Yesterday's Chowder Run

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We all met at Creekside Coffee here in Corvallis around 9:30 am, kickstands up at 10 am. Started off with 11 bikes and 12 riders. Troubadour and I were the only ones 2 up and there was only one other woman on the ride and that was Stacy from Bolty.net on her SV650.

We headed out on the back roads to Hwy 34 up the twisties toward Mary's Peak and over through Alsea to Waldport on the coast. One rider turned back at Alsea as he had only been riding 3 weeks and just wanted a quick jaunt. Two more headed back at Waldport as they too had things to do. Here is a picture of the bikes lined up at the Waldport stop.

8 Bikes and 9 riders headed south on Hwy 101 to Florence. Quick fuel stop in Florence and one more rider headed inland. 7 bikes and 8 riders stopped for lunch in Old Town Florence at the Bridewater Restaurant and Zebra Bar. We had not been there before and I must say we'll definitely go again. We didn't take a picture of the outside of the restaurant but I did manage to pilfer this picture from Doug that he took of us at the table. Troubadour and I are at the end of the table on the left side. You can tell him by his Triumph shirt.

Two riders had chowder and rated it 3-4 out of 5 on the "Netflix" scale that we use for rating. A couple of other riders had the special of the day which was a fish and chips plate with battered halibut, salmon and cod, which got great reviews. Troubadour and I both had the grilled veggie sandwich of broccoli, red peppers, zucchini and yellow squash tossed in chipotle aioli with a side of the soup of the day: homemade cream of mushroom. The sandwich was awesome, had a nice kick to it. The soup was a little on the salty side but the waitress kept the beverages coming.

One more rider headed back just after lunch taking a more direct route, which left us 6 bikes and 7 riders.

Here is a still picture taken from fellow rider Doug's video camera of Troubadour and I as we were heading out after the lunch stop. It is a little grainy but I figured I'd post it as you don't get many shots like this as you head out.

Was a quick trip back inland. Started out on Hwy 126 heading east and took the long way around Triangle Lake. A couple of the sportbikes and dual sports took off and we gave up giving chase. We just weren't into doing 80-85 on the way home. Not sure they even saw the lake we were heading around but all had a good time.

They were nice and waited for us just over half way home. Stopped for a quick catch up session then headed north to Corvallis. The boys planned on going down to a local brew pub/restaurant for a beer so Troubadour dropped me off at home about 4 pm. I had had enough of the day. My left knee was giving me grief as we had moved my pegs forward just to try, and I was looking forward to relaxing and making a pot of decaf.

All in all we had an excellent day and are fortunate to have great friends to ride with and so many enjoyable motorcycle roads close by. The weather cooperated and we had sunny breaks mixed in with our clouds and the motorcycle gods kept the rain away.

You can't ask for more than that.

-Au Revoir

" Life is too short for traffic." ~ Dan Bellack