The Longest Day
- Thread starter MikeO
- Start date
4th July 2015
Happy Birthday USA!
Had a very slow day, pottering around town and doing very little - my last night in Bozeman tonight - got to get reorganised.
The most overused word in the American lexicon?
Awesome.
They use it to describe pizza, so what they use to describe something that really is awesome is a mystery.
Tonight I watched an awesome firework display.
It was free (paid for by donations and the Chamber of Commerce) and was happening just down the road. I rode the Adv over and parked up at about 2200, for a 2230 start. I had no sooner got off the bike, than a voice from the gloom said
"Hey buddy, would you like to use one of our lawn chairs?"
Charles and Hannah, a local couple, were sitting in the back of their pick-up, but had brought lawn chairs in case they couldn't get a good parking spot. Charles sets the chair up and we chat about how both he and his wife were brought up on bikes. I ask if this is a good spot to watch the display from. Charles grins and says
"If you got any closer you'd end up riding them"...
At exactly 2230 the display starts - it lasts 28 minutes and is, simply, the most spectacular pyrotechnic display I've witnessed. The mortars were firing less than 100m away and the shells bursting overhead. Here are some completely inadequate pics:
I tried to use the 'movie' function, but the camera decided to sulk and not record - hey-ho.
I thank Charles and Hannah for their splendid hospitality and say my farewells. I ride back to my hotel and as I type can hear lots of banging and whizzing as other fireworks are set off to celebrate the USA's 239th birthday...
Happy Birthday USA!
Had a very slow day, pottering around town and doing very little - my last night in Bozeman tonight - got to get reorganised.
The most overused word in the American lexicon?
Awesome.
They use it to describe pizza, so what they use to describe something that really is awesome is a mystery.
Tonight I watched an awesome firework display.
It was free (paid for by donations and the Chamber of Commerce) and was happening just down the road. I rode the Adv over and parked up at about 2200, for a 2230 start. I had no sooner got off the bike, than a voice from the gloom said
"Hey buddy, would you like to use one of our lawn chairs?"
Charles and Hannah, a local couple, were sitting in the back of their pick-up, but had brought lawn chairs in case they couldn't get a good parking spot. Charles sets the chair up and we chat about how both he and his wife were brought up on bikes. I ask if this is a good spot to watch the display from. Charles grins and says
"If you got any closer you'd end up riding them"...
At exactly 2230 the display starts - it lasts 28 minutes and is, simply, the most spectacular pyrotechnic display I've witnessed. The mortars were firing less than 100m away and the shells bursting overhead. Here are some completely inadequate pics:
I tried to use the 'movie' function, but the camera decided to sulk and not record - hey-ho.
I thank Charles and Hannah for their splendid hospitality and say my farewells. I ride back to my hotel and as I type can hear lots of banging and whizzing as other fireworks are set off to celebrate the USA's 239th birthday...
5th July 2015
A good night's sleep and a change in the weather...
It's only 56F as I wheel the luggage trolley out to the bike and load it up. There is a reasonably heavy overcast and the feel of rain in the air.
I'm on the road heading back down towards West Yellowstone at 0745...
The weather gets better as I get further south - there's a surprising amount of traffic on the road - people returning home at the end of a three-day weekend, I expect...
I reach West Yellowstone, turn left into the Park and am met by...
...queues waiting to get in. There are three booths open and I'm not delayed by the traffic for long...
The hot springs make the park look like it has a huge underground factory...
...which, in a way, it has. The entire park is the caldera of a super-volcano - when it erupts, it will cause a bit of concern worldwide, according to the History Channel...
I catch sight of this female elk - the only animal I see in the entire park...
The cloud starts to build as I head towards the Eastern Entrance, and a soft drizzle begins to fall. It's a very light rain and, although it causes me to clear my visor regularly, there's no need to change into waterproofs...
It's a beautiful place...
I exit the Eastern Entrance, where there are long queues, and immediately enter the Grand Tetons National Park...
Grand Tetons, if my French colloquial serves me correctly, means 'Great Boobs'...
...and these are pretty great...
