New friends to the rescue...

Words and photos by JK
Thur. July 3rd 2008: Like two naughty boys we had stayed up very late laughing our heads off. Garrett was imitating some of his local yokels in a funny American accent that had me laughing until I ached. I wrote my blog, eventually, and at 2am I turned in. So… I overslept. As I grabbed a coffee I heard a lady refer to her morning cup of tea and ended up meeting a couple that were from England but now lived in California. We swopped stories, since her husband owned a Honda VFR (good choice dude), and they rode many miles together. The sun is shining and we are OK to make Pleasanton by 1:30pm. We are going to spend a few days with an ACC called Dinah Thompson and I am looking forward to hearing about her recent trip in the UK. As soon as we get fuel, and more coffee for me, we are set to go through the best scenery a biker can find. Wahooo.

I left these words as I had written them. Within an hour the day was wrecked with one busted collarbone and one splintered ZXR636. I am always criticized for rejecting admonition to BE CAREFUL! Why? Because it doesn't work. Garrett and I had just agreed to take it nice and steady and CAREFULLY through these extreme corners. As I gently rolled through a tight downhill/uphill right-hander at the recommended 15mph I heard a bang. I looked in my mirror and saw Garrett low-siding at a very slow speed. The big right-hand exhaust can causes one to tip over instead of gently slide to the tarmac. He never even grazed his knuckles! The bike slid on a shiney tar patch (see photo of the spot) and once away from Garrett the headlight was crunched by a Jeep in the other lane. The chap in that Jeep was Andrew Brennan, an EMT, and fully equipped to assist in such an accident. Andrew is a scuba diver http://www.pyratescuba.com/ and was so professional and friendly one would never know his car was busted up too! Emergency people arrived (one wag said they'd be happy for the action!) and everyone was helpful and kind. Bronwyn and Evan of the ambulance crew were ever so kind and experienced. Thanks a million! I followed the ambulance as it drove from this remote place, with the best sea views on the planet bar none, along that writhing road to arrive 1 1/2 hours later at Santa Rosa Hospital. Garrett was zapped with rays, stuck with needles, drained of blood, strapped up and finally told to clear off home with a sling and some pain killers. I was surprised to learn that apparently there are actually not many motorcycle accidents along that road in spite of the terrain. Garrett joins the battle-scarred elite. I knew exactly what had caused his injury and I would recommend all motorcycles have underseat or stubby low exhausts in future.

In the meantime, Jax had arranged for us all to stay with Dinah Thompson, an ACC in Danville CA http://www.sierrafg.com/, and I was on the mobile to Dinah as Garrett and I had a small meal and a coffee at the hospital cafeteria. I cannot express the enormous gratitude we owe to Dinah and her husband Jim. Dinah cheerfully drove all the way to Oakland airport and picked up Jax, then all the way to Santa Rosa through 4th of July traffic to pick up Garrett and his gear, and led the way back to their gorgeous home. That lady can drive! I have never been so impressed and I have driven millions of miles on many continents and I am on my 110th car and 13th motorcycle. I have followed hundreds of people. She was fast, decisive, clear to indicate, worked as a team leader and I never had a moments hesitation for over an hour in the dark through busy California traffic around San Francisco. The pounding I got from the roads was another matter! Dinah and Jim settled us all in and spoiled us rotten until Jax and I had to leave on Saturday for urgent business she had in Riverside. Dinah also ran Garrett to the airport at 7am for his flight home on the Sunday morning! Geico will see to the bike and Jeep.

