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Because this report covers so much territory, you’ll be getting it over the course of the next few days… a motorcycle soap opera of sorts!! DAY FOUR – The Journey Home We are awakened by the sun rising through the redwoods… early, yes, but much more peaceful than the previous two mornings. I laid there and listened to the rustle of people as they rose from their slumber… tentatively stepping out into the morning air, quiet morning greetings to their fellow campers… gentle smiles as the reality of what must come next hits us all… time to pack it up and head home. But we still had many roads to go until we got there! Stevie walked toward me with a cup of coffee at the ready and I decided at that moment she is one of the best women in the world. We gathered up our gear and I tried to remember how I had gotten all that stuff packed safely on the bike and still had room for me. Rob showed us his magic tent cleaning technique (pick the whole thing up, turn it upside down, and shake vigorously), Todd came by with bananas for a little pick-me-up (where the hell did he get those, I wondered? But if anyone would have food at the ready, it would be Todd). Finally packed up, we made our way through the forest campground, again hoping we wouldn’t run anyone over, and made our first stop of the day about ½-mile away – STARBUCKS! There was quite a line but we patiently waited for our caffeine fueling and enjoyed the morning in Tahoe. Wish we would have had a little more time to adventure around the lake – hmmmmm, road trip anyone?? Once well oiled, we saddled up and headed out of Tahoe, deciding to avoid the freeways and follow Hwy. 88 most of the way down. We had steeled ourselves for lots of slow vehicles and heavy traffic but it really wasn’t that bad - lots of passing lanes helped and broken yellow lines allowing for a quick zip around the motor homes. None of us had ever been along this portion of Hwy 88 and let me tell you, it is lovely. I had that Beatles song playing in my head… “The long and winding road…” as we journeyed along. The views are grand – sprawling vistas of redwoods, beautiful lakes, and majestic rock formations… it was a wonder we managed to stay on the road! We finally pulled off near Alpine Lake for a photo op session and butt break. Audrey gave me lip because I had told her it would warm up as we traveled downward but up until that point, it was still quite cool. Little did she know what was in store for her in a few more miles! The lower the elevation we went, the higher the temperature climbed. Ugh, it was gross – one of the few times that being on the bike is not a joy. We made our way into Jackson for gas and lunched at a nice (air-conditioned) restaurant called Mel’s, drinking lots of water, soaking neckerchiefs in water, and readying ourselves for the return outside. We continued along Hwy. 88 and through the oven-like heat. The little town of Clements has added a new stoplight in the middle of town that totally screws up the flow of traffic and we crawled for a few miles until we got past it, hoping no one would fall over from heat stroke. Rob headed off on Hwy. 12 toward home, hoping for cooler temps on his way into the North Bay. The rest of us continued on Hwy. 88 and then to Hwy. 4 where we again stopped to hydrate, soak our t-shirts (yep, wet t-shirt contests for both they guys and the girls), and cool off a little in the convenience store. I rounded a corner of refrigerated cabinets and found Todd standing on the inside of one of the doors, letting the cool air mist around him. There was steam coming off his back! It was quite a sight. We journeyed forth until one point on Hwy. 4, Audrey came screaming by me and signaled to pull over. Unbeknownst to me, a shirt I had tucked into the bungee web on my bike had blown loose and was threatening to become entangled in my rear wheel. I will forever be grateful to Audrey for saving my life that day! From Hwy 4, we took Vasco Rd., keeping the speed to a sane level since the CHP seemed to be out in force that day. We stopped for one final gas stop and hydration series. At one point, we found Todd flat on his back on the cement, trying to find even a tiny bit of cooler pavement to soak into his bones. We hopped onto 580, hopped off of 580, onto 84 and from there everyone kind of headed off in their respective home directions. Found out after we got home, that Patrick (who deserves some sort of award) had to tow someone’s R100GS (an older BMW airhead) bike that wouldn’t start, to the guy’s home in Alameda. Once that mission of mercy was completed, he headed for home in Fremont only to turn right back and head up to Plymouth to rescue Mike and Julie, whose Harley had developed some serious problems along the way (Julie’s recap follows below). They had managed to limp it to a garage that was nearby, Foothill Motorcycles in Plymouth (http://www.foothillmc.com), and miraculously OPEN on Labor Day. The guys that own the shop went above and beyond the call of duty in helping Mike and Julie out so if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by and say hi! They also said there was a great bbq place nearby called Incahoots BBQ-Pizza & Grill (http://www.yellowpages-ads.com/00970404) so if you’re out that way, be sure to check out the place! In retrospect, were there challenges? Yes. Frustrating moments? A few. Amazing roads? A lot! Great people? An abundance. Would I do it again? HELL YES! The Range of Light Gypsy Tour happens every year on Labor Day weekend, so find a BMW buddy to sponsor you and put it on the calendar for next year. I can’t wait to see where we end up next year! Quotable Quotes – only a very few from the witty repartee of the weekend “It’s the best 12 inches a man can buy.” “I dropped my hose!” “I have checked and I am a woman.” “Now I can say I smell like a girl instead of saying I just smell.” “It’s better than sex!” “Who am I sleeping with tonight?” “Oops… I’m dribbling.” “Real men don’t dribble.” Julie’s Report - Ode to a Broken Down Harley: "Mike and I had some problems on the way home from Tahoe on the ROL Monday. Very long story short, as always Patrick came to the rescue and drove from Fremont (just pulling into his driveway) back the way he had just come to pick us up in beautiful and hot Plymouth, California. We had been riding and hearing some noise, happened to look over and saw a place called Foothill Motorcycle on the side of the road which had an OPEN sign on Labor Day even. It must have been divine intervention as we stopped and met the nicest people you can imagine. Mel is the owner and his mechanic is a Hells Angel named Anthony who is an incredibly awesome mechanic, has been working on Harleys for 20 years and one of the nicest guys you could meet. It turned out that if we had not stopped when we did we not only would not have made it much farther but we would have completely trashed the engine. If I can try and explain this to the best of my mechanical knowledge (HA) is that one of the support arms for the tapit roller broke, causing the needle bearings inside that roller to fall out which toasted the cam shaft so there will need to be lots of replacements. As of right now, they are trying to figure out if the inner cam bearing case was ruined as a result. Needless to say it was a long day and even longer for Patrick who was our savior...in case he did not get enough driving in already....but we did want to pass along the info about these guys. The shop is Foothill Motorcycle in Plymouth, CA. There are some great stores, wine tasting, a deli that is incredible, and a BBQ place that is awesome all right there within walking distance. You meet some great people in your travels and these guys were offering their houses for us to stay that night...just anything they could do to help...so if you are in the area, stop in and give them some business. They are right off Hwy. 49 on the right hand side coming from the Bay Area." Peace,
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