06 (Mon). El Paso – Blythe: Route Interstate 10: 615 Miles:A very pleasant cool start to the day; the coolest day since leaving Bogota a month ago! We are still trying to make best speed and have opted to riding up the Pacific coast; having crossed the Mexico border at Ciudad Juarez to the USA at El Paso we rode Interstate 10 (I10) all day through Tucson and Phoenix to Blythe, just inside the California state line. The cool start only lasted until midmorning when the furnace of the Arizona desert started to ramp up the heat. By midday it was cooler to ride with the full face helmet visors fully closed to keep the heat out as there was no wind chill at all.
During the various stops today, there was a lot of interest in what we were doing and lots of advice on routes that would be fun and interesting to take as we wend our way north. Lake Tahoe was a strong recommendation heading across Nevada through Las Vegas and all that desert too! A little later today while we were trying to hide from the sun for a few minutes another guy sought us out having seen the bikes and recommended heading through Los Angeles to the Pacific coast where the temperature would be about a cool 20 degrees C opposed to 35 degrees C ++ in the desert and the scenery is spectacular. As we were reaching the high 30s already and we have been devoid of good scenery for a while, it seemed to be no contest – go for the coast.
The other reason for heading to LA is that we have been put in touch with Aled who has offered us a place to stay overnight when we are in the area and the possibility of flying with one of the Helinet LA News helicopters. But Aled is returning from Australia some time tomorrow morning and the contact is a little tenuous!
22 Aug 06 (Tue). Blythe – Los Angeles: Route I10: 290 Miles.
Someone forgot to turn the blast furnace off last night! It was only marginally cooler this morning than it was last night and it was going to get considerably warmer as the morning progresses. It was a short run into LA, 290 miles, but traffic began to build up as far out as 29 Palms, which is over 100 miles out! We were hoping to get the bikes serviced while we did some sight seeing but the BMW dealer, who was also a dealer for all the major Jap bikes too couldn’t fit us in for another week. We’ll do that in San Francisco on Friday instead.
Contact was made with Aled just after he arrived from Oz and he invited us out to Helinet Aviation Services at Van Nuys airport to see their news coverage operations. Helinet provides the aircraft, pilots and some camera crews for all the major TV news channels across the USA using a range of helis, but all with very high tech stabilised cameras. They have helis on standby for that all important breaking news opportunity and tomorrow they are going to see if they can get us up for a flight too.
The company was founded by Alan Purwin who was the pilot of the 1980s TV show Airwolf. They also fly for film companies who need aerial filming such as Island, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 & Transformers etc etc.
Dinner was at a restaurant in the heart of the Hollywood scene (sounds very grand!) with a few of Aled’s friends one of whom is the girl from the Marlborough cigarette adverts. We walked Hollywood Boulevard and read the stars names on the walkway but didn’t bump into anyone we recognised as being famous; I’m sure they were out there though! Mind you, they didn’t recognise us either!
Today reminded us of days gone by; sitting on standby to crash out at a moments notice as we waited with the pilots for that news worthy call that would launch the helis. And what is news worthy? Well that’s up to the news channels to determine, as they are the ones paying for the flying time! We flew separate helis with Sky Fox 11 News Teams covering a siege being dealt with by the police, a brush fire threatening to engulf an expensive property and over flying LA international airport following a report of a construction strike but all seemed normal. 
ach in the hope of seeing Pamela Anderson and the Bay Watch beauties; didn’t see them, but did see some other beauties. Returning to Aled’s home we rode down Hollywood Boulevard and found Elvis hanging out with Marilyn Munroe, and looking very well on it too.24 Aug 06 (Thu). Los Angelis – San Francisco: Route 101: 455 Miles.
The bikes have been booked into BMW at San Francisco for a service tomorrow so we’ll do this stretch in one go, up route 101 following the Pacific coast, dipping in and out of the sea mist which makes a huge difference to the temperature; one minute you’re melting, the next its brass monkey conditions! The scenery would have been great, we think, but the mist blocked most of it.
It never ceases to amaze me how small this world is; arriving in San Francisco we pulled off the highway to do a map check and deliberate on the route; a truck had followed us down and park behind us. Eventually we had to go and ask the truck driver for some help. Mick S went back to the truck to be met by “I wondered how long it’d be before you asked for directions” the English accented driver said! He had noticed the UK plates on the bikes and assumed (correctly) that help would be required, so pulled up behind us. Mick S got the directions to BMW and as he returned to the bikes a pick-up came along side, another Englishman offering help. He had gone to a school in the same town that I had!! BMW located and bikes left with them for servicing tomorrow we adjourned to a hotel ready for a bit of sight seeing tomorrow.
25 Aug 06 (Fri). San Francisco sight seeing.
Seen the films; all those car chases up and down the steep ramps of the city, the trolley buses, Alcatraz, the harbour and the bridges. Well we rode on the trolleys and walked the rest, it’s as good as the films, but we didn’t see one car get airborne, how disappointing!