I turn towards Jackson Hole...
...which is built on skiing...
...you can see the ski runs cut into the treeline on the hillsides surrounding the town...
Now there's an unusual looking old girl...
I have no idea whatsoever as to the make/model/year - any ideas?
I stop for fuel - I'm 228 miles into the day already - but I can't spot anywhere I fancy stopping for lunch, so I ride on...
...climbing up the Teton Pass towards Idaho...
...I enter Idaho...
...and decide it's time to find somewhere to eat...
OK - let's put that to the test...
The Angus turns out to be my absolute favourite type of American restaurant...
Its decor is old, but spotlessly clean...
...the tables have their colour scrubbed off them by decades of use. The food is delicious...
...and cooked to perfection...
...and the shake does not let its advert down...
What an excellent place
I ride on towards Idaho Falls...
...and the weather keeps improving...
I arrive at the Super 8 at Idaho Falls at about 1530. The manager, Michael, is checking people in. He does so without making eye contact with any of them, without saying please or thank-you once. It is clear that hotel guests are a major imposition - he's like Basil Fawlty, but without the humour...
My room, however, is fine...
Good day.
A good night's sleep and a change in the weather...
It's only 56F as I wheel the luggage trolley out to the bike and load it up. There is a reasonably heavy overcast and the feel of rain in the air.
I'm on the road heading back down towards West Yellowstone at 0745...
The weather gets better as I get further south - there's a surprising amount of traffic on the road - people returning home at the end of a three-day weekend, I expect...
I reach West Yellowstone, turn left into the Park and am met by...
...queues waiting to get in. There are three booths open and I'm not delayed by the traffic for long...
The hot springs make the park look like it has a huge underground factory...
...which, in a way, it has. The entire park is the caldera of a super-volcano - when it erupts, it will cause a bit of concern worldwide, according to the History Channel...
I catch sight of this female elk - the only animal I see in the entire park...
The cloud starts to build as I head towards the Eastern Entrance, and a soft drizzle begins to fall. It's a very light rain and, although it causes me to clear my visor regularly, there's no need to change into waterproofs...
It's a beautiful place...
I exit the Eastern Entrance, where there are long queues, and immediately enter the Grand Tetons National Park...
Grand Tetons, if my French colloquial serves me correctly, means 'Great Boobs'...
...and these are pretty great...
I turn towards Jackson Hole...
...which is built on skiing...
...you can see the ski runs cut into the treeline on the hillsides surrounding the town...
Now there's an unusual looking old girl...
I have no idea whatsoever as to the make/model/year - any ideas?
I stop for fuel - I'm 228 miles into the day already - but I can't spot anywhere I fancy stopping for lunch, so I ride on...
...climbing up the Teton Pass towards Idaho...
...I enter Idaho...
...and decide it's time to find somewhere to eat...
OK - let's put that to the test...
The Angus turns out to be my absolute favourite type of American restaurant...
Its decor is old, but spotlessly clean...
...the tables have their colour scrubbed off them by decades of use. The food is delicious...
...and cooked to perfection...
...and the shake does not let its advert down...
What an excellent place
I ride on towards Idaho Falls...
...and the weather keeps improving...
I arrive at the Super 8 at Idaho Falls at about 1530. The manager, Michael, is checking people in. He does so without making eye contact with any of them, without saying please or thank-you once. It is clear that hotel guests are a major imposition - he's like Basil Fawlty, but without the humour...
My room, however, is fine...
Good day.
Excellent as always Mike. Just wish I had your flair with RR's. We don't the time for some of these great pics on my trips though. Warm and sunny Northern California Mike so if you are down here this week, I'll buy you a beer
6th July 2015
I sleep surprisingly well, as the walls in this hotel are made of spit and Kleenex. I could clearly hear the conversation of the couple next door.
It was really boring.
I wake to a bright overcast day and I'm happy to see I have missed the free breakfast, a lacklustre affair being cleared up on the dot of 0900...
I'm n the road at the crack of 0945 and take a quick look at the falls, which give the town its name, then I'm directed onto Interstate 15 heading west...
