Helmet...... Definitely helmet........
We were out of bed by 7:00 am on Saturday and looking forward to riding. The weather forecast was looking good and the sun was shining.
We rode to coffee where we were met by Andy of Adventures with Bud E fame and also Meg - aka SpartanBabe. Actually there were over a dozen people at coffee Saturday morning all with different plans for the day.
We'd prearranged a ride to Eugene to meet up with SpartanBabe's hubby Josh, who'd ridden down earlier in the day. Steve, riding his Harley Road King, also joined us for the ride.
The plan was to arrive in Eugene by 11:30 am to meet for lunch. True to form we arrived at 12:10 pm. Sorry you had to wait for us Josh. We had lunch at the Cornbread Cafe but it wasn't as good as it had been in the past. The food seemed really salty for some reason.
We left the cafe in Eugene and headed south. Three dual sports, two cruisers and Max. We were a motley crew.
The first stop was to check for directions and wait for Josh who was running behind due to stopping to fuel up his V-Strom.
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| (I managed to get all 6 bikes in this one) |
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| (Troubadour and Steve) |
Andy checked for directions and we decided which was the best way to go. We were heading towards Territorial Road so that we could hook up with Hamm Rd towards Creswell. It has a nice stretch of 15 mph twisties and switchbacks that no one can resists. A GoPro would have been nice to have.
Once through the twisties the more experienced riders waited at a fire station for the rest of the group.
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| (Troubadour giving me 'the look') |
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| (Steve, Josh, Meg & Andy) |
Across from the fire station was a beautiful pasture. My zoom wasn't quite up to getting a close up of the cows though.
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| (Facing North - across from fire station) |
I thought views of the road might be good too.
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| (Looking towards the West - where the twisties are) |
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| (East towards Creswell) |
Oooh look at the beautiful puffy white clouds against the blue sky.
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| (ooooh........) |
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| (Ahhhh..........) |
We rode back over Hamm Road then down Territorial to the highway to Cottage Grove (<--- link shows Hamm Road and highway into Cottage Grove) where we stopped at the Safeway for Petrol and to use the facilities. I didn't take any pictures because, well, it was a grocery store parking lot, not very exciting.
We relaxed for about half an hour and soaked up the sunshine with our jackets off. Steve and Andy decided to head out on a different route since they were aiming for the East side of the valley.
Josh, Meg, Troubadour and I suited up and headed back the way we came. Instead of turning to wards Eugene we kept a bit west to Veneta then to Cheshire and north towards home. We made a quick stop in Cheshire for a break since we were getting weary.
Again no more pictures.
Out of the house before 9:00 am and arrived home at 6:00 pm. A great day with great friends and great weather. The best type of Saturday. (193 miles, 310 km)
- Au Revoir
"Well trained reflexes are quicker than luck" - Author Unknown
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Beautiful, beautiful. PNW blue skies! And puffy white clouds that aren't even thinking about getting together to rain on you. So glad you had a great ride. And gee, what nice roads...our roads are coming apart.
ReplyDeleteOh, there were some bumpy roads. Don't worry about that. Some areas are great and some are really rough and patchy, like the ones that send my butt bouncing out of my seat.
DeleteI even stood on the pegs and had to go into the opposite lane over one set of frost heaves. It was safe to do so or I would have just ridden it out in my lane.
Looks like you all had a good ride. It must be nice to have friends to ride with you. Last week I sent an email out to all the folks who rode with us to Sturgis last summer, asking if anyone was up for a Sunday ride. I got ONE reply, and that from a lady who said she hurt her back recently and couldn't make it. Very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, y'all sure wear a lot of stuff. Is it cold?
It was a great ride. Some days we go off by ourselves and other days it is nice to have company. I am sure people put the word out for a lot of rides, but it all depends on what they have planned for the day whether they can attend.
