Oregon 2012, Day 5

Gold Beach, OR to Arcata, CA
June 23, 2012
131 miles

We set out from Gold Beach in considerably better weather than the previous day.

Beach view from Pacific Reef Hotel

For awhile we were actually able to stop for photos of the famous Oregon coastal scenery, until it started looking like rain again.

Unfortunately the SV was still having issues with one of the cylinders cutting out, leaving mom at full throttle going 60MPH.  Not good, although an improvement over yesterday.  She said after the gas stop in Brookings the bike was noticeably improved and had stopped shorting out, leaving me wondering what the problem was.

We arrived in Arcata around 1PM, leaving plenty of time for lunch and chain cleaning.  Had I been thinking I would've picked up a couple of iridium plugs at the Napa in Brookings, but obviously my brain checked out before the trip as I foolishly assumed everything would go fine. Having been to Alaska just two years ago I should've known better, lesson #4.  I was left hoping the sunny forecast for Sunday would dry out whatever had shorted out mom's SV, and that we'd make it back to Vallejo without incident.  My attitude was deteriorating and I started to wonder if every tour would be plagued by mechanical gremlins.  After countless dead batteries, shorted plugs, flats, and catastrophic failures resulting in dead bikes in the rain, emergency roadside repair looses its charm.

Gas stops/mileage:

• Brookings - 31 (86 miles from Bandon)
• Arcata - 100