Route 3 Furnace, Canada

Creston, BC feel like nowhere, nowhere. The hotel was actually really nice. With a twist.

It's a small building with a small hotel, large pub with lots of great pub fare food, and a fancy weed shop. Someone had a very specific vision.

Across the street, and Café with amazing pastries, great atmosphere that would easily gather 5 star reviews anywhere.

I heard about route 3 for many years, even while living in Seattle. Moved to Los Angeles, and never had the opportunity to ride it. Here it comes finally. I left Creston westward, planning to ride it as west as I can and then cross to the US for an overnight camp/motel and then finally make it to Seattle to see my sons, friends and history.

Route 3 was nice. Maybe the anticipation buildup and the past 5 weeks of out of this world roads and scenery made it a bit less impressive. Oh, and the heat. At some point I had to pull out the cooling vest to the rescue. It was hovering in the mid-90's to 100's the entire way.

After ~300 miles, I decided to add another ~100. And then hit the pre-Vancouver traffic, some 400 miles into the ride, at 95 degrees weather. That was shit. I ended up doing the Los Angeles lane splitting maneuvers for 20 miles. Still, the mood was just fine. I'm a traveler now, and this is part of the adventure. I didn't mind the discomfort for some reason. Good for me.

Finally, I crossed into the U.S. at Sumas crossing, just East of Vancouver. As I was looking for campsite near Mt. Baker, I felt that 90 miles to Seattle is totally within reach and it is what I want to do - the modus operandum in this trip. Do what you want and feel, not what is planned.

I started riding south to Seattle, and within 3 minutes, it struck me. The roads, the signs, the smells. It felt so familiar, melancholically nostalgic. I know these roads, the names - route 542, route 9,  Bellingham, Chuckanut drive, Mt Vernon, Skagit valley, La Conner. So many amazing memories. I've been to Seattle several times since the dismantle of my past life, and the move to L.A. But, in the past, my feelings were more detached from Seattle, and more tuned to the new life. This time, it was very nostalgic. It was the many many past road trips, the scenery, the smells of 36 years that triggered it.

I never realized how dominant and unique is the clean, cooler, NW Pacific air. It's not a salty, or seaweed smell, just crisp unique PNW atmosphere. Later of course, came the seaweed smell which was also pleasant.

As I approach Seattle, around about Bothel, I realize that I didn't contact anyone, and I don't even know where to go? Seattle to Yaniv, Eastside to Roee? I should not have a problem finding a bed for the night here, but I got to do something about it. I called Yaniv, my host for the Seattle stay (who happened to also be my son). He didn't answer. I called Roee who is being hosted himself. He invited me for dinner and it happened that Naomi's folks have an extra bedroom that just opened up. I have a place for the night.

I had a great dinner, great hospitality, great bed, and great rest. And hit the record miles per day for this trip - 520 miles in one day.

I am now starting to catch up with my sons and friends in Seattle. Chill time.

Also, it turns out the old house that was our crib for 12 years before the shit hit the fan is still waiting for its next life to restart (in the form the builder will reshape it). ;-(

We will see when the travel bug hit again, but I suspect that within a week I'll need to hit the gas pedal again.

Oh - important. For the past 1-2 thousand miles, my front wheel is wobbling sideways when hitting a bump. Kinda of unusual. Made me feel a bit uneasy. It didn't feel dangerous (and I visually inspected it), but not right. I was able to get it into the BMW Motorcycle shop in Seattle. They inspected the bike thoroughly. Did not find the cause. They suspect a combination of heavy luggage load on the back, need to tune the custom front shock/suspension, and the different tires (since I only replaced the back, the front still has a lot of life left). They tightened everything to specs and mentioned that nothing was really loose. That's good. It doesn't explain it all, but it is a possibility. I will need to replace the tire, balance the wheel, and retune the front shock. In the meantime, live with it, and ride more conservatively. I don't mind that.

No major music or mood updates - 

My music experience dissolved into whatever. Somewhere in between silence, to some of the same playlists.

There's a feeling of end of journey that's slowly creeping in. Hmmm….

My mood has stabilized within the adventure travel mode.

The future does come for brief visits, until I tell it that it's not time yet. It politely goes away and leaves me happily in the adventure of the present.

The past fortunately mostly recognizes that it is no longer, except when I crossed into Washington, but what can you do?

You can't control all the horses, only the one you're riding. The one I'm riding is my motorcycle. And even that one is revolting a bit.