On the Friday Dinah cooked about 200lbs of Chippotle pork and made a salad with the world's BEST dressing. I'm getting the recipe. Eat yer hearts out. Time to unwind in the pool and jacuzzi was appreciated and then actor John Lang came by. John is an ACC as well as an actor http://www.johnhale.net/. John took Jax and I to meet his daughter Rebecca and to watch the fire works at a local park. Rebecca was singing in the car for just a few moments and what a lovely voice she has! Another one for the stage? Check out the size of her cat! Jim Thompson is a fascinating and experienced businessman and I want to find a less hectic time to hear his stories. I know he helped Garrett forget his pain with his photos, travels, and anecdotes. Dinah is an energy source. She was so cheerful and lively and organised and relentlessly geared for hospitality and ease that when Jax spotted the little Duracell bunny toy she bought it for Dinah on the spot. We think Duracell should use Dinah instead of the bunny! Dinah is also a SageCRM consultant and her superbly equipped office reflects her organisational skills. The friendship and kindess she displayed to Garrett and I as strangers is beyond words. We owe you sweetheart!

Saturday afternoon saw Jax and I off to Monterey. It was surprisingly cold on the coast after super-warm Danville/Pleasanton and I was disappointed to miss meeting the staff at the Sage offices in Pleasanton, especially Deborah who was so interested in our trip and Garrett's well-being. So I wasn't in the greatest mood to visit Monterey. The Sunday morning drizzle that descended also blotted out much of Carmel (a lovely little town on the beach) as I rode out for fuel and to ascertain the passability of Hwy 1 through the world-renowned Big Sur. It was closed due to the awful fires. We were forced to wait another day as I had left my waterproofs to be shipped to Riverside. I confess that things swirled through my brain as my tour plans were knocked about and I had lost my riding buddy. Get well soon Garrett. Thanks for the photos, the fun, the philosophy and the friendship along those 4000 miles.

The Hills are on Fire

Blog and Photos by Garrett Fulton

This blog title might sound like the name of a great Heavy Metal song by Iron Maiden, but its not. Entering into California, it was unmistakable how smoke laden the mountains were from the thousand fires which were still raging throughout the state. You could smell it, see it and nearly taste it as it hung low in the valleys all around. The ride was long, but breathtaking with nearly 12 hours actually in the saddle that day. We wound our way through forgotten valleys, devoid of all the plastic signs and trappings of American capitalism since the sparse population couldn't support it. Endless twisting roads and hairpin turns had me thoroughly worn out after the days travel. Judging by the houses we saw and the people we encountered, it seemed to me to be the dying remnants of the hippies, who had settled north in an area of nature and timeless existence. It seemed detached to me from western vices where a rocking chair, a porch and a jug of moonshine could while away endless days in warm sunshine. The previous day we found ourselves traveling amongst the giant sentinels of northern California, namely the vast forests of ancient Redwoods. It was as if we had suddenly been transported to some forgotten Jurassic age where everything was large and dangerous. The towering trees were so ancient and enormous that I half expected dinosaurs to come crashing through the vegetation. Finally after several days we hit the coast. What appeared to be thick smoke was this time an enormous bank of fog which rolled in and ruled the land. There before us was the Pacific Ocean in all its splendor, splashing against a ragged coast of rocks and jagged outcropppings. Riding along the coast of California was some of the best scenery I have seen anywhere. I was constantly shaking my head in awed disbelief at the imposing cliffs, the majestic trees and winding roads. It was spectacular. Unfortunately, even though we had done 400 miles of twisties the day before, one hairpin turn got the best of me and my front tire slid into an oncoming car leaving me with a broken collar bone. For me, this wonderful trip came to an abrupt end as I now needed time to heal. Its been a fabulous run however, and I'll be back on my bike once again soon to some other fascinating destination. I'll leave James in charge from here on. Greetings to Debra Keipp and to Roshelle Thomas who are looking on from Point Arena. Adios everyone!...

Click on photos to enlarge

The ULTIMATE ride!

