I’ve previously posted about taking a long trip on the motorcycle. \u00a0I figure that the week immediately following my upcoming half-marathon would probably be the week, if any, that I could do such a thing this summer. \u00a0The rest of the weeks would be full of running nonsense that would make the trip untenable. \u00a0Angie, not being one to pass up an adventure, also wants to participate on the trip. \u00a0After our day ride to Eugene and back it was clear to me that she wouldn’t be making the trip on the motorcycle with me for various reasons; pain being the most vibrant of them. \u00a0With both of us on the bike there are a limited number of positions to ride in. \u00a0All of which, after three plus hours, result in pain. \u00a0So we decided that on upcoming long trips that she’d travel separately. \u00a0Currently that means she’ll be following in the car, or SAG wagon as I like to call it.<\/p>\n
On May 7th through May 9th, we decided to test the plan. \u00a0The route (linked here<\/a>) would take us into parts of Oregon and Washington that we hadn’t explored yet.<\/p>\n Friday, May 7th<\/span><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n We both started the day at our respective offices. \u00a0At 3:00 we headed out and met up at a convenient Chipotle in Tualatin along I-5. \u00a0After our early dinner we headed out stopping in Salem for gasoline. \u00a0Originally I hadn’t planned on stopping in Salem for gas based on a recommendation from a co-worker, but Angie’s tank was near dry so there really wasn’t a choice. \u00a0Good thing we did because as we zipped through the town suggested by the co-worker nary a gas station was in site.<\/p>\n The day was gorgeous and I didn’t need to don the rain gear (to cut down wind chill) for some time. \u00a0It wasn’t until we started getting into altitude that the temperature started to dip from the high 60’s. \u00a0I threw on my rain pants on the shoulder near a dam along state route 22 when the temperature hit 60. \u00a0It’s a good thing that I did stop because shortly after that the shoulder disappeared and the temperature dropped into the 50’s. \u00a0I’m not sure which pass in the Cascade Mountain range we went through, but it was amazing. \u00a0Just before the pass there was still snow on the ground continuing all the way through, which I had been expecting based off of trips to Mt. St. Helens. \u00a0The roads were clear with the exception of the red pumice that they use to help prevent slipping. \u00a0By this time the temperature was in the mid-40’s. \u00a0I rode on through the spooky silence that I’ve come to associate with mountains and altitude.<\/p>\n As we descended the other side of the mountain the temperature started to go up again. \u00a0It’s still neat with change temperatures like that due to altitude. \u00a0I’m sure someday after the Illinois flatlander training wears off it’ll be old hat, but for now it is cool.<\/p>\n As I rode passed out of Sisters I encountered my first animal, of many in this trip, in the road. \u00a0What I suppose was a female deer and young deer were hanging out in the road. \u00a0The largest of them was in the oncoming lane. \u00a0I slowed and we gave each other the evil eye. \u00a0It turned and walked back onto the shoulder. \u00a0Without re-telling the whole thing, a story about a fellow rider who met a donkey on the road while in Mexico came to mind. \u00a0His story didn’t end so brightly, and I wasn’t about to take a chance.<\/p>\n We drove through high desert, and what a difference to the West side of the Cascades. \u00a0Scrub brushes all around. \u00a0Little ground cover except for the cattle farms which had imported grass that was barely hanging on to life. \u00a0I would like to spend some more time, on a future ride, exploring that environment.<\/p>\n We powered on into Bend, arriving somewhere around 7:00-ish. \u00a0After getting squared away in the Red Lion in Bend we went on the search for a snack. \u00a0We ended up at Deschutes Public House<\/a>. \u00a0There we had some yummy appetizers and I had two big beers.<\/p>\n Saturday, May 8th<\/span><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n The day started with complementary breakfast at the hotel. \u00a0Wow, what a mistake. \u00a0While it was free, the scrambled eggs could have bounced higher than the building. \u00a0Putting my culinary sensitivities aside I reminded myself that it still tasted better than some of the camp food we’d tested recently. \u00a0Seeing the hotel in the light of day it made me think of the motel from National Lampoons Vacation<\/a> — specifically the one scene where Chevy Chase starts to hook up with the blond (who’s name escapes me) in the pool before his kids break in on the scene. \u00a0Again, I remind myself that the room is warmer than a campsite, and less expensive than some of the other options in town — we’re not there to be comfortable, but to have a heater.