Day 1: Sonoma to Bend, Headed to Fairbanks

~ fordgood ~ Leave a comment

We all started early from different locations. Doug with his new bike freshly serviced in Eugene, Bob in Mill Valley and your faithful scribe in Sonoma. 500 miles, “no breaks, one Bend,” we finished in Bend, Oregon, one of our country’s GREAT outdoor towns. Like Moab in Utah, but with the benefit of Mt. Bachelor in the winter. Bachelor is still snow covered, just 20 minutes away from an 80-degree Bend center night.

On the road today, we saw incredible skies, Mt. Shasta covered with cumulus and an incredible double road of cloud and highway.

Incredible skies leaving the valley

 

 

 

 

 

Clouds over Mt. Shasta
Clouds over Mt. Shasta
A double road

 

Met some wonderful people in Klamath Falls that help struggling teens, had great conversations with riders in Winters and Redding that were headed to our origination point of Napa/Sonoma, had very refreshing and much needed cold ones at Sidelines to see Heston’s no hitter and the Warriors struggles.

Gassed up and ready for a loooooong pull to a town we’ll spend an extra day in and a destination I have ALWAYS wanted to see — Kelowna, BC on the shores of Lake Okanagan in Canada’s wine country. I sense a theme!

 

The Best Days

~ fordgood ~ 1 Comment

The night before we expect a “Best Day,” isn’t sleep easy, deep and deliciously short? I woke up raring to go (what a phrase) to a beautiful summer morning. Almost summer anyway, and that’s sort of the point.

Today starts a trip I have dreamed of forever — a motorcycle tour with friends from the San Francisco Bay Area to Fairbanks, Alaska to see the Midnight Sun Game — a 10pm summer solstice tradition since 1906. Lots of other draws to that 3100 mile road, but Todd Dennis’ growing legacy and a ballpark less traveled started the fascination. The game is played without lights, because they can. More on that later.

Two great friends start the trip with me today — Doug Gould and Bob Berg. Hockey Research Scientist/PhD and the guy we all aspire to be. I mean whose first job out of college is, well, never mind…, another time.

For now, a Sonoma sunrise and a fully-packed motorcycle.