San Francisco!

It's been exactly five weeks, 14 states and more than 6000 miles. I left Vegas on Sunday with my new 17 tooth sprocket installed and cruised up route 15 the 6 odd hours to Park City. The big sprocket makes a big difference. At cruising speed RPMs dropped by about 500, making it less noisy and more fuel efficient. The installation was a bit more complicated than I expected. Because the sprocket is so much larger than the original, I had to remove quite a bit of material from the inside of the plastic sprocket cover to make it fit without rubbing. The file on my pocket knife was the best tool available so it took a very long time. Then I needed an extra large washer to compensate for the missing shoulder on the aftermarket sprocket. I had to go to five different auto parts and hardware stores before finding a big enough washer. The aggravation paid off as the bike is now much more comfortable to drive on the highway. I arrived at Kenny's house in Park City a little before dinner time. He was quite amused by my road worn appearance, commenting that my beard made me look like a murderer and my bike something out of Mad Max. We grilled up a delicious steak and caught the first episode of the new season of Mad Men. In the morning we headed down to the fly fishing shop to get our licenses and meet up with Trevor, our local guide. The fishing in the morning was slow with a few nibbles but no catches. After a delicious lunch a local Mexican restaurant, we headed out again in the afternoon and had much better luck. We caught a bunch of fish, brown trout, rainbow trout and white fish. I was really starting to get into it, cast, mend, hook, repeat. Surprisingly, standing around in a river all day fishing is really tiring. Standing in the river, bracing against a strong current really takes a toll. The current was so strong that in some places the three of us had to lock arms in order to cross. When we got back, Kenny had to do some work so I took his Harley Fat Boy for a little test ride through the mountains. It was a very nice ride but for this trip I think I still prefer my bike, set up just how I like it, especially at almost 1/3 the price! I hit the road early the next morning for the last leg of the trip to San Francisco. I set across Route 6 through Utah and switched over to Route 50 in Ely to cross Nevada. Route 50 is actually labeled in my atlas as "The Loneliest Road," and it did not disappoint. I drove all day through mountains and desert with the occasional gas station every 100 miles or so to spoil the view. With the sun just touching the horizon I stopped at a campground outside of Carson City for the night. In the morning I hit the road early again, hoping to get to SF by lunch time. Route 50 took me into the mountains around Lake Tahoe and across the border into California. Going through one of the twisty mountain passes I passed another rider who, instead of giving the traditional wave, patted the top of his helmet, signaling that there was a speed trap ahead. At the speed trap, around the next bend, there was a highway patrol officer sitting aside a nicely kitted out BMW police bike. As I passed him going 5-10 mph over the speed limit we exchanged waves. Riding down out of the mountains I had my last bit of fun on the nice roads before grinding it out on the freeway for the last 80 or so miles to SF. As I approached the Oakland Bay Bridge I realized that I had almost no cash left on me. I got off the highway on the last ramp before the toll to stop and make sure I had enough money for the toll. The ramp turned out to be for buses only and led right past the tolls and onto the bridge. Not wanting to begin my stay in SF on a sour note by skipping the toll, I pulled out of the bus lane, across two Fast-Lane lanes and stopped on the shoulder just in front of the cash only booth, right beside the long line of cars waiting to go through. I was stilling on the shoulder, getting out my wallet to see if I could afford to enter San Francisco. Two women in the car next to me asked if THEY could borrow a dollar to get through. I said that if I had enough money for myself then I would give them some, as long as they let me cut the line in front of them. I had just enough money to pay for myself and to lend them a dollar. As I went though the process of taking out my wallet, giving the ladies a dollar, putting back my wallet and putting my gloves back on, the line in front of us had cleared and a symphony of horns erupted behind us. I entered San Francisco in dramatic fashion, two dollars left in my pocket and a medley of angry car horns ushering me into town. Stay tuned in the nex week or so for day and overnight trips around San Francisco. There will be a two week pause at the beginning of September for my sisters wedding, then it's SF to NYC!