July 2019 Newsletter
BRMC members and guests in the Portland Pride Parade
Welcome
The Border Riders Motorcycle Club (BRMC) is an organized group of guys who like to ride and camp. Our membership spans the Pacific Northwest, with the greatest participation in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver B.C. We have one of the largest memberships of gay clubs in North America, and welcome like-minded guests to join us on our monthly club events and local activities during the riding months. Check the main page of the website at http://borderriders.com for additional information.
Contents
Bear Springs Recap
June Photo Gallery
From the Handle Bars of the President
Road Captain Rumblings
July Run
Day Rides
Treasurer Ramblings
Club Finances
Portland Meet & Greet/Day Ride
More Treasurer Ramblings
50th Anniversary Events
Calendar of Events
Member Birthdays
For Sale
Reader’s Corner
Meet & Greets
Bear Springs Campout - Recap
This was a new campground for us and it turned out to be a great place. About half way between Government Camp on Mt Hood and Maupin, this site was magnificently wooded with very tall trees in that >100 foot class. There are five group sites there with each taking a number of individual spots. As many people from both our group and the other groups didn’t make it, there was lots of room for everyone in a quiet environment. Signage could have been a tad better, as in one direction, marking for the turnoff was basically not marked and easily passed by. Nonetheless, we all made it somehow.
Most people made it by Friday evening, with our president roaring in very late in the night from a long trip from Washington. Three others joined the group from their extracurricular riding adventures. Amassing for dinner, we headed over to Maupin, about 24 miles away, for a fine dinner at the Imperial along the Deschutes River. As we were so close to the longest day of the year, we were able to make it back to camp before total darkness set in. Campfires were still allowed this time of year, and we put that to good use as the site had a nice fire pit with several big logs to sit on for benches.
Saturday saw a beautiful day with moderate temperatures. Day rides took groups in every which direction. A favorite is the ‘almost ghost town’ of Shaniko (population 17) that still sports a number of old time buildings. A must stop whenever exploring the town is the ice cream shop, ran by the mayor. Moving on, we found lots of photograph moments and local scenes to see. Don pulled out his drone and took more movies of some of us as we worked our way through the twisties of the hills.
Back at camp, we grouped for the club meeting and group photo. Then, off again for dinner in Maupin, this time at The Riverside. Another excellent time was had by all. After getting more gas in the one station in town (closes at 8pm), we blasted back to camp, enjoyed another cozy campfire, and turned in for the night putting a close to a long but enjoyable day.
Sunday came early as many guys were off to Portland to make the Pride Parade. For others, a more casual start to the day, and took some more scenic routes as the day was clear, sunny, and Mt Hood was looking stunning. A stop by Trillium lake is always a treat.
BRMC Group photo, Bear Springs Campout
June Photo Gallery
Submit your photos to news@borderriders.com to be included in the Gallery. We all like to see what our members and guests did during the past month.
From the Handlebars of the President
June was a busy month with Pride events as well as BRMC happenings. We had Seattle area members and guest on a day ride around Hood Canal, several members do a road trip, had our monthly camp run and rode in the Portland Pride Parade.
The monthly camp out as Dennis mentions was at a new campground for the group between Government Camp and Maupin, Oregon. I left work at 3:30 on Friday afternoon and decided to head over I-90 and down Hwy 97 as Waze indicated it would take about 30 minutes less time than going down I-5 and then over. Traffic wasn’t too bad on 405 except for a few miles before Bellevue and the section of I-90 before the top of the pass. Two lanes were closed due to construction and traffic was backed up for a long ways and moved very slow. I stopped in Yakima for gas and grub and discovered that one of the bungees securing my tent had broken so I had to buy a replacement. The wind was very strong heading south of Goldendale dropping down to the river and crossing at Biggs and heading west on I-84 to The Dalles. By the time I reached The Dalles it was dark but I continued on arriving at camp around 10:45 pm.
As I turned into the campground I was expecting to see a group campground sign. It looked like a bunch of single campsites but I thought to myself, maybe the group sites are around the backside so I proceeded through the camp. As I rounded the corner at the back of the camp I could see several guys waving flashlights. Dave J, Dennis, Dale and Don were directing me into camp and were very helpful in assisting me in finding a spot for my tent and in helping me set it up. I had bought a new tent Wednesday evening and it was my first time setting it up.