<\/p>\n After waiting for the temperature to get above 45 we head out on a run. \u00a0Unfortunately we didn’t get too far due to Angie’s shin pains, forcing us to limp back to the hotel and finish the run in their work out room located in the dungeon. \u00a0The work out room had equipment from the early 1990’s, and a TV set whose volume you couldn’t raise high enough to hear over the pounding of my feet on the treadmill. \u00a0So we watched Empire Records<\/a> in near silence making up our own dialogue for the movie as the scenes unfolded. \u00a0If my IT career ever fails I may be able to locate work as a screen writer.<\/p>\n We took the car into the heart of Bend for lunch. \u00a0Eating at Bend Brewing Company<\/a> we had some yummy brews. \u00a0After that we headed over to the Deschutes Brewery<\/a> on the West end of town for the brewery tour. \u00a0That is one great tour. \u00a0If you’re in Bend, and like beer, go. \u00a0Don’t ask, just go.<\/p>\n After the brewery tour we wandered around town, via car, to see what there was to be seen. \u00a0We drove up Pilot Butte Park. \u00a0Originally I’d had it on our running route. \u00a0Well, it turns out that it is a small hill, about 200 feet, above the rest of the town. \u00a0After having seen that I’m glad that we spent the time in the dungeon. \u00a0My stubbornness would have driven me up and down the hill. \u00a0However, I would have crashed for the rest of the day at the hotel with various expressions of pain ruling my body. \u00a0The top of the hill is cool. \u00a0You can see all the mountains and the surrounding desolation. \u00a0Very different from the urban sprawl of my youth, and the mini-urban sprawl of the Portland area. \u00a0Bend really is in the middle of nothing.<\/p>\n Sunday, May 9th<\/span><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n Another disappointing complementary breakfast awaited. \u00a0Again I told myself that it was free, better than the camping food, and would do the trick for a long ride. \u00a0Afterward forcing it down we headed back to the room to pack up and call our Mother’s and wish them a happy Mother’s Day. \u00a0After the wishing of happiness we started on our way.<\/p>\n Heading North out of Bend we rode up and down and up and down hills as we followed US route 97, looking for state route 293. \u00a0We pulled over and consulted the almighty iPhone map when we were within a city limits (otherwise we had no service) and found that we were still on course.<\/p>\n Never let it be said that the state of Oregon is not thrifty when it comes to signage, nor that it dislikes surprises. \u00a0Approaching a fork in the road I see a sign pointing to the right for various towns and things. \u00a0As I’m passing the fork at about 60 MPH I see the state route 293 sign down other road a ways. \u00a0I slam on my breaks and make the turn. \u00a0Luckily Angie was paying attention and didn’t run over me. \u00a0That would have been an interesting story for our insurance agent had something happened.<\/p>\n Once on state route 293, and heading East, the land began to change. \u00a0Gone were the hills, and here were the twist-ies. \u00a0Left, right, left, right, left, right. \u00a0Hello technical riding. \u00a0Absolutely amazing scenery. \u00a0Valleys to the left, hills to the right. \u00a0Words simply don’t do justice. \u00a0It was hard to keep my eyes on the road as we weaved through. \u00a0Then came state route 218.<\/p>\n On route 218 Oregon decided to reduce the use of guard rails on the cliff sides of the road to nil. \u00a0Not a guard rail in sight, yet sheer cliffs in abundance. \u00a0I had no trouble keeping my eyes on the road for this part. \u00a0Not having done so would have lead to instant death. \u00a0We were now in the Eastern low desert. \u00a0The temperature was decidedly warmer than the previous two days, foliage sparser, and the critters much different.<\/p>\n Cue the next animal in the road. \u00a0At first I thought it was a leaf, but then realized that it was scurrying into the wind. \u00a0I thought it must be a ground squirrel or something. \u00a0I couldn’t quite make out what it was, and I’m fairly certain my rear tire ended the poor things life abruptly. \u00a0Then came the next animal. \u00a0This time it was a herding dog. \u00a0It was in the road, but then hopped down the embankment after a little boy it was hanging out with. \u00a0As I approached it bounded back up the embankment and watched from the opposite shoulder and I slowly passed by with the chasing dog avoidance technique running through my head.<\/p>\n We stopped at the John Day Fossil Bed to stretch our legs. \u00a0There I saw a relative of the unknown critter that may have met my tire in an unpleasant fashion. \u00a0It was a little lizard, about four inches long. \u00a0Probably a cute little thing if you’re into lizards, but I’m not. \u00a0While stretching our legs there I learned something new: \u00a0there are rattle snakes in Eastern Oregon. \u00a0It makes sense, but it was the first time I’d ever seen warning signs regarding rattle snakes anywhere. \u00a0Back on the bike, and the journey continued.