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Motorcycles and mountain roads
Sorry for the delays, no internet for the last few days.
The torrential downpours in Seattle continued for 24 hours giving me a much needed rest day to get things together. I toured some of Seattle and took care of some little issues with the new motorcycle. I switched hotels to a more artistic hotel called the hotel MAX downtown Seattle. The rooms were small, but it was decorated in a very cool fashion. Got great nights sleep and my next stop was Woodville, WA for the Novelty hill Januik winery.
I arrived at the winery, all I can say is wow, this site was only built a couple years ago and both the AIA and the International Interior Design Association honored the winery’s interior architecture in 2008.
I walked past their outdoor fire pit filled with crushed glass crystals the wine owners designed this area as a place for quiet reflection over a glass of wine. It’s more like a contemporary wine bar than a winemaking facility. They do tastings, have cooking classes, and have a gourmet pizza afternoon, and other events in these facilities.
The building itself is made out of cast concrete for both the exterior and interior walls for its contemporary, striking appeal.
The entrance to the winery opens onto a central corridor that runs from the front to the back of the building, terminating in a deck level with the canopy of trees beyond. From the corridor, one can look out over the two-story production floor and into the barrel rooms. Steel fermentation tanks and stacks of barrels dominate the view. On the other side of the corridor, a sequence of rooms – the tasting room, Terrace Room, kitchen and the Tree House – are lined up one after the other; hiding beneath the Terrace Room is the Cellar Room the lighting of the cellar room is extraordinary! I will have to find some pictures to post. But if you want to check out their facility go to this site. noveltyhilljanuik.com
Scott Moeller the Winemaker met me. Scott spent quite a bit of time walking me thru the state of the art facility. Including showing me the software that controls the equipment such as their tanks, room ventilation, temperatures etc. Their computer system looks like something out of Star Trek. The amount of detail the use to bring out the potential in the grapes is incredible. And for a small winery like this it is indeed rare to have such a system.
The Januik family gave me some directions to a local hardware store where I picked up a HH rain suit and some rubber boots, a roll of duct tape, and some zip ties. Taped up my GPS and attached it to the bike. The rain suit was the best investment of the trip!
Greg, my riding partner decided to avoid the high mountain passes because across the state the rain turned to snow above 1500ft. after a discussion Greg decided to ride south to Vancouver WA and follow the Columbia river East to Walla Walla. While I decided that I since I had a sidecar and studded snow tires I would try the direct route over I90 straight up the pass.
My mountain pass experience was lots of rain, lots of snow, and a generally good time; I have a few pictures posted today. Greg, on the other hand, well, Greg decided not to risk the passes and go south right? Wrong. There is a point in any trip where people make decisions on their travel route that will impact the degree of adventure they will undergo. About 45 minutes before his turn to Portland up the safe Columbia River route Greg decides it’s a good idea to take HWY12 shortcut to Yakama WA because it went close to Mt St Helens. Not thinking about the fact that he would be driving through the MOUNTAINS to go see a mountain. In heave precipitation… anyhow that being said, he decided all would be good and turned up the pass. About ½ way up, things began to get a little dicey, the rain turned to sleet then to white out snow.
I have formulated a hypothesis, men by nature think there are things that they are naturally / genetically gifted at. For example every young kid who wanted to be a cowboy believes that they should be able to pick up a pistol and shoot a gun like Wild Bill Cody without instruction. It’s a gift we men possess. Shooting, Riding Motorcycles, etc. its all on that list. A part of this hypothesis is that if for some reason we cant do any of these natural gifted things it results in embarrassment / mortification especially if it is brought to light in the presence of anyone else. So an hour into fighting through the mountain pass snowstorm, whiteout conditions, Greg is now riding the motorcycle with BOTH feet on the ground like outriggers trying not to tip over on the Icy mountain road in traffic. Doing a speedy 10mph into a downhill curve he found himself unable to turn or stop. When the bike tipped over it pinned Greg underneath it. And to add additional insult to the embarrassment of the whole thing, his left hand got stuck with his thumb stuck on the horn. So now Greg is lying on the ground with the bike on top of him leaving him helplessly pinned in the road with the horn blaring unable to move. Lucky for him (although embarrassing at the time) two vehicles pulled over and helped lift the motorcycle off him.
After clearing off the snow and the ice from the bike and rider it was determined that it was a pretty soft fall. Lucky the bike was still ride able with only minor repairs. Greg suffered a few bruises on his leg and his ego.
We met back up in Yakama WA, to swap stories about the days ride and ride around with Greg in the sidecar drag racing the locals…