On Saturday morning Dennis, Dale and I headed to Tygh Valley for breakfast. After breakfast we took a county/forest service road that connected up with Hwy 26. We stopped for a break at Government Camp and then continued west to ZigZag and headed up East Lolo Pass Road. The road wound under large electrical transmission lines up to Lolo Pass. I didn’t know there was another Lolo Pass than the one on the Montana/Idaho border. We stopped at the top of the pass and the road was closed just beyond the pass. On the way up we had spectacular views of Mount Hood to the east. We took a narrow winding side road back through the woods. There were wonderful wild rhododendrons blooming as we started our ride back. We arrived back in camp a short while before the board meeting.
Sunday morning as an early start as most of us departed camp at 7:30 to head to Portland. We stopped in Government Camp for breakfast and arrived with 10 minutes to spare at the parade line up. We had a long wait before bringing up the rear of the parade. The pace was slow and I felt like I was walking my bike most of the route. Kas and I led the BRMC contingent of 13 bikes. I’m not sure who decided that I should ride alongside Kas to lead the group and to the chagrin of those behind me I did have fun revving my engine. After the parade I headed home joined by Marc and his boyfriend. Traffic was backed up for miles on I-5 due to bridge work between Nisqually and Dupont. I got back home around 7:45 and was exhausted.
For various reasons that I won’t go into we were not able to ride in the Seattle Pride Parade. On a positive note, at least the Seattle Pride is aware that we want to ride in the parade. We will have to see how things go for riding in the parade next year.
Seattle Area Day Ride
On June 1st a group did a day ride around Hood Canal. The group at times was led by former member Murph and other times by Tom. I hear that they found some great roads to ride as well as food and ice cream.
Seattle Meet and Greet
The June meet and greet was attended by one regular as well as a new guest. With the meet and greet occurring after the camp run and the class in Oregon, the members that regularly attend forgot about it. My apologies for forgetting about it and not being there.
The next meet and greet will be on July 17th at 7:00 pm at the Cuff. This is the Wednesday before the camp run to Lewis and Clark Trail State Park. I will be there and hopefully I will see some of you there as well.
Road Captain Rumblings
June – I had a little trepidation signing up for a campground that we haven’t been to or scouted out. The need was for a group site close enough to Portland to make it reasonable to get to the pride parade and it fit most of the criteria. Riding in the area was great and it’s amazing how you get about 15 miles east of the campground you’re in a drastically different ecosystem. My apologies for not bringing BRMC signs to put up as the campground was difficult to find (myself included) – looking for group campground signage and none there – they bunch sites together as a group and what aren’t reserved as groups can be occupied individually. The instructed mileage was correct so we will insure to bring signage on future trips to avoid confusion. Those of us in daylight were overthinking it like John on a long gravel road (that Dale and I pursued a little bit), having to send a posse out to find Tom when we heard a motorcycle a few times. Jeff rode right too it in the dark. I brought the propane campfire along as many parts of Oregon had already instituted burn bans, but we were able to have a fire and it may have been the last of the season. The weekend was capped off by riding in the Portland Pride Parade and for a few riding motorcycles on a go-cart track on Monday.
Guest Andrew G will be providing a support vehicle from Portland for the July run. He will be taking his pickup. If you have gear you would like transported to the campground please contact him at kingmark.pdx@gmail.com.
JULY - another new campground for us – Lewis and Clark Trail State Park near Dayton Washington. Not as primitive as June, and a little closer to food and premium gas. The campsite is described as a lush oasis on an arid landscape. This part of Eastern Washington has more rolling hills in comparison to areas that you go for miles and do a couple of 90 degree turns in succession to go around property lines. Hope you can join us for this one.
Seattle July day ride – We’re still looking for someone to lead a ride on July 6th. If you are interested in putting one together let me know. We’d like to be consistent on having them. Once we have details we will send out an email to everyone.
Shiny side up,
Treasurer’s Ramblings
Yippee, riding season is here. I am so excited I feel like a kid. It’s like Christmas but without the fat guy. Wait a minute. It’s exactly like Christmas. Get out & ride.
Club Finances & Such
Club finances are healthy. Account balances are where I expect them to be. As always, contact me at our next event for more details.
