Just Another Day in (Motorcycle) Paradise

[RedMenace]

I had kind of a fun day yesterday. Tom Mehren had asked if I could use my sidecar to ferry him around while he did a photo shoot to promote his Sound Rider Rally in the Gorge http://www.soundrider.com/rally/

I met him at Route 30 in Mosier where he planned to meet the riders who were to star in his little film epic

http://www.route30classics.com/

We chat and watched a raven sitting atop the Mosier totem pole while we waited for his crew to show up

George rode a very clean Ninja down from Yakima but no one else showed up. We waited around for half an hour. The Raven left and so did we.

We went to the viewpoint overlooking the Mosier loops. Tom decided with only one rider to film he didn't need my help.

He set up on a corner below the view point and I followed George through the loops once before heading home.

It was a beautiful morning for a ride. I went home the backway over dirtroads that dropped me down Swyers Drive, right behind my house. I saw quite few deer, almost pegged one at the start of the gravel on Huskey Road. I didn't take many photos in the morning because i was on a tight schedule. My friend, Matthew was coming in from Portland with his Triumph Scrambler sidecar rig and we were going riding after lunch.

(to be continued)

 

[RedMenace]

Just Another Day in (Motorcycle) Paradise Part 2

Matthew's wife, Kim, couldn't make it but Amy joined me in our sidecar and we headed west towards Lolo Pass and Mt.Hood. Amy and I wanted to scope out some camp sites Andy and I found last year so we took a short detour up FS13 towards Lost Lake. This clearing is off a little spur road...

There was a fire ring and several nice flat spots for tents including this one down by the creek

We crashed around in the brush a bit

...before getting back on the bikes

We continued up past Lost Lake and dropped back down to the junction of FS18/Lolo Pass Road(this one is in Oregon on Mt.Hood, not the better known pass through the Rockies it was named for).Matthew wanted my opinion of how he has his bike set up and I wanted to see if the Works Suspension shocks and Race Tech cartridge emulators he is running are a big improvement over stock. I am afraid I wasn't able to give a coherent opinion regarding his set-up. Matthew also has a sidecar brake and trail reduction through modified triple clamps from Side Effects. The steering was so light compared to my rig that I was all over the road and the rig darted towards the ditch every time I applied the brakes. It took some seat time and concentration to overcome this and I never got comfortable with it. I am afraid I was too heavy handed with my steering inputs. I think Matthew was just as unnerved by the handling traits of my rig. It is too bad we weren't shooting video because it probably looked pretty funny- like a couple of drunk noobs weaving all over the road as we made our way down off the ridge. It was somewhat of a relief when we swapped back to our comfortable and more familiar steeds! That little adventure may have cost me some money-I must upgrade my suspension. On the other hand, I won't be spending big bucks on steering modifications or a sidecar brake, so maybe it was a wash.

A bit down 18 is another spur road and a campsite Andy and I used last Labor day. We popped in to check it out. We took a break to have something to drink and take a short hike down to the river. Amy even went for a swim!

We rode the rest of the way out FS18.

Matthew had to get home so we left him at the top of the pass. He went on to Portland and Amy and I turned back around to return to Hood River.

We got into Odell around 6pm. I hadn't hit reserve yet but was getting close. Round trip was about 80 miles. Tom and Donna Niemela were camped at the fairgrounds. They will be spending the next week getting things ready for the Black Dog Dualsport Rally which will be staging out of the Hood River County Fair grounds next weekend. http://blackdogdualsport.com/bd_events.htm Tom revived me with a tequila and we all went out to dinner at the Michocan Sports Grill in Odell. http://www.michogrill.com/ And so a perfect day of riding drew to a close.

 

[B06Tang]

Looks like a fantastic trip with some really gorgeous photos. You definitely could be a good advertisement on why someone should buy a scrambler and how to use it!!! Very nice

 

[strokerlmt]

Really enjoyed those pics….thx
LMT