We were wet. We were very wet. We were very wet indeed.
Day eight and rain was forecast from Eugene to Portland, and the forecast was correct. Our end point for the day was Olympia, Washington. We had around 300 miles to cover and it was all Freeway. Not an exciting prospect.
We had a plan. Oregon, the home of zero sales tax. Elliot was looking for a small, bike portable tent and I was looking for an iPad. Finding somewhere to sell me the electronics proved to be far harder than getting a tent. Roseburg, nope. Eugene, nope. Hmmm, at this rate I’d run out of Oregon. Elliot was fine, he’d picked up his tent and tarp. The goods were firmly bungied to his bike and we set out from Eugene towards Portland. The weather was closing in fast and we tok the opportunity to stop under a Freeway bridge to don the waterproofs. Good timing too, as within 5 minutes we entered rain that lasted for a good couple of hours. Portland was my final chance to pick up the hens teeth version of the iPad I was looking for and finally BestBuy delivered the goods.
Coffee break as the rain was finally easing off. We were wet. We were very wet. We were very wet indeed. I’m pretty certain a sizeable puddle formed beneath our draining gear, this was possibly wetter than day one.
We’d booked through hotwire.com again and for the final night we scored big time. The hotel was terrific. Fantastic food, jazz in the restaurant and a gorgeous view out of the window. If there was a way to close out the trip, this was most definitely it.The positive was that we’d toughed it out. No more rain to dampen us, it was now an easy ride to Olympia.
Tax free purchases, check. Dry kit, check. Well fed and watered, check. Day eight, check. Ducati and Suzuki performing well, check.
Hopefully the border crossing on our final day wouldn’t prove difficult.
