Friday - Puyallup to Pendleton - 420 Miles - Temperature in the 80s

The ride started off with 5 from Puyallup:  Dan and Dawn Hytry, Jim Holzberger, Dave Bolton, and Marv Travis.  We would be picking up Tye Aldana in Randle, and meeting Brad Kuehner in Pendleton at the end of the day.  The riding was great.  However, the one missing aspect that I was sadistically looking forward to was the Domino Harleys.  This year, we didn't encounter any going over White Pass, and therefore I was disappointed.

As we approached Condon, Oregon, we stopped to admire the Wind Mill farm just outside of town.  We took pictures, and ironically, took a close up of Tye while he was still healthy.  Things would change and let’s just say that you wouldn't want to see what he looked like Saturday night.

Dawn bagged a bird along the way, and we plucked it from being wedged under the triple-tree at the hotel.

Brad joined us after arriving in time for dinner.  The service in the bar was terrible (Ruth should seriously consider retirement!) so we ate at the Garden Restaurant instead, still within the hotel.

Saturday - Pendleton to Hell's Canyon and back - 360 Miles - Temperature in the 80s-90s

The night prior, Jim called home to discover that the problems with his newly-purchased pool had not been resolved and that he would need to bag the ride and return home.  Tim Popovich and Heather Armour were on their way south to meet up with us, and had seen Jim in passing, near Enumclaw.  Shortly thereafter, Jim had a discussion with the Safety Patrol, though he escaped providing an autograph.

Simultaneously, we also had our first near miss with Johnny Law on the way to breakfast in Joseph.  Riding downhill from Weston, we fast approached a slower moving pickup in a right-hand sweeping turn.  There was plenty of room to pass given the two uphill lanes and having only seen a half a dozen other cars on the road in the previous hour.  There was no real reason not to cross the double yellow and go around him, except for the hairs on the back of my neck tugging and pulling to keep me from doing so.  No sooner did we gather up behind the truck, there was an oncoming Sheriff in the outside uphill lane.  Dan's “radar” works again while Tye's electronic radar (who was riding behind) did not go off until the cop was in full view, confirming “Instant-On” mode!

We stopped in Enterprise for breakfast at the “home” café and found it to be closed.  We then rolled another 6 miles to Joseph where we stopped at the Cheyenne Café.  They had a lot of western memorabilia on the walls and, in particular, a candle that Dave took a fancy to.  He said it resembled a vital part of his anatomy, but nobody knew what he was talking about…

Marv's RF900 was blowing black smoke all along the ride thus far and was running even richer at altitude.  He was only getting about 30 mpg and was the root cause for so many of our gas stops.  This really concerned us later at the top of Hell's Canyon when he couldn't get going.  Eventually he flogged the throttle, fed in the clutch, and off we went.

On our way home, we were having lunch in Baker City while a storm was fast approaching from the south.  We hotfooted northward, and also explored SR-203 that I hadn’t been on before.  It was a good alternative to the freeway and may have cost us just enough time to miss the first wave of the storm as it beat us going north.  Once back on I-84, the road was wet, but nothing was falling from the sky.  When we arrived at the hotel, the skies opened up and a fantastic thunder and lightning show ensued.

Tye had been getting sicker as the day wore on.  Thinking he had two issues going on, an eye infection and a nose-bleed (which was nearly continuous), he continued to treat them at every stop.  We were just about back to Pendleton when we stopped for gas.  Tye removed his helmet and it looked like a small animal had exploded from within.  If you've seen the movie Outbreak, you have a good visual of what I'm talking about.  We convinced him to seek treatment at the ER and he was diagnosed with a double ear infection, causing his eyes to produce green mucous, and conjunctivitis.  After taking some drugs over the following days, he realized solid gains.

By the time we returned to the hotel, Tim and Heather had already arrived.  They would ride with us for the rest of the weekend, making the headcount 8 for Sunday.

Sunday - Pendleton to Sumpter, John Day, Monument, Spray, Heppner, and back - 390 Miles - Temperature in the 60s

Happy Birthday Marv!  To celebrate Marv’s birthday we provided what every motorcyclist needs for a good day of riding:  free food and gas for the day (as much as he would accept).  We also presented Marv a card during dinner.

Aside from the fantastic riding of the forest roads from Ukiah south to Sumpter and seeing endless wildlife all weekend, the highlight of the day was the STAMPEDE north of Spray on SR-207.  We had to come to a stop and let the cows being escorted by rustlers on horseback go by.  Had any one of those beasts decide to investigate our motorcycles, we would’ve been in trouble.  In this case, 1 cow-power > 100 horsepower!

Towards the end of the day, we stopped at Heppner to regroup.  We all lamented that no one had stopped to take a picture of the stampede.  As we headed back to Pendleton, we came across some free-range grazers on the side of the road.  I figured a picture of this would be the next best thing to the stampede, so I hopped off my bike to snap a shot.  By the time I realized it was on a downhill slope, the bike was already rolling forward and off the sidestand.  This was most assuredly the lowlight of MY day.  After that, I dismissed the picture and just wanted have this day be over.  No significant damage, except a bent clutch lever and scuffed side panel, hardly worth the insurance claim.

Given all the events of the weekend, another presentation had to be made that night.  Dave Bolton was issued the “Title Towel”.  The guy with all the bike problems in the past was the only person without any hits against him this weekend.  The list of disqualifications was as follows:  Jim had pool issues at home, Marv and Dawn both had bike sputter, Brad had service on his master cylinder causing his late arrival, Tim and Heather also had a late arrival due to work, Tye contracted the Motaba virus, and Dan had a bald tire AND a tip-over (double hit).  Note:  After the ride, on Wednesday, I got a call from Dave and he now has Chicken Pox.  Hey Dave, we want a refund on the “Title Towel”!

Monday - Pendleton to home – 300+ Miles - Temperature in the 60s

Given that I had a bald tire, it was imperative that I find some method to nurse this baby home.  This was the OEM tire on the bike and I had no idea what kind of mileage to expect from it.  Dawn and I got up early and I decided that since it would be a close call, I would stick to the freeways and hope to get close, at which point we’d 2-up home on Dawn’s bike if we needed to.

I can’t tell you how painful it was to get overtaken by fully loaded semis going uphill over the pass.  We actually found ONE car going slower than us, but that doesn’t really count because it was parked.  Having all that time to sweat bullets and think about what it would be like to have the tire fail, gave us both plenty of ideas to put down in a Top 10 list.  By the time we made it home, there wasn’t much more than a condom-thin layer of rubber covering the cords.

Those that HAD some rubber left banged out 150 miles before stopping for a snack in Goldendale.  The rush to the Burger Buggy was ON and once there, Tim gobbled up the last of the available chili.  During lunch, they talked to the EMTs (who gather up fallen motorcyclists) who readily shared last year’s statistics with them.  Marv used their ability to call ahead on the radio to get a road condition update – clear and dry!

While riding back the traffic was overwhelming with 7 cars that needed to be overtaken and a dozen or so in the opposite direction – all in only 60 miles!  Heather had managed to get stuck between 2 enforcement-type vehicles and didn’t have a very good time as they ensured her safety by escorting her most of the way.

Another successful multi-day ride for the books, having covered about 1600 miles!

Footnote:  Prior to this ride, I offered a money-back guarantee (excluding lodging, food, normal wear-and-tear, maintenance, or self-inflicted damage).  To date, I’ve yet to see an RFP, not that I was worried…

Hey Dave, I’m still waiting…