The Anti-Canadia Tour
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:40 am
FYI, you can view the pictures I took on this trip by CLICKING HERE.
After the debacle at the Canadian Border, I decided to do a reroute.
*August 3, Sunday: All the hotels were filled last night in Bellingham, but I finally found a room at the funky Windmill Inn in Lynden. After pouting for the morning, I decided to ride up to Mt. Baker and back. What an exceptionally beautiful ride! I even took in some gravel road exploration. That night I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.
*August, 4, Monday: After surfing the web, it seems the carburetor float issue is a common occurrence with my bike and is due to the float bowl gasket being made of cork instead of rubber. The cork gasket gets old and stops sealing, hence the oozing starts. There was Ride West BMW in Seattle and I hoped they would have the gaskets, so that was the direction I chose on this day – head south. I headed south towards Whidbey Island and although beautiful (especially Deception Bay), the traffic sucked. I eventually caught the ferry to Mukilteo, called up my Uncle Marty and Aunt Penny and coaxed them out of a place to stay for the night. We spent the evening with good dinner, conversation and even some tequila.
*August 5, Tuesday: Uncle Marty took me to the BMW shop and they had the gaskets – good deal. I installed them and sure enough – that was the fix. I then bid them farewell, stopped and had a lunch coffee with my good friend Toni Arritola (was great to see you again, Tonita!) and decided to hit Hwy 2 over Steven's Pass towards Leavenworth. My GPS kicks butt. How did I ever tour for so many years without one? It was yet another beautiful drive especially stopping in the burg called Startup and wetting my whistle with locals Brenda and Becky. I love my Beemer - while it's ugly, it's such a great bike. I pulled into the KOA in Leavenworth around 7:30pm, set up camp and crashed out. It cost almost $50 just to throw down a tent (gasp!). Note to self: when calling ahead, be sure and ask the price too!
*August 6, Wednesday: I woke up very early at 4:30am in KOA Land and it was nice and quiet. After a shower, I finally pulled out my travel laptop I purchased called the EEE PC. It's a nice little unit with no moving parts, so perfect for the bike, although my fat fingers have to not be overzealous with the touch typing. Going to continue heading east and plan on staying in the mountains due to the heat. Hard to believe I know, but I already have a plethora of photos of which I still need to upload, but the KOA is too noisy, so I'm getting outa here. Will upload later.
After the debacle at the Canadian Border, I decided to do a reroute.
*August 3, Sunday: All the hotels were filled last night in Bellingham, but I finally found a room at the funky Windmill Inn in Lynden. After pouting for the morning, I decided to ride up to Mt. Baker and back. What an exceptionally beautiful ride! I even took in some gravel road exploration. That night I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.
*August, 4, Monday: After surfing the web, it seems the carburetor float issue is a common occurrence with my bike and is due to the float bowl gasket being made of cork instead of rubber. The cork gasket gets old and stops sealing, hence the oozing starts. There was Ride West BMW in Seattle and I hoped they would have the gaskets, so that was the direction I chose on this day – head south. I headed south towards Whidbey Island and although beautiful (especially Deception Bay), the traffic sucked. I eventually caught the ferry to Mukilteo, called up my Uncle Marty and Aunt Penny and coaxed them out of a place to stay for the night. We spent the evening with good dinner, conversation and even some tequila.
*August 5, Tuesday: Uncle Marty took me to the BMW shop and they had the gaskets – good deal. I installed them and sure enough – that was the fix. I then bid them farewell, stopped and had a lunch coffee with my good friend Toni Arritola (was great to see you again, Tonita!) and decided to hit Hwy 2 over Steven's Pass towards Leavenworth. My GPS kicks butt. How did I ever tour for so many years without one? It was yet another beautiful drive especially stopping in the burg called Startup and wetting my whistle with locals Brenda and Becky. I love my Beemer - while it's ugly, it's such a great bike. I pulled into the KOA in Leavenworth around 7:30pm, set up camp and crashed out. It cost almost $50 just to throw down a tent (gasp!). Note to self: when calling ahead, be sure and ask the price too!
*August 6, Wednesday: I woke up very early at 4:30am in KOA Land and it was nice and quiet. After a shower, I finally pulled out my travel laptop I purchased called the EEE PC. It's a nice little unit with no moving parts, so perfect for the bike, although my fat fingers have to not be overzealous with the touch typing. Going to continue heading east and plan on staying in the mountains due to the heat. Hard to believe I know, but I already have a plethora of photos of which I still need to upload, but the KOA is too noisy, so I'm getting outa here. Will upload later.