(West Texas)

14

Jul

The Portland Trip - Part 1

Posted by Atlas  Published in 2008
This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series The Portland Trip

The Portland Trip

The Route. 10 days, 3,000 miles and 2 wheels on my KLR I bought only 1 week ago. Amazing sights, exciting events and great people along the way.

Here’s my story…

My first off road experience with the KLR. She felt solid, but I was still apprehenscious.
I headed for the LA coast from Phoenix right after work. The blinding sun finally set and the temperatures dropped.
I arrived at the coast around 1AM. There’s a little spot just north of Malibu that I love to camp at.
Look familiar?
I stopped for lunch at Neptune’s Net for some delicious clam chowder. It’s a big biker hang out where I struck up a conversation with a guy who noticed my KLR. He was a fellow Ninja 650r rider as well. We parted ways, and glanced around again for Jay Leno who’s known to appear here sometimes.
Some much needed shade after a long day of riding up the sunny California coast.
As I was lubing my chain I noticed that the master link was not riveted. Even worse, the clip that secures the master link was gone, which segues to…
I recently got a T-Mobile G1, so looking up a nearby mechanic literally took two minutes. I plugged in the address into my Garmin 60CSx and an hour later my chain problems were solved.
I continued up the coast anxiously awaiting the Bixby Bridge which I thought I found here and was left unimpressed and wondered how the photographer managed to get that shot that I admire on my wall.
Then I realized that what I thought was the Bixby Bridge was just a look-a-like… I climbed up a cliff face and winded my way through some thick brush to sit atop a peak to get my own version of the shot with my KLR
Just a taste of the Pacific Coastal Highway views.
I finally arrived at Laguna Seca Raceway to watch the MotoGP races. Bikes as far as the eye can see.
This is known as “The Corkscrew.” It looks like a roller coaster. I thought it was among the best places to watch.
Rossi pleased the crowd at the end of the qualifiers
You can see how fast the riders flip from one extreme lean angle to its opposite. Simple amazing…
I couldn’t help but try and get some body positioning pointers from these guys and then I realized that uttering, “Hey guys, watch what I saw at MotoGP!” is probably often one’s last words.
*waves*
The scoreboard was unlit on Saturday for the practice rounds, but the next day was the real deal.
Series NavigationThe Portland Trip - Part 2»
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3 users responded in this post

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budlac said in July 14th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Man, the pictures and your commentary are really inspiring me to hit the open road next chance I get. You got loads of gorgeous pictures. Keep it up sir!

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Poustman said in August 4th, 2009 at 5:36 am

Enjoyed the comment on the oft-heard last words of the racer-imitating bikers!

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Atlas Rider » Post Topic » Portland Video Series said in August 14th, 2009 at 2:08 pm

[...] Published in 2008 This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series The Portland TripThe Portland TripThe Portland Trip - Part 1The Portland Trip - Part 2The Portland Trip - Part 3Portland Video SeriesI’ve already [...]

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