9-19-2001

Had a great time this last weekend (Sept. 13-16, 2001) riding out to Baker City with Don Peter, 
riding the Hells Canyon scenic loop on Saturday, and riding home Sunday via OR 7 to US 26.  This is how it went...

Thursday
--------
I left about 6:30 Thursday evening to spend the night at my brother Dan's place at the Crooked River Ranch.  
Late start meant I would have to find his place in the dark.  (Had never been there...)  Excellent phone 
directions and MS Streets & Trips got me there with no problem.  I traveled light, just clothes, no sleeping 
bag or tent, figured I'd motel it in Baker City.

Dan was waiting when I rolled in at about 8:40.  Fired us up a coupla nice steaks and watched the continuing 
news on DC and the WTC.  After some tunes we both kinda rolled into bed and sleep.

Friday
------
The next morning Dan was able to go in an hour later than usual which meant we didn't have to be up at the 
butt crack of dawn.  After a shower, some more wake up tunes, and pictures of Dan and his dog, I was off at 
about 7:45 am.

The plan was to meet Don in Condon for lunch which was a Rose City checkpoint.  I headed toward Madras.  
My plan was to take lesser, read twistier, roads through Antelope and Fossil on the way to Condon.

This worked out real well.  There was little traffic, temperatures were not too hot, and I had plenty 
of time.  Sweated the gas situation just a little as I hadn't filled up since leaving home.  I was 
able to get gas in Fossil from the one pump, general store/restaurant.  Cheapest gas I bought on 
the whole trip.

Pulled into Condon just about 10:45 or so and made two passes down main street.  Buncha sporties were 
parked downtown but I didn't see the checkpoint cafe.  Stopped in the shade at the city park and left 
Don a voice mail on his cell number.  A friendly fellow riding a BMW stopped to check directions, nice 
bike, and I went to sit and read.  Couple more bikes stopped up the road and I zoomed a picture of them.  
Wasn't long before Don pulled in and we located the restaurant.

After lunch we headed for Heppner via OR routes.  In Heppner we topped off and proceeded on Forest Service 
roads to Ukiah, then Granite, and Sumpter.  What an excellent ride.  The roads were clean, clear, and smooth 
for the most part and traffic was almost non-existent.  We had everything from tight 2nd and 3rd gear corners 
to wide high speed sweepers.  A cautious eye was kept peeled at all times for wildlife and cows on the open 
range.  Hunters were the most abundant sight when we saw people.

We made a quick pit stop in Ukiah and headed for Granite, another Rose City checkpoint.  A group of Triumph 
riders were at the store in Granite having ridden up from Baker City where they were having their own get together.

From Granite Don and I hightailed it through Sumpter to Jim and Penny's in Baker City.  They were not home 
from work yet so we topped off the tanks again and I split to hunt up a motel.  Just around the corner from 
the gas station I found a cheap place and crashed there.  A shower, change of clothes, and back to the Devlin's 
for beer and BS and then Pizza Hut for pizza, more beer, and more BS.

Saturday
--------
Saturday we met at 8:00 for breakfast at a local restaurant and then proceeded to the Hells Canyon area.

Jim has a new, to him, big Magna, by the way and Penny is riding a new Zookie Bandit.  Nice Bike!  Jim took 
off in the lead and the rest of us spread out behind.  Penny, Don Peter, Jim's uncle Pat, me, and Wes, who 
met us at breakfast, all fell in behind Jim.  We met Keith and Paulette a little later.  Magna, Bandit,
Sabre, Harley, Magna, and ST.

The weather continued fair and just right for riding.  Traffic remained light.  The view was unique and 
indescribable.  After Keith and Paulette joined the group we made our way, at a sedate and safe rate, 
toward the Hells Canyon Overlook where we made our first stop of the morning.  Here again the scenery 
was spectacular.  From there we proceeded toward Joseph and Wallowa Lake with a stop at the Imnaha Rd. 
junction where Don split off to pick up a stamp in Imnaha, another Rose City tour checkpoint.  After a 
short break we followed Jim into Joseph and out to and almost around Wallowa lake for our lunch stop.

Jim and Penny had picked a nice spot for lunch at Russell's in the shadow of some high Wallowa range 
peaks.  We ate outside and enjoyed the atmosphere as we waited for Don to rejoin our Saturday tour.  
It felt a little like an alpine village with the scenery, para-glider, and gondola/tram operating on 
the mountainside. After lunch we made a quick run through the state park and headed out for the route 
home.  The rest of the ride was less twisty but the scenery was great and the speeds maybe a tad faster.

