Pictures?

I know a few of you have some ride report from a few years past. Let's see them. I'm bored to death here.

YamWOW! wrote:

I know a few of you have some ride report from a few years past. Let's see them. I'm bored to death here.

Last Aug, awesome 600 miles of desert and forest, 3 states........

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=369729

That's what I'm talking about.

That just makes me want to get out on the trail.

Nice RR.

Hodakaguy

Thanks for the great read again Stroup!

That is a classic....

Backwoods Boogie wrote:

Thanks for the great read again Stroup!

That is a classic....

We've got do to at least 3 of those this coming season for sure! (Job permitting)

Stroupdog wrote:

YamWOW! wrote:

I know a few of you have some ride report from a few years past. Let's see them. I'm bored to death here.

Last Aug, awesome 600 miles of desert and forest, 3 states........

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=369729

No way! You can't just put a stupid link!
I went through the hassle of copy-ing mine from ADV to post here, YFF!
Not allowed!
Now post up here! :sweet: Post. With all the [img] & [http] & shit!

And you started a seperate thread. Clicky the linky, is it that hard?

Stroupdog wrote:

We've got do to at least 3 of those this coming season for sure! (Job permitting)

..................................................................................................................................................................

rainier_rider wrote:

Stroupdog wrote:

YamWOW! wrote:

I know a few of you have some ride report from a few years past. Let's see them. I'm bored to death here.

Last Aug, awesome 600 miles of desert and forest, 3 states........

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=369729

No way! You can't just put a stupid link!
I went through the hassle of copy-ing mine from ADV to post here, YFF!
Not allowed!
Now post up here! :sweet: Post. With all the [img] & [http] & shit!

If you're silly enough to go to all that work when you could have just copy and pasted a linky - - - - It's not our fault. Silly Boy.......


If you all are really bored clicky the linky ------> Itty_Bitty_Bike_Tour I am a bit babbly so it will take a while to check out. :sweet:

Took the Wifey out for her very first taste of the dirt.



Ready to rock.







Trail 80











Looking good Babe!
I love this woman....







Are you having fun yet boy?







After some shade and a nice lunch the wife packed along I blazed out and rode the 55, 86, 90 & 100 trails.

Hot weather, dry, loose soil, but a good day in the dirt

Ladybug wrote:

If you all are really bored clicky the linky ------> Itty_Bitty_Bike_Tour I am a bit babbly so it will take a while to check out. :sweet:

Great read Ladybug

Thanks for sharing!

Nice report Ladybug!

Well, if we are dusting off old ride reports, I'll try cutting and pasting a couple of posts from the Advrider Angst in the Alvord thread of 2006. It was my first non-solo ride, and its relevance to this forum is that it was the ride that convinced me that I had to have a dual sport bike.

For six months, I had anticipated the Angst in the Alvord ride. I had been through the area before, but only on the pavement. I knew nothing of the local dirt and gravel roads, and I had never seen Alvord Lake. I saw this ride as a chance to not only learn more about this corner of the state, but also as a chance to meet some fellow Advriders.

I had made a reservation at Fields Station Motel for Friday the 16th, but by Wednesday night I had waited long enough and decided to leave Thursday morning taking a long route to get there (certainly not far enough to be The Long Way Round, but no short-cut either.) My 9 o'clock departure (which I knew would be 10,) took place at 11 AM. With my usual punctuality, I was off and gone, with a smile on my face.



All was good and the road was dry until I got just past Sandy; there the pavement turned wet. I caught up with the rain at Wemme, and at Rhododendron I stopped to secure watertight integrity, and had lunch as well.

By the time I had finished lunch, the rain had stopped but the road was still wet. I got a bath in road spray and intermittent mist until I got off Mount Hood. At Pine Grove the sky looked good, so off came the rain gear, and I headed for Maupin and Bakeoven Road.

Bakeoven Road is a very nice ride that snakes its way up the hillside over Maupin and then opens out to lonely straight stretches and gentle curves, ending at Shaniko. I took a break and got a Post Office Pic at Shaniko. [By the way, if you have a picture of your bike at a local post office, post it here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143102]



Leaving Shaniko, I took another straight, curvy, snaky (well, I guess this describes mostly all the roads for the rest of the trip) road to Antelope, and on through Clarno, Fossil, gas at Spray, and then... road construction.

This obstacle was not all bad: eight other bikes were waiting for the Pilot Car, and I pulled up next to a guy on a KTM 950. I am interested in this model, so I took the opportunity to get his opinion (he loved it, of course.) The Pilot Car came and we were off on a slow ride on the freshly oiled road through Kimberly to Picture Gorge, of which I did not get a picture, but the name says it all.

