Lots of lead time before Thursday to work out a variety of plans and I am the unofficial winner of the "Bruce≠Glenwood" pool with a cancellation time of 2 hours 31 minutes before the day we were to ride!
We linked up at Costco gas pumps at 0800 with my portion of dinner supplies... bread and wine (works for me, if I break down I'm set!) and off we go. A ride to Desert Aire for breakfast and then a drop across the Vernita Bridge, Sunnyside, Mabton (hey, they are looking for a Tech Director there) and Bickleton stopping at various pull-outs to reflect on the history of the area on the way there and on to Goldendale for other supplies.
Terry decides we are going to take some "byways" to get to the Flying-L and I lose them taking pictures, so I head up the 142 as planned but stop to figure out which direction they took (come to find they didn't head up the 142 at all but missed the turn and got lost).So I wait from one intersection to another thinking they would at least wait somewhere (after Butter-something road last year, why would I think that?) and end up at the Flying-L Ranch to find John walking down the road looking for me at and them in their Pajamas (well, sweats) and cooking dinner and asking where I was... sheesh!
The spaghetti feed was top notch and I learned two things... Terry doesn't ever open the salad dressing if it's a new bottle at his house and you can substitute olive oil in a brownie mix.
Men... we are survivors!
So after dinner, Hammond shows me his "every bit as good as John's" 18¢ throttle lock tie-wrap. As soon as I show Terry the safety feature of it being able to back off the thing snaps in half and I'm left owing Terry a quarter! Some believe in quick disconnects with their throttle locks... Terry's has a "disintegration" feature! :DAs it is, no one else drinks wine except Don's 2 oz taste and it's my bottle the rest of the night with a large room to myself and some of the best sleep I have had in a long time (no, not due to the wine).
_______________
Friday met the group at 28°f and frost on the bikes. Hammond came by to collect the rent for the Flying L hosts and said everyone was around the fire still and wouldn't be ready to roll before 10:00 AM
10:00 AM?!?!?!?!?
Finding everyone by the lodge fireplace, comments were made about NOT wanting to ride for 10 hours/450 miles/too cold/ where's my blanket. Hells bells, I didn't take a vacation day to sit around a fireplace because it's a little chilly to ride. John must have seen my discontent because he says "Yancey, you're studying that map way too hard". Looking up, I informed the group I was heading deep into the middle and then heading East and would meet them all in La Grande, OR. So I geared up and headed out to Trout Lake and dropped down the 141 to White Salmon and a hot breakfast in Lyle (how was your Egg McMuffin, John?). :D
Crossed the Dalles on the 197 and shot down to Maupin/Ovenbake Road/Shaniko/Antelope/Fossil/Lunch in Service Camp/Sprey/John Day/Sumpner/Baker City/Union and up to La Grande. 422 miles at 50 Degrees was doable but tiring at the end of the day.
I met John at the Rodeway (John, we are trying other motels if we ever stay in La Grande again) and met the group for dinner at the Ten Depot Restaurant. Terry's children met us there and it was a nice evening of good food (I had local lamb) and good conversation.
_______________
Saturday was cool and with rain on the forecast John and I grabbed a bite to eat and a good coffee (can you believe we found it at Safeway?) and then to meet at the America's Best and head out to pay our respects to our friend Terry Grubb where he took his final breath on this Earth. The core of this ride was to be there at the site where motorcycle and man finished their mortal journey and honor a good man. The markings on the road from the investigation brought a reality like no other as one realizes just how fragile our time here is.The plaque in place and his children to place it there in honor...
We left the site and headed on NF-52 to Granite and the continuation of a days rain. Granite for lunch was a nice break before the torrential rain and then off to find a cutoff no-one had ever been on from this direction.
We passed it readily... who was leading? Oh yes, it was me. Realizing we were 5 miles past the Galena cutoff, I stopped the group and said I would need gas in Ukiah, where Don informed me there was no gas anymore so I pointed out the area on the map and told Don and John I would head for John Day and blast up the 395 to meet them in Ukiah. At this point it was so wet and cold that pictures were not readily available as I was not going to dig for a camera and button back up every 20 minutes (although I should have taken one of me cold and waiting in Ukiah).