We stopped in Enterprise to top off gas tanks and didn't stop again until Union.  We had watched clouds,
then lightning and thunderstorms build up in the oncoming mountains for perhaps an hour.  As we passed 
through Union we stopped just outside town for refreshments.  While most went into the store to buy a drink 
or use the facilities, I gave Linda a quick call and found she had the next day, Sunday, off.  Also, at the 
same time my ears were burning and I was sure some discussion had ensued about me, the DA with the balding front
tire.  I tried to assure everyone that I would deal with whatever weather crossed our path.  Even going so far
as to say that we wouldn't hit wet roads let alone rain.  This bit of BS lasted less than five miles I am sure. 
Before we knew it a light rain began and the asphalt turned wet as we gained altitude toward Medical Springs.

Fortunately for me, even the bald Pirelli Dragon GT radials held the wet pavement fairly well.  I tried 
to remain smooth and steady with no sudden changes of direction.  Only one small slide the rest of the 
way back to Baker City.  Again, fortunately, the rain didn't last and the roads were dry again in short order.

Back in Baker City I split to shower and change to meet back at the Devlin's for barbecue.  Missed the 
ride to the store so rode a quick trip to Safeway for some sirloins.  Back at the ranch a fine feast 
was served up with Jim's expertise with steaks on the grill, Unlce Pat's special potatoes with onions and 
mushrooms, salad, bread, beer, and all the fixin's.

I had decided, since Linda was going to get Sunday off, (remember I called her in Union), that I would 
leave fairly early and try to get home before noon on Sunday.  So saying my thank you's and goodbye's 
before 10:30 I headed back to the motel for packing and sleep.  I figured I would leave whenever I woke up.

Sunday
------
4:45 am Sunday and I was awake.  Didn't actually get the bike loaded and me geared up until about 5:20.  
Off I went into the dark, chilly morning.  I went back on OR 7 toward US 26 retracing our way in from Sumpter.  
I am glad on dark mornings (or dark nights) to have my extra driving lights/deer stoppers.  With my 130 watt 
high beam aimed down the rode the driving lights (really floods) brighten up the area immediately to the front 
and sides.  Almost like having a wider low beam on at the same time as the bright.  In most cases deer on the 
side of the road freeze.  This morning was no exception.  After dispatching the small car and pickup that I 
caught, numerous pairs of eyes were frozen as I sped by.  A small coyote also quickly left the highway as I 
approached.

At the junction of US26 and OR7 I was feeling the chill of the early morning and stopped to change gloves and 
seal my jacket a little better.  Most of the lowlands I had passed were socked in with low lying clouds and the 
passes were brisk to say the least.  I thought about the possibility of patches of frost but did not see any.  
By now it was beginning to get light and the driving lights became unnecessary.

Once on 26, with the daylight, I picked up the pace.  John Day rolled by, then Mt. Vernon, Dayville, and Mitchell.  
Before Mitchell, just past the John Day fossil bed area, I ran into some construction and caught a couple of guys 
on what looked like cruisers of some sort.  This is where 26 gets a little more technical as the canyons necessitate
following the twisting and turning creek.  Fun stuff!  The cruiser guys were really dawdling along, and shifting to 
2nd from 4th on a short, slightly downhill straight, I blew by like they were stuck in mud.

As I climbed into the Ochocos I ran into some more rain and wet roads but again it didn't last.  Prineville, 
Redmond, came and went and finally Sisters, where I stopped to top off my gas.  Turning off the valve, filling 
just the back tank, I decided to see what kind of mileage I was getting on both tanks.  Over the Santiam pass, 
down US20 to Lebanon, I managed 310 total miles (both tanks, as the back had filled the front tank) before I 
had to turn the newly full back tank on.

A few short miles later through Scio I was home again in Stayton.  A great trip and excellent way to spend 
a weekend.  My thanks to Don Peter for inviting me and showing me some roads I hadn't been on and my thanks 
to the Devlins for a great ride Saturday and hospitality the whole weekend.  I will be back! 

I've posted the few pictures I took here:

2001 Fall Eastern Oregon Ride

Once I get some new tires I will be ready to ride again.

dougc

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