There's a lot of heavy weather wandering the countryside and I am keen to make tracks west to get out of its clutches...
Well Idaho have put an 80pmh limit here, which will aid this endeavour...
It soon starts to clear up. But I am a bit miffed at Doris - I have asked her for a winding route and she's stuck me on an Interstate...
I get her to recalculate and she decides to teach me a lesson. The lesson is basically this:
There are long stretches of gravel road that exactly follow the route of the Interstate. If you like I will steer you down these. You will see the same scenery, ride on rougher roads and take twice as long to get there...
I bloody hate it when that happens...
Anyway, just before taking my spanking like a man, I wander about and find...
...this thuggish looking individual - any guesses?
At Pocatello Regional Airport, the terminal is guarded by this venerable gentleman - should be an easy one to identify - I built a couple of models of these when I was a youngster...
Back to the Interstate...
Sounds delightful...
The Interstate follows the Snake River for a while...
At about 1230 I stop to refuel - there are roadworks and I am unable to re-join the Interstate, so use Doris's "Avoid Roadblock' facility again and she steers me an alternative parallel route.
I have to say, having owned GPSes for over 13 years (my first cost me a month's pay!), I have become converted to the simplicity that TomTom have added to their units. I used to be a staunch Garmin user, but I've been seduced away by something that simply works...
Some kind of eagle (perhaps an Osprey) was sitting atop their nest here...
Who is this old girl, gradually corroding away in the shade? Any guesses?
Onward!
I re-join the Interstate and have not reached cruising speed when I'm overtaken by a member of Idaho's finest, who wants a word or two with this speeder...
It's really warm now and I'm drinking almost continually from my CamelBack...
I've no idea where Bliss is, but I somehow doubt it's in rural Idaho...
A Harley rider wearing a helmet! That's got to be worth a pic...
I am definitely in the desert now - no more irrigators or crops, just scrubland...
Some farmer is getting excited about his new delivery...
At about 1415 I arrive at the Hampton Inn at Mountain Home (I was here last October). I refuel before riding up to the hotel and checking in. The lovely Denise tells me it's 94F...
I load the luggage trolley up, then go to my room and turn the temperature all the way down...
I sleep surprisingly well, as the walls in this hotel are made of spit and Kleenex. I could clearly hear the conversation of the couple next door.
It was really boring.
I wake to a bright overcast day and I'm happy to see I have missed the free breakfast, a lacklustre affair being cleared up on the dot of 0900...
I'm n the road at the crack of 0945 and take a quick look at the falls, which give the town its name, then I'm directed onto Interstate 15 heading west...
There's a lot of heavy weather wandering the countryside and I am keen to make tracks west to get out of its clutches...
Well Idaho have put an 80pmh limit here, which will aid this endeavour...
It soon starts to clear up. But I am a bit miffed at Doris - I have asked her for a winding route and she's stuck me on an Interstate...
I get her to recalculate and she decides to teach me a lesson. The lesson is basically this:
There are long stretches of gravel road that exactly follow the route of the Interstate. If you like I will steer you down these. You will see the same scenery, ride on rougher roads and take twice as long to get there...
I bloody hate it when that happens...
Anyway, just before taking my spanking like a man, I wander about and find...
...this thuggish looking individual - any guesses?
At Pocatello Regional Airport, the terminal is guarded by this venerable gentleman - should be an easy one to identify - I built a couple of models of these when I was a youngster...
Back to the Interstate...
Sounds delightful...
The Interstate follows the Snake River for a while...
At about 1230 I stop to refuel - there are roadworks and I am unable to re-join the Interstate, so use Doris's "Avoid Roadblock' facility again and she steers me an alternative parallel route.
I have to say, having owned GPSes for over 13 years (my first cost me a month's pay!), I have become converted to the simplicity that TomTom have added to their units. I used to be a staunch Garmin user, but I've been seduced away by something that simply works...
Some kind of eagle (perhaps an Osprey) was sitting atop their nest here...
Who is this old girl, gradually corroding away in the shade? Any guesses?
Onward!
