"Just putting down miles"

That was what I was told when I asked how everyone was getting along today....."Just putting down miles!"

Steve, Josh, Jeff and Doug - the Tribal Council, along with Brett continued down Oregon's coast today and into California.  WhooHoo!  Way to go guys - 2 more days to go!

Today's ride took them through Redwood Drive in California where they saw the giant sequoia trees and then along the pacific coastline right next to the beach which was loaded with parasailers today.  It was an awesome 285 mile day. 

Jeff and Brett are riding together again and were ahead of Josh and Steve, while Doug is getting along fine.

Ian will pull his rear cylinder off today and figure out what is wrong and try to get it running.  As a side note, they forgot to tell me that Ian's magneto fell off the day before yesterday when all the bolts backed out on it.  So, he's got a few issues to resolve.  Marcin, on the other hand, discovered that the reason his motor had seized up was that he had a hydraulic lock on oil as it had all drained down into the bottom of his engine.  He had solved this problem and got it running.  Then this morning he was ready to go when the inside of his tank broke and he got oil in his gas and gas in his oil.  So, he's out.  Steve couldn't even loan him his spare set of tanks as with Marcin's highly modified engine, he has special fittings on his gas tank and nothing would match up or hook up with a loaner set. 

The altitude changes kept the guys in a constant battle of adjusting their carbureators.  They were in the mountains this morning and all the way down to just 10 feet above sea level this evening.  It kept them on their toes keeping the bikes adjusted.  This morning Steve could only go 41 mph wide open and was thinking he would have to change out carbureators this evening, but by this afternoon it was running better and he was just aggrevated!  He also says that he thinks his carb is sucking air. 

Josh and Steve are also adding two stroke oil to their gas because of the ethanol which helps keep the carbon buildup cut back, but they've not ever measured it, they've just been adding it, so the way their bikes run constantly changes after each gas stop depending on how much was added.  (Never thought to send a measuring cup, but sounds like they could have used one! HA!)  It may have saved some aggrevation.

The bungee cords are stretching, so they're now full of extra knots to shorten them up to hold Steve's bike in gear.  (I can only imagine the mangled mess)

Steve says that Josh may be developing an issue with his front brake.  When they were coming down out of the canyon into a series of "S" turns, he was having some trouble.  When he lets off or uses it, it seems to grab.  Steve thinks it may be a broken or weak spring inside the brake drum. They're gonna have to check it out during service this evening when they get in.  They've been keeping an eye on it and are being extra careful.

Laying down 4000 miles in two weeks, going 10 mph above the "ideal" speed for these 101's day in and day out is really hammering the motors.  They will all need rebuilt after this torture!

Tomorrow's ride will take them from Fortuna, California to Cotati, California after a 240 mile ride continuing down the California coastline.  They will enjoy a hosted dinner provided by Michael's HD in Cotati. 

Let's keep putting down those miles guys!