North America: Riding a 21 year old Goldwing: 41

For a traveling biker, one may assume that rain makes for a rather unpleasant day. Not necessarily. This morning was fabulous. The rain stopped for just long enough for me to break camp and don my riding gear. My camping spot looked far less glamorous in daylight, than it did in darkness. Perhaps it was the construction crew that had showed up to resume excavating. Perhaps it was the run-down trailer rotting across the road. Perhaps it was the soggy surroundings that no longer offered a comfortable night's sleep. Whatever the cause, I was ready to be on the road. Waterproof and warm from head to toe, I hopped on the bike and rolled southbound on down the 101.

I could tell that the scenery was spectacular. I could feel it and smell it, but couldn't see it. That was disappointing.

A couple of bush-league bikers were riding as if rain were made of oil, not water. It's not as if the rain had just begun. After the overnight soaker, any slick stuff on the roadway had long since been washed away. The roads were great! I passed them with an attitude. Not smart riding. Lesson learned.

Round the bend and there was an especially gorgeous lighthouse. I've seen so many and love them all, but this one was particularly nice. Around the point, there was a break in the fog. Visibility elsewhere was nil, but the point around the lighthouse was pretty clear. Probably the reason for the site selection for the lighthouse. I stopped to take this picture, but didn't stay long as I didn't want to have to re-pass those "poor excuse for a biker" bikers.

Not to rant, but the road isn't the place to practice riding. While in college, on rainy weekends, I'd go to the University of Virginia Cavaliers Basketball Arena and practice riding my Honda Hawk in the parking lot. Rain is a part of life and riding in it shouldn't be a white-knuckled experience. Even on this trip, when the roads get wet, I constantly brake hard to see how much the bike can take before breaking loose. It's better to find out in a controlled environment, than when trying to avoid a Mack Truck. Have confidence in your ability to ride your machine, or stay home and practice until you do. These guys were statistics in the making.

Because of the rain, I don't have pictures of the road. It was amazing. The riding conditions were top notch, less the rain of course.

Starting the riding day and just after dawn has some sort of weird psychological affect on me. On normal days, I can ride from 8:30 or 9:00 to noon or even two without getting hungry. When I start riding before 7:00, by 9:00, I can't think of anything but eating. Since thinking about food, or anything other than riding, is really dumb, I looked for a place to eat.

A road sign alerted me to a couple of towns ahead. While looking for a diner, I saw something even better. Something I'd not seen since Alaska. A laundromat with showers!

Perfect! I could shower and do laundry (both were long overdue) and, if I was really lucky, get on the Internet and unpack my gear and cook breakfast. I think I said "Jackpot" aloud as I pulled into the parking lot. Jackpot indeed, though I had no idea what I was in for.

The place was very nice. I thought that I might get lucky and outwait the rain while relaxing in this place. It was one of the nicest places I'd been to, and certainly the cheapest. The only shower / laundry place I've ever seen that was nicer, was in Girdwood. Girdwood is a central place for travelers. Also, a lot of people there live in remote areas without running water so there is a huge demand for showers. Most places I'd been to were relatively clean, but not nice. Customers wouldn't pay more for "nice," so bright lights, nicely painted and decorated walls, and a generally cheery atmosphere were atypical of the shower places I'd been to.

In Girdwood, there were several showers, but two were extra nice and extra expensive. They came with a seating area, complementary sundries, and a twelve minute shower. All for $8 I believe. Regular showers, which were also very nice, were $6. Six bucks was the most expensive showers I'd seen. $2 in Seward, AK, though I decided I'd rather be dirty than to shower there. Nasty!

$3 in Ft. Nelson in Canada - Three loonies is more convenient than a dozen quarters. I wish our Sacajawea dollars had caught on here in the states.

The owner, Linda, introduced herself and we talked for a bit. She seemed about as laid back as one can be. Sure I could set up my stove out back and cook breakfast under the awning. Sure I could get on the Internet and hang out. Sure...

She knew that the rain wasn't ending anytime soon and when she heard that I was going to ride the coast on a rainy day, she said: "It's a beautiful ride, you don't want to do it in the rain. It's going to be beautiful tomorrow so why don't you stay here and hang out with us and then ride the coast in the morning?"

It sounded like a better idea than any that I'd come up with. "Ok - Sounds like fun - thanks"

It reminded me of the girl in Girdwood who overheard that my intention was to finish my meal and leave. So she turned to me and said, "You can't leave today, tonight is the biggest party we've had in awhile. You need to stay in town and party with us!" I never saw here again after that, but I had so much fun in Girdwood. I met Juniper, the coolest girl in town. I met Andy, the traveler who worked the worst jobs imaginable, yet always had a smile. Lots of neat people in Girdwood. Girdwood & Talkeetna are awesome. If in Alaska, check them out.

About that time, in walk Wayne. Wayne looked like a super cool guy, and that was before I'd seen his car.

"Might that be a Studebaker," you ask?

Indeed. A 1952. All original. Nicely done. It's beautiful and drives like a dream. Also, it's Wayne's only wheels.

Having a '52 Studebaker is cool, having one for your daily-driver is just fantastic. Once again, it seems as if I wasn't meeting regular people, but rather extraordinary people.