DeleteIt wasn't a particularly cold day, this is our normal riding attire. Although for really warm weather some wear mesh gear, but for sure take the rain and quilted liners out of there jackets and pants. I am of the mind I'd rather sweat than bleed. Sure got warm when we stopped for breaks, but it was a good excuse to take the jackets off and soak up some Vitamin D.
Trobairitz:
ReplyDeleteOregon may have the best roads, but the worst "shoulders". Imagine if you want to stop for a photo, there is little room to keep of the road, and it slopes the wrong way for my V-strom, as it has a shallow lean angle.
Groups of your size are about perfect. Not too large, not too small. Excellent that you had a nice, sunny, warm day. My Saturday was half bootless and only used my helmet in the morning
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
Most of the back roads have very narrow shoulders. It makes it difficult to just pull over anywhere. I guess that is why we use churches, fire halls, convenience stores, etc. Doesn't always make for great views though.
DeleteI think you could have worn full gear for the rest of your day. Doesn't tire changing require a helmet now days?
The skies really do look wonderful in your photos. Nothing like the rain I've been hearing about. I hope it sticks around for a while as I'll be down there again in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, not on a Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bob regarding the group size. Just about the right number of bikes. It looks like I may be able to get the bike out either this evening or at least by tomorrow!
We have been lucky with the weather. Rain during the week and nice on the weekends......opposite of usual.
DeleteThe rains came back yesterday evening and were still going strong this morning. Hopefully it will be nice when you come down even if not on a Saturday. If you want to meet up one day/evening when you're here let us know.
Fingers crossed you get your bike out soon.
Awesome day. That looks like a great day riding... doesn't it just clear the soul!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great day. It was nice to get out and ride all day and have the sun shining on us.
DeleteYou mentioned that the quick people waited at the fire station for the ones taking their time. I see your bike in that group, but you didn't say which group you were in. Hehe
ReplyDeleteThose blue skies were awesome!! I keep hearing about these things called frost heaves...don't have the likes of them down here. But I don't think I would like them. Gets in the way of enjoying a curve. :)
Nope, I wasn't in the quick group. Andy should have been but he was sweeping. I swept on the way back over. Troubadour and I had radios and I think it is good to have the sweep being able to communicate with the faster group.
DeleteOh yeah, frost heaves in a curve are annoying as hell, especially with a stiff suspension. If you 'google image' frost heaves it gives you an idea of how bad they can be. I am sure Richard sees way worse in Alaska though..
Sounds like a near fabulous day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that spring is absolutely, totally and finally, really here.
ReplyDeleteI too am hoping Spring is here. Yesterday we had rain in the morning, but the day ended sunny and today it is overcast agin with 40% chance of rain. Sure makes the grass grow.
DeleteLove the sky and the clouds, but I suspect that isn't a big surprise. As others have said your group was definitely the right size and even better you are all known to one another. Thanks for the share,
ReplyDelete~Keith,
Circle Blue
I am glad you liked the sky and clouds. We could all use some extra sunny days I think to look at the puffy clouds. Six was a good number for the group. Fairly easy to keep together going through towns or to pull off and wait for someone stuck too many lights back.
DeleteAnd I agree, I think it helps to know everyone. Saturday morning coffee has been really great for that.
I am with you on the ohs and ahs, the cloud pics are brilliant! Finally a weekend to our liking, eh? What did you do to deserve 'the look'? You didn't push him, or did you? ;-)
ReplyDeleteYay, a sunny weekend. Sure can't complain when it is rainy while we are are work and sunny on the weekends.
DeleteThe look? I think I caught him by surprise when he turned around and saw the camera was aimed at him. Surprise! "Say fromage"
Trobairitz:
DeleteI can feel "THE LOOK" from here. It is his trademark. He is also a jokester, remember what he did at the recent Motorcycle Show ?
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
Trademark look - that is funny.
DeleteHe does too many things - which incident are you thinking about Bob?
Trobairitz:
ReplyDeleteI just "read" that you bought "you know what", you know . . . the thing that got delivered on Monday. record in 720p60 mode and get some RAM mounts. (GