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#71
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 20, 2025, 10:34 AMPCH was literally dug into the side of the California cliffs in the 1930s, and as well as hugging the coast it has some fantastic bridges spanning deep canyons that run into the ocean. It was extreme nature at its very best. I had never seen a road like it and it was certainly one of the best I had ever ridden - dramatic scenery, craggy shorelines, crashing ocean waves that are so close you feel you could reach out and touch them, and an empty, fast, twisting road that compelled you to ride faster and faster. It ticked all the bike-riding boxes for me and was a superb few hours of riding. I had to stop every 20 minutes to pull into lay-bys just to peer down at the Pacific Ocean and try and take in all this astonishing scenery. It really was nature gone wild.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p251
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p251
#72
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 19, 2025, 02:44 AMI have found that in my time riding in the US there are two clear groups of people. The first lot know nothing at all about motorcycles and, perhaps understandably, they don't need to know about them or even care about them. Then there is a second group of people who also seem to know nothing about bikes or riding apart from the fact that they do know of someone who was fatally injured, dismembered, suffered brain damage or had some truly frightful injury inflicted upon them because they chose to ride on two wheels. Not once has a single member of this latter group ever told me a great story about someone they knew who had a tremendous motorcycle
ride across an empty desert, or rode up a lonely mountain road, or just went out for a ride and still came back with their limbs intact.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p234
ride across an empty desert, or rode up a lonely mountain road, or just went out for a ride and still came back with their limbs intact.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p234
#73
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 18, 2025, 03:10 AMThere was a proper 'biker bar' in town called the Sage Brush, though, with darkened windows facing Vale's Main Street and motorcycle paraphernalia up on its walls. A number of motorcycles were parked outside. The bar was staffed by a friendly woman who appeared from a multitude of different doors every few seconds as she moved furniture around the bar, served drinks, cooked food and talked to everyone who came in. She insisted on giving me a ton of literature about local motorcycle enthusiast groups and bike rides; I didn't have the heart to tell her I had no intention of passing this way again for some considerable time.
There was nobody else in the bar except for a trio of motorcyclists from California, among them a loud, annoying woman who seemed very pleased with herself. She had spotted that our bikes were from California too and she started to interrogate me about what I was doing there, but she quickly lost interest in me when her meal arrived. She and her two male travelling buddies were to reappear after lunch as we rode alongside the beautiful Malheur River on Highway 20, overtaking Anne and me three times at crazy speeds as if to show they were extremely proficient motorcycle riders and we really should pay attention to them.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p226-7
There was nobody else in the bar except for a trio of motorcyclists from California, among them a loud, annoying woman who seemed very pleased with herself. She had spotted that our bikes were from California too and she started to interrogate me about what I was doing there, but she quickly lost interest in me when her meal arrived. She and her two male travelling buddies were to reappear after lunch as we rode alongside the beautiful Malheur River on Highway 20, overtaking Anne and me three times at crazy speeds as if to show they were extremely proficient motorcycle riders and we really should pay attention to them.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p226-7
#74
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 17, 2025, 01:52 AMI am a bit of a sceptic at heart and have never felt inclined to give names to mechanical objects or refer to them as 'her' or 'him'. Nor did I believe all the stories about bonding with your motorcycle. Lots of people had told me about how attached they had become to their bikes for various reasons and how they could never, ever bear to sell them. I liked my bike very much the day I bought it, but I felt then that I could quite happily sell it for another. After all, it was just a motorcycle - a means of transport, albeit a fun, exciting and sometimes downright dangerous way of getting about.
But something strange was happening. I definitely looked at my bike in a different way in Idaho. I felt more comfortable and at ease with it now, with several thousand miles behind us. I knew its limitations and it clearly knew mine, it had taken me up mountains, across vast plains and through deserts and it had been 100% reliable.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p218-9
But something strange was happening. I definitely looked at my bike in a different way in Idaho. I felt more comfortable and at ease with it now, with several thousand miles behind us. I knew its limitations and it clearly knew mine, it had taken me up mountains, across vast plains and through deserts and it had been 100% reliable.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p218-9
#75
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 16, 2025, 05:40 AMMy confidence on the bike was at an all-time high when I was out on the open road. Mile after mile of straight roads stretching ahead through empty places were an absolute breeze and a pleasure, embodying to my mind what motorcycle riding is all about. There was a constant sense of freedom that I had never experienced in any other walk of life; not even the expensive Ferraris or Aston Martins that I'd driven ever came close to the way a motorcycle made me feel.
