The Pacific Coast Highway, part 1

When I left Chatsworth on Day 3 I headed for Cambria on the 101 to get to the ever-so-coveted PCH-1. I covered 220 miles this route...


The time of year might not be considered ideal for the coast. And probably for good reason. It was pretty nice going through Simi Valley...

I made the panoramic, so it looks a little funny!)

Made the Coast...


And on up through the 101 through San Luis Obispo...


And reached the PCH 1 proper. I was crossing the hill and went straight into some of the heaviest insta-fog I've experienced since the last time I was on this coast. I managed to find a campground, a few minutes of less fog and set up tent...


My arrival was one of either very good timing on my part or luck. Maybe both. Although Natasha can really move, the average speed I've maintaned is less than a car. But several outings have taught me how to add time for all those odd stops for pics, food, gas, etc. But if the battle is lost, i.e. covering a certain mileage within a day, the war is seriously won. I've been putting more miles in than necassary for the alotted time in days.

I'll talk more about that over the next few days.

"So I went to Chatworth (again)

"And I met the President(again)..."

Day 2's route looked like this.


I wanted to avoid LA's freeways as much as I could and chose this northern route through Apple Valley/Palmdale. Although scenic, it didn't allow for the LA Freeway escape and I had to take Highway 14 into Chatsworth. It wasn't as bad as one might think. Remain calm, keep your speed steady and all is cool. Escept for those little grooves in the road. I don't know why they scrape them in, possibly because it's concrete and wet concrete becomes very slick. All I know is motorcycles and scooters tend to shimmy a little on them. After getting used to it that wan't so bad, either.

I rolled into Chatsworth in the afternoon and saw my friend Dana and stayed with her family for the night...


You would be hard-pressed to find a cooler set of people, in my opinion.

Dana took me to the Upright Citizen's Brigade presentation of Billy the Mime. Chances are he won't be in your area, but here is a sketch he does...


I will report more later, as I am in company and am being rude. Ta!

The oblivion that is the Southwestern Arizona Desert...

Wow. What can I say about the first day out? I managed almost 300 miles dead even getting to Yucca Valley in California. The route looked like this...


And the scooter looked like this...


It's about 40 lbs of equipment. The biggest drawback isn't actually weight; It's wind resistance. It keeps top speed with a headwind down by about 10-15 mph. Sucky! It bounces around a bit when passing big trucks, but it keeps it's feet on the ground.

So what did I see first day out? Lots of this.


And this.


Actually after snapping this picture, it shot up to 104 degrees (!) All in all, still not intolerable. It dropped to 90-95 when moving. I wasn't sweating a lot, nor was Natasha. She just purred along. Thank you, water-cooling.

Also passed through Salome. This is almost the entire town in one picture.


It's hard to believe how populated the desert is in actuality. People actually choose to live there. Incredible! Also it's a bit greener than people know. It's not the Mideast by any stretch.


Mahalo.

Leaving tomorrow on a jet plane...

Well, actually no. Not a jet plane. Not even in a car. A scooter. I will leave tomorrow probably before 8am. I have certain peeps I will be in daily contact with, but if you want to follow me on Twitter, the name to search for is 'vallindsay2'. I won't make minute-to-minute posts, although I will try for at least twice a day.

Also, I will be posting to this blog every evening, if I am afforded a wifi connection. Wish me luck even though I hope I need none. :)

Test trip last week, off to Portland!!

So I took the multitude's advice and made a test run on my scooter last week; 113 (aprox) miles north of Phoenix to Prescott, AZ. I fillef the tank and left last Friday at 9:00am on the dot.

No real problems to report. I took a seatpad because I had a nominal fear the seat was too soft. I was wrong. The seat's fine. The first leg was Highway 60 to Wickenburg. After I got past the traffic lights, I let the throttle carry me to 60 mph cruising. The buffeting wind from other vehicles wasn't horrible but was annoying. The dust devil I rode through? Different thing. It was brief but hit me hard. The first pucker on the scooter.

I filled the tank at Wickenburg to check the mileage. I calculated 78mpg. Not too shabby! I got to the other side of Wickenburg and headed north on the 89-A....



More of the same kind of riding first leg; Mostly straight highway. What 89-A turns into should be a pleasant surprise to anyone unfamiliar with it. The road starts up into mountains and turns into some of the sweetest curves any cyclist could dream of. It was a tad windy, but it didn't ruin the fun much. It has to be fantastic in the fall! At 12:00 noon I pulled into Prescott...



68 degrees and sunny. I'd be hard pressed to choose a better time to go, with Phoenix starting into the ninety-degree season. I didn't press myself on time with this trip; It took three hours almost exactly to get up there. My average fell
greatly with the mountains, but I don't plan to be in that great a hurry going up to Portland, either. Heading back I had discovered that I had a slight tail-wind coming up. Not a huge issue, but it was a lot noisier. It made me realize earplugs would be a good thing to have.

Averaging fuel use on the way back yielded 72mpg. I'm sure the headwind and some in-city driving was responsible for that. The trip read 230.6 miles and I got back into Phoenix at about 5 pm. With several scenic-lookyloo stops and fuel stops, I'm not displeased at all. I felt that i could have put another 100 miles on the scooter, too. So I believe with good weather 300 miles will be easy.

I will post this evening in regards to leaving for Portland. Ta!

Bringing it on...

So, I inch closer to the move to Portland. Things are being boxed, other things cleaned and organized. And above all this, crazy apprehension. Now I've done this sort of thing before, with far less money. But I admit I'm bristling with the same confidence I had then. I'm not quite sure why that is. I could guess it's the fact I could piss away my savings. Maybe it's the fact I have such awesome friends here in Phoenix and in Santa Fe.

To be honest with the crowd here, I'd probably move back to Santa Fe before moving back to Phoenix. I liked my job enough there, have the friends, it's far more liberal and, although I don't define myself as such, if society labels me I might as well be with those on the same side, eh?

But that is failure-talk. I will move to Portland, I will find work and a place to live and I will be on top of the world yet again. Here is a somber picture to show my determination...



Yes, you can see it, can't you?

Also, here's the crazy part; Everything points to me riding my new Vespa up there. I will take like 5-6 days, I think. If I cover 350 miles a day it's 4 days away. A dawdle!

Reason to post!!!

Hello from the wilderness. I have made an addition to the family and need to make proper introductions. This is Natasha...


Natasha is a 2009 Vespa GTS250ie. She's everything I could hope for in such a vehicle; Fuel injected, watercooled 250cc and capable of 78mph and about 70 mpg. And to be honest, this is everything I want out of a vehicle with an engine on it for daily movement. Screw the Prius. This is what society should be thinking about.

End of month, I venture into the bowels of Portland, OR. With a little luck and lots of hard work, I should be able to establish myself there. I might even go to school, although not quite sure what yet. I've learned Vespa mechanics make 92 bucks and hour. Hmmm....

More to come soon...