Two Cold-war Dinosaurs, the Active Volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest, and a Raw and Muddy Land Where “old and Dangerous” Is a Compliment.
With the first day, I mostly remember rain. Sloppy drops the size of jelly beans, then an uneven mist, then a kind of plodding drizzle. Because of course it rains in Seattle in October, when you’re on a motorcycle, when you’re headed for dirt and volcanoes.
And then I met Steve and Peter. They walked up at a Chevron station south of the city, where I had stopped to duct-tape a leak in my tired motorcycle-touring pants. They just walked up and started talking. That’s what people do when you ride a sidecar.
“Afrika Korps!” Steve yelled, from about 15 feet away. Then, when closer: “Rommel!”
The bike was a new Ural, a sidecar rig, made in Russia but vaguely German and militaristic and even less vaguely old. Steve told me his name, that he worked for UPS and rode Harleys. He smiled a lot. The sidecar looked amazing, he told me, and he loved the rain. Said a trip sounded great.
Peter strolled over two minutes later. Scowling. He climbed out of a food-bank delivery truck and announced, apropos of nothing, that he used to race stand-up Jet Skis.
“I stopped riding them because I was tired of sitting in front of the TV, two hours later, water pouring out my nose.”
He raised his eyebrows, as if to make a point.
“Where you going?”
“Cascades,” I said.
“Man, what a miserable day for that.”
He shook his head, then got back in his truck. I resumed duct taping my pants, because pants don’t duct-tape themselves, and wet underwear is only fun in Vegas.
この記事は Road & Track の February 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Road & Track の February 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
MR. CALIFORNIA
MEET THE MAN WHO PUT THE STATE ON THE MAP AS THE LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VEHICLE EMISSIONS.
RESIDENT ALIEN
THE CZINGER 21C LOOKS LIKE IT ARRIVED FROM A DISTANT PLANET. INSTEAD, IT COMES FROM CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS KIND OF THE SAME THING.
FUNNY FACE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF CALIFORNIA-DIAL WATCHES.
THE PROBLEM WITH ROBERT WILLIAMS
TOWARD THE END of our third interview, Robert Williams gives me some advice about overcoming creative blocks. “Phrase it as a problem,” he says. “
Quiet Riot
In the Ioniq 5 N, Hyundai makes the case that an EV can tamp down racetrack noise without sacrificing capability.
The Sound and the Fury
A legal feud over booming decibels put California's most historic roadracing circuit in jeopardy.
HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST STUNT DRIVER
CAREY LOFTIN WAS THE KING OF THE SCIENTIFIC WILD-ASS GUESS
OFFLINE
THIS BURBANK BOOKSTORE IS A REPOSITORY FOR THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE INFORMATION NOT ON YOUR PHONE.
THE COURSE OF HISTORY
The West Coast tracks where modern racing was born.
TANK WARFARE
WHAT IF THE WHOLE CAR WERE A GAS TANK?