I re-join the Interstate and have not reached cruising speed when I'm overtaken by a member of Idaho's finest, who wants a word or two with this speeder...
It's really warm now and I'm drinking almost continually from my CamelBack...
I've no idea where Bliss is, but I somehow doubt it's in rural Idaho...
A Harley rider wearing a helmet! That's got to be worth a pic...
I am definitely in the desert now - no more irrigators or crops, just scrubland...
Some farmer is getting excited about his new delivery...
At about 1415 I arrive at the Hampton Inn at Mountain Home (I was here last October). I refuel before riding up to the hotel and checking in. The lovely Denise tells me it's 94F...
I load the luggage trolley up, then go to my room and turn the temperature all the way down...
Nice one Mike.
Just wondering why you didn't go the Craters of the Moon NM route rather than Interstate?
Just wondering why you didn't go the Craters of the Moon NM route rather than Interstate?
Great pictures and comments 
Have you ever been there? The Interstate is more interesting...
I've not been Craters, Yellowstone yes, but I get what you mean - miles of nothing is miles of nothing.
7th July 2015
I sleep really well and wake at a very civilised 0700. I shower and get stuff packed up ready to go, then walk down to the bike and move it under the porch in the shade - it's already warm.
I go in for breakfast where Linda - who remembers me from October - welcomes me and we have a good chat about this and that - like the fact her leg is in a Velcro cast (knackered ligament in her foot).
The doctor has told her to rest it. Some chance - Linda is a classic taker in of waifs and strays (which may explain her remembering me) and a workaholic. I wonder if companies realise how much employees like this add to their business - and whether they ever reward it?
I take the luggage trolley up to my room, then return to load the bike and set off into a bright morning at about 0830...
It feels very humid and is already warm. I have done up all the vents in my jacket, so that I'll feel the benefit when I open them later.
This is training from my mother, you see. For someone born in Germany, she adopted a lot of British sayings:
"Take your coat off when inside, or you won't feel the benefit when you go out"
"A stitch in time saves nine"
"Don't spoil the ship for a h'aporth of tar"
"Quick, put your lederhosen on - let's annex the Sudetenland"
Actually, she may have brought that last one with her...
I stay on the Interstate until the far side of Boise, then turn off at Ontario (no, not that one) for a plot up.
I'm booked into a motel in Bend this evening - it's about six hours away, but I have no intention of spending too much time on the Interstate. Whilst I am plotting, this old gent turns up...
Any guesses?
Doris plans me one of her winding routes - it's a discouraging seven hours long, but I know I can cut it short and use a direct route if it all gets a bit difficult...
I unzip my vents and set off. The weather is humid and a town thermometer reads 84F - it's forecast to get warmer...
I'm soon directed down a series of farm roads - mostly well maintained gravel and dirt...
Surprising amount of diversification here...
Pretty soon Doris does it again.
Steers me miles down a dirt track only to then point out a road that doesn't exist. I use her 'avoid roadblock' feature and she gets me on an alternative route right away...
That's more like it...
I meet Eddie...
...and Rowdy, and we have a chat about things (well, Rowdy just listened, to be strictly accurate). Eddie gives me directions to a place called Malheur Reservoir - well worth the trip. I say my thank-yous and, following Doris's lead, find she's routed me via there...
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye...
...although in some places - a later crop perhaps, it's hardly high enough to tickle an elephant's fancy...
Onward!
It's a great road, which I have all to myself...
Bloody hell it's hot though...
Linda filled my CamelBack up with ice at Mountain Home, and I'm drinking from it almost continually. Keeping the visor open doesn't cool me down much - it's just a blast of hot air drying the sweat on my face...
...at least I seem to have ditched the rain clouds that were gathering in Mountain Home...
My original plan had been to visit Crater Lake, but my timing was off...
...as the area is due to get thunderstorms early this afternoon, then heavy rain for a couple of days...
...so I opted to go to Bend instead - about the same distance, but at least dry...
Doris tries to steer me up here, but I'm having none of it and stick to the main dirt road...
The clouds on the horizon are fantastic - and none look too threatening...
