Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Our last day together

Our short vacation to the IMBC2010 in Bend, OR is on its final day . We left Tumwater around 8:30am and headed north along I-5 towards Seattle. We did not want to take the freeway but looking at our maps we decided that we had no other alternative, but our plan was to keep it to a bare minimum and take exit 142 Federal way. We took the old Pacific Highway all the way into Seattle. Soon we arrive at the Pike Place Market in Seattle

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(a Mike Simmons shadow inspired image of Sonja's F650GS at Pike Place)

I knew that Chuck was going to be at the market today as we had been texting each other all morning

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Today was Market Wednesday and they eliminated all the parking on the South side of the street for these tents. The heat was building up and parking was scarce

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We were not the only ones searching for parking. There are some steep hills which makes bike parking difficult or impossible due to the severe lean angles

Sonja was very lucky to snag this spot right at the entrance just as a van was leaving. I had already overshot the space and had to park at the end of the block

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On the news we heard that Seattle was fogged in . You can see the remnants of the fog in the background as the sun made its appearance.

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We made our way inside the market (on the main street level)

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and tried to sneek up on Chuck at the end of this corridor . I try to make it a practice to stop in everytime I visit Seattle. The past two times he was not here, but today he came out to admire the Beemer

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Chuck wasn't the least bit interested to visit my Wee which was parked at the other end of the block. It was too far away and too hot. I imagine that when I get to his age I would wish to limit my walking too

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Today my Wee would have to be content to park beside this classic looking Triumph . It is difficult to see the faded lines painted on the bricks but these are 3 dedicated motorcycle parking spots and there was no charge for parking there.

As we are not shoppers, nor were we looking for anything. Our visit was just to socialize and have Sonja meet with Chuck. We managed to drag Chuck away from his strenuous job and take a coffee break across the street at his favourite coffee shop

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Here is Chuck pretending he is the barista du jour behind the counter. It almost seemed that he was in charge of this place . As it was nearing lunch time we decided to have a snack while the three of us chatted for a bit . It was a relaxing half hour.

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It was soon time for us to depart for our final stretch back to Canada

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(Waterfront view fro Pike Place Market, looking West)

the Market is a lively place with musicians playing their tunes
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From the Market we headed up Aurora (Hwy 99) all the way up to Everett/Marysville then onto Hwy 9 as was our desire to avoid I-5 at all costs, stopping for a brief intermission at Cycle Barn in Lynnood. Sonja was looking for another riding jacket and kevlar type jeans. Traffic was slow and heavy and the heat was relentless in our riding outfits. After we passed Smokey Point we could finally make some time along Hwy 9. I wanted to make a short stop in Bellingham so we stopped at this pullout to say our goodbyes

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For weeks we had been making our plans. We had a terrific 6 days and we did not wish it to end. During this time we had ridden nearly 2,100 kms together, we had become a riding team. We had met friends, new and old. We are bringing home new memories of good times and wondering when we can do it again

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And here we are, somewhere just east of Bellingham on Hwy 9, a mere 100 kms from home and we are saying our goodbyes by the side of the road.

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Sonja has mounted her bike, started the engine on her Beemer and is leaving me behind. We had been together, watching out for each other, looking into our rear view mirrors the whole time making sure each other was safe and now we were both alone. Heading in opposite directions, her north and myself West

I watch as she rolls down the road, then out of sight. I am now alone

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and as I head towards Bellingham along the shores of Lake Whatcom I listen to the sweet sounds of my V twin engine and think that life can't get any better than this .

10 comments:

  1. That was an excellent series of posts of your obviously enjoyable trip. The scenic shots and especially your "people shots" really added to the story. Such as the series of shots of your riding buddy heading down the road.

    Thank you for taking us along on your trip...
    When do the videos come out?

    Richard My blog

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  2. Pikes Place and Seattle. The pics make me miss them. I've only been to Seattle twice, but I loved it. I can't imagine going there on a bike. We took the car (all we had then anyways), and Ron had to drive. That way I could gawk.

    Dang...your good byes bring back earlier good byes, and I miss you guys!!

    Wonderful trip report - the whole series. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

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  3. Bob

    A croc(tm) free post?

    Excellent!

    Best wishes from England, N

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  4. Dear Mr. Bobscoot:

    If there was any doubt in my mind that Sonja was a true biker woman, it is gone now. I say this judging from the utterly appraising look she is casting over Chuck's jeans.

    I would have partked my bike under the umbrellas on the second-floor verandah of the gin mill pictured. Neat photo of Sonja's bike shadow.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads
    (The Preferred Blog of Professional Moto Racers)

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  5. Bob:
    Not one rider will fail to recognise the glow of a wonderful ride with great friends. One of the things which separates motorcyclists from other road users.

    A great series thanks.

    Geoff the Kiwi

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  6. Richard: Thank you, it was sad to see Sonja ride off and leave me by the side of the road. It did affect my riding, I took the twisties a little slower knowing that I did not have a backup

    BlueKat: I like Seattle. If we had more time we would have gone to Alki Beach and perhaps stayed for dinner somewhere, but after a few days on the road we just wanted to head for home

    Nikos: I now how fond you are of Crocs(tm), will make up for it . . . I just loved that Beemer Girl with her painted top

    Jack: Get your bike out here on the Wet coast and we will go riding. And I am wondering if Stiffie is going to be anywhere near us. She wrote that she is coming out to the coast but with 3,000 miles of coastline it was hard to pin-point exactly where she was going to be. And couldn't you be her porter ?

    Geoff: I wished that we had more time. It was perfect. Good weather, good roads, lots of blogger action and food. Is that enough for you to fly over for the next meetup ?

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  7. Dear Bobskoot:

    Stiffie is working on an art project and on a genealogical project. She will be in Montana a week, and then in Orange County, Ca for three days. I will be having wild parties and riding my bike in the house.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toadf
    Twisted Roads

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  8. Chuck will usually make his own espresso drinks, at least when the people behind the counter will let him back there. It's a good fallback, in case the photography thing doesn't work out...

    __Orin
    Scootin' Old Skool

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  9. I am the Barista du jour! Nice that you noticed -:)

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  10. Thanks for the mention Bob. That's a cool shadow shot. I like the texture with the bricks.

    I've been lurking on your posts about your Oregon trip. I'm glad you and Sonja had a great time and safe trip. You did a nice job of showing Oregon, even our wonderful roads...

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