Did you know that a new set of valves cost 400$? did you know that the
winds in The Gorge reach gusts of up to 70km an hour? that I'm too tall
for my bike and sometimes it hurts if I ride more than 5 hours a day?
did you know that 63 percent of all highway accidents with motorcycles
are fatalities, and another 20 percent end in paralization and
mutilation? that I want to spent my time on my bike with no schedule so
I can stop when i want and go where I want and not worry about where I
have to be when? did you know that if you stick close to your mom she
will pay for a lot of stuff and drive half the time? did you know that
time slips away like breath on a high wind and suddenly you're running
out of both time and breath?
anyway, those are the reasons I went down the coast with my Mom in the
car instead of riding my bike. I feel like I chickened out a little and
maybe I did, but I know I'll get the chance again and next time I'll be
better prepared financially, mechanically and physically.

The trip itself was great. One of the things I like best about North
America is the feeling that it's not quite tamed yet. Most of the places
I've been to in the UK, Europe, and even China feel like they have been
civilized to the point of domesticating the land. I can drive for an
hour in Canada (and most of the US) and reach a place where the land
will kill you if you get lost in it. Where nature still rules, and I
feel humbled in her presence. I like that.
Some random impressions
bunnies making a cougar buffet at a campground  (Washington)
the sea and sky merging in grey salt mist to obscure the rocky strips of
land jutting into the wet (Oregon)
the smell of pine and ceder filling my head with sweet freedom (Oregon)
tree covered mountains stretching into an impossible distance, each
horizon a new possibility (Montana)
waking up to the sound of the Columbia river roaring by like a freight
train

gotta fly, going to try and contact Jake and Fern today...hugs to all
T