I wonder whether the greenery to my right is the reservoir (Eddie said it was dry)...
Quite suddenly, I'm back on tarmac. Enough of being an off-road God for one day - I get Doris to recalculate a gentlemanly route to Bend...
…which she does – still just under five hours. Let’s go!
I take a picture of a barn to celebrate (well, we've not had one in a while)...
The route is just superb – hardly any traffic and great wide roads with long sweeping bends. The only fly in the ointment is Oregon’s 55mph speed limit and the heat…
I decide to accept the chance of getting nicked and set a 70mph cruise, which at least gets some air moving about the place…
The temperature drops occasionally when I reach the summit of a pass, but I’m soon back down in the stifling heat of the valleys…
I stop to refuel at a little general store – the Burnt River Market…
…I top my CamelBack up with ice and drink a glass of lemonade without it touching the sides. In the field opposite was this old chap…
Any guesses?
Further down the road, and probably closer to the scrapheap, I find this old girl…
Onward!
I head towards John Day – the weather is great – except for the heat…
…the clouds are beginning to look a little more threatening, though…
…and I’m pretty sure there’s an imbedded cumulo-nimbus there, with a heart of darkness…
At Prairie City, this old boy was lying on his own – his flamboyant paintwork bleaching in the sun…
Any guesses?
Smoke rises from behind the hills, where a wildfire is burning...
I see a couple of aircraft circling, but they are too far off to identify (one was clearly a medium twin prop – but the other looked like a Boeing 727 or something similar)…
…a little further down the road there was a forward operating base for fire fighting helicopters
In no time at all, it seems, I am entering the gorge that marks the entry to the John Day Fossil Beds…
It’s a lovely road – twisty and sheltered and – importantly today – shady and cool now and again…
Have I mentioned the heat?
Back on the open road, I’m now heading for Prineville, some 80 miles distant…
Another great road – the Adv is running like a sewing machine...
...eating up the miles…
I get into Prineville during rush hour (I should think), but I’m soon through heading towards Bend…
…but I have time to stop off at the overlook...
– this is where GSgal and I had our first ride-out together – about a hundred years ago…
…It’s a good view…
…but it’s time to get on.
My attention is drawn to the large mass of cloud that is centred, in my estimation, on Bend…
I mean, there’s no need for that, is there?
The horizon is lit with frequent flashes of lightning and it’s clear somewhere is getting a good soaking…
Doris keeps carefully steering me away from it, but, as I turn down 3rd Street, it looks like hell on toast…
Remarkably, it holds off and I am quickly checked in to Room 23 of the Cascades Lodge...
...a very nice little mom & pop motel, with excellent aircon, leopard print lampshades(!) and – most importantly – a shower…
A long day – close on 400 miles - but a great day’s riding.
Did I mention it was hot?
I sleep really well and wake at a very civilised 0700. I shower and get stuff packed up ready to go, then walk down to the bike and move it under the porch in the shade - it's already warm.
I go in for breakfast where Linda - who remembers me from October - welcomes me and we have a good chat about this and that - like the fact her leg is in a Velcro cast (knackered ligament in her foot).
The doctor has told her to rest it. Some chance - Linda is a classic taker in of waifs and strays (which may explain her remembering me
) and a workaholic. I wonder if companies realise how much employees like this add to their business - and whether they ever reward it?I take the luggage trolley up to my room, then return to load the bike and set off into a bright morning at about 0830...
It feels very humid and is already warm. I have done up all the vents in my jacket, so that I'll feel the benefit when I open them later.
This is training from my mother, you see. For someone born in Germany, she adopted a lot of British sayings:
"Take your coat off when inside, or you won't feel the benefit when you go out"
"A stitch in time saves nine"
"Don't spoil the ship for a h'aporth of tar"
"Quick, put your lederhosen on - let's annex the Sudetenland"
Actually, she may have brought that last one with her...
I stay on the Interstate until the far side of Boise, then turn off at Ontario (no, not that one) for a plot up.
I'm booked into a motel in Bend this evening - it's about six hours away, but I have no intention of spending too much time on the Interstate. Whilst I am plotting, this old gent turns up...
