Day 3 and 4: I LOVE Weed!!!

Dude, I LOVE Weed!  Yeah, Weed.  Its green, smells good, is pretty and it's gets you high.  But bro, we aint talking about that kinda weed.  There's none of that puff puff pass stuff going on here.  I'm talking about Weed, California!

Since I'm a day behind, let's back up.  We jetted from Tahoe the other day and since I screwed up the route, I made Amanda ride an extra....30 miles.  Ok, I lied....40 miles.  Ok, so I reallly screwed up.  We rode 411 miles when I told her we really only had to do 200 some.  It must be my good looks that she keeps me around for!

Here's our route from Day 3.

We left Tahoe and headed up Mt Rose.  The views were great!

Honestly, while today was on the longer side, the roads were spectacular.  Thanks to my sister who let me high jack her Spotify account, otherwise I would have had to listen to Amanda talk to me on the intercom all day (just kidding hunny!).    I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere on this route, sometimes not passing a car for 20-40 miles at a clip.  There were lots of twisties and also lots of straight aways.  The bike continues to perform flawlessly.  The power is great on the Multistrada 1200 and the new spring put on at Evolution in Santa Clara is making the ride a pleasure.  

It was a warm one today.  Between the Reno, NV area and some of the back roads on the way to Weed, the temps got in the 80's.  Ok Ok, so maybe 80 isn't that hot, but when you live in San Francisco, 80 means it's probably too hot to take my pastey body outside.  

Thank god my moto jacket doubles as a belly shirt, otherwise I would have been overheating!

Today we were going to meet Rick (you remember rick, the funny lookin dude with the different color beard) in Weed.  At an elevation of 3,425ft above sea level, it is HIGHer than where I am used to in San Francisco.  The trees and fields are GREEN and we drove through this one section that smelled like amazing.  Oh wait, maybe that was when I passed gas.  Yep, it was when I farted.  

This is a cool little town that gives you your first taste of Mt. Shasta.  Every time I'm at Shasta, I get this eery feeling.  They say it's loaded with UFO's up in that area.  Check out this link I found on the net of a UFO flying near Mt. Shasta, it's an adrenaline rush...

E.T. flies UFO over Mt. Shasta, abducting Amanda Peterman with him

We checked into the Maverick Motel in Klamath Falls.  This would set us up for day 4 which would route from Klamath Falls to Crater Lake and finish in Portland.  We crushed some beers and fried oysters next to the motel and then hit the sack.  Here's a couple randos from Day 3.  

DAY 4

OK, MOVING ALONG....let's talk about today.  With Rick now latched on, not only did the pace pick up, but we had to look at this first thing in the morning.

Here's the route for Day 4 (today).  358-ish miles.

Klamath falls --> Crater Lake --> Bend --> Motocorsa --> Morgan's House

Today started off with some Crater Lake.  Amanda has never seen Crater Lake and I knew she'd be in for a treat.  That place is amazing, if you've never been there, it's a must see.  It's 1,943 ft deep!  That's the deepest lake in the United States and the 9th deepest in the world.  It's deep blue color reminds me of Lake Tahoe and it's vast size reminds me of the first time I stepped foot on the rim of the grand canyon.  

From Crater Lake, the ride was fairly uneventful.  A deer almost running in the road, Rick giving the middle finger more, Amanda listening to her books on tape, and me jamming out to Justin Timberlake.  

When we hit Portland, our first stop was Motocorsa.  I had to get my front brake lever looked at and Rick had a bolt from his pannier rack rattle loose and needed some other accessories for Alaska.  First let me say, this place is total eye candy.   It's like a motorcycle wonderland inside.  Ducatis EVERYWHERE.  Ricks buddy A.J. came out immediately and helped me out with my brake lever which is perfect now.  In addition, they came out to snap some pictures of us for their facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MotoCorsa).  

I look like I need a shower so bad.  And to shave.  And a haircut.  This was one of the dudes from Motocorsa snapping our pics.  

Here's their famous Panigale that is catered to more off road use than on road use.  Gotta love the jaw bones randomly strapped on...

