Beginning my 3rd week, have covered 4000 miles so far.

I talk with a guy on the cleaning staff before he starts work, while I'm packing up. He had a cb750 that he said could go 130mph.

I don't know why, but today feels better than yesterday when I was going through Utah. Maybe it's a cooler day and maybe the road is more interesting and there are fewer trucks. I'm taking #132 west from Nephi, then 6, then highway 50, aka America's loneliest road. I'm headed through Nevada.

Historically, this was a pony express route.

I try to make it to Fallon, but come upon Cold Springs RV park/restaurant/motel. I'm tired and get off the road.

The Internet connection wasn't great so I took my ipad up to the resturant to see if was any better there. 

While sitting on the porch, a guy comes walking along with a dog. We say hello and start talking. His name is Hans and is half German and half Cherokee indian. Two warrior races, not a good thing, hesays, He tells me his life story, a hard and difficult one. His perception of reality is a bit off. For one thing, he believes the price of silver per ounce is higher than that of gold. I mentionthis because it is an easy example. There are other beliefs about life that he has that are skewed but not so easily proven incorrect. He is a lost soul, his mind is addled by drugs and alcohol, buthe is a good person who is caring for this dog that was abused and abandoned by his previous owner. Dogs can be a good judge of character. Talking to fring/semi crazy people is extremely interestingand a bit unsettling. It makes you examine and question your own beliefs/world view, and wonder if they aren't also off base.

Monday, July 21,

I slept in until 8:30. This was my view out my front door.

Cold Springs, where I over-nighted, was near a pony express station where horses and or riders were exchanged so that the mail could be delivered as quickly as possible, with no stopovers.

After breakfast, I followed Greg's directions through Carson city (very busy) south on 395, to 88, to 89, and on to route 4 which was the pass over the Sierra mountains at that point into California. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Greg for this suggestion! What a fantastic and beautiful road. The highest summit was about 8000 ft above sea level and the views were sublime. Here are some totally inadequate pictures:

Route 4 would take me straight into Stockton where I was hoping to find a motel for the night. After coming out of the mountains, I was surprised by needing to travel about 30 miles through cattle grazing countryside. Then there were about 10 miles of agriculture activity.

Then came the bustling city of Stockton. What a wild day of varied landscapes that I experienced today. From Nevada salt flats, to Sierra mountains, to urban jungle.

I figured a good way to chain it up at night. Passing the chain behind the center stand keeps it from being able to retract. And the chain doesnt rest on the ground where it could be cut by pounding on a link. Several strong guys could still move the bike but they would have to lift the front wheel quite high and roll it on its back wheel.

Tuesday, July 22

I called a RFF photo forum buddy from my Stockton hotel last night. He had offered a couch when my trip was still in the planning stage, and he gave me his address in Oakland. I used my ipad maps app to locate him and plan a route.

I had breakfast at a nearby Taco Bell in the morning. by 8am I got on I5 for a bit then took route 4 towards Oakland. Again, I was surprised at the agriculture activity all around me. I was also surprised at how far Oakland was from Stockton. It took a few hours to get there. Then as usual in a big city, I get a bit lost and have to rely on my iPhone maps and directions from real people to find my way. I had driven past my friend's exit off the highway because the signage wasn't there for it.

I got to Jamie's house just before noon. I'd never met him in person before, but he was very gracious and we hit it off. I met his wife Mandy and unpacked the bike. Jamie then spent the rest of the afternoon driving me around SanFran showing me the area. We drove into downtown SanFran where we went to a few photo galleries and the new Leica store which was just hanging a Pete Turnley exhibit. The framed prints were laying on the floor in front of the wall they were destined for.

Jamie bought me lunch in an Irish pub alleyway, and then fulfilled one of my bucket list wishes: to view the Golden Gate Bridge from the classic opposit side high vantage point. 

Wednesday, July 23

In the morning, the bread is baked, and it came out right. Just 4 ingredients. I hope Jamie and Mandy try this on their own. Above, is a pic with jamie and his daughter modelling the 2 surviving loaves. My hosts could not have been nicer. Jamie gave me last minute directions and I was off to cross the Golden Gate Bridge all by myself.

