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Last day of Summer ride.
My brother stopped by last Saturday and wanted to know if I wanted to ride today on the last weekend of summer. I was in the process of painting my house, but since my son-in-law is doing the painting and all that was left was the trim I said "what the heck?"
Woke up at 6:30 to meet my brother at 7. I proceeded to fall right back to sleep. Heard the phone ringing at 7:30 and immediately knew who was calling. I quickly got dressed and threw my stuff together and headed off for Lebanon, OR, which is about 10 miles east of Albany. Everyone was just finishing breakfast and heading for the parking lot when I pulled up. We had 10 bikes in our group. My XS, 1 Valkerie, and 8 Harley's.
After intro's all around we headed east on Hwy 20 at 8:30 for the town of Sweet Home. Temps were a bit brisk, but I was well bundled. Besides, the weather was beautiful today. Turned off onto Hwy 228 heading SW towards Brownsville. A nice country road which winds through farmland in the Cascade foothills back towards the Willamette Valley. About 10 miles out of Sweet Home we turned off on Brush Creek Rd. I first rode this stretch a couple of yrs ago and love it. A lightly traveled road with lots of twisties still in the foothills. Scenery changes from farmland to Douglas fir forests back to farmland in about a 30-mile stretch. Took the turn off for a short sprint on I-105 into the east end of Springfield then onto Hwy 126(McKenzie Hwy).
Beautiful ride along the McKenzie River. Start out riding through acres of filbert orchards. Then we get closer to the river. The hwy now has changed to what seems like a series of long tunnels. Firs and large maples line the hwy blocking any sunlight. Then now and then you pop out into the sun just enough to feel the warmth and back into another tunnel. Stopped at Blue River to fuel up and stretch before heading up the McKenzie Pass.
Back on the road we turned off onto Hwy 242. This road is narrow and is a series of curves winding up into the Cascade Mtns. into the town of Sisters in Central Oregon. It is only open in the summer after the snows finally melt off until it gets snowed in during the fall. No attempts to plow the roads during the winter. They have a gate at each end which are closed during the winter. The road starts out under a heavy canopy of firs and maples. Winding it's way gently into the Cascades. Several miles in, the curves start to get sharper (10-20mph), and the canopy starts to thin because the road usually drops off on one side leaving some beautiful vistas that you barely have a chance to glance at. Too busy trying to negotiate all the corners and watching for gravel to really get a chance to enjoy the view on the way up. Finally after several miles of some of the most awesome twisties in Oregon, the trees almost disappear. Suddenly all around you on both sides of the Hwy. is rocks. Lava rock to be more precise. The McKenzie Pass takes you through one of Oregon's large lava flows. At the summit of the Pass there is a lave "house". It was built using rock from the area. It is round, and kind of looks like the top of a castle tower. The lower level has several small windows. Each window looks out at a different mountain peak in the area, and has a little plaque underneath with the name and elevation. The upper level is flat and gives you a 360-degree view of the area. This is an awesome area. You can look out into the area and see how the lava flowed down the hills, sometimes being diverted around small hills leaving them pretty much untouched. Besides the 10 of us, there were probably another 20-30 other riders already there. After taking in the view we headed off to the town of Sisters for a much needed lunch.
This is a picture I took several yrs ago of what's left of one of the trees in the area. Most of them are just white skeletons in the rocks, but a few still have some green growth left.
Sisters is a very small tourist town maybe a 1/2 mile long with a population of only a few hundred. Hwy 20 runs right through the center of town, and both sides of the Hwy are lined with gift and specialty shops. Being a Sunday, traffic was stop and go. Shoppers line both sides of the street, and are trying to cross at every block. Turn off the main street to park and have lunch at an excellent Mexican restruant.
The ride back was a little slow. Being Sunday, traffic was very heavy headed west back to the Valley. Very few passing lanes but were able to find enough straight stretches to get around the slowest. We did run into on idiot who didn't want to be passed. First three bikes passed and pulled in front. Then on the next straight, the bike in front of me and myself passed. Then a bit later the rest of the group passed. After we got to the next straight I look back in my mirror and see this car pull out to try to pass our group!! This was not a long stretch, with a corner ahead. He pulls just ahead of the bike in front of me and forces his way back into our lane!!! What an a**hole!! He was boxed in between us for several miles, right on the tails of the bikes in front. The next short straight he pulls out to get away from us. I wouldn't have even tried to pass in this area on the bike. Just a short straight with a blind corner ahead. I think he got a little nervous being boxed in by a bunch of scruffy looking Harley riders.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, with riders peeling off at different point for home. Arrived home at 5pm. What a beautiful day. Clear, sunny skies with temps in the mid-80's.
