Day 4 on Two Wheels
Shelter Cove, Ca to Redding, CA - 149 miles
Dusty was being a royal biotch today. I mean ROYAL bitch.
The Milepost 97 fire had eliminated my original routing and after a quick check of CalTrans, I learned that the alternate road I had intended to take was closed due to construction. Plan C was in effect, take CA-299 out of Alcarta, CA to Redding.
We rode back to Redway, CA (the road from Hell!) for fuel. Not so bad once I knew the road condition and general layout. As we began the journey west out of Redway, two idiot lights came on - the Check Engine and Temp. I’ve had this happen before and it wasn’t more than a 10 amp fuse, so I stopped and replaced the fuse to no avail.
Not much else to do but check-in with a dealer...
We road into Eureka and tried to call the local H-D dealer, Redwood H-D, along the way. They were closed. We stopped for lunch and I checked the diagnostic codes. Armed with that info, I checked to see if the Redding dealer was open on Monday. They were not. So I reached out to Sett who connected me with Thermodyne. We concluded that the culprit was most likely the water pump, not a problem if we keep moving. So we headed off to Redding.
About 60 miles into the journey and several stops for construction delays, the idiot lights went out. Go figure.
The ride along CA-299 was amazing. The road traverses several mountain ranges and delivers beautiful views along the way. The last 30 miles were scarred from the Carr Fire in 2018, which started with a blown-out tire and a rim sparking to start the fire. It was a sad sight to see.
I did get a great pic while en-route and we made it to Redding, only to learn that another fire had started in the Modac National Forest, which will likely alter out routing on the way back to Chiloquin, OR. Such is the life in Northern California during the dry season. Remember, always have a backup plan...and liquor for Happy Hour.
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