[wootersen]

I decided today was my day to ride. Weather was perfect, bike was running great. I was going to put some miles on so I packed up and headed north. There are two bridges that go into washington from Portland and both are freeways. The Glen Jackson bridge on I205 seems to be the lesser of two evils so I took that. About half way across, I realize that the bike is losing power. I knew I was running low, but not that low. No biggie, I'm thinking I'll just switch to reserve. I go to flip the switch and Damn ! I'm already in reserve !



I was parked about half way across the bridge, which, if you've never been over the Columbia river, this particular bridge is about a mile and a half. I decided to head north, on foot to see if I could find a gas station. I was fortunate enough to get picked up by a guy who saw my bike stuck and gave me a lift to the nearest gas station which was about a mile or two up the road. I bought my ridiculously overpriced gas can and $2 in gas and headed the two miles back to the bike. The freeway was OK, but once I got to the bridge I had oncoming traffic about three feet to the right and a very long drop about three feet to the left.



Finally got to the bike and filled up the tank. She started for a second, but ran really rough. I was able to put her in gear and drive for about a hundred yards. Another ten minutes of tinkering and moved another 100 yards. About this time I was getting pretty frustrated. The coast guard started hovering below in the water just in case I decided to jump.



I ended up pushing her the remaining distance of the bridge and parked her safely in the grass at the first off ramp, swallowed my pride and called a buddy. I told him to bring fuel line so I could bypass the fuel filter. After calling for reinforcements I remembered that there is a screen on the bottom of the tank that sometimes gets clogged. I went back to the bike and started shaking it side to side to try and stir up whatever crap was in there. Sure enough, she fired up, ran rough for a little, but eventually got me to a gas station for a proper fill up.



After all this, my nerves were too shot to do anything but go home and drink beer (afraid of heights). Can't blame the bike on this one, this was my own damn fault

 

[Blindstitch]

Well that sucks. I've been there just not on a bridge. Better open up that tank the next chance you get.

 

[achille]

Running out of fuel is bad enough, let alone on a bridge like that.

 

[ramprat06]

You are not alone WOOT, I did the very same thing, on the very same bridge, mid-span northbound. I'll tell you guys right now.....that bridge has wicked cross winds when mama wants it to be so. You were fortunate WOOT, today was calmer than the day I got stuck. Gusts to 50 or so....don't want to think about the Coast Guard boys.....that absolutely made me wanna urp. I was fortunate to have my AAA card and sat still until they arrived. Funny thing, the state emergency response team truck was there first, but he had no gas left. At least he put his flip up lit sign up for me until the AAA guy showed. I'll have to snap a pic of that two mile bridge some day.

And you are also quite right, it is the MUCH lesser evil of the two, the other being the Interstate 5 one.....I hate that old bitch. By the way. vote NO TOLLS. They can find the damn money someplace else than my meager pocket. Hell, they even want to "test toll" the Glen Jackson (the one we got stuck on) just to see how many people shift their route....can you say WTF???? Besides being the only way across the river on a main thoroughfare, how can that be a good thing for people just passing through? Let alone the daily commuters. I say BAH HUM BUG> I'll fight the wind.

*edit to add pic I found on the web, it is missing some of the north part near the bottom of the pic, but not a lot.*

Joel in the Couve.

 

[ramprat06]

Glenn Jackson Bridge aerial view by Google You will need to zoom out a bit to see the whole thing. I tried to capture that but it eludes me at the moment.

 

[TimK]

John, glad it all ended well, Loved the coast guard reference...

Didn't have a bridge, but I pushed a couple miles from the I-205 / I-5 south merge to N. Wilsonville on my interstate.

Once refueled, it took quite a while for it to restart... had to pause for a bit since battery was getting weak.

At least you had the smarts to walk for gas.

 

[wootersen]

A fisherman once told me that all the LE agencies have an agreement with the local news agencies not to cover suicide or suicide attempts from the bridge. He found this out after watching someone jump while fishing down below. He couldn't believe that with all the rescue boats that they wouldn't cover it on the news at all. Apparently, the logic is that it would only bring more attention to the bridge and suicides would increase. They were watching me pretty intently with binoculars the whole time even though I was clearly just out of gas.



Joel, I can't imagine doing that in 50 mph gusts. That bridge is scary enough without your bike moving to left or to the right without you telling it to. You got bigger stones than I do if your riding it five days a week.

 

[bandit]

what a nightmare,dont envey you in that situation.

i always carry a petrol bag,rolled up under the seat.just in case.