Portland’s M&G & Day Ride
Portland had a decent turn out for the M&G in June. Along with the regulars, Larry & Pat made an appearance. No one was available for a day ride in June but it was a fun visit anyway.
Portland’s next M&G will be on “Wednesday”, July 3rd at the Eagle on Lombard at 7:00. I plan to go to Fire on the Mountain on Interstate for dinner prior to the meeting. Let me know if you plan to join me so I can get a big enough table. I will not be able to attend the day ride in July so If anyone would be willing to lead the day ride, please contact me so I can make proper arrangements.
Keep in mind that if you decide to go for a ride you can always reach out to the club by posting something on our FB page. Hopefully, you’ll get a response and have someone to ride with.
2019 & 2020 Motorcycle Class Schedule & Other Information
June, what a crazy month for motorcycle training and skill development. The RSP class was filled by BRMC people and was a blast. The ART class was attended by 7 of us and was very fun as well.
The activities for the RSP class began Friday night at Alan & my home and didn’t end until Sunday morning when everybody headed home. What a fun weekend that was. A special thanks to everyone who participated.
The weekend of the ART Class was a very full weekend. The Class was preceded by the June Campout which ran until Sunday. Then people had to break camp and beeline it to the Portland Pride Parade so we could ride in the parade Sunday afternoon. The ART class started on Monday morning at 9:00 making the weekend a very full and busy 4 days.
While on a break at the ART class we were told that only 2% of riders take these advanced classes. Only 2%, WOW? Should we look into a BRMC 2% Patch? Maybe I can get Team Oregon to make one available.
The next training opportunity for us will be the Advanced Motors Training “AMT” on September 14th (additional info to follow). This is the 1st day of our 50th Anniversary Rally and you can NOT register for this class by calling Team Oregon. The only way to get into this class is to register for the Rally.
The Rally Registration is about $35 +/- $10 for guest and Canadians. There is no additional fee for the class making this is an extremely affordable way to get to experience this kind of training. It will only last a couple hours but still, it’s a hell of a good deal and should be a blast.
I have had people express concern because they can’t attend the whole Rally. Keep in mind, you are not required to attend the whole Rally. You may come and go as you wish. I know people who are only coming in for the 1st weekend because that is all they can attend. I know of one member who plans on attending the 1st weekend, ride home Monday, work the rest of the week and meet back up with everyone in Bellingham on Saturday for the closing celebration. Again, you are free to come and go as you please.
I know it will be a stretch for some of you more northern riders to get to the AMT course in Albany by noon so I am hoping the Portland people will open their homes on Friday night. I hope this will make it possible for more people to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
Registration for the Rally does close on July 31st, 2019 so don’t delay. Also, don’t forget to make your hotel reservation. Those rooms and rates are only guaranteed until July 31st.
Once registration closes, I will send out an email asking everyone what days you intend to participate. I need to notify Team Oregon how many to expect so they can schedule adequate instructors. I will also need to make restaurant reservations and other misc. plans. Please be ready with that information and get it back to me ASAP. I am not set up for that data yet so please wait until I send out that e-mail before responding.
Motorcycle Classes in 2020, already? Yes, I’m already looking into motorcycle classes for the summer of 2020. Due to the demand from Seattle and BC, I am going to organize as many of these classes as I can to happen in the Seattle area.
I predict people from Portland & BC will converge on Seattle and I expect Seattle people to register in mass. The results, I expect these classes in Seattle to fill up very fast. Information about these classes will be discussed in future newsletters so stay tuned.
I will be happy to organize whatever classes there is enough interest in so please talk to me about what classes you want to see offered in 2020. For example;
I found a class for Group Riding. Not only riding in group formation but also how to park smoothly and quickly. How many would be interested in this class in 2020?
I found a class that runs for 8-hours a day for 5 days. The classes run Monday/Friday and cost $1,200. This class is a police training class open to the public near Seattle. You will be able to use their police bikes for this class. Anybody interested in taking this class in 2020?
About the Upcoming AMT Class
Team Oregon trains the police and they are offering a version of their police training class to us to kick off our 50th Anniversary Rally. This special AMT class is on Saturday the 14th of September at their course in Albany Oregon. I am still working out the time, but it’ll be around noon.
