Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Everyday for 7 Weeks–Day 32–Long Beach to Portland

We awoke eager to leave Long Beach. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. We enjoyed the quiet and the ocean. We’ve been wanting to visit Portland for several years now, and were finally less than 100 miles away! However, we wouldn’t be getting there until much later in the day. A small crisis with the bike was discovered in the morning while loading up.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

I found a small, but alarmingly large crack in the tubing of my luggage rack on the left side. This was not what broke earlier, but something else. Half the tube was still clinging on, so I splinted it up with a pile of zip ties and a tire iron. I put some feelers out for a welder further down the road, and then set off. We followed 101 again further south.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

At 11:28 it happened. We crossed into Oregon over the Columbia River.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland 

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

The 48th state in the US I’ve been to, and one I’ve been wanting to visit for some time. We had heard Oregon was awesome; now it was time to see for ourselves!  We got glimpses of the ocean through trees and houses, but not a clear view until we reached Seaside, OR.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

While riding through town, I saw a sign for “Welding, Repair, and Fabrication”. I quickly made a u-turn and went back. It was a large operation that did all sorts of work. I chatted with the staff. They thought they could fix it after looking at it, but there was a catch. All of the guys just went to lunch. What to do but wait. I asked if where the beach was, and was directed a few blocks down the road. We headed straight there and enjoyed a quick picnic on the beach. It was very peaceful. There was one person off to the left about a 1/2 mile away and one person to the right about the same distance.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

After lunch we headed back. I stripped the bike of luggage, and I removed the zipties holding things together. Dellwin was the welder assigned to work on my bike, and he helped me wheel it back to “his lair”. He had a couple ideas how to fix it, and sent me off to “put my feet up and wait”. There were worse places to wait. It was nice to get caught up on some emails and phone calls during the hour he was fixing the rack. He said it took more time to remove the powder coating than it did to weld up the tubing and add a support.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

An hour later it was all fixed. He had repainted it black. He figured it broke because when it was fully tight the support was pulling on the inside of the tubing. He put in a 1/8 spacer which relieved the strain. We both guessed that when it was repaired last in Dawson Creek, the frame tab was bent in slightly requiring the luggage bracket to strain ever so slightly. The thousands of miles of bumpy roads took their toll. The luggage it much lighter now too as all of my camping gear was sent home in Seattle. The repair cost $80; half the price of the rack and top case. We were back on the road.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland 

This shot shows the spacers (washers) he added to relieve the stress on the joint between the vertical and horizon piece.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

I guess this is the three years of trouble free trips making up for lost time. It was a good day to have and deal with the problem. We had time, and help was easily found.

Dellwin also taught us how to pronounce Oregon. According to him, it is Ore-gun not Ore-gone.

We took 26 towards Portland it was sort of scenic and it carved up and down some hills and through some forests. By 3pm, we made it to the outskirts of Portland and rush hour. The afternoon traffic became thicker the closer we rode to the city center. We crawled through town in first gear waiting for our exit to appear.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

We had found a convenient B&B and were eager to check in. We wanted to start exploring the town. The motorcycle was parked and luggage removed. We briefly thought about riding around the town, but both of us agreed walking would be nicer. We found  a nice place to eat a few blocks away, and then wandered around. It was nice.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

Portland is very bicycle friendly. We saw lots of places to park them like this

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

Several cool looking houses too.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 32 - Long Beach to Portland

 

Tomorrow, more Portland.

 

Day 32 Full Flickr Album

 

Video: Broken Rack in Seaside

 

 

Today’s Route:


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8 comments:

  1. Well, at least it isn't raining. Nice shots of the houses in Portland but what is the story about that street painting?

    Pretty soon you will have very sturdy luggage racks with all the welding and gusseting. It's great that you caught it before it failed completely. Do you consciously check for cracks before heading out every day?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. no rain is good!

      no idea about the street painting. we found it out wandering around and thought it was quite neat.

      I always give the rack a quick shake in the morning before I put the bags on it to see if it moves more than it should. If it does, then I check the mounting bolts as they tend to wiggle loose eventually (even with thread locker). The Canadian roads were exceptionally brutal over any others I have ridden.

      if the rack still moves after tightening, then I look for cracks.

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  2. The rack will be better than ever, and it has another story to tell. The welding job wasn't cheap but at least readily available when you needed it, plus super location to spend the time.

    I am curious what you think about Portland. We found it very special, in a good way. Probably the most eco-friendliest city in North America with excellent public transit and bike paths all over.

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    1. I hope so. The first weld job caused the second one... I hope no more welding on this trip.

      we both really enjoyed portland, and are looking forward to a second visit.

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  3. The repair job looks solid! The price charged was quite reasonable as well I think, considering your circumstances. Welding, a skill I must learn someday.

    So now that you're in Oregon, wonder if Irondad is around?

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. welding has been on my list of things to learn as well. recent events have motivated me to move it up the list. justification for more tools right?? ;)

      Delete
  4. I am glad you and the rack made it safely to Portland. It is nice the welders could fit you in.

    That dessert looks mighty tasty.

    Oh and Dellwin is correct - it is Ore-gun. If we hear Ore-gone then we know you aren't from around here, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad we got it fixed then too, so I could stop worrying about it and get back to enjoying the trip.

      we enjoyed OreGUN ;)

      Delete