The group had dispersed by the time I reached John Day, but I found many (MANY) more bikes there: BMW riders were holding rally there and I was lucky to get a motel room. Before I had left town the next day, I met up again with two of the riders from the construction group. They were both on KTMs, so of course we had to talk some more. They turned out to both be Advriders. One was Trask-To-Dakar and the other didn't give his screen-name. Both were friendly guys- this forum is great.

Friday the 16th, on to Burns and points beyond: I gassed in Burns and checked my directions. On this street,



I found no anxious souls, so continued on to this intersection.



Down the road, up the hill, over the top, and behold! The Playground:



I took in some local attractions on the way:







Frenchglen for lunch,



then on to more fun. Wide open spaces, here you can go 55mph.



But, watch out! Even the Great Wide Open has its hazards:



At this point, I have taken enough side trips that at about 10 or 15 mi. before Fields, my fuel gauge is flashing. I know this gives me about 40 mi. until empty, but being in the middle of nowhere I still am nervous. To my relief, I pull into Fields with fuel to spare (a little, anyway.)



I check in and settle into my room at a little after 2 PM. I still have time to blast down to Denio and back before anyone else is expected to show up, but I am kind of beat so I kick back in my room and read for a while.

A little after 3, I hear a bike pull up outside and look out to see a V-Strom out front. I walk out to see if it is an Advrider, and sure enough he introduces himself as RECON. We talk for a while about the ride, the weather, motorcycles in general, and V-Stroms and KTM 950s in particular. I notice that he is nine feet tall and suggest that a 950 S model might be a good fit for him. A little more chat, and he went into the restaurant for a milkshake (by the sign on the wall, he buys the 1691st. one.) I join him later and order a hamburger.

The food is good and the service friendly. Tom and Sandy Downs run a good business with all the essentials: food, gas, diesel, lodging, Cold Beer, Whiskey, and munchies.

Fields Station
Fields, Oregon 97710
(541) 495 2275
sldowns56@hotmail.com









But, don't break down here.



RECON took off for camp at about 5 PM, and I followed at about 6. The gravel road out of Fields had been freshly reworked and was mushy enough to make me very uneasy, especially considering that this was my first ride of any distance on gravel on a bike this size. But, after a few miles the surface firmed up and I began to relax. I didn't know whether my new confidence was well founded, but I soon found myself going 70- er, I mean 55mph.



A few more miles yet, and there it was: Alvord Lake.





More-

Hodakaguy

Cool I even see Micro-brews behind the glass. I'm set to go!

Here is where I started wishing I was on a more suitable bike.

Edit: Now that I have posted this, I see a lot of text and only two pics- sorry about that.

Looking for camp:

Now that I had found the lake, I had to find the Hot Springs, so I could find the camp- at least that was my theory.



I rounded the bend and started along the shore of the lake.



My understanding was that the springs would be on the right just after a cattle guard, and that the camp would be about another mile and up the hill on the left side of the road. Just as I began to wonder whether I had gone too far, I spotted the cattle guard ahead- so far, so good.

When I got to the guard, I saw the metal shed of the springs down the bank and two motorcycles parked at the side of the road. I parked and started walking toward the springs. About halfway down, I could see that the two riders were a man and a woman, and soaking in the water, presumably in standard Hot Springs Uniform. Figuring that they would like their privacy, I stopped and called from there, asking whether they were part of the group- they were not. I made my escape and continued on down the road.

At what seemed to be about the right distance, I saw a post, with a paper plate tacked to it. It marked a narrow, rutted jeep road leading up the hill, to what looked like a camp. The camp was too far for my ambition to carry me on foot, and the road did not look road-bike friendly. Shit.

I looked at the camp. I looked at the road. I looked at my bike... I looked at the road... I- well, I did a lot of looking. "Oh hell, I'll just take it slow, and turn around if it gets too bad." Turn around? I can only hope.

Surprisingly, I made my it all the way to the camp without much trouble, bottoming my forks only once. I parked the bike and introduced myself to the campers, asking whether they were part of the group- they were.

These friendly folks were not riders, but knew one or more of them. And, their camp was not The Camp, but they thought someone was coming who could give me directions. They offered me a chair. "Thank you." They offered me a beer. "Thanks, but maybe I better not." They engaged me in friendly conversation. "Pleased to meet you. Yes, the weather is perfect." Nice people.

One rider came by, but didn't know where The Camp was. A second rider came, and was the one camping with my hosts. He did have the info I needed. Guess what: back down to the Hot Springs, and up another rutted jeep road. At least this one was shorter.