*note - more to story.
As I entered my third Snow Zone and sleet was having to be wiped off my face-shield as the storm moved toward the East, I began to worry about the back roads my friends were taking so I pressed it a little harder to meet them. Just after Long Creek I came into a corner with a slew of manure that cause my back tire to slide a little and unnerve me for the next 20 miles, but then before Dale, OR I came across the two cattle trucks responsible. Passing the first one was in a passing zone, but the second sped up every straight and slowed every corner. Finally my Garmin showed a straight that even though was double-yellow was plenty long enough and no oncoming traffic. Swinging out to pass I realized by the second rear dual my space was shrinking and by mid-trailer the truck was half over the center. At that point I decided to drop a gear and get past as I knew the driver was not going to play any nicer the second time and got past to see the truck in my mirror fully in the opposite lane. This cat was going to squeeze me into the ditch and I wasn't giving him a second chance so took advantage of every corner to gain as much distance as possible. There is a special place in an afterlife reserved for these guys, I know it, where their toes are constantly ran over by scooters with studded tires.
Pulling into Ukiah at 3:20 there was no sign of bikes so I puttered in wet and cold into the General Store asking if my friends had checked in. "No friends yet, you are the first rider I've seen today" said the lady at the wood stove... but I'm not sure I heard her as I was mesmerized... no, beckoned... by the hot and tempting curves of the creature before me (the wood stove, not the proprietor) and wisps of steam came from both me and a coffee that was thrust in my hands waiting a few for friends that were to have met me there. At ten minutes 'til 4:00 PM I started to put my gear back on and told the lady at the counter to let my friends know I went on to Heppner should they stop. Another local met me at the door and said he just came down the NF 53 and it was snowing hard so I decided I had had enough adventure and would take the 395 North to the 74 SW and on into Heppner. In Heppner I found one of the group cold and finished for the day and the rest had gone to Pendleton. Pendleton? Really?? Where was that in the plan???
Walking over to the library and getting a WiFi connection showed me that Heppner was determined to be wet and cold for the next 14 hours and I was done with wet and cold. Hermiston was looking dry so 45 minutes later I was pulling into H-town and not liking what I was seeing, so up to Umatilla, out of the rain but dark and I was done too. I got a room at another debatable motel that was a step up from the Rodeway, but not much, walked down to a Pizzeria for a great pizza and back to the room for the short night.
* I had lunch with Jon on the 18th and found out that all turned around a mile from where I left them as they were thinking there might be dirt (mud) roads involved and they ended up following me on the 395. They were no less than 5 miles behind me as they turned around yet my 650 GS Thumper stayed ahead of them all through many mountain twisties and they never caught up to me... on the other hand, they left me in Ukiah while I was warming at the stove.
_______________________
Sunday morning was a series to short shots of sleep as a vehicle came and left the room next to me within 2 hours (yeh, I'm thinking that too) and someone at 4:00 AM looking for Sergio. Got up at 6:45, showered and packed the bike, and headed to Pasco and Road 68. The freeway (I82) was so quiet it was like many back-roads I'd taken over the last few days. Had coffee at Starbucks and was the first time I'd felt warm sun in days. Up to Othello/Potholes/Frenchman Hills/Quincy and home closed the morning and I was home by 11:20.
Later that afternoon, I had Mystique broke down for servicing the steering bearings...I went with a group but ended riding most of it on my own in true Beemer fashion. It was nice to meet up in the evenings, and share the stories... these are great guys and I look forward to more meets like this next year, just tell me the rally points and where you plan on ending up for the evening guys!
Addendum: I finished replacing the steering head bearing in Mystique Friday evening the 18th. I love this bike and the simple maintenance it brings (although I paid $94 for a a crazy BMW tool required to do the job saving $400 in the shop). I also mounted a spare Koplin Fuel Can and mounting brackets to my Caribou Case mounting plate thus adding another 100 miles to my basic 200 mile range.
