramento an hour earlier. After 550 miles I turned into our driveway at 6:30 PM to be greeted by Carol and Walter.



Ten days on the road and 4,094 miles. I started out on one bike and came home on another. Except for an intense but brief storm in Colorado, the weather was good. Highlights were the empty spaces of Wyoming, and the friendly people in Nebraska, and of course the eclipse. Right now I'm looking forward to many long trips on The Doctor, the new-to-me R1200R.








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