Running from the Weather

On Thursday morning March 27th at 0700 departure time, an unseasonably cold weather system from Alaska was crossing the Washington coastline. Temps near freezing and snow flurries created a cold and painful start to the ride. Snow on the helmet visor required only a couple of wipes as I bore South toward Portland. The temps never rose above 40F until approaching Eugene as I slabbed it down I-5.

The initial option of traveling down central Oregon and Nevada was abandoned with forecast freezing temps and severe cross-winds in the Great Basin desert. Experience as proven (in Nevada, incidentally) that hanging off the bike into a side wind for hours on end is not nearly as fun as hanging off inside of corners. As this Pacific front crossed the Sierras, winds were severe in the lee of the range. In contrast, the valleys between the coast ranges and the Cascade/Sierras were calm.

By mid-Oregon the skies had become mostly clear and the temps rose into the 50s! Quite a contrast to the morning. A steady flow of tunes on the Ipod kept the freeway drone quite tolerable. As I-5 through Oregon is dull, the section south from Ashland to Redding is great. The Syskyou Summit was clear, dry and cool, and the freeway sweepers were just empty enough of truck traffic to be ridden with gusto. A large Whereas some 650 mile days wear into drudgery by the end, this day just got better as it went.

The $39 motel in Red Bluff had sketchy wi-fi, but the local Mexican chow was tops. A long but satisfying day was successful in running from the Northwest snow.

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