The version Team Oregon is putting together for us is the one we all watch on You Tube and wish we could do. It’s their competition obstacle course on that field of orange cones. Doing those tight maneuvers, a clock ticking, music playing on a loudspeaker and people cheering us onto a finish line. I doubt we will have a loudspeaker and we will probably need to be our own cheering crowd, but the course is real, and it’ll still be fun. As Collin would have said, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce.
To be less intimidating, they are setting up 2 courses. They will start with 2 easy courses and then as we improve, they will make one course more and more difficult. We will get to decide as individuals if we want to move onto the more difficult course or continue to exercise our skills on the original course. Remember, we are just there to play so no pressure, just have fun.
As if it couldn’t get any better, an anonymous donor has donated the entire class for anyone who registers for the 50th Anniversary Rally. Albany is on the way to our 1st 50th Anniversary Rally check-in, which is that Saturday night in Roseburg, OR. I believe it would be a horrible loss if we didn’t take advantage of this opportunity. What a hoot this should be. I can’t wait, and I hope you are excited too.
BTW, these events I put together with Team Oregon are not a BRMC sanctioned event. This is just me organizing these classes because I keep getting request for it, I love them, and I learn something every time I go.
I hope you all are taking advantage of the beautiful weather we are having and I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events. If you should have any questions or comments about anything I am dealing with, please feel encouraged to contact me & let us chat.
Sincerely,
Stan C
2019 Treasurer
50th Anniversary Celebration
The 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee is busy planning one heck of a year for us that will not soon be forgotten. Among the events planned are:
50th Anniversary Rally, September 14-21 - come ride with us for an 8 day journey through Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Join for all or part of the journey, ride as far and long as you wish. Guests welcomed.
50th Anniversary Banquet, February 15, 2020 - we will wind down the year with a grand finale event.
Registration for the Rally has opened. There is a sheet on our web-site “Summary Packet” that contains a list of all the hotels we will be staying at and their contact information so you can make your reservations. There is also a day by day description of each days ride and maps for each day. You can find the “Summary Packet” and “Maps with notes” at the bottom of the day by day description.
Registration Closes July 31st.
2019 Calendar of Events
January 19 Annual General Meeting - Seattle, WA
February 16 Anniversary Banquet - Portland, OR
March 16 Club Meeting - Don W, Lynnwood, WA
April 20 Club Meeting - Dan S, Oakville, WA
May 17-20 Victoria Day Weekend Camp - Pine Flats Campground, Ardenvoir, WA
June 14-16 Bear Springs Group Campground, Maupin, OR
June 16 - BRMC rides in Portland Pride Parade
July19-21 Lewis & Clark Trail State Park, Dayton, WA
August 16-18, Willows Campground, Lillooet, BC
September 14-21 50th Anniversary Ride - OR, WA, BC
September 21 Club Meeting, Bellingham, WA
October 19 Club Meeting - TBD
November 16 Club Meeting - TBD
December 14 Holiday Party - TBD
Birthdays
We have 9 members with birthdays this month. Please take a moment to wish them a great day.
David F - 10th
Scott G - 4th
Chris L - 5th
Marc L - 9th
John McC - 6th
André P - 21st
Ryan S - 24th
Dan S - 26th
Jeremy W -24th
For Sale
2009 Harley-Davidson Dyna FatBob FXDF
Member Scott G has his motorcycle for sale. Scott has upgraded and many accessories not pictured are included. Some of these are quick release windshield, backrest, sissy bar, tour bag and eagle talon kickstand. For full details see the eBay listing.
Contact: ScottGrimes@comcast.net
$12,900.00 (BRMC $11,900.)
8229 mi.
VIN: 1HD1GY4149K340172
Stored for 6 years, dealer serviced, perfect.
eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/323845590605
Meet & Greets
BRMC members will be available for new and returning guys to connect and learn more about the club and opportunities to participate. If you are interested, check out when and where in the cities listed below. Also, in addition to the club's monthly events, local rides may be organized, weather permitting. To lean more, email the Road Captain for specific details, or to ensure a member to meet you, at captain@borderriders.com.
Portland: Meet & Greet - 1st Wednesday of the month, 7pm at The Portland Eagle
Vancouver BC Meet & Greet - 2nd Wednesday of the month. Time & Location YTBD
Seattle: Meet & Greet - 3rd Wednesday of the month, 7pm at The Cuff
Reader’s Corner
A place for you the reader, member or guest, to contribute. Tell us about your travels, adventures, mishaps, etc.
