If it keeps on raining, levee's gonna break

Portland will probably set an all-time wettest March record, topping the 7.52 inches in 1957.  In the back of my mind, I had the option of riding down the coast if it was too cold and messy in the Cascades.  Well, that won't work.  It's flooding  on the coast and this landslide is on 101 between Port Orford and Gold Beach.

Setting off in a driving rain is a good beginning to a ride to sunny and warm climates.  Right?

Counting Down

Two and a half days out. Several people have asked me if I'm excited. What I feel is disbelief that it's actually going to happen. And I am very, very much looking forward to it.

The weather is going to be sketchy the day I leave. Low 40s and rain here, snow in the passes and pretty dang cold east of the mountains. As long as the roads are clear and visibility is good. Thank you, Gerbing jacket and glove liners.

Latest Itinerary

I've been changing things around and will likely continue to.  Particularly on the return trip, depending on the weather. 

	4/1 1 Home Alturas, CA 4/2 1 Alturas, CA Austin, NV 4/3 1 Austin, NV Salina, UT 4/4 1 Salina, UT Torrey, UT 4/5 1 Torrey, UT Gallup, NM 4/6 1 Gallup, NM Weed, NM 4/7 1 Weed, NM Terlingua, TX 4/9 2 Terlingua, TX Del Rio, TX 4/10 1 Del Rio, TX McAllen, TX 4/12 2 McAllen, TX San Antonio (via Goliad) 4/14 2 San Antonio Austin (via 281) 4/16 2 Austin Big Spring 4/17 1 Big Spring Roswell, NM 4/18 1 Roswell, NM Taos, NM 4/20 2 Taos, NM Moab, UT 4/22 1 Moab, UT Green River, WY 4/23 1 Green River, WY Idaho Falls, ID 4/24 1 Idaho Falls, ID Ontario, OR 4/25 1 Ontario, OR Home
	Today, I'm taking my first trip on the bike, to Issaquah and back.

First ride

After spending Friday evening and a good bit of Saturday installing stuff on the Tenere, I was finally able to go on a real ride yesterday. Incidentally, I'm not very mechanically inclined so it takes me about three times longer to do things than those who are.

I got the windscreen (easy), side cases and crash bars (not so easy) installed. The bars with Matt's generous help.

Sunday was sunny and almost warmish. I rode out Highway 14 on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, one of my favorite rides. The bike performed wonderfully and was a hoot to ride. My route took me out past Lyle, WA, into the high desert. Nice.