Caleb gets up before 5am, as is his habit, and that wakes Ed up, who turns on all the lights. The guys repack the bags, and I will get a snack and some coffee while they look at bike stuff. Caleb and I walk to Circle K to get some drinks for the road. (More places should have refillable water bottle stations.) I mention the bird of paradise tattoo on Teresa’s chest and learn that our cashier just spent the last year near Glacier National Park with her wife and two dogs that are over 100 pounds each. After this year, she wants to go to Vegas, but her wife wants to move to Canada.

I was ready to eat an hour ago, as always seems to be the case, but the guys aren’t in a rush. They prefer to load the bikes with bags that we can’t leave unattended, vs going to breakfast and returning to the room to worry about it. While I wait, I think about how I should’ve grabbed a protein drink and a sandwich from the gas station. We return north to Wecoma Beach for breakfast at Pig N’ Pancake, and on our next potty break, the guys use the outside while I get the bathroom key. I thought they weren’t in a hurry, but I’ve seen some public restrooms in my day, and people can be nasty.

Instead of continuing south, we will detour inland through the Van Duzer Forest State Scenic Corridor to Timber Town Harley in Salem because Ed’s bike needs a water pump (or his engine could fail). It’s here that we find out we’ve got to go to their Paradise shop near Portland, which is another 45 minutes north, to get the necessary parts or spend a day or two here waiting for it to arrive. An estimated 2-3 hour job turns into four upon arrival, but it will be a seven-hour fix. I’m upset that we’ll lose our $100+ room reservation in Arcata, while Ed is more concerned with the $120/hour labor fees (rightfully so).

Caleb and I walk to 7-Eleven for drinks. I try the Puddle Jumper (notes of chocolate, vanilla, and lemon) coffee and quickly exchange it for a mocha that doesn’t taste as bad to go with our king-size Snickers for lunch. Upon return, we move from the sun-covered bench (still need our vitamin D) to a cooler seat inside. We get to watch a fire extinguisher be used on a car engine, and then stare at a motorcycle as it gets rinsed and blow-dried. I should’ve taken pictures of our afternoon entertainment, but we kept hoping the most recent half hour would be our last.

We were all itching to get back on the road, so Caleb and I went for another walk, and he reminded me of the trip I took where I was being followed by a creeper (in Kentucky or Tennessee) until he realized I was going to the police station (thank you, TomTom GPS). We’ll ride at 65mph (the fastest yet) all the way to Roseburg so that we’re only four hours away from our planned stop. We should’ve brought books, but none of us planned on a day like this. We check-in and Ed’s age qualifies us for a discount. I don’t know whose birthday it was, but I enjoyed a piece of their cake before going to bed later than yesterday.