Motorcycle Odyssey
I’m back home, so here’s the recap: I flew south to San Luis Obispo, California on Saturday to buy a bike I've been looking for, for two years. My plans was to ride it all the way up the coast to home. But first, I rode to LA to visit my best friend. After night one, I quickly realized how homesick I felt, and decided to just take I-5 instead. i made it into the valley between Lost Hills and Kettleman (the middle of nowhere) when the bike broke down. Turns out there's a rust spot in the gas tank that no one disclosed, and the rust was making its way through the fuel system and clogging the filters. My dad's friends in Visalia came and picked me and the bike up, and I fixed it the next morning. I picked up two extra filters in case it happened again. Though that night the homesickness was really bad and I had to endure a panic attack that left my stomach feeling mighty upset. I made it to Redding on Monday with few issue, just riding fatigue. Finally, I had a hotel room to myself, but I still felt anxious. This morning, i set out to make it to Portland. 4am. The mountain passes were foggy and rainy, but making my way up through Oregon was fine. I made it Eugene when the filters clogged again, and the engine died, so I pulled over to the shoulder and tried to slow down. I locked the front wheel and lowsided. My knee got busted and abased, but not broken. The bike's pristine plastics were now scraped up, the toe shifter on the shift lever broke off, and the start button no longer worked. A kind stranger immediately pulled over and helped me lift the bike up. He said I looked like I was in shock haha. Then a state trooper decided to investigate, and I sat in the back of his car to warm up and figure out what to do next. He called a tow to Trak Motorsports. They were able to fix the shift lever in the exact way I described it, but the start button could not be fixed. We came up with an idea to attach two high-amp wires to each starter relay terminal and route them under the seat. All I needed to do to start the bike was touch them together. It worked. I set off, and replaced the filters roadside once I was out of Eugene (since the bike died again). After all that, I just wanted to get home, and it wasn't too far off once I made it to Portland. As soon as I crossed into WA, the rain started dumping. My clothes were soaked through, I was freezing, and I could barely see anything because of the mist that cars and semi's were throwing up. I was only and hour away from home when I just started breaking down emotionally, and my crying was fogging up the visor even more, so I pulled over to clean the visor of all water. I tried to re-enter i-5, but stalled. So I took off the seat and tried to restart. I forgot to put the bike back in neutral, so it lurched forward unexpectedly and fell over again. When I picked it back up, the left footpeg had broken off and I lost all hope. I decided I was going to abandon the bike and hitchhike home. I was only 22 miles from Olympia. I was lucky enough that a stranger finally pulled over. He drove, out of his way, to Tacoma fore me. He also rode, and offered to pick up the bike on his way back. We're gonna work out the details of me picking it up tomorrow. I have a spare footpeg, so it'll work out. I'm just so happy to be home. 1,300 miles of riding. California was largely disappointing. I always pictured it as this sunny place, but it was hazy, foggy, or overcast the entire time. Southwest Oregon, however, even with the low-hanging clouds, was gorgeous. I wouldn't mind returning there at some point. May see Crater Lake. I like to say "It's not an adventure unless something goes wrong." By the end, I was thinking "How do you eat a shit sandwich? One bite at a time." haha I have my kitty, I have my weighted blanket, and I have my puter now ^^