<\/p>\n On the way to Fossil I was attacked by birds. \u00a0Likely due to the amount of chicken I eat, it was time for some revenge. \u00a0In my lane as I rounded a corner a wild turkey was staring me down. \u00a0It got out of the way as I quickly decelerated. \u00a0No sooner had I evaded the wild turkey a short time later a hawk of some sort dove out of the sky at me. \u00a0It was either trying to freak me out, or decided that I didn’t quite look like the squirrel that it had thought I was at several hundred feet in the air. \u00a0It swerved off, but not before I had started to come up with an evasive maneuver. \u00a0Let it be known that motorcycle classes do no prepare you for dive bomb attacks.<\/p>\n Fossil is a quaint little town where you can dig for fossils on the far side of the high school’s football field. \u00a0After eating lunch at the Big Timber diner we headed over and tried our luck at fossil digging. \u00a0Pretty much each rock you’d pull out of the ground had a fossil cast (impression) in it. \u00a0Mostly leaves and some trace fossils (worm burrows). \u00a0I would have had more fun and gotten into it had I not been thinking of the long ride ahead of me.<\/p>\n We headed North out of Fossil and split off to the West at state route 206. \u00a0This took us through windmill territory. \u00a0Again we were in the sizable hills (mountains to flatlanders). \u00a0It was really neat as you’d be riding up this hill, seeing the crest I’d start getting ready for a turn, but then this huge windmill blade would travel up and over the horizon and back down. \u00a0There were a lot of windmills, but that sight never got old. \u00a0Especially considering that they stand several stories in the air, to see the top of the blade come over the horizon is neat.<\/p>\n We made it to the Oregon\/Washington border and crossed over. \u00a0Taking state route 14 west we headed back towards Portland. \u00a0Unlike I-84 in Oregon which is lower and closer to the Columbia River, route 14 runs along the top of the Columbia River valley on the Washington side. \u00a0It seemed that once I crossed over that the temperature first jumped up to 70, then to nearly 80 degrees, from the mid-60’s it had been in Oregon. \u00a0At the first chance, the rain pants came off along with the long sleeve shirt I’d been wearing under my jacket. \u00a0The other side of the river was interesting. \u00a0We’d never been over there and saw a lot of things that we’ll probably travel back to see.<\/p>\n I liked the rural aspect of traveling on route 14, but I can’t help but wonder how much time we would have saved if we’d used I-84 as I had originally planned when I laid out the trip. \u00a0We rolled into Vancouver around 6:00 PM for a bite to eat at Chipotle. \u00a0Totally unplanned, but Chipotle bookended our trip. \u00a0By this point the weather was starting to turn so back on went the rain pants and off we went. \u00a0We rode through Vancouver to get to I-5 instead of taking I-205. \u00a0Probably extended our trip time wise, but by that time I didn’t want to deviate from the plan since I was becoming tired and didn’t want to think about new directions in addition to keeping the bike on its wheels.<\/p>\n No sooner had I gotten to the bottom of the ramp leading onto I-5, but my second favorite warning light came on. \u00a0My oil level was low and needed replenishing. \u00a0Having experienced this light before when in Eugene a couple of weeks earlier I was prepared. \u00a0I pulled over to the shoulder of I-5 and started to take my motorcycle apart. \u00a0To get oil into the engine, there is a special key that lives in the tool pouch, that resides under my seat. \u00a0Off came the seat, out came the tool pouch, out came the key, up on the center stand the bike went, and in went the remainder of the quart of oil from Eugene. \u00a0I’ve read online that eating oil is a normal thing for an engine like mine to do, but I do want to check with the dealer just to make sure. \u00a0Once topped off, back went the key, the tool pouch, the seat, and off I went.<\/p>\n Pulling into Forest Grove around 7:15 PM it was clear that there had been quite a rain shower as everything was drenched. \u00a0While I wouldn’t have minded the rain, luckily I never encountered more than a few drops. \u00a0After having spent nearly eleven hours on the road I was wiped out. \u00a0Sleep came easily.<\/p>\n Trip Summary<\/span><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n It was a really fun trip. \u00a0I saw things that I’d like to go back and explore more. \u00a0I want to spend some more time in Eastern Oregon exploring the desert. \u00a0Angie did a pretty good job of following me. \u00a0Although when in the urban environment of Vancouver I thought that she could have followed closer because I had to slam on my brakes a couple of times as to not be separated at traffic signals. \u00a0As always her company did make the trip much more enjoyable than if I had done it on my own. \u00a0Best of all, based off of my experiences I think I’ll be able to plan a much more reasonable and enjoyable trip in June.<\/p>\n