Published on

9/7/11 6:21 PM

Pacific Standard Time Part Deux, Day One

September 5, 2011

Normal is defined as results meet expectations. Under those criteria, today was pretty normal. Peter and I were at the airport on time and had plenty of time to catch our flights from Bellingham to San Diego. The cab driver from the airport to the BMW Motorcycle dealer did demand a somewhat handsome reward for his efforts; surprising but not out of the realm of plausible. A reasonably short visit at the dealership had us on our way to the Sierra Nevada's.  

We did encounter a few rain showers. Nothing torrential or anything to really slow us down. So we rode through that like not so seasoned troupers that we are.

On a bike, you get the wrath and the benefits of being exposed to the elements. The rain hit us but the smells released by the moisture had us engulfed in grasses and sage brush as we cruised through. We haven't hit the hills just yet and the desert has been pretty hot and rather humid after the showers.

A couple of gas and water stops later had us 286 miles down the road at Lone Pine California. By the time we arrived, the heat had taken it's tole.  The only means of survival was to find a beer as soon as possible. Luck was finally with us as we eventually found Jake's Saloon well into town. A couple of pitchers later had us properly rehydrated.

We met a couple of climbers [hikers?] as we were just about to head off. That seems to be a popular activity in this area. Nice guys. They saw my helmet sitting on the bar and made the mistake of asking where we were riding to. After we force fed them the key details of our whole adventure, they admitted that, what we are in the midst of, is something they have been talking about too. It'd be fun to see them on the road some day.

Tourist season still seems to be in full swing in the south-eastern California regions. Peter met some Dutch tourists at the bar and some French tourists at one of the gas stops. (For the record, Peter was not rude to the French tourists, but rather was helpful.)

Hunger was an important issue to attend to but so was a room for the night. Following the recommendations of the bartender, we rode down to a nearby motel and booked a room. Luggage into the room and off for a bite to eat at the recommended diner.

We shared an ostrich burger, salads and fries. Another, for the record; ostrich tastes like beef, not chicken...

Our room was a half block the main road and on our wanderings back to the room after dinner, we turned in one block too soon. That was okay however. We met Tony who was just about to close up his auto shop for the evening. His shop is mostly a body shop that is doing some fantastic work on some vintage cars. A couple of Studebaker and a collection of other vehicles are being customized, restored and worked on. Tony was nice enough to give us the grand tour and chatted with us for quite a while. Great shop and nice guy.

We will be exploring this town a bit before we head on. The movie industry seems to have been big around here. At least for westerns. We will do some of the tourist stuff tomorrow and find out more.