A walk along the harbour front gives so many great photo opportunities that it’s impossible to print them all here; but the sea lions basking on the floating pallets just metres from the waters edge, behaving just like the ones we saw in Ushuaia; all grumpy, snapping and snarling at each other. The flight of the pelicans couldn’t be resisted. And this chameleon or is it an iguana? Anyway, are very tasty with a bit of garlic butter!
BMW completed the service for us as well as putting on the last set of tyres that we had been carrying from Belize. That should set us up for the run to the top of Alaska
26 Aug 06 (Sat). San Francisco – Roseburg: Route 101(Redwood Highway), 199, I5: 538 Miles.
We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge heading north on an overcast morning with the helmet cameras running, but it was not the success that we had hoped for. The best photos are taken from the side of the bridge and as our route to the bridge was quite obscured we did not get what we’d hoped for.
Route 101 contours the Pacific coast and as yesterday the sea mist was rolling in and out creating quite a change in the range of temperatures; couldn’t quite get the amount of clothing right!
We were cruising at quite a good pace when we’d set ourselves up to overtake one of those large pick–up trucks towing a big speed boat when a ginger cat popped its head up over the side of the boat, took a look, then jumped! Now this was at least an 8 foot drop to the road at 60 MPH! Not sure that it had its feet and knees together, but it hit the road, took the landing as it came, rolled a couple of times, on to its feet and off to what it thought was the safety of the centre reservation that was a concrete barrier. What it hadn’t counted on was me, closely followed by Mick S bearing down on it and we weren’t changing course. It managed to miss me by the skin of its teeth and over the centre reservation before Mick got to it. Hope it made it a cross the other carriageway safely. Not sure how many of its nine lives it had used up until that time, but by my reckoning it used at least 3 in those few seconds?
We got to Crescent City where we refuelled and put on some more clothes on as we were gibbering! That was a mistake; as we then took route 199 inland and into the warmth! Route 199 is a spectacular route, a winding road in a steep gorge with pine trees and a clear river. Half way along route 199 we crossed from the state of California into Oregon onto I5 and on to Roseburg for the night.
27 Aug 06 (Sun). Roseburg – Vancouver Canada: Route I5: 523 Miles.
The interstates, like motorways are an efficient way of getting from A to B but oh so tedious; even though we passed some of the largest cultivated areas that we’d seen on the whole trip and people actually working. Acres and acres of lettuce.
Mick S was lead bike today and I was just following along and by the end of the afternoon it was struggle to maintain concentration! But fortunately the US/Canadian border arrived sooner that we expected and the crossing was a doddle. Nothing to do on the US side and just a case of getting our passports stamped on the Canadian side, giving us a 6 month visa. We were a bit surprised that the US did not require us to book out of the USA after all the effort they go to control and identify everyone coming into the country; how do they know who’s still around?
CANADA
28 Aug 06 (Mon). Vancouver – Prince George: Route West 1, 99 (Sea to Sky Highway), 97: 494 Miles.
It’s so nice to be back in the snow capped mountains, running up the “Sea to Sky Highway” through Whistler with spectacular views and a winding road wending its way through the forests and alongside crystal clear lakes of turquoise water. The wild life was out to day too; a racoon crossed the road in front of us at a very leisurely pace and we stopped to watch a wolf padding down a stream bed, but it was too quick for us to get photo.
Prince George was the overnight stop and not an easy place to find a room as the Canadian basketball championships were being staged there and nearly all the rooms were taken!
29 Aug 06 (Tue). Prince George – Fort Nelson: Route 97, 39, 97: 532 Miles.
A wild life bonanza today, with Caribou, bison, fox, deer, squirrel, wild sheep or are they goats? But no bear!
The temperature has taken a serious nose dive. Hard to believe that two days ago we were riding in two layers, tee shirt and jacket; now we’re up to 6 layers! But the weather, albeit on the very cold side of fresh is clear giving outstanding views of the mountains and enhancing the colours of autumn. The further north we ride the greater the change in the season. Vancouver was still in late summer but Fort Nelson is definitely in early autumn.
30 Aug 06 (Wed). Fort Nelson – Whitehorse: Route 97, 1: 646 Miles.
The rapid onset of autumn continues as we move north and west towards Alaska with all its rich colours. The roads are desolate, not seeing another sole for mile after mile; this is true wilderness and it’s big. We thought that we’d seen some isolated and lonely places over the last few months and the USA is big but nothing has been quite so remote as these areas of British Columbia and the Yukon! Road conditions vary hugely, from smooth well surfaced to rough and bumpy and the wild life continues to be oblivious to the fact that man thinks that he owns the wilderness by driving a road through it. They do enjoy the warmth of the tarmac and the easy route that it provided; which is bonus to us as it’s a drive through zoo.
We are supporting:
Charity:
Macmillan Cancer Support – http://www.justgiving.com/mickdaly-hereford
Schools:
Christ College Brecon - http://www.christcollegebrecon.com/
St Richard’s Bredenbury - http://www.st-richards.co.uk/
Our intention for the next week. Did we achieve last week’s intentions, try to cross into Canada by 27 Aug 06. Yes just.
Next is to reach Fairbanks by the end of the week, 01 Sep 06.
No comments:
Post a Comment