Monday, July 15, 2013

Day 9.....trouble in Kerby

We were talking last night about how after the first day everything has been going so well and how thankful we were that there were no mechanical problems with the motor home or bikes (I even knocked on wood!). 

Well we spoke too soon and today was very interesting to say the least. It started all well and good as we left the RV Park. We were back to game day jerseys (Greg still not showing the sides of his jersey.) 
So we were cruising through Grants Pass on a beautiful morning looking forward to a nice relaxing ride on HWY 199 to Cresent City when I received the following text.....
I hate the thought of a broken down motor home but I hate the thought of Cheryl alone on the side of the road even more so my male "protector" instincts took over and I kicked it into overdrive to save her. Upon reaching the motor home I threw open the door and rushed in and asked Cheryl "are you OK?" And her response was "Sure.  I just took a bubble bath while reading Nicholas Sparks.  It's getting hot in here, I think I'll turn on the air conditioning." Wow. 

So Greg and I did some quick troubleshooting and determined a leaking coolant hose. Kerby Oregon (pop 400) does not have a restaurant but fortunately it has an RV repair shop. So we stopped in and asked Larry (and his other brother Daryl) for some help and they were awesome and jumped on it and we were on our way in a couple hours. 
I can imagine the impression I made with Larry standing there in my biking gear and vans with black socks......

While we were waiting for Larry, we decided to go see what Kerby had to offer. Already knowing the answer we went anyway and with no mass transit, taxis, and with butts to sore to ride, we decided to walk (Greg still not showing the side of his jersey)
Eventually we got back on the road and actually got some decent miles in for the day. 

With all the excitement with the motor home, crossing into California was a little anti-climatic but we did make it!!! (Greg still not showing the side of his jersey)
Once in California things started to go a little south (figuratively). Yes I know we were heading that direction. 

The first thing we noticed was there are very narrow shoulders on the road (likely a victim of Arnold's budget cuts).  The next thing we saw was this.....
What is this all about?  Come on, build a freaking tunnel wide enough for a bike lane. Seriously?  I'm supposed to feel good about a light "advising" drivers I'm in the tunnel?  As it is you push the button and ride like hell and hope you don't get run over.  It's a little unnerving hearing an 18 wheeler come up behind you as you are pedaling like the little train that could. Fortunately we made it!

Next is was the extreme curves at Smith River. As noted above, there was absolutely NO shoulder. As if that wasn't bad enough it was 90+ and the wind was blowing like a mother and then I see signs that say Caution Falling Rock. I felt like I was playing Jumanji. 

With our blood pressure at its limit we decided to stop at the first campground we could find so we are now relaxing at Patrick Creek CP.  Here is the river next to the motor home. Ahhhhhhh. 
As for what's coming up we are a little undecided and may just take it slow for a couple days since we are still ahead of schedule. We are anxiously counting the days in anticipation for Greg's wife Krissie to join us in a week in Willits. She has no idea what she's in for!





3 comments:

  1. Wow, it could have been a lot worse with the RV. Only a radiator hose and someone to fix it, that's pretty fortunate. Exiting that Krissie is hooking up with you guys. That will be fun. Keep on peddlin'.

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  2. Lovin the blog, Daddio! It's a great read! Especially in between calls at work :) haha. The pictures are amazing, all of these are blown-up & frame-worthy!

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  3. Biked here, biked there, rode this far... Big deal. We got up at the Marriott in South Lake Tahoe this morning and WALKED all the way from California to Nevada.

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