3 Rockstars.  

The night wound down at the house of an old grade school friend from back east.  Every time I take a moto trip, I stay at Morgan's house in Portland.  She and her husband Rick always are so welcoming and I owe them a super huge thank you in addition to the two "family style" pizzas and jar of cookie dough I whipped up tonight for all of us. 

Seeing familiar faces along this journey and even just chatting with people who ask where we are headed make this adventure even more fun.  All of your blog comments and facebook comments are so encouraging.  We are trying to share this adventure with everybody.  It aint easy sitting on a motorcycle grinding twisties through national forests every day!

Tomorrow we are headed to Seattle to stay with another friend.  More blogging to come. 

Days 1 and 2: Sore Asses and Lake Swimming

Day 1. San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. 211 miles 

Amanda here...
WE MADE IT! The first leg of the San Francisco to Alaska Motorcycle trip is in the books! I'll back up a couple of days and fill everyone in on all of the juicy details!

On Friday evening, Dan and I sat down in the living room with a six-pack of beer and stared at all of the gear littering the floor, not knowing where to start with the packing process.  We decided to start with opening a bottle of beer...with that out of the way, we started packing, re-packing, repositioning, turning, moving, pushing, pulling, and finally securing all our gear in all of the cases and dry-bags making the journey to Alaska.  I have to say, I am really proud of how well we did...and we only threw a few punches and curse words at each other. After an amazing send-off dinner with some great friends, we headed home and tried to get some sleep.  I never have a problem sleeping, but sweet Dan had trouble sleeping, like a little kid on Christmas Eve.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we awoke before our alarms went off, itching to get this epic trip started.  Sarah came over to hang out while we had breakfast, got our playlists in order, and finally helped us make it out the door and down to the motorcycle.  Dan quickly got the motorcycle outfitted with the cases, electronics, and other miscellaneous gear.  Sarah cheered us along and took lots of photos before waving us farewell.

 Here she is...all decked out! 

 Don't be jealous of our sexy get-ups! 

Saying good bye to Sarah with one our first attempts with the Go-Pro! Thank you so much to Rebecca for letting us borrow her Go-Pro for our adventure...we are already having SO much fun with these pictures! 

After a mandatory stop at Chick-fil-a in Fairfield, we made a couple of adjustments to the bike and our gear and got back on the road.  The weather had transitioned from cloudy and chilly in San Francisco to HOT in the North Bay. Temps reached 90 degrees as we took a stretch-break in Placerville, and then started cooling down nicely as we made our way up Hwy 50 into South Lake Tahoe.  I was so happy to lay eyes on the emerald lake. We both agreed that we forget how amazing Tahoe is until we lay eyes on it again! With the gorgeous blue water and snowcapped mountains as scenery for the last leg of the trip, we were super stoked to pull in to the Hyatt Grand Sierra Lodge to end our day of riding.

I don't know if y'all know this or not, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Chick-fil-a!!! 

 First of our Go-Pro selfies while riding the motorcycle...get used to these! 

GORGEOUS DAY in Lake Tahoe! 

After stocking up on beer and food for dinner, we decided to hang out by the pool and soak in the hot-tub at our gorgeous condo as we waited for my mom and dad to arrive from Savannah.  Chef Dan made dinner and mom and dad arrived around 10:00pm.  We caught up on both of our travel days, ate dinner,  and drank wine before we went to sleep.  We all woke up, stuffed ourselves with blueberry pancakes, and hit the road to explore Truckee and find my daddy a brewery.  

 Exploring and shopping in downtown Truckee

 50/50 Brewery...check! 

After feeding our bellies and having some tasty beer, we made our way back to our condo and got ready for the BEACH!! I love the beach as much as I love Chick-fil-a.  Dan and I rented some stand-up paddle boards and got out on the lake.  Dan was the first one in the water, and I made it a little longer before making the plunge into the icy water....YIKES! We paddled around, swam, and met my kayaking parents in the lake before making our way back up the beach to warm up and play some corn hole! Dan and my mom teamed up and just barely won by one point. 