Any guesses?
Doris plans me one of her winding routes - it's a discouraging seven hours long, but I know I can cut it short and use a direct route if it all gets a bit difficult...
I unzip my vents and set off. The weather is humid and a town thermometer reads 84F - it's forecast to get warmer...
I'm soon directed down a series of farm roads - mostly well maintained gravel and dirt...
Surprising amount of diversification here...
Pretty soon Doris does it again.
Steers me miles down a dirt track only to then point out a road that doesn't exist. I use her 'avoid roadblock' feature and she gets me on an alternative route right away...
That's more like it...
I meet Eddie...
...and Rowdy, and we have a chat about things (well, Rowdy just listened, to be strictly accurate). Eddie gives me directions to a place called Malheur Reservoir - well worth the trip. I say my thank-yous and, following Doris's lead, find she's routed me via there...
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye...
...although in some places - a later crop perhaps, it's hardly high enough to tickle an elephant's fancy...
Onward!
It's a great road, which I have all to myself...
Bloody hell it's hot though...
Linda filled my CamelBack up with ice at Mountain Home, and I'm drinking from it almost continually. Keeping the visor open doesn't cool me down much - it's just a blast of hot air drying the sweat on my face...
...at least I seem to have ditched the rain clouds that were gathering in Mountain Home...
My original plan had been to visit Crater Lake, but my timing was off...
...as the area is due to get thunderstorms early this afternoon, then heavy rain for a couple of days...
...so I opted to go to Bend instead - about the same distance, but at least dry...
Doris tries to steer me up here, but I'm having none of it and stick to the main dirt road...
The clouds on the horizon are fantastic - and none look too threatening...
I wonder whether the greenery to my right is the reservoir (Eddie said it was dry)...
Quite suddenly, I'm back on tarmac. Enough of being an off-road God for one day
- I get Doris to recalculate a gentlemanly route to Bend...…which she does – still just under five hours. Let’s go!
I take a picture of a barn to celebrate (well, we've not had one in a while)...
The route is just superb – hardly any traffic and great wide roads with long sweeping bends. The only fly in the ointment is Oregon’s 55mph speed limit and the heat…
I decide to accept the chance of getting nicked and set a 70mph cruise, which at least gets some air moving about the place…
The temperature drops occasionally when I reach the summit of a pass, but I’m soon back down in the stifling heat of the valleys…
I stop to refuel at a little general store – the Burnt River Market…
…I top my CamelBack up with ice and drink a glass of lemonade without it touching the sides. In the field opposite was this old chap…
Any guesses?
Further down the road, and probably closer to the scrapheap, I find this old girl…
Onward!
I head towards John Day – the weather is great – except for the heat…
…the clouds are beginning to look a little more threatening, though…
…and I’m pretty sure there’s an imbedded cumulo-nimbus there, with a heart of darkness…
At Prairie City, this old boy was lying on his own – his flamboyant paintwork bleaching in the sun…
Any guesses?
Smoke rises from behind the hills, where a wildfire is burning...
I see a couple of aircraft circling, but they are too far off to identify (one was clearly a medium twin prop – but the other looked like a Boeing 727 or something similar)…
…a little further down the road there was a forward operating base for fire fighting helicopters
In no time at all, it seems, I am entering the gorge that marks the entry to the John Day Fossil Beds…
It’s a lovely road – twisty and sheltered and – importantly today – shady and cool now and again…
Have I mentioned the heat?
Back on the open road, I’m now heading for Prineville, some 80 miles distant…
Another great road – the Adv is running like a sewing machine...
...eating up the miles…
I get into Prineville during rush hour (I should think), but I’m soon through heading towards Bend…
…but I have time to stop off at the overlook...
– this is where GSgal and I had our first ride-out together – about a hundred years ago…
…It’s a good view…
…but it’s time to get on.
My attention is drawn to the large mass of cloud that is centred, in my estimation, on Bend…
I mean, there’s no need for that, is there?