Words and photos by JK
Wed. July 2 2008, Point Arena California, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Arena
I had a bad night. I did manage 31/2 hours sleep but I was doubtful of my endurance this day as I loaded my saddlebags onto the bike at 6:15am. Today, after 17 hours (12 of them in the saddle) I feel I've earned a small badge for endurance. Especially as the roads we traversed were the most exacting I have encountered anywhere in the USA. Fabulous is a pathetic word to describe today’s journey. We rode from the little town of Phoenix Oregon south over the mountains to the smoke hazed valleys around Redding California then across the mountains and through giant redwood forests to the Pacific ocean and south again through freezing fog until succumbing to cold and fatigue at Point Arena. The first motel we saw had to do. Hotel California I nicknamed it. Scary. In the 444.5 miles covered today we saw deer, smelled thick smoke from forest fires as California burns, rode our tyre edges ragged and ourselves more so on the twistiest, corkscrew roads I have ever seen, nearly lost both front and back on sand and gravel strewn corners, cooked in the sun and froze in the fog and stood in awe of the coastline as dusk descended. This land of northern California is without doubt the winner of the BEST PLACE IN THE USA award.
It was chilly as we left this morning and rode over the Cascade Siskiyou mountains. I was desperate for a coffee. Getting Garrett to glance around and actually SEE anything can be a challenge (well, it appears that way from my saddle) so we had quite a few miles covered before we stopped for coffee and fuel. Garrett enjoyed his McDonald's breakfast. I live on coffee until 9pm. He then donned his iPod and thoroughly enjoyed the roads as we swung left and right for mile after focused mile. The air was rich with the aroma of burning wood. I love that smell but it broke my heart as I looked at these magnificent forests and thought of the years it will take to replace them. I know good comes from forest fires but I'd still prefer to see forests that enjoy hundreds of years unmolested. We rode the I5 south as far as Redding and for an Interstate it was a beautiful run. We found the 299 west and began our roller-coaster day. At Douglas City we took Hwy 3 southwest through Hayfork to Rio Dell on the 101 and then off on Hwy 1 at Leggett to ride the coast road. I was hanging out of the saddle and whooping in the left-handers. I noticed that in right-handers my knee turned towards the bike instead of the road. Wierd. By day's end though I was enjoying right-handers just as much. I've waited over 3 years for that to happen after I crashed on a diesel-strewn right-hand bend at Farnham Castle in Surrey. I saw a deer and warned Garrett. I saw another on the other side of the road. A few miles on I saw a mother rush across the road as her tiny fawn wobbled on little stick legs to keep up. I braked hard and Garrett shot past and then stopped ahead. I grabbed my camera as the doe ran up the hillside. I knew the fawn could not keep up and would be trained to lie still in foliage (how does a doe teach that? Can they talk?).
I found the little darling obediently lying in deep grass, quite well hidden actually, and it looked at me with the biggest Bambi eyes I have ever seen. I got 2 quick snaps and it bolted for mummy. And so we rode on, ever twisting until we silently begged for a straight piece of road to rest our limbs. I saw a church with the sign "Carry the light. Ignite the whole valley!" with a picture of some eternal flame torch. Not a great slogan to have when all the 4th of July fireworks were cancelled and 1,400 forest fires burned in that State. We reached Rio Dell and within moments we decided to take Jay Hudson's advice (Jay is an ACC and experienced rider) to ride through the Valley of the Giants. Oh my goodness but this is fantastic. It is not a forest. It is a Cathedral of living wood. Sunlight flashed through the leaves between the trunks like a stained glass backdrop to enormous, dark, Gothic pillars. The sunlight ran down a bare branch like lightning striking me on the shoulder as we swooped through this monumental ode to giant living things. It is peaceful here and awe inspiring.
By the time we reached Leggett and headed westward and south on Hwy 1 we were hoping for some easy roads and not a little perturbed at the sudden change in air temperature. We were in California in July weren’t we? Sorry, but it felt like Iceland in March. I began to shiver and tense up with cold. Garrett was struggling with fog spray on the outside of his visor and his breath fogging the inside. He rode bare-faced into the cold, wet wind. The road got even more twisty in the tightest turns I’ve seen since the Dolomites in Italy. I wished for a supermoto. But the utterly spectacular scenes before us had us mesmerized. Brilliant sunshine floodlit huge fingers of fog that grabbed the coast and lay on the land with a soggy, cold grip. Shark-fin-shaped rocks eerily grew from these fog fingers in the shallow coastal waters far below the unguarded road as waves curled into the bays to meet wide rivers. The road always dipped and corkscrewed at these river mouths. We decided to call it a day and eventually we found a place. Hardly salubrious but better than freezing fog. Just. I grabbed a hot shower to thaw out while Garrett grabbed a cold beer at some local bar to chill out. We reviewed the day and realized it was the best ride imaginable. If only we had a week to do it over and over in bite-sized chunks…

Fire, Fire, Fire...