This month a short novella by member Stan C
Well, riding season finally arrived. Alan and I didn’t waste any time taking advantage of it either. We went on a 1-week tour of eastern Oregon which ended with the June Campout, the BRMC Portland Pride Ride, and the Team Oregon Advanced Motorcycle Training Class.
We started all this On June 8th by riding from Portland to Bend via Springfield and the McKenzie Highway 126. The McKenzie Highway 126 took us to 242 which we have been wanting to ride for some time. As luck would have it, 242 was still closed for the winter. We rode enough of it to know we enjoyed 126 much more and thus, would not be returning to complete 242.
With regards to 126, what a BEAUTIFUL road and one I will ride again. Traffic was a little difficult to get around in the beginning but once we got past the 3 cars following the logging truck following the U-Haul truck, it was smooth sailing. We stopped in Sisters for lunch before heading onto Bend. We spent the evening playing around the downtown district and had a wonderful evening together.
From Bend we rode to Lakeview via Silver Lake and Paisley on Highways 97 & 31. We did stop in Silver Lake but mostly because I had to pee really bad. When I got back to the bikes Alan walked away and I got entertained by some old biker guy. He told me one story about the time a speeding state trooper passed him with lights and siren who skidded to a stop sideways in front of him. There was some reason to stop him from crossing a bridge. I can’t help but love a good story.
While Silver Lake didn’t offer much Paisley on the other hand is a redo. I want to go back and soon. A friend of mine told me that the café in Paisley served some good food but OMG, it smelled amazing. They specialized in smoked meats and it smelled delicious. We took a long break there while I ate some ice cream and wished I hadn’t told Alan I wasn’t hungry. I’m adding this to my bucket list and I do have a couple days in July with nothing happening, 😊.
We arrived early in Lakeview and it turned out to be a disappointment. Well, the Best Western there was great but the food in that town was limited and the 4-star rated place we went to turned out to be the worst meal of this trip.
The Burger Queen burned down last summer and I’m excited to report, they are rebuilding it. Maybe I will wait until that is done and try go for their grand re-opening. Hm, that is exactly how I’ll make it back to that café in Paisley. “But Alan, it’s the Burger Queen grand re-opening.” 😊
We left Lakeview at about 8 the next morning and headed towards Prairie City via Denio, NV and Frenchglen, OR. It had been a couple years since we have been on 140 east out of Lakeview and I forgot what a wonderful road this is. It was on a straight section of highway 140 in NV that I got to test my new bike.
I had no problem getting to 110 mph. I had plenty more power to go but that was enough, so I shut down. I then tested the cruise control only to be bummed that the CC won’t go above 92 mph, again. Damn it, why HD, WHY, WHY, WHY, do you have that limiter on your bikes CC?
We pulled into Denio to get gas and WHAT, No Gas. This is the only place to get gas for miles around. I took a deep breath and headed north on 205 as planned. After a couple miles I finally had the courage to tell Alan I was concerned about our fuel situation. The bikes GPS said the nearest gas station was in Burns, OR which was 111 miles away from our current location. I only showed 113 miles left on my tank. Ok, I’m a little freaky at this point and trying to warm Alan up to the idea that I will ride it dry but then he might need to ride into Burns and bring me some gas.
Alan was getting better gas mileage than me and he didn’t waste a bunch of it playing around on Highway 140. It was a little quiet for a couple minutes then Alan started trying to tell me everything was going to be ok. He realized it was what it was and it’s all a part of the journey. Then I saw a gas pump at a hotel/general store in Fields, OR. It was even premium, yahoo. It might have been $5 a gallon but I didn’t care. I was prepared to pay a lot more than that.
After refueling we headed north on 205 but not till after some guy on a HD CVO cornered me and told me all about his bike and how he paid $42,000 for this bike and couldn’t believe it was so expensive. I swear, Alan sees these guys coming, pushes me in front of them and then walks away. By the time I realize what’s happening I’m trapped.
We had never been on this stretch of 205 north before and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. It was a leisure pace, great road conditions, not much traffic. We took a break at the general store in Frenchglen before completing the ride into Burns for lunch.