After an incredible couple of days in Tahoe with my mama and daddy, it's time to get this show on the road.  As I sit here, my dad is cooking us a nice hearty send-off breakfast and Dan is starting to gather all of our belongings that we have scattered throughout the condo.  We plan to take off in a couple of hours and make our way to Klamath Falls, Oregon.  We decided last night to take the more scenic route...that's what this trip is all about, right?...so we plan to be on the motorcycle for about 7 hours for 350 miles. I am not sure that my ass is ready to be sitting on the moto for that long, but now's the time to figure that out! Let's do this!!!!! 

Introducing...Dan's Super-Hot Girlfriend

Amanda here...y'all know, the super hot girlfriend in the stylish red leopard cardigan.  I would like to personally thank my sister, Mallory, for sharing that glamorous photo with Dan.  While I have outgrown my fancy sweater, Mallory still loves to indulge in the redneck tuxedo and curl her bangs. Moving on...I thought that I would jump in and make my first entry to the blog, from the passenger perspective. Here goes nothin...

In December of last year, Dan and I were sitting on the couch when he mentioned that he would like to take a trip.  I thought, "YES, he finally wants to take me to Costa Rica!!".  He then went on to say that he wanted to take his Ducati up to Alaska. While this wasn't exactly the vacation that I had in mind, this adventure seemed super cool, and I eventually got up the nerve to ask if I could come along. Dan agreed, and then made it his personal mission to make this the trip of a lifetime for both of us.  He spent countless hours researching ride reports, reading forums, researching routes, and outfitting his motorcycle with all the necessary gear.  He also made sure that I was going to be as safe and comfortable on this trip as possible...I can't wait to show y'all my stylish riding gear!

So, after months of preparation and anticipation, the final countdown has begun! Yesterday I washed all the dirty laundry that Dan told y'all about and started the packing process. Those of you that know me, know that I don't understand the idea of "packing light".  I like lots of options...cloths, shoes, jewelry, bags...you get the idea.  So when Dan showed me the bag that I would be allowed to pack in for 18 days, I thought he was joking. Somehow, I managed to make it work...I just pray that we find some laundry services along the way.  Dan wears the same t-shirts and pants every single day, so the small packing space didn't phase him.

Sadie is helping Dan map out our route! 

 Here's Dan with his Alaskan wardrobe! Sadie is nice and warm, but we still haven't figured out how to safely attach her side-car to the motorcycle, so she will have to stay in California with her auntie Sarah and grandma Shelley.  Dan's sister Sarah will watch over our precious Sadie for the first week, and then his mama Shelley will fly out to stay with her until I return home from Fairbanks! These ladies are THE BEST! We couldn't have planned this trip without knowing that Sadie would be taken care of by Sarah and Shelley! 

Thankfully, Dan has decided to pack more than one pair of underwear...and lots of wet wipes! 

Here is everything all rolled up in nifty air tight/water tight bags! 

Here it is! Our clothing allowance for 18 and 36 days, all packed tight into the vacuum bags that will fit into the side cases of the motorcycle! This is a personal victory for myself! 

Here is all of our camping gear. Tent, two sleeping bags, two sleeping pads, two camping pillows, and two little camping chairs. Most of this gear will go into a Wolfman dry-bag, and get strapped to the back of Rick's motorcycle after being shipped to Seattle. 

Here is a little preview of more camping supplies...and LOTS of mosquito repellant! 

And last, but not least, the electronics that will tag along on this adventure! 

As I write this entry, we are waiting in the lobby of Evolution Suspension as the Ducati gets a new 900 pound rear spring strong enough to accommodate two people over 6 feet tall and all this gear! 

This is the Evolution mascot...appropriately named, Mallory! Mallory has some pretty gnarly gas!

Eventually this will all fit onto the Ducati...we hope. 

Tonight I will work my last shift at work before we depart on our long-awaited Alaskan adventure.  I can't believe that it is finally here!! Dan will work one more shift on Thursday night, and then we will spend all day Friday packing, repacking, and repacking again! In three days we will put on our fancy riding gear, plant our asses on our fancy seat cushions, kiss Sadie goodbye, and wave farewell to San Francisco as we make our way to Lake Tahoe to spend a couple of days with my parents! I would be lying if I said that I haven't been nervous about the long hours and thousands of miles that I am about to spend on the back of this motorcycle, but my excitement totally outweighs my fear, and I am SO excited for this journey to being! T-minus 3 days.....!!!!!