After a wonderful eight-minute hot shower and a change of clothes, Linda brought me some black coffee and delicious baked goods. Life is good. Unfortunately, some folks probably thought I was a bit strange as I was probably walking around with an unexplainable silly grin. Coffee, food, shower, clean clothes, cool people... and all this before noon.

Wayne and I hit it off right away. He's a retired telecommunications guy who was a Nortel guru before retiring. I spent my time with the telephone company as a specialist who used Nortel products to help customers better run their businesses. Guys like Wayne would step in and save the day when something went wrong. He'd been all over the place working on some of the coolest projects. When I consulted, I was fortunate enough to meet a couple of people who'd been all over the globe as technical experts. I hadn't had "telecom conversations" in awhile and so we had a lot to talk about. But then, the shop talk got old, and we realized we had a ton of other stuff in common. Next thing I know, Wayne and I are cruising around town in the Studebaker and he took me to the local bar to introduce me to folks and to buy me lunch. Thanks Wayne!

When we got back to the laundromat, I got to meet Linda's boyfriend John. What a character! After meeting Linda and then Wayne, I wasn't surprised. Everyone was so generous. John & Linda have an RV and since they weren't traveling, it was empty and they insisted that I stay in it. Also, Linda promised to make a fantastic dinner that night. So Wayne and I had the day to do whatever. Turns out, John also had an interesting story. He grew up on the reservation. Had been a bounty hunter. Had owned property all over town. Drove a really cool Lincoln. Could build or fix just about anything. Business was booming and so he had work to do.

Fascinating.

After cruising around, Wayne and I went to his place so he could show me some cool stuff. How about a butt-set from a long time ago? I got a butt-set while working for GTE and I usually hang it somewhere in my house as some sort of weird art. I've never seen one with a rotary dial before. I got mine as a gift, as I didn't need it to to my job. It's one of my favorite things.

Something else Wayne and I have in common, he also decorates his place with unconventional furnishings.

Currencies from many countries he's traveled to adorn the walls. Martha Stewart would not think that's nice. That's why I like it!

We got back to Linda & John's and I pulled my bike around and unpacked. Nice accommodations!

So when I got back to Linda & John's, they gave me the tour of the place and then John invited me to see some of his firearms. What generous people!

Here I was, a total stranger, and he invites me in to see antiques that are quite rare and, accordingly so, quite expensive. It seemed so amazing that someone would just invite me an and show me their collection. Sure, Bill in Fairbanks had done so, but I came with a recommendation from a close friend of his.

Deadwood South Dakota was really good to me. That's where I met Jerry Lee. It's a cool town with a lot of history and I was fascinated. It's a town that's all about Wild Bill Hickock. Here I am holding a Wild Bill Hickock gun. It's sterling silver and inlayed with 24 karat gold. The engraving can only be described as detail beyond description. It's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and a beautiful piece of history.

Here is the Wild Bill Hickock gun, alongside an original Colt Peacemaker.

A friend and neighbor of John & Linda's stopped by. Keith also has a collection. A rare, unusual, and old collection of marbles. I didn't even know people collected marbles. But this was no ordinary collection. Keith is known far and wide as having an extensive collection of marbles from the 30's & 40's. After a few jokes about collecting marbles, he invited me over to his place to check them out. But first, his collection of toys. He's got the shineyest and sparkliest Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic that I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot a bikes. His fifth-wheel RV is a Toy-Hauler with a 14 foot garage in the back. The boat is similar to Bill's in Fairbanks. A small-block Chevy powered Jet-Boat. I was pretty impressed. And that was before seeing the marbles. One piece in his collection is worth over $14,000. A fourteen thousand dollar marble! Who knew?

And yet again, he's invited a complete stranger into his home to see them. People heard about my trip and some of the cool things I've been fortunate enough to see and do, and then offered to share with me a slice of their lives. A slice of something unusual.

Keith had a Sylvester the Cat glass, and humored me when I asked for him to photograph me holding it.

He has several Mason Jars full of marbles, and here are the contents of one of them.

Many of them are so intricate and detailed that one could stare at it for awhile and continue to see previously unobserved details. Wow. Eventually, I went back to hang out with Wayne and John and Linda. Linda said dinner was ready and I sat down to eat the best fried Chicken I've ever had. I'm from the South and love fried Chicken. Love it. Linda's is the best. Ever. Wow! After dinner, beer, conversation, stories, and laughter, I went to the RV to sit on a couch, play on the Internet, and get a good night's sleep.

In the morning, John & I left early to cruise into town for coffee at the "place." John knew everyone and it was a regular crowd. What a time! After seeing the town in the hotrod Lincoln, John and I went back and Linda had breakfast for us. I'm living the good life for sure! After breakfast, Wayne took me sightseeing in the Studebaker. We stopped by to visit a friend of his and I got to see the wood fort. This guy splits wood for fun. Growing up, my Dad always enjoyed cutting firewood and split wood for exercise and for fun. However, he didn't enjoy stacking it. That was my job. I've certainly stacked a heck of a lot more wood in my life than is seen here, but it never occurred to me to turn it into a retreat. The maze leads back to a lounge area. A man cave if you will. An outdoor living room of sorts.

Wayne took me to the Oregon Sand Dunes and we cruised around the State Park. The similarities between the terrain on that portion of Oregon coast and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina are striking.

A few guys were crabbing from the dock so we stopped to chat for a bit. One guy had no luck. Another had been pulling them in all morning. The two men were twenty feet apart.