The horizon is lit with frequent flashes of lightning and it’s clear somewhere is getting a good soaking…
Doris keeps carefully steering me away from it, but, as I turn down 3rd Street, it looks like hell on toast…
Remarkably, it holds off and I am quickly checked in to Room 23 of the Cascades Lodge...
...a very nice little mom & pop motel, with excellent aircon, leopard print lampshades(!) and – most importantly – a shower…
A long day – close on 400 miles - but a great day’s riding.
Did I mention it was hot?
Now, that was pleasant read while i had my tea and toast
We were supposed to go to Crater Lake but it was chucking it down all day so me and the Mrs. bypassed it. From what we were told later we wouldn't have seen it anyway as it was covered in cloud. Oh. well something for next year
We were supposed to go to Crater Lake but it was chucking it down all day so me and the Mrs. bypassed it. From what we were told later we wouldn't have seen it anyway as it was covered in cloud. Oh. well something for next year
As Tony has said, it was covered in cloud and absolutely persisting it down. I'd heard so much about it that it would be a shame not to see it so myself and SWMBO decided we'd have another crack at it the next day, even though it was an hour in the wrong direction..... Guess what? Covered in fog!
got to the summit and there were cars coming through the opposit way with hazards on and doing about 5mph. Visibility was about 15-20mtr 
back down the hill and breakfast in the lodge at the bottom before moving on and trying to catch the others 
Great R/R
got to the summit and there were cars coming through the opposit way with hazards on and doing about 5mph. Visibility was about 15-20mtr back down the hill and breakfast in the lodge at the bottom before moving on and trying to catch the others Great R/R
As Tony has said, it was covered in cloud and absolutely persisting it down. I'd heard so much about it that it would be a shame not to see it so myself and SWMBO decided we'd have another crack at it the next day, even though it was an hour in the wrong direction..... Guess what? Covered in fog!
Great R/R
It's definitely worth the trip if you can get there on a good day...
(June 2004)
It's definitely worth the trip if you can get there on a good day...
(June 2004)
Luckily enough Mike I will be returning next year on Bilcos' Alaska trip so hopefully the weather will be better as I think we're going earlier in the year. If I don't see it for a second time (potentially third time if you take my revisit into consideration) I'll sack it off as it's obviously not meant to be!
I'll just take a google pic and photoshop my bike in
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newboy
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chad
Registered user
brilliant ride report as always mike one day , one day i will get my ass over there and do this 
one day , one day i will get my ass over there and do this
8th July 2015
A great night's sleep. Despite all the signs of doom, the part of Bend I spent the night in was dry - didn't even hear a rumble of thunder...
I open the door to a warm, sunny day, without a cloud in the sky. I load the Adv up, fill my CamelBack to the brim with crushed ice and fill up at the Shell filling station opposite.
I can thoroughly recommend the Cascades Motel
Doris has planned me a winding route over to Eugene...
Hang on a tick - what's this? Is it an old muscle car, or one of the new ones painted to look old?
The route Doris has chosen is great...
...and all the roads in this part of Oregon looked like they were surfaced last week...
It's warm - early 70s F, but nothing like yesterday. Nevertheless, the irrigators are in full flow...
This is my last full day on the bike...
This time next week, comedy road names like this will be but a memory...
...so let's make the most of it, eh?
I even forgive Doris for doing another of her "trust me - turn right here" moments when she steers me into the driveway of an abandoned house...
At Sisters Airport, I turn right and follow the smell of applewood-smoked bacon...
...to the Gallery Restaurant, where I have a spot of breakfast, and get a PM from Roger (Chipseal) inviting me to an ADVrider get together at Eugene tonight. Excellent - I text my acceptance and get kitted up...
Doris steers me towards the McKenzie Pass...
Where several signs warn the road ahead is unfit for long vehicles - eventually culminating in this ultimatum...
It's a beautiful climb, the air is thick with the smell of pine resin...
...suddenly the landscape changes abruptly - these are great fields of lava - not from a single conical vent, but rather lots of rents in the ground...
At the summit (just over a mile up), someone has built an observatory. I went up there last time I was here - it gives you a good view of lots more lava...