Alan took the lead for the last leg into Burns and let me chill for a while. As we parked the bikes and locked everything up some guy started talking to Alan. I wasn’t paying much attention until I hear things getting a little heated and Alan firmly says, “Whatever”.
The guy looked at me and I just started laughing because I know exactly what that means. It means STFU because he’s done with your BS. It turns out the guy started going off about how those damn liberals are running OR politics and how they were all from California. Suddenly I didn’t mind the 2 bikers I got compared to the guy Alan got stuck with.
Other than a mile of chip and seal outside Canyon City the remainder of the ride into Prairie City went off without any issues. Highway 395 was fun, smooth, not much traffic and beautiful.
We stayed at this cool old hotel in Prairie City that had recently been remodeled. We could look out over main street and I imagined how the saloon girls might be showing a little leg to some cowboy riding in from the trail. “Hey Cowboy!” After a nap we walked down to the bar and had a beer before heading out to dinner.
Alan was talking to the bartender and I was pretty much just enjoying my beer looking at the pictures on the wall and then this guy started telling us all about everybody’s personal business. Gossip, I’m back. I’m confident he didn’t realize we knew some people in Prairie City and, a couple of the people he was talking about, we knew. I didn’t know this juicy gossip about our friends, but I do now. I’m so glad I don’t live is a small little community like that.
Then without warning this guy got into politics and started tripping. Alan tried to reel him in a little, but he wasn’t having it. He was tired of the Trump supporters in eastern OR and had decided we needed to hear about his political views which were honestly, way far to the left and maybe even a little into outer space. Two for two and suddenly Alan and I are even. I’ll keep my biker guys and Alan can keep his political commentators.
We walked around Prairie City a little then went to the Mexican restaurant for a bland meal before calling it a night. While eating we got a text from Richard telling us that he was in the area and would meet us in Baker City the following evening. He would spend the rest of the week riding with us which was fine with us. Like icing on the cake to a wonderful day. We couldn’t have been more excited about this turn of events.
With a new sense of excitement, Alan and I left Prairie City and onto a route I had been looking forward to ever since I mapped it out 8 months earlier. Our scheduled stops for today would be Hereford (Hwy 26), Sumpter (Hwy 246, 7 & 220), Ukiah (NFD Rd 052), La Grande (Hwy 244) & Baker City (I-84). This would be mostly new territory for us, and I couldn’t wait.
We wanted to leave no later than 8 o’clock which meant we would have to eat breakfast on the road. Much to our dismay, Prairie City doesn’t open until 9 and we weren’t waiting. I told Alan we’d stop in Herford some 45 minutes down the road only to discover there wasn’t anything in Hereford to stop for or at. I offered a big apology and my candy stash, but Alan said he’d be fine, so we headed to Sumpter.
The road to Hereford was a fun. It was a slower pace than normal and contained meandering sweeps and smooth roads. Highway 245 north from there turned out to be a series of hairpin turns and switchbacks. A steep climb up on one side of the road and a cliff on the other. While we did see a guard rail now and then it was mostly without a guard rail or even a patch of gravel between the pavement and nothingness.
A fire had recently swept through this area, so the landscape was mostly burned out making everything look even more unstable and ready to slide down the mountainside. Augh, the things we think of at exactly the wrong moment.
We both greeted Highway 7 with a smile and started our trek back west to meet up with Highway 220 into Sumpter. It wasn’t long before a logging truck had caught up with us and was uncomfortably close to Alan. We added another 10 mph to our pace which pacified him enough to back off.
The weather was perfect and Sumpter was bigger than I expected. We stopped at the biggest building we saw, and it turned out to be “The Highest Pot Dispensary in Oregon”. There was a café attached to it so in we went. Breakfast was fine, coffee was good, but the selection at the dispensary was amazing.
The road between Sumpter and Ukiah was in wonderful condition and is one wonderful sweep after another scattered with beautifully green valleys. The only complaint was from Alan who had to back off because there was so much pollen on the road it was like a dust cloud behind me.
