June 22, 2012
55 miles
It was a dreary morning in Bandon and there was steady light rain coming down when we set out for Arcata.
 |
| Wet bikes in Bandon |
We debated whether to stay in Bandon another day or press on. Looking at the forecast it seemed likely it would continue raining in Bandon through the weekend so we decided to make a run for it. Rather than the planned 300-mile route down 199 I thought a straight shot down 101 to Arcata, 186 miles, would be quicker and more bearable in light rain. I offered my rain jacket to my mom who turned it down, although I eventually convinced her to borrow the wool top and leggings I had packed for cold weather.
After we got out of Bandon it started raining really hard and didn't let up for a second. It was rough going, obviously no photo stops. I noticed a few touring cyclists out in the storm and took comfort in the fact that I wasn't out on a bicycle. It rained so hard that after 55 miles mom's SV shorted out and stopped running, leaving us stranded in the downpour at a parking lot outside the Gold Beach City Hall and Police Station. My rain gear was soaked through and mom was freezing. We decided to take cover at the nearest shelter which was the police station. Another lesson: always bring rain gear.
The Chief of Police took pity on us and let us stay in and dry off, and led me to a small garage they had in back of the station. He let me borrow a heat gun to dry off the motor and I got it started, but I was concerned it would short out again in the middle of nowhere if we tried to set out again. A few of the cyclists I'd passed earlier pedaled through town while I was standing around figuring out what to do, apparently suffering neither discomfort nor mechanical difficulties. I asked the police chief which of the nearby hotels would be places he'd put his mom up, and he said Pacific Reef, so that's where we stayed.
While we were waiting for check-in time we stopped by the local Napa auto parts and got a dry NGK CR8E for the SV, tubes of dielectric grease and anti-seize, and a cheap metric wrench set. I was able to change the front plug in the hotel parking lot using the wrench set and the plug socket from the SV tool kit. Lesson #3, always bring a spare plug and enough tools to change it.
We went for dinner at Playa Del Sol up the street and bumped into the police chief there, off-duty. He recognized us and asked how it was going, so we told him we thought we were all set. He seemed like a really nice, earnest guy with kind of a traditional sense of duty and community service. If there are good cops and bad cops he was definitely one of the good ones. So there was our silver lining.
I had trouble sleeping at the Pacific Reef. Besides the immediate concern for tomorrow's weather and the SV, I'd turned up the heat to dry off the gear earlier. At some point the heater started making clanking sounds which didn't stop at any thermostat setting. The alarm clock in the hotel room went off at 3:30AM to the sound of the Footloose soundtrack. Eventually I put in earplugs which drowned out everything except the recriminations about the trip in my head.
No comments:
Post a Comment