First came a blast on the highway between Oakland and SanFran. In SanFran, the route to the GG bridge   was a congested 3 lane city road. It was a hot morning and I was a bit worried about the amount of time spent stopped and waiting for traffic lights to change. Eventually and finally, I was on the bridge, and over. I passed the Sausalito exit that Jamie and I took the day before, and I got onto route 1 at the very southern end. The weather changed and I was cool and damp in the fog, and it even rained a bit, but not enough for me to stop to put on rain gear.

Eventually the fog lifted and the day became sunny again. It was a very twisty and fun ride. The views were gorgeous. Great experience, but one that required constant viligence and concentrated attention to the turns in the road. At one point, I was following a fast car and there was a BMW GS Adventure bike with hard bags behind me.  I thought that we were doing pretty good, but alll of a sudden, some litre or more sport bike blasted by us and passed the car in front.

At about 5pm, I reached Fort Bragg and I did not have the energy to try for the next town along the way that would have a choice in inexpensive accommodation.

Good night!

Thursday, July 24

As I was packing up my bike in the morning, along came Dave. He still has a '76 Yamaha 500 twin, but he told me the story of his '74 Harley. He admitted that it was too big a bike for him. One day he took a ride on a mountain road after drinking too much. While taking a corner, he realized that he was not going to make it.He Crossed the lane and jumped off before it went over. He fixed it up and sold it but was afraid to ride it around the block first.  

He has an Ansel Adams look about him, don't you think?

Route 1 then connects with inland highway 101. Some stretches are 2 lane, others are divided 4 lanes. There was an alternate route for a stretch called Valley of the Giants. It lead through a redwood forest that was amazing. The trunks of some of those tees were 8 feet in diameter.

I'm aiming for Eureka CA for the evening because it's a larger town with lodging choices. About 20 miles still south of Eureka, is a small town, and a highway sign informs me of a Cafe 101 with Wifi. I pull off the highway to find it.

I walk in and it's not a cafe, its a bar, and there are some very rowdy and friendly people enjoying themselves there in the late afternoon. As I walk in, someone yells, "Hey! We don't serve no biker trash in here!" But it was delivered in a good natured way so I felt just fine. They wanted to know about where I was travelling from and to. They were impressed by my journey and old bike. I did my Internet checking and before leaving I asked them for a picture for my blog. So they posed for me. :) 

And I left smiling.

5200 miles travelled so far. 

I didn't leave  Eureka until 2:30pm and only made it to Brookings OR today. Here's the story:

For several days I've heard a crunchy noise and felt a crunchy feeling somewhere in the drivetrain of my bike, especially when I apply power by twisting the throttle. The very first time that I consciously noticed it was heading into Colorado Springs, but it was a minor thing back then.

This symptom could be caused by a few things: It could be knocking due to pre-detonation of the air/fuel mix in the cylinders, it could be rear wheel misalignment making the chain jump on the sprocket, it could be a loose cam chain, it could be a bad primary chain deep inside the engine, or it could be caused by bad wheel bearings.

Between Carson city and Stockton along route 4 over the mountains, I stopped and reset the cam chain tensioner. I split my thumbnail by bashing it into a cylinder fin when the wrench slipped off the bolthead, but that did not rectify the problem. A few miles after that, I pulled over again and adjusted the rear wheel alignment and tightened the drive chain, but that also didn't do away with the crunching. I convinced myself that the problem was a worn front drive sprocket. Since getting this bike, I had not examined the front sprocket. It is covered by a cover or two covers, I wasn't sure. One of the covers has the gear shift lever coming out of it, so I just didn't mess with it. I did change the drive chain and checked the larger rear sprocket, which was easy to see and not too worn. But the front sprocket is smaller, therefore turns more, and would wear out sooner than the rear.

