Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:38:25 -0700
Reply-To: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Neil's WA/OR/09 Trip
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Great pix. Nice trip! Glad to see a Westy in its natural habitat.
Stephen
--- On Tue, 4/28/09, neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Neil's WA/OR/09 Trip
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 4:02 PM
Hi all.
3500 KM's over 11 days. From Vancouver B.C. to Fishermens Bend east,
south, west, then home.
Engine purred, no DTC's and only had start issues 2x. (not sure why.
takes several sessions of cranking, then is fine. Rarely happens) Used
very little oil. Brakes worked ok, but need to improve
suspension/wheels so it's not as suceptable to windy conditions.
Learned more about what I need in terms of camping etc gear, but all
gear performed as it should.
pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/WAOR09#
Highlights:
Yes you can sleep in a "Stop and Shop" parking lot. (yah I'm big on
planning ahead ;)
Great weather though sun spotty near end
Not too cold, though there was snow higher up (5K Ft. + CG near Odell Bluff)
As usual the OR coast was outstanding. Windy though.
Met some great people. And some interesting people. Just after
sundown, while trying to discern between what was private or USFS land
south of Applegate, took a chance driving up a nice *steep* potholed
hill. Met a "miner" who in explaining differences in local area,
started in on his life story. Anyway, helpful none the less. Managed
to bang my engine carrier, and lug the sh** out of my engine getting
started on such a steep hill, in leaving his spot, but all was ok.
(Yoko tires helped)
Bear Creek off of 42 (USFS IIRC) has a nice little creek side stop
over. 24 hour max.
Cape Blanca SP has some nice horse trails that served nicely as bike
trails. Though when testing your bike braking skills, maybe not so
much front brake. (broke my helmut. Glad I was wearing it). Beach
access is a bit of a climb.
USFS CG's along 101 priced higher than OR SP CG's. The SP CG's were
much better value IMO.
USFS CG's on rural hwy from Ruch to Applegate were closed (seasonal).
Lot's of dirt road. I found it to be a waste of time. I gather some
USFS CG's don't open til May 1 or later.
Dispersed CG's near Kitson Springs (outside of Oakridge OR) seemed
"hinky" to me.
One Staples I tried in Olympia had free WiFi. Maybe all do?
Riding your bike into head wind on wet beach sand, is difficult. ;)
Rice-o-Roni and cubed chicken is tasty.
Marty at Foreign Auto in Coos Bay, is a helpful fellow and seems quite
well versed in VW's and Vanagons.
That's about it. Had an awesome time.
Neil.
--
Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
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