Flat tire - Sunday - Rogue River, Oregon
Sometimes things that start out bad end in a good way. This is one of those stories.
Just south of Rogue River on Day two of our ride back from Las Vegas, I noticed my bike was sort of swaying along instead of running in a straight line. Luckily I decided right away to pull off at the next exit and check it out. I thought my load had shifted. (I carry a lot of stuff when I ride to the trade show, as I need clothes for the ride (all weather gear), and for wearing at the show.
After taking all my luggage off and putting it back in better shape, I saw the VERY flat tire. I immediately reached into my bag and pulled out one of the cans of spray air/fixit gunk. The tire blew right up just like new.......for about 30 miles. I felt the tire going soft and pulled over in Rogue River to check it out. This time it was totally flat and the 'gunk' would not blow it up again.
I spent an hour or so in a parking lot in RRiver assessing the situation and calling everyone I could think of trying to get a solution. But alas, there is NO solution for a flat tire on a Honda in southern Oregon on a Sunday......or as it turned out....on a Monday either!
For some reason every Japanese motorcycle dealer is closed on Sunday and Monday. It doesn't make much sense since most riders are on their bikes on either Saturday or Sunday. It's quite frustrating to have my Harley riding pals with the knowledge that Harley's H.O.G. club would get them towed and taken care of....but NOTHING would save me on that day.
Bad turns to good very quickly!
Then just when things seemed quite hopeless.....we came to the realization that there was a nice hotel 2 blocks from where I was stuck. I was able to pump enough 'gunk' air into the tire to drive slowly over to the hotel.
The Best Western Inn at Rogue River is one of the cleanest, quietest hotels I've ever stayed in. The little town of Rogue River is a gem...........please don't tell everyone you know about it. Let's keep it our little secret.
With the realization that there was absolutely nothing that could be done about the flat on Sunday, it became easy to relax....after all, we couldn't do anything else.
We got two rooms at the hotel, unpacked our bikes...and got cleaned up. We took an hour to shower, and just 'gel' for a bit.
About 6 PM we met up again and decided to go for a little walk around to see what surrounded us.
Rogue River (the city) is right on the Rogue River (you'd sure hope so).
The river is wide and deep and seemingly full of fish (judging by the number of anglers). The town has built up a nice park along the river with benches and is just plain beautiful...and very relaxing.
We spent some time reflecting and then made our way to Karen's Restaurant for dinner, just across the street from the park and less than 100 yds from our hotel.
Now adding to our great experience with the hotel and the little park.....you can add the entire event at Karen's. Great home cookin', very friendly staff, and lots of happy locals....all make for a fun time. The waitresses there were all qualified for a stint on "Saturday Night Live". They were hilarious and apparently get great kicks out of entertaining out of town visitors. We laughed our heads off all throughout the meal as they bantered with one another and us.
Monday morning I got up at 5 AM to get on the internet and try to find ANYBODY that could get me towed and my tire fixed that day. By 10 AM it was apparent that we would not be leaving on Monday from Rogue River, as the odds of getting repaired were not very good.
We decided to lock in the rooms for a second night. On Tuesday all the Japanese motorcycle dealer shops would be open and the options would greatly increase for getting a solution to my flat tire.
We spent the day working from our rooms, and also took a short walk up the road by the river.
Prior to our second night's dinner at Karen's we decided to go sit in the park for awhile. It was so relaxing. There is also a bridge right thru the middle of the city from the main downtown to the other side of the river where we were. The bridge had been built about 5 years earlier to replace a very old bridge. This bridge is a beauty! Peter, Fran and I were very impressed by the way it was built. Somewhere, somebody had built these massive bolts and nuts....maybe 2 feet in diameter....and they were part of the tightening mechanism that kept the cables that support the bridge in a nice tight stable condition. I know...massive bolts and nuts shouldn't qualify for a scenic tour, but they were quite impressive, AND...we had no distractions.....just the river, the park, and the big bolts and nuts.
After our tour of the bridge and park, we headed for Karen's for another round of food and comedy. Peter and Fran are in love with Karen's fried chicken. For me, their swiss cheese and mushroom burger hit the spot just right!
Each night we ate at Karen's we finished with either pie or cake. Their specialty is Big Boy Burgers (we never had one), and Peanut Butter Pie. (we didn't really care for it). However, the cakes and pies (other than the Peanut butter pie), were fantastic.
Chocolate cake, white frosting, and softserve vanilla ice cream on top.......yummmmmy....
Off to the hotel for a relaxing night and undisturbed sleep.
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