After my interesting Cafe 101 experience and as I was riding into Eureka last night, I noticed a Honda motorcycle dealer. Great. I'll try to order a new front sprocket. The young parts guy behind the counter punched the info into his computer, furrowed his brow, and told me that the computer doesn't go that far back in time. He doubted honda still made that part. I thanked him for trying, and continued on into central Eureka.

I drove to the other end of town scoping potential motels and passed a Kawasaki/KTM/Suzuki bike shop. On my way back, I decided to stop in just to try. I approached the older guy behind the parts counter and said, "I know your sign doesn't say Honda, but I was wondering if you could order a front sprocket for my 1975 CB750."

"Sure," he said. I'll just check the non-OEM catalogues.

Another smile on my face. :)

It was just before 5 o'clock and he put in the order for next day delivery. This was going to cost $30 which was as much as the sprocket, but it was going to fix my problem, so, no problem. A severely worn front sprocket could let the drive chain slip off and jamb itself into the engine case, trashing the motor. This was worth it.

The experienced parts guy, Jeff, told me that UPS delivery came in every morning by 10, so I went off and took a room at a nearby Motel 6. At the motel, I decided to check how to access the sprocket, since this was a job I was planning to do myself to save the mechanic's labour costs. The cover with the gear shift lever post coming through it did not actually have to come off. There is a smaller cover behind/above it and held by just 2 screws. This was the one to remove. Easier than I had thought.

I should have checked the old sprocket before ordering the new one, especially with the high shipping fee, but since I was mentally stuck on how the remove the larger cover, I did not. It turns outthat the front sprocket wasn't that badly worn, and it wasn't the cause of the crunching noise and feeling after all. No worry, it would be a little expensive, but a new front drive sprocketwouldn't hurt. But, the cause of the crunchiness still hadn't been determined. Since I had already tried adjusting the can chain, aligning the rear tire, and tightening the drive chain, I went withthe theory of bad wheel bearings. (This possibility was suggested by 2 sohc4 forum members. I turn to this amazing resource and friendly forum for help on my bike and my trip.)

By 11am, the ordered sprocket still hadn'tarrived and Jerry made some phone calls. Because the part was ordered from a state in  earlier time zone, it was not able to make the air transport flight. This was not a huge tragedy for me

because I now knew that the front sprocket wasn't so badly worn. Instead, I got Jeff to get on procuring the 3 rear wheel bearings that were needed. Once the bearings were located, I removed thewheel so that the bearings could be inspected before actually replacing them. (See how I learned here?)

The mechanic confirmed that the bearings were indeed bad and the new bearings were sent for. When they arrived, one had the wrong internal diameter and Jerry himself went to get a correct one. Thenthe shop mechanic removed the old and installed the new. I put the wheel back on, and was ready for the road again by 2:30.

This is a big thank you! to Eureka Power Sports, and especially to Jeff, the knowledgable and friendly parts guy. 

As I said, I made it into Oregon to Brookings. There is some fair going on in the area and I was turned away at a couple of motels that were full, and turned away myself from a motel wanting too much to sleep in their room. But here I am at the Pacific Sunrise Motel for the evening, telling you about my day.

Good night!

Saturday, July 26

Further north into Oregon, the seashore becomes sandier, and there are dunes on the beaches. I rode down one of these beach's access roads and clambered up a sandy dune towards the beach.

I spoke with a local at a McDonald's about the direction I was headed towards. He gave me the impression that the towns were resort-like and were very popular with people who lived away from thecoast who wanted a break from the heat. I got as far north along the coast as Newport. I stopped to ask about motel accommodation, and was repeatedly told that rooms were booked up well in advance,especially on weekends. What day is today? Oh yeah, Saturday. 

The direction I was headed would just be more of the same, so I made an executive descision to head inland to the I5, where there would be sure to be a place for me to sleep. I took route 20 eastfrom Newport to interstate 5, and one exit north at Albany. A.ong the way I had noticed digital time/temperature signage. Along the coast I remembered seeing 72 F. Inland, just 40 miles, and thetemp. was 86.

Here I am at an EconoLodge (with great Internet) for the evening. I have "turned a corner" and feel like I am heading home.

Good night!

End of week 3