Wow! What a week! Sorry folks, I am merely posting this blog to buy some time and reassure everyone that I am alive. Between the fires on the routes I had chosen, the fiery heat of riding in summer heat-waves, and the firework-happy Fourth of July holiday my schedule is pretty messed up. I will spend a few days refixing appointments and then update things on my blog. I'm soon be back on track, on time and on the road and you'll get all the news.

Tech support comedian

I needed until noon to catch up on things and we had arranged to meet our ACT! tech support chap for lunch so 3 coffees were needed to get me going. I spilled the scalding liquid on my chest as I tried to open the 45 tonne fire safety door to the stairwell. How ironic. The Safety officer gone mad causes my burns for the sake of my safety. I was lobster red when I finally pulled off the steaming T-shirt. I remarked that at this rate of "safety" all hotels will soon have triple bank-vault doors just to get into your bathroom. Garrett laughed. I made a sort of lobster squeal. We eventually found James Burlew's house after I forgot the street name and yelled through my visor that it was Umpa Lumpa Street to Garrett. He cracked up and did his Wizard of Oz Lollypop Guild imitation. Umitalla Street was very close to Umpquala Street hence the confusion in my brain cell. James does the best voice impersonations and I always ask him to do Beavis and Butthead. He does George Bush very well too. James' lovely wife Holly drove all the way up to have lunch with us. It was the best mexican food I've ever had and I pigged out. Not a good move on my part. After our goodbyes and just 125 miles I started falling asleep on the bike and this was in spectacular scenery! We pulled off at Phoenix OR and called it a day. We have enormous miles to cover tomorrow through the best scenery so it will need to be a LONG day of hard riding. San Francisco here we come!

From SAGE to Sutherlin

Blog and Photos by Garrett Fulton
The day was blocked up from top to bottom with appointments James had to make with various groups. It wasn’t a day of adventure, but a day of business.
The SAGE office in Portland was our first stop. It was an immaculate facility which by all appearances could have doubled as a surgical hospital. Out back was inviting greenery where employees could take lunch or just get out and enjoy some fresh air. A few photos and a bit of banter and we were once again on the road in haste.
Pressing on late again to the next appointment we met up with Greg and Kevin who work for DesignR1. The meeting was held in an old fashioned Americana diner the style of which every small town seems to boast. As "Caseys Hot Dog's" has the catering contract at the armory where endless events are held, they boasted scores of autographed photos on the walls from the various musical acts that performed there, from Randy Travis to Rob Zombie and everyone in between. The staff there really had great business sense and went out of the way to be accommodating and hospitable. Their success is well deserved.
Rocketing off yet again, we met up with numerous ACT! consultants at a Shari's restaurant. By now the heat of the day, road chaos and confusion had my head bobbing in my chair as struggled to keep awake. I felt bad that I couldn’t have been more animated or engaging, but the days events had tired me out. Latee was ever so kind and picked up the tab for us. We said our good-byes and hammered down the road for our final stop for the night. The scenery en route to Sutherlin was enjoyable. Doing a night run for the first time on this journey everything looked different. One forest we rode through had thick dark trees that crowded the roadside like ominous green jaws threatening to snap shut on us if we didn’t hurry through. It had an evil fairytale look about the place and I half expected out of the corner of my eye to see a flicker of clothing or a wicker basket as Hanzel and Gretel disappeared in the inky black to encounter the witch.