After one particularly sweet 50 mph sweep Alan called me on the CB expressing concern that there was a truck sitting in the middle of the road on the other side of this beautiful valley. Do we stop and put a round in the chamber or keep going? I slowed down as I pondered our options before needing to slam on the breaks. A herd of elk started crossing the road in front of us. Big beautiful animals so close I could see the color variance in their eyes. One big bull and I don’t know how many cows. Dang it, why do I never have the GoPro ready when I need it? We turned off the bikes and sat there for several minutes while they crossed the road.
Ukiah was a scheduled break point and the general store had the best ice cream. It was the good kind of ice cream Dale C. The hard kind. Not that soft swirl crap. Alan refrained and said he couldn’t stomach ice cream before lunch, poor fella. I loved it.
Ukiah to La Grande was more meandering sweeps plus a river that ran alongside the highway. There were more houses, people, roadside construction and some light traffic but still a beautiful road and very worthy of a detour to ride it. Specially if you get to stop in Ukiah and have ice cream. Damn that was good ice cream.
We have a favorite restaurant in La Grande we always stop at when in that area so stop for lunch we did. I wasn’t exactly hungry, so I had a small side of salad and helped Alan with his French fries. After lunch we got on I-84 and headed to our hotel in Baker City.
As we pulled into Baker City, I saw a bike parked under the awning where you check into the hotel and then I saw Richard. He had just checked in and was getting ready to head to his room. After a series of big biker hugs, I got us checked in and we all rode to our rooms together. Yippee, we got a room directly across the hall from Richard.
We didn’t feel like getting back on the bikes, so we ate at the hotel and spent the evening looking at potential rides for the following day. We decide to do a figure 8 ride stopping in North Powder, Union, Cove, La Grande, Union, Sunset & back to Baker City.
We stopped in each city and walked around looking at whatever we could find to look at. Well, there wasn’t anything to see in North Powder, Cove, or Sunset but Union and La Grande were fun. I’m not sure how we did it but during the 90 minutes we walked around La Grande we stopped for a second breakfast and an early lunch.
During lunch I thought about zipping back to Ukiah for ice cream. After 28 year of marriage Alan can read my mind and when I realized he was looking intently I couldn’t help but look at him. He just shook his head no, but I didn’t need to hear what he was saying. It was a wonderful day and as always, when hanging out with Richard, there was much banter & laughter. Mostly at my expense!
We spent the afternoon doing a walking tour of Baker City which I highly recommend. There are some beautiful old buildings in the downtown district and there is a walking tour map to help you figure out what you are looking at. We were in the lobby of the Geiser Hotel looking at how detailed all the workmanship was before, I think it was Richard, who got us in trouble. So, we went down the street to Barley Brown and had dinner.
While eating dinner we decided to leave Baker City a day early. There was a ride to Maupin I wanted to do but it was a very long ride and would be a whole lot easier if we broker it into 2 days. We decided to spend 1 night in Prineville instead or riding straight through to Maupin.
Chris was planning to meet us in Maupin Friday night, so we sent him a video of us being silly and tried to get him to meet us in Prineville a day early. Unfortunately, Chris had chores he needed to get done before he’d be able to leave home.
Richard, Alan and I left Baker City the following morning as planned and rode Hwy 7 & 26 to Prairie City. We stopped to visit our friend in Prairie City and had a wonderful visit. He is a little crazy which is what makes him so fun and after an hour it was time to get back on the road. I wanted to tell him what the bartender said about him but decided it was best to skip it. From Prairie City we rode to Canyon City, Paulina, and Prineville.
We had chip and seal just outside Canyon City and again east of Paulina. We stopped in Paulina and realized we had tar on our boots and on our bikes. I still need to clean it off my pipes, grrrr. I hate road tar. Such a PITA to remove and it gets everywhere.
The traffic control monitor / biker gal at the last chip and seal site told us WD-40 is what they use to get it off all their equipment. I’ll give it a try, but something tells me it’ll need to be followed by several coats of wax and chrome polisher. More grrrr.
Alan found a wonderful BBQ joint in Prineville that was walking distance from the hotel. It had a salad bar which I should have done but the Pulled Pork looked so dang good. Unfortunately, we had to walk past the ice cream shop to get to and from dinner so, well, Richard had to have ice cream. Their chocolate malts were delicious.
