FOLLOW UP ON THE BIKE

Today I went over to San Pedro to meet up with Tim Rutherford and discuss the work to be done on the Triumph. What a great guy he is, we have a plan in place, and we expect the bike to be completed by mid April.
See the pictures showing his shop and some of the very special bikes he has on display.

DROOL....

Birthday Gift

Today Anne gave me a gift certificate for my birthday.
Blah! you think, a gift certificate how boring.
But this one entitles the bearer to one free motorcycle restoration.
See the pics, I will update the blog as the project progresses.
It don't get much better than this!

Here at the end is the picture as we approach San Pedro, for you non-angelinos, that's pronounced

 San PEEDRO.

The bike shop has been in business for about 74 years and I think that some of the employees have been there from day one.

http://centurymotorcycles.net/

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At the planning stage

The flights are booked, the hotel in Munich is booked, the bikes are booked.
We have reservations for other hotels in Salzburg, Emmersdorf, and Villach in Austria.
The remaining hotels we will reserve pretty soon.

Jeff and I are really looking ahead to this trip.
The countdown clock has started ticking!

This is the preliminary route and distance. We may make some changes later, but for we gnarley guys who rode 3,700 miles this year, this ride is a walk in the park.

Old Guys Rule !!!!!

NEXT YEAR!

Jeff and I are planning our next trip.
We are going to the European Harley Rally in Faaker See Austria.
We will fly to Munich, Germany and then ride through southern Germany, Austria, Italy and perhaps Slovenia if we need to make a hotel stop there.
The return will be through Austria and Germany back to Munich for the flight home.

OLD GUYS RULE...

Trip Statistics

The trip total was near enough 3700 miles.
I used 95 gallons of gas for an average of 39 MPG.

The bike is in the shop now for some adjustments, replacements and fluid changes.
I should get it back at the begining of next week.

All the best,

Norm

Back At Home

We rode south from Los Banos to Los Angeles, we were going great guns until we passed the point where the 5 and the 405 split.
We then hit traffic which was at a complete standstill.
I opted to leave the freeway and Jeff battled on through it, we got home a bit later than we had planned, but home nonetheless!

I had a great welcome awaiting, see the pictures below.

I will give a synopsis of miles ridden and gas consumption for those of you so inclined tomorrow.

All the best,

Norm

Last Stop Before Home

We left Reno this morning and headed for Virginia City.
See the pictures below:

















We then allowed Ms. GPS to decide the route to BFE.
We went south toward Lake Tahoe and then west over Carson Pass, we had to wait about 30 minutes whilst a blasting operation was carried out at the top of the pass.
The ride was fantastic, there is still snow at the very top of the pass, at about 9,000 feet.
It just made for a long day even though we did not ride a lot of miles.


















We crossed from Nevada into California and rode out through the San Joaquin Valley and on past Stockton, California, yes another one of those places, of which you guys from England have heard.

We got on to the 5 freeway and went south about 60 miles to our turn off and then about 6 miles to the hotel.

When we decided to reroute the last part of the trip to include Reno, I looked for a place about halfway between Reno and home. When I searched the Best Western site Los Banos came up. I thought "I know where that is"
But of course I should have gone o Santa Nella which is about 15 miles away.

OH WELL!!!
You can't win them all.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Americanism BFE, you will have to ask someone who knows the meaning.


There will be a final round up of the trip tomorrow.


Jeff and I would like to thank everyone for their continued interest in our adventures.


We would also like to thank Kelly and Anne for their forbearance in allowing us to take the trip.


We love you both and are looking forward to being home tomorrow.



Best wishes from the:
Mild Hogs,

Jeff and Norm



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Norm

Location:BFE

Day 12

We rode from Elko to Reno yesterday along highway 80.
More strong winds and roadworks.

The road follows the path of what was the old California trail
This was a trail used by immigrants heading west to California. They travelled on foot alongside their wagons over some pretty tough terrain and mostly they were barefoot.

We got to the hotel and checked in to a really smart room in the new section of the Peppermill. They have a section called the Tuscany Tower which is really quite swish.

The casino on the other hand was was brutal, I came to bed early so that i would not come to bed broke.







Leaving Elko








Representation of settlers on the California trail.







The type of terrain through which they would pass.







What awaited them at the end of the trail!!!!!!









One weary traveler enjoying his reward at the end of a tough day.

Today we are headed for our final stop, Los Banos, California before heading home.

More later in the day.

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Norm

Location:Reno Nevada

Comments

I know that some of you would perhaps to like to post comments, but I am having problems with that feature.

So, if you wish, email them to me at bykerbits@socal.rr.com and I will include them in the blog.

Maybe!




Norm


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Norm

Location:Elko Nevada

Day 11

Yesterday in West Yellowstone we were walking down the main street when I saw this sign in a restaurant. Small world!





Then Jeff saw the football allegiance of the Bullwinkles Bar and restaurant.
That made the decision for us as to where we were going for a beer.




For those of you in Europe, Jeff is from Wisconsin and the sign is for the Green Bay Packers football team. (Yes I mean real football, you know, 350 pound guys in body armor)

We left Montana this morning and this was the point at which we were headed for home. In a straight shot, we were about 1200 miles away from home, but we aren't going that way.






The ride today was as boring as the ride yesterday was majestic.
All that I can say about Idaho is that they have some great John Deere dealerships.
I did see a sign that made me smile, it was a Kindergarten called, wait for it...

Tater Tots.

There are a lot of wind farms being constructed but none that I could see that were active.


We arrived in Elko totally beat up due to road works and strong cross winds. Only to find that the street in front of the hotel was all torn up, nothing but the gravel base left.

We walked up to the biggest casino in town, "The Red Lion" where I managed to turn $100 into $165 which was enough to pay for dinner in their best restaurant. The $65 paid for dinner for us both, the $100 I put back in my billfold.

Tomorrow we head for Reno via Virginia City and the Buckets of Blood.

http://www.bucketofbloodsaloonvc.com/

Copy and paste the link to your browser to check it out.

Best wishes from the:

Mild Hogs

Jeff and Norm


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Norm

Location:Elko Nevada

Day 10

What a fantastic ride today!

I have to say that the ride today was through some of the most impressive and majestic scenery imaginable.
We rode out from Cody, passing Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshone river, went on into Yellowstone National Park.













This in and of itself was a memorable experience.
I purchased my life time senior citizen pass for the national park system!
Thank you Leon for that piece of advice.













We passed on through the park taking a break in West Thumb and Old Faithful.
The maximum elevation on the ride was over 9,000 feet.







A canyon ride.





West Thumb thermal pool.





Crossing the Continental Divide.





Here we have a couple of old geezers by the old geyser!

Tomorrow we set off on a 430 mile ride to Elko, Nevada which is the first spot in the state to have legal whore houses!

I bet you cannot guess who gave me that piece of information.
More soon from:-

The Mild Hogs.

Jeff and Norm

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Norm

Location:West Yellowstone, NV

A day off

Today we took a day off from riding, we are staying in Cody Wy.
We just took a short ride down town where I bought a pair of boots from the shop shown in the picture below. As I did not have room to carry them the USPS is taking them home for me.









There are a couple of shots of Main Street, I have to say that these are some of the most friendly people I've ever met.
Below are a couple of young guys practicing team roping on the grass outside the Buffalo Bill museum.



This might give you an idea what to expect if you walk the trails in this area!




I'm not sure if this is to attract them or repel them!





And, here is a picture showing the guy who made the town famous,
Buffalo Bill Cody.

From the Mild Hogs,
Jeff and Norm

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Norm

Location:Cody Wyoming