It wasn't even a question of speed -I have paid the price for driving too fast in a car both in court fines and in personal injury. A good steady 70mph on my bike was more than sufficient, giving me the opportunity to focus on riding the machine well and concentrating on the road ahead, which cleared my mind. But every time I returned from the vast open spaces of the US to more populated areas my brain went into overload. I couldn't cope with the traffic signals, the other vehicles, or pedestrians and intersections. It completely fazed me, after eight hours on open roads, to be thrust back into everyday town traffic and have to locate the nearest motel. I forgot to look over my shoulder when overtaking, became a nervous twitchy mess and went back to riding like a beginner.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p180-1
It wasn't even a question of speed -I have paid the price for driving too fast in a car both in court fines and in personal injury. A good steady 70mph on my bike was more than sufficient, giving me the opportunity to focus on riding the machine well and concentrating on the road ahead, which cleared my mind. But every time I returned from the vast open spaces of the US to more populated areas my brain went into overload. I couldn't cope with the traffic signals, the other vehicles, or pedestrians and intersections. It completely fazed me, after eight hours on open roads, to be thrust back into everyday town traffic and have to locate the nearest motel. I forgot to look over my shoulder when overtaking, became a nervous twitchy mess and went back to riding like a beginner.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p180-1
#76
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 15, 2025, 01:18 AMI have lost count of the number of times I have been asked the question, "Are you riding a motorcycle?" in the US, when I am standing before the person in full motorcycle riding gear. The sarcastic English streak in me always wanted to reply in the way I wished I could have done to Pat – "No, I am an exceptionally nervous passenger and the only way you will ever get me to ride in a car is for me to wear a leather jacket, big boots, gloves and a crash helmet" - but of course I didn't have the gumption, and took the lower road with her. She was much larger than me anyway, and she had tough look in her eye. I just nodded and mumbled and said that I hoped the weather was going to hold out for me.
Pat's reply was perhaps unexpected: "The weather ain't nothing. What you have to look out for is the 26-mile mark out there on the highway. That's where they always go down on their bikes. It's very dangerous, real twisty, and it's also annoying for the emergency services as it's midway in the county and it can take a long time for them to get to you and then scrape you off the road."
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p161
Pat's reply was perhaps unexpected: "The weather ain't nothing. What you have to look out for is the 26-mile mark out there on the highway. That's where they always go down on their bikes. It's very dangerous, real twisty, and it's also annoying for the emergency services as it's midway in the county and it can take a long time for them to get to you and then scrape you off the road."
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p161
#77
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 14, 2025, 06:15 AMI had read somewhere on the internet that by taking off a few bolts and moving things around I might find a more comfortable riding position so, armed with a small Allen key, I started undoing a few things, thinking how easy this was going to be. When the entire top end above the bike's forks fell backwards with the mirrors resting on the tank and the indicators pointing at the sky I realised I was out of my depth. Again. I had created a motorcycle that looked as if it was controlled by a handle from a baby's pram. Furthermore, if I adopted this interesting steering rake, I would have to lie stomach down on the bike's fuel tank with my legs stretched out behind me, unable to reach the rear brake or gear shifter.
I also appeared to have an extra bolt that did not fit anything and what looked to be a very important cable was now pressed hard up against the fuel tank. It was a mess. What had taken me four minutes to take to pieces took the best part of two hours to put back together again and even now I am not sure what that extra bolt was for. But I still carry it around in my pocket today, just in case I should ever need it.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p118
I also appeared to have an extra bolt that did not fit anything and what looked to be a very important cable was now pressed hard up against the fuel tank. It was a mess. What had taken me four minutes to take to pieces took the best part of two hours to put back together again and even now I am not sure what that extra bolt was for. But I still carry it around in my pocket today, just in case I should ever need it.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p118
#78
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 13, 2025, 08:58 AMThe one thing I could not find a solution for were the bike's standard 'mini-ape' handlebars. On our previous long trip the riding position had killed my arms, and for some unfathomable reason whenever I rode on interstate freeways there was such bad vibration that my hands and arms went completely numb so I could barely tell if I was touching the indicator buttons or squeezing the brakes.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p117
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p117
#79
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 12, 2025, 08:20 AMEvery morning, when I swung a leg over the motorcycle, was like the start of a new adventure. It may sound a bit of a cliche, but I found the thought of the miles ahead and what I might find there a very exciting prospect. I had grown in confidence on the bike and now, with close to 2,800 miles on the odometer, it was feeling a lot more comfortable to ride. Something had gelled. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was at one with my bike, but I definitely had a better understanding of how to ride it. Consequently, I had relaxed my grip on the handlebars and was starting to lose the numb sensation in my hands so that I found I could actually steer and ride better. Who would have thought it?
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p94
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p94
#80
General Discussion / Re: From the Library
Last post by Biggles - Sep 11, 2025, 01:16 AMThe gauge had gone rapidly from an optimistic 150-mile range to just 70 miles in the space of 20 minutes. And I was sure there was at least another 90 miles to ride until I stood any chance of being able to fill up the tank again. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I have an unquestioning faith in modern technology and while my Harley-Davidson had not let me down I was beginning to discover that its fuel gauge had some serious estimation problems. I had been too trusting of its abilities. It's always tricky trying to guess how much fuel you have left in a motorcycle tank, and if you take the fuel cap off and peer inside you can't see anything except a black empty hole.
I began playing out scenarios in my head as to what I would actually do when it finally spluttered to a halt, literally miles from anywhere, watched by the opportunistic vultures that were waiting for an easy meal like me. You can die in the desert out there in Arizona and I had, of course, forgotten to pack any water.
It was mid-afternoon and the temperature was well into the upper 90s. If I stopped I would use up precious fuel restarting. Despite the intense heat I was starting to break into a cold sweat. I was very concerned.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p76
I began playing out scenarios in my head as to what I would actually do when it finally spluttered to a halt, literally miles from anywhere, watched by the opportunistic vultures that were waiting for an easy meal like me. You can die in the desert out there in Arizona and I had, of course, forgotten to pack any water.
It was mid-afternoon and the temperature was well into the upper 90s. If I stopped I would use up precious fuel restarting. Despite the intense heat I was starting to break into a cold sweat. I was very concerned.
There And Back Again To See How Far It Is Tim Watson p76