The last day of summer, but shouldn't be last day to ride before the rains set in.
Woke up at 6:30 to meet my brother at 7. I proceeded to fall right back to sleep. Heard the phone ringing at 7:30 and immediately knew who was calling. I quickly got dressed and threw my stuff together and headed off for Lebanon, OR, which is about 10 miles east of Albany. Everyone was just finishing breakfast and heading for the parking lot when I pulled up. We had 10 bikes in our group. My XS, 1 Valkerie, and 8 Harley's.
After intro's all around we headed east on Hwy 20 at 8:30 for the town of Sweet Home. Temps were a bit brisk, but I was well bundled. Besides, the weather was beautiful today. Turned off onto Hwy 228 heading SW towards Brownsville. A nice country road which winds through farmland in the Cascade foothills back towards the Willamette Valley. About 10 miles out of Sweet Home we turned off on Brush Creek Rd. I first rode this stretch a couple of yrs ago and love it. A lightly traveled road with lots of twisties still in the foothills. Scenery changes from farmland to Douglas fir forests back to farmland in about a 30-mile stretch. Took the turn off for a short sprint on I-105 into the east end of Springfield then onto Hwy 126(McKenzie Hwy).
Beautiful ride along the McKenzie River. Start out riding through acres of filbert orchards. Then we get closer to the river. The hwy now has changed to what seems like a series of long tunnels. Firs and large maples line the hwy blocking any sunlight. Then now and then you pop out into the sun just enough to feel the warmth and back into another tunnel. Stopped at Blue River to fuel up and stretch before heading up the McKenzie Pass.
Back on the road we turned off onto Hwy 242. This road is narrow and is a series of curves winding up into the Cascade Mtns. into the town of Sisters in Central Oregon. It is only open in the summer after the snows finally melt off until it gets snowed in during the fall. No attempts to plow the roads during the winter. They have a gate at each end which are closed during the winter. The road starts out under a heavy canopy of firs and maples. Winding it's way gently into the Cascades. Several miles in, the curves start to get sharper (10-20mph), and the canopy starts to thin because the road usually drops off on one side leaving some beautiful vistas that you barely have a chance to glance at. Too busy trying to negotiate all the corners and watching for gravel to really get a chance to enjoy the view on the way up. Finally after several miles of some of the most awesome twisties in Oregon, the trees almost disappear. Suddenly all around you on both sides of the Hwy. is rocks. Lava rock to be more precise. The McKenzie Pass takes you through one of Oregon's large lava flows. At the summit of the Pass there is a lave "house". It was built using rock from the area. It is round, and kind of looks like the top of a castle tower. The lower level has several small windows. Each window looks out at a different mountain peak in the area, and has a little plaque underneath with the name and elevation. The upper level is flat and gives you a 360-degree view of the area. This is an awesome area. You can look out into the area and see how the lava flowed down the hills, sometimes being diverted around small hills leaving them pretty much untouched. Besides the 10 of us, there were probably another 20-30 other riders already there. After taking in the view we headed off to the town of Sisters for a much needed lunch.
This is a picture I took several yrs ago of what's left of one of the trees in the area. Most of them are just white skeletons in the rocks, but a few still have some green growth left.
Sisters is a very small tourist town maybe a 1/2 mile long with a population of only a few hundred. Hwy 20 runs right through the center of town, and both sides of the Hwy are lined with gift and specialty shops. Being a Sunday, traffic was stop and go. Shoppers line both sides of the street, and are trying to cross at every block. Turn off the main street to park and have lunch at an excellent Mexican restruant.
The ride back was a little slow. Being Sunday, traffic was very heavy headed west back to the Valley. Very few passing lanes but were able to find enough straight stretches to get around the slowest. We did run into on idiot who didn't want to be passed. First three bikes passed and pulled in front. Then on the next straight, the bike in front of me and myself passed. Then a bit later the rest of the group passed. After we got to the next straight I look back in my mirror and see this car pull out to try to pass our group!! This was not a long stretch, with a corner ahead. He pulls just ahead of the bike in front of me and forces his way back into our lane!!! What an a**hole!! He was boxed in between us for several miles, right on the tails of the bikes in front. The next short straight he pulls out to get away from us. I wouldn't have even tried to pass in this area on the bike. Just a short straight with a blind corner ahead. I think he got a little nervous being boxed in by a bunch of scruffy looking Harley riders.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, with riders peeling off at different point for home. Arrived home at 5pm. What a beautiful day. Clear, sunny skies with temps in the mid-80's.
The last day of summer, but shouldn't be last day to ride before the rains set in.