Finally! This time I had the right camp. About a half dozen guys were there, but when we had all introduced ourselves, I had identified only two Advriders: RECON and wachs. The others were either not on the forum or just didn't give their screen names. I suppose that it is not really important, but one of my goals had been to become more familiar with the people who post here. Oh well, on some other ride I guess.

Although, most of the guys were busy unpacking, eating, or chasing windblown tents, they still managed a friendly welcome, and laid out a rough ride plan for the next day. The easy route that had been talked about would not happen: It was to have started by crossing the lake, and that was flooded.

I knew that my bike could not make the ride that the others would be taking, but wachs suggested a good ride for me: I would take the Whitehorse Ranch Road to Hwy 78. He said that it was a smooth and scenic ride. I took him at his word and decided to go that way. RECON, having the only other large bike, told me that he might go on that route with me. If he didn't show at Fields by 9:30, I was to leave without him. Fair enough.

By now, light was fading, so I said goodnight to all and set out face the gravel and ride back to Fields.

OK, this section has some scenery... and no pavement.

Whitehorse Ranch Road

Saturday morning, I got up at 7, packed up my gear, had breakfast (house special omelet- good stuff) and went for a walk. I was on my way back when RECON showed up a little after 9. We both topped-up our fuel, and I asked Tom Downs, the owner whether Burns Junction had gas. "They used to. I don't know if they do now," he said. I was glad we topped-up.

OK, belly full, gas tank full, sky sunny- we took off down the highway toward Whitehorse Ranch Road. The intersection came sooner that we had expected and we turned onto the south end of the Y. As we started down the gravel road we saw a pickup coming toward us raising a large plume of dust- great. But, the Wind God was kind to us that day, and a gentle cross-breeze carried the dust away quickly, just as it did for our entire ride.

The road was just as smooth as wachs had said it would be, and as you will see, the scenery also lived up to his description. A few miles in, we stopped to snap pictures of an abandoned stone house (RECON and his Strom.)



The road had been mostly straight up to here, but leaving here it turned curvy. RECON leads off.



The road curves right then left then ri... well, it was a nice section, but this is the only picture I took of it.



Soon we passed another abandoned house, this one with the siding falling off.



The road straightened out again, and I mean s-t-r-a-i-g-h-t. On sections like this we maintained a steady mmmm.... shall we say 55 mph?



We spy the Steens.



A couple of mini playas (playum?) in the distance.



Mortimersickle and Motorcycle. Steens in the background (if you can see past the glare off my head.)



Steens again.



Do you recognize these mountains?



Some local history.



Closer.



Here the road curves to the right down a hill, then back to the left for another long straight that you can see in the distance. How big is this place? Oh yeah, 10228 sq. mi.



About 8 miles after that shot we came to Hwy 78, and turned left for Burns Junction. We found that BJ had not only gas but food too. Cool, we get to fill ourselves as well as the bikes. Neither we nor the bikes need it yet, but who knows when the next chance will be?

Upon arriving, we saw a KLR parked out front. Probably a local or someone just passing through, we thought. While waiting for our food, we had a surprise: We met a young woman named Evan, from Jackson Hole, WY who not only turned out to be the rider of the KLR, but also was headed for- you guessed it- Angst in the Alvord. We talked for a while about hometowns, motorcycles, the countryside, and probably the weather, too.

We talked about the routes we would take, and decided that RECON and I would head toward Folly Farm Road, and that Evan would reverse our route on Whitehorse Ranch Road.

Below, RECON and Evan look at the map.



At Folly Farm Road, RECON and I decided to take another loop before parting company. The road on this loop was not as wide as Whitehorse and as I soon found out, not nearly as smooth.



The above shot is at about 8 miles in. Over the next couple of miles the road grew very choppy (or, at least too rough for my short suspension) and shook my bike badly enough to break one of the mounts on the fairing.

RECON and I bid one another good-bye, and he went on alone, while I demonstrated my mechanical genius in repairing my fairing.





With that chore accomplished, I turned around and headed back to HWY 78 and on to Burns for gas. I would not know until after I got home and heard from RECON, just how much trouble I would have been in for had I not turned back. Holy moly.

That is the end of my dirt (?) adventure. I had a nice ride home too, but maybe you wouldn't be interested in that much pavement.

Ahhhhh, danged dial up..... I got as far as Whitehorse Ranch Rd. and no more pictures would come up. Dang, dang, double dang. I need to stop being so cheap and get a real connection, I'm missing the good stuff.

Ken, thanks for posting this up I enjoyed reading it and the pictures I did get to see.