Gunshot's Taco Build and Washington Debauchery Log...

A couple friends of mine put their tents on the roofs of their Audi S4s and made a roadtrip through a few neighbor states. Wanted to make fun until I saw how much friggin fun they were having.

How do them Subarus get that far up those areas!?!

 

lol. one of my all time favorite movies.

 

right? when i first saw a tent on a car it was the dude with the porsche then saw how much fun it looked and was like well shit now i wanna try it out!

 

agreed!

 

my sister got a poodle and named him Kronk. very apt given how derpy he is. lol. just a lovable (not-so) idiot. hahahah.

 

haha thats awesome! i now want to watch both kronks new groove and emperors new groove its been a long time!

 

Welp, now I know what I'm doing tonight!

 

We watched it last night and it was great haha

 

Acquired a new ExpoAF vehicle: a well cared for 2017 Africa Twin.

Bought it from a coworker that was METICULOUS about caring for it.

Took ownership of it and then took a couple hour maiden voyage across to Anacortes for a pint, down through Deception Pass, along the length of Whidbey Island, then caught the ferry home (and got to skip the ferry line!!!)

 

Then got to installing some pieces. Added a Camel ADV windscreen brace (total PITA!) and Quadlock mount, then put on some Camel ADV pegs to replace the aenemic oem ones. Then, Installed a GoCruise for long road stretches.

Lastly, with some hardware store improvising, fabbed a bracket to move my Sykik TPMS sensor from a ram mount that blocked the dash to the brace. So much better!

 

Out on Whidbey having dinner at an aunt's and the humpback whales started breaching off their balcony

 

That’s hella cool. Hard to top that.

 

Went and saw some friends up in the city of Vancouver this weekend. Took the bike and the views up hwy 99 on a day trip to Squamish were supreme. Getting stuck in traffic in 90* weather left some to be desired...

 

Did the 101 loop this weekend on the peninsula. What a great way to spend a weekend. Weather wasnt too hot most of the time and this morning was misty and cold along the west/north coasts. Mostly road riding , but did get a little gravel and some sand in. Also ended up getting to meet a few groups of ADV riders when stopping for gas and then dinner in Forks. Also, also, what they say is true. Show up on an ADV bike and everyone wants to talk to you. Had people saying hi and asking questions and people stopping their car in parking lots to chat about touring bikes and travel plans.

Loaded up and off we go!


Dropped down the Hood Canal and enjoyed the backroads through the southern half of the loop. Stopped at a ranger station to look for a 101 sticker (none) and a bathroom/photo op.


Made my way to Ocean Shores excited to try the beach and ride sand, fresh off the heels of going down the YT rabbit hole of Sedlak Offroad Lessons. The weather brought in a fog bank, which made seeing oncoming traffic impossible, and also looking ahead and not at your front tire equally difficult. Vis was at best 50 feet. Got about 1/4 of the way along the beach before I decided to bail.

On the way to the next exit point, I found a loose spot where the waves hadn't wetted it down and I...decided to take a spontaneous photo op. Ignore the impact crater in the foreground, you don't see that.


Gave my motocamping pack list a shakedown and really only forgot bugspray. A USB-C cable was also acquired at the Kingston safeway to charge my headphone pod while riding, something I had also forgot on the list. Not too bad to only be missing 2 minor things.



Woke up Sunday morning ready to head to Neah Bay, but with the moody weather, decided to sleep in a bit and putz over to La Push for a coffee break before heading to Port Angeles.


Then took a detour to the coast road (112/113?) along the top edge to Port Angeles to get gas before heading up to Hurricane Ridge. The sun had come out at this point so made for more enjoyable riding.


Made the way back to Port Angeles for lunch at Barhop Brewing before riding home. Caught the Port Townsend and Clinton Ferries on the way home. The Clinton Ferry, I was literally the last thing on and they put the ramp up right behind me. Glad for that since it had started to get hot in the sun at this point and didn't wasn't to be there in the sun another half hour.. The PT ferry they squeezed all of us in a forward corner and made getting off a tiny bit of a challenge.


Home Plate! Really makes me appreciate those Iron Butt riders. 527mi in two days worked me over. I can't imagine 2x that in 24h.

 

@RyanL Havent done one of these in a minute. Took my spiffy rental car to the new concrete plant turned mural.

 

some rental. lol.

 

Ooh that’s a good one, you’re really upping the mural game.
Was your rental the 4cyl that makes V8 sounds through the speakers?

 

It makes blow off noises from the fake dual exhaust

 

Correct. Its a travesty, and has horrendous turbolag on the 2.3L ecoboost. Its not slow by any means, but doesnt give the satisfaction of a muscle car.

Sounds decent for a second on a cold start outside the car, but just leaves you lacking. Also doesnt have a manu-matic or flappy paddles, so cant even really drive it like a performance car.

Still more fun than the Rav4 or Camry I usually get though...

 

Its the "recirculation valve" that does that. Between the turbo and the intake so it doesnt backflow when you chop the throttle. But still...