Onward!
I ride down the far side of the pass, a series of switchbacks and loops that coil down towards the highway...
...the air is cool on the sun-dappled road - I could have done with a couple of hours of this yesterday...
It's nice to have some time in hand, rather than having to press on regardless...
Eventually I am forced to join the Eugene road - which is pleasant enough, but not nearly so much fun...
That reminds me - I wonder how Anna got on working over Gay Pride weekend at Seattle?
This place was open for business - showing a degree of optimism impressive even by West Coast standards, I feel...
This refugee from Madison County - Goodpasture Bridge - crosses the McKenzie River in Vida...
Doris steers me to...
Eugene BMW, where Jeff in Service...
Re-jigs his schedule to allow me to get the engine, gearbox and final drive oils changed. I was going to get the tyres replaced, but the Anakee 3s I fitted in Salt Lake in October are lasting surprisingly well...
I deliver the Adv to the workshop...
...hang up all my gear on the very nice customer wardrobe area...
Extract the Wi-Fi password from one of the sales guys, and start my journal...
It's only half an hour or so to my hotel - it's not been a long day, but some great riding...
A great night's sleep. Despite all the signs of doom, the part of Bend I spent the night in was dry - didn't even hear a rumble of thunder...
I open the door to a warm, sunny day, without a cloud in the sky. I load the Adv up, fill my CamelBack to the brim with crushed ice and fill up at the Shell filling station opposite.
I can thoroughly recommend the Cascades Motel
Doris has planned me a winding route over to Eugene...
Hang on a tick - what's this? Is it an old muscle car, or one of the new ones painted to look old?
The route Doris has chosen is great...
...and all the roads in this part of Oregon looked like they were surfaced last week...
It's warm - early 70s F, but nothing like yesterday. Nevertheless, the irrigators are in full flow...
This is my last full day on the bike...
This time next week, comedy road names like this will be but a memory...
...so let's make the most of it, eh?
I even forgive Doris for doing another of her "trust me - turn right here" moments when she steers me into the driveway of an abandoned house...
At Sisters Airport, I turn right and follow the smell of applewood-smoked bacon...
...to the Gallery Restaurant, where I have a spot of breakfast, and get a PM from Roger (Chipseal) inviting me to an ADVrider get together at Eugene tonight. Excellent - I text my acceptance and get kitted up...
Doris steers me towards the McKenzie Pass...
Where several signs warn the road ahead is unfit for long vehicles - eventually culminating in this ultimatum...
It's a beautiful climb, the air is thick with the smell of pine resin...
...suddenly the landscape changes abruptly - these are great fields of lava - not from a single conical vent, but rather lots of rents in the ground...
At the summit (just over a mile up), someone has built an observatory. I went up there last time I was here - it gives you a good view of lots more lava...
Onward!
I ride down the far side of the pass, a series of switchbacks and loops that coil down towards the highway...
...the air is cool on the sun-dappled road - I could have done with a couple of hours of this yesterday
...
It's nice to have some time in hand, rather than having to press on regardless...
Eventually I am forced to join the Eugene road - which is pleasant enough, but not nearly so much fun...
That reminds me - I wonder how Anna got on working over Gay Pride weekend at Seattle?
This place was open for business - showing a degree of optimism impressive even by West Coast standards, I feel...
This refugee from Madison County - Goodpasture Bridge - crosses the McKenzie River in Vida...
Doris steers me to...
Eugene BMW, where Jeff in Service...
Re-jigs his schedule to allow me to get the engine, gearbox and final drive oils changed. I was going to get the tyres replaced, but the Anakee 3s I fitted in Salt Lake in October are lasting surprisingly well...
I deliver the Adv to the workshop...
...hang up all my gear on the very nice customer wardrobe area...
Extract the Wi-Fi password from one of the sales guys, and start my journal...
It's only half an hour or so to my hotel - it's not been a long day, but some great riding...
Excellent as always Mike
cheers
cheers
I don't want this to end 
Enjoying it eversomuch
Thanks Mike
Enjoying it eversomuch
Thanks Mike
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