P.S. No I am not about to plant one on Greg Ferber's nose to Kevin's amusement! JK

Monday Monday...

Words and photos by JK

Of course I woke up late. I am RUBBISH at getting to sleep when it's necessary. Nothing will keep me tossing and turning all night like knowing I need to be up (and resembling the living) early. Until I came to America I didn't even know there WAS a 6am. Now I have to try and contact victims to visit in a flurried, hasty, breathless phone call and then locate them on a Google map and memorize it (with my single brain cell that's a lot of stress) and then ride off and not speed. Live is sooooooo hard when you're a natural owl. How I envy those early risers that just say "Oh I need to go to slee...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

Garrett went to McDonalds for breakfast whilst I sat at this laptop and mildly panicked. I managed to organize our day and rushed off to meet Garrett. We were SUPPOSED to ride west on I84 but yours truly in a blistering eye-movement of genius managed to miss just one word on the big sign. East. 11 miles later they reconfirmed we were truly going the wrong way when we had no time for such antics. We exited with me gesturing wildly in mock anger. Off we tore heading westward toward Portland for Hwy26 to Beaverton. Now at this point, be with us on our bikes. Trucks to the left of me, RVs on the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you... at Interstate 5 the road divides N and S. Beaverton? Pick a road...any road... because AFTER you choose and turn you see the sign. Hello! Why not post the signs BEFORE the junctions? Oh I get it...it's Oregon humour. Hahaha look at all the people going the wrong way...hilarious.

We reached the Sage offices that handle Timberline and some other builder's software. Gorgeous offices. I could sure suffer coming to work here! Traci Williams is the PR manager that informed the 400 employees to run for cover on short notice. The curious came to see us so Fulton took some arty-farty shots of us all. What a friendly turn-out! I had briefly met Wayne Newitts at Insights in DC but of course I couldn't recognize him as the last time we laughed together he had a huge afro wig, tinted John Lennon glasses, beads and a tie-die T-shirt. He looked better that way. Just kidding Wayne!

Outside as we began donning helmets in the heat Sean Evans approached us. Sean's older brother Pat was a factory Yamaha racer in the dangerous 70's and died at Imola. He raced such greats as Giacomo Agostini. I will find time to learn more from Sean about Pat's racing career and I'll share that with you all. Sean is quiet and modest and funny and confessed that he wisely chose not to ride as his tendency to speed and sliding the bike round corners would surely end in grief. It was a good reminder to me that it was better to arrive a bit late than not at all. I'll be in touch Sean.

Down to Salem to meet with our programmers Greg Ferber and Kevin Ryan. They look like brothers but in fact they married twin sisters and are now brothers-in-law. And they are both programmers. If you believe the thing about twins these guys are a perfect case-study!

I got myself updated on our ACT! add-on called Outlook IntegrateR1 (I am marketing, not a techie, and do remember my single brain cell) so I could explain it's wonders to a group of ACT! users when I get to California. By the way, if you use ACT! and want to try it out you can get a free trial copy from our website.

By this time we were running very late but we managed to make up the time and arrived just 15 minutes late at the restaurant to meet with 4 ACT! consultants that cover the Eugene area. Herb Syverson (www.solarducknews.com) kindly spread the word and Roy Ladenslager and Kim Winton (the database repair guru) who work with TechBenders (www.techbenders.com) and Latee Brown (www.1stinstinct.com) all turned up for a chat. Latee is a biker and he had his copy of Cycle World with him. We all compared notes about ACT! and Garrett got lost listening until we had to make tracks for Sutherlin. The Olympic trials are going on in Eugene so there are no rooms for 50 miles in all directions. We made Sutherlin by nightfall riding through beautiful scenery of mountain-sized hills, fields, farms and forests. I see why our tech support chap lives here! We grabbed a meal and I got waylayed by a local who wanted to talk so it was a late night in a very pleasant, clean motel. I couldn't believe we had managed all the locations and visits but as per usual, things tend to be bigger in your head than in reality.