tyre tyre, rubbing right.
09:00. After leaving the Walla-Walla Super8 motel (on Wilbur street, truth can be stranger than fiction.) A grocery run is in order, for the usual, plus handi-wipes and ziplock bags. Cleaning your hands becomes pretty important for Ural riders.
Pass through Dayton Washington, gasoline stop at about 13:00, Dayton is labeled "The Gateway to the Blue Mountains" Which is apparantly far from Virginia, but I guess all the other colours were taken too. Continue on to Lewiston, Idaho, right across the Snake river from Clarkston Washington. Go figure.
After meeting up with some more friendly bikers, Mum and Chris took their suggestion of eating at "Effies Burgers" where after getting a bit of a shock at the prices, ($15 for a burger and fries?) found out that one burger would easily feed two hungry people. The things dress out at about 1lb of beef. Yowch! Good job Chris was smart enough to order a half burger. The food was reportadly very good, and it comes in large quantities. Sounds good to me.
Finally left Lewiston at about 15:30, on towards Missoula. But fate intervened, After stopping at one of the turn outs for the view
Chris discovered that the rear tyre was flat. Thinking that it was the somewhat troublesome Russian valves, he pumped the tyre back up, and then Bob and Glenda Mofford of Orofino came by on their "screaming eagle" Harley, offered to help, and warned Chris of the high numbers of deer that wandered about eating the roses and doing damage to Buicks.
You laugh! Hitting a deer in a car or truck can be a pretty exciting event, hitting one on a motorcycle, often leaves no survivors.
By this time, it became obvious that the tyre had more problems than just a leaky valve, so Chris replaced the wheel, with the spare, a brand new knobby tyre on it. Please note the carefully added emergency water container.
As Chris was finishing this, a truck pulled up, and Chris commented to Mum that it was nice that people would stop to help. However, in this case, the truck, which was laden down with one of those big round beds you may remember from an earlier decade, needed some help to restrain the 5 foot tall mirrored headboard. Chris assisted them, especially after the van traveling with the truck pulled in, and the ladies therein showed up. Ah, allways a sucker for a damsel in distress, Or datdress for dat matter.
With the load secured, the bed, you will pardon the phrase, tied down, all went on their way.
Unfortunately, it became obvious that the knobby was not a good fit for the rear, rubbing against the swingarms on right hand turns. When they pulled into the Exon in Orofino, Chris swapped the front and rear wheels, at one point, the only wheel on the bike, was the one on the sidecar. Mum supervised, and had a glass of wine. Sounds like an equitable division of labour to me.
How's that song go? "one wheel on my wagon, but I'm still rolling along..."
Whilst playing musical wheels, they met Darlene, and some other motorcycle riders, who Chris can't seem to recall the names, of. No matter, Chris gave a ride in the sidehack to Darlene, and the riders recommended that the duo stay at the Ceder Suite in Kamiah, the next town down highway 12.
And that is where they are. Mum says it's the nicest hotel to date, the manager Toni, was very helpful, and they look forward to a good nights rest, and getting on the road tomorrow, nice and early.
really!