From Prineville we road back east to Mitchell on Hwy 26. What a wonderful ride this is. I’ve done it several times and enjoy it every time. Mitchell is always entertaining, and this time was no exception. The storekeeper went on about his business tossing in political comments now and then. Yep, he was talking to Alan. From Mitchell we rode 207 north into Fossil and had lunch. Alan and I got to see a friend who works at the general store in Fossil before jumping on 218 into Antelope.
Ok, 218 in one of my top 10 all-time favorite roads. I ride it every time I’m in the area and it never lets me down. The road is in wonderful condition, the speed averages 35 & 40 mph, there are some twisties but mostly sweeps and the scenery is just marvelous.
The small towns in this area of Oregon, Antelope and Shaniko for example, were destroyed economically, socially and politically by the Rajneesh back in the 80’s. When riding out of this canyon we noticed activity in both Antelope and Shaniko. I was very excited to see this new activity but without time to stop, I told myself I would be back the following day and see what is going on.
We arrived in Maupin with just enough time to get settled into our rooms before Chris arrived. Yippee, someone else for Richard and Alan to pick on. After hanging out and drinking tea on the patio for an hour we decided to ride out to the Bear Springs Campsite and see who has arrived for the BRMC campout.
This was not an easy place to find due to the lack of signage. Once found, we visited with Dave J and watched the rest of the guys arrive and pitched their tents. A discussion evolved and suddenly everyone was following us back to the hotel to have dinner with Chris, Richard, Alan and I at the Imperial Hotel.
Dinner was slow to arrive, but the drinks flowed, and the conversation was interesting. We were having a good time. It was fun to catch up with everyone, so we didn’t mind waiting. After dinner the guys headed back to the campout while Chris, Richard, Alan and I sat on our adjoining back decks at the hotel and discussed our route options for the following day.
Richard and I wanted to ride Bakeoven Road from Maupin to Hwy 97 which aligned us up perfectly to visit Shaniko and ride 216 from Grass Valley to the campout in Pine Grove. So that’s what we did.
Shaniko residents have been working very hard to rebuild their little town and they have turned it into a tourist stop for people traveling along highway 97. I’m happy to report they are doing a wonderful job at it.
They are capitalizing on their historical roots as a Wool town. The old buildings are being refurbished and you can walk through picturing what life was like back then. While I was looking at the local artwork Alan and Chris managed to get thrown in jail. Public nuisance no doubt. Once Alan & Chris were freed from jail, we got some water and headed on our way before they found more trouble.
Both 97 from Shaniko to Grass Valley and 216 from Grass Valley to Pine Grove were fun roads. While we were heading west on highway 216 we passed Don W, Dave J, Marc L & David O heading the other direction. We later heard they were on their way to Shaniko and I guess David ended up in jail as well.
We got to the campsite early enough to relax and visit before the meeting. Once the meeting was over Chris, Richard, Alan and I made a beeline for Portland. I guess traffic was pretty good because we got home much quicker than expected.
Not wanting to ride in the parade on dirty bikes we agreed to get up early and do a quick wash before heading to the pride parade. We found Kas’s bike and started lining ours up next to his. Shortly after getting off the bikes Kas showed up. The rest of the guys showed up not long afterwards and the festivities began.
The parade opens with Dykes on Bikes and we close it. Unfortunately, this means we had to wait for 3 hours before it is was our turn to enter the parade route. Our waiting spot turned out to be positioned such that we could watch the parade from where our bikes were parked so it wasn’t that bad but it’s still 3 hours of waiting.
At some point, some drunk guy decided he needed to try sniff all the leather smell out of Alan’s vest. What a mess this guy was and both Alan and I were not pleased with his attention. Fortunately, his friends showed up and took him away.
Everyone came to the house after the parade. We had pizza and some more socialization. It was a fun evening and things wrapped up fairly early. The following day was going to be a full day and people were smart to get some rest.
Alan, Dale, David, Dennis, Jeff B, Tom, and I were signed up for the Team Oregon Advanced Riding Class on the day after the Pride Parade. Without too much detail, I learned so freaking much during that day. One of the instructors followed me around the course once, had me follow him for 1 lap and then pulled me over to explain what I should be doing differently.
I started working on his suggestions and before long I was cornering much better and was so much more stable on the corners. I was coming out of the corners set up for the next corner and ready to go. It was a blast. I HIGHLY recommend this class. I am already thinking about taking it again.
Who wants to go?
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