 

[DakotaMK]

OK.... it sucks, and I'm sorry it happened to you. On the other hand- I'll be COMPLETELY 100% honest. I laughed a little. I ran mine out of gas this summer. Twice. First time I could hear fuel still in the tank and was trying to figure out how many miles I can get on a tank... I was trying to do it WITHOUT running out of fuel.... didn't happen. Had to swallow my pride and call for the bf to bring out some gas. AND he had to start it. Second time was after the first round of black paint was on- he kept telling me I needed to run the bike, etc, that I needed to go for a ride.... he knows usually when I get restless- and neither of us had thought about the evaporation of the fuel with the cap off for the duration of painting. Yup. I had another dumbass moment.



AND- I couldn't get the bike started after putting gas in it (that was already mentioned/ discussed in another thread)- After everything has happened this summer, finding the hole in the bottom of the gas tank- Troy made the point that the hole could've played a part in the difficulty in starting... IDK. You're not alone, and I'd feel REALLY bad .... but I ran out of gas twice in one summer (rings my total count of how many times I've ever run out of gas to 2!).



You win as far as location. Heights don't scare me- water does... beautiful bridge though... I ran out of gas next to a cornfield and in the Voyager trike conversion parking lot- pretty safe places.

 

[kingston73]

Glad it all worked out ok for you. I've been lucky, only twice have I run out and both times it was on a quiet road. I know what you're saying about being up on a bridge like that, I used to work for a surveying company and one job we got was checking the bridge foundatiions. We had to walk up the bridge from land, than crawl down a set of crazy ladders until we got the top of the concrete foundation. About 100 ft or maybe more above the water, on a little 15 or 20 ft circle, and I had to stand near the flippin edge to hold the survey mirror while the crew chief shoots the coordinates. Never want to do that again.

 

[rogerb]

what a nightmare,dont envey you in that situation.

i always carry a petrol bag,rolled up under the seat.just in case.

I don't think that petrol bage are sold in the States. Or that I have never seen one. A great idea though.

 

[gopher]

i always carry a petrol bag,rolled up under the seat.just in case.

What's that Bandit? Sounds like a good idea.

A 'petrol bag' search shows me a camera case company and 'gasoline bag' shows a company that makes canvas grocery totes. I believe that hard and red are required for gas/petrol storage and transport here and anything else is illegal. Not there?

I quess your are a bandit though.

edit- Roger beat me to it.

 

[bandit]

What's that Bandit? Sounds like a good idea.

A 'petrol bag' search shows me a camera case company and 'gasoline bag' shows a company that makes canvas grocery totes. I believe that hard and red are required for gas/petrol storage and transport here and anything else is illegal. Not there?

I quess your are a bandit though.

edit- Roger beat me to it.

I don't think that petrol bage are sold in the States. Or that I have never seen one. A great idea though.

guys,they are very popular here.a 5 litre bag[legal to carry 3 litres of petrol or 5 of diesel],rolls up flat,just like a plastic carrier bag,takes no space at all.ill post a picture in 10 minutes

 

[achille]

guys,they are very popular here.a 5 litre bag[legal to carry 3 litres of petrol or 5 of diesel],rolls up flat,just like a plastic carrier bag,takes no space at all.ill post a picture in 10 minutes

That's not the same bag that you carry the vino in is it?

 

[bandit]

That's not the same bag that you carry the vino in is it?

what are you like,i thought everyone knew they dont mix,i stop now if i want a beer or a wine

 

[DakotaMK]

Glad it all worked out ok for you. I've been lucky, only twice have I run out and both times it was on a quiet road. I know what you're saying about being up on a bridge like that, I used to work for a surveying company and one job we got was checking the bridge foundatiions. We had to walk up the bridge from land, than crawl down a set of crazy ladders until we got the top of the concrete foundation. About 100 ft or maybe more above the water, on a little 15 or 20 ft circle, and I had to stand near the flippin edge to hold the survey mirror while the crew chief shoots the coordinates. Never want to do that again.

Piss. On. That.



That's ALL I can say to that!

 

[bandit]

guys,they are very popular here.a 5 litre bag[legal to carry 3 litres of petrol or 5 of diesel],rolls up flat,just like a plastic carrier bag,takes no space at all.ill post a picture in 10 minutes

just incase anyone is lost in translation...

suitable for.........

petrol,diesel,wine,water,oil,cerial,probably nuclear fuel

 

[wootersen]

OK...new day. I'm laughing about it now.



Bandit those petrol bags look awesome. Thanks for posting a pic.



Round two is today. Any locals wanna go for a ride ?

 

[jayhanig]

After all this, my nerves were too shot to do anything but go home and drink beer (afraid of heights). Can't blame the bike on this one, this was my own damn fault

Gotta agree... that runs about a 9.8 on the Suckiness Scale. Glad you made it home without pushing the bike into the water.

 

[Steve in Wa]

The wind really rips across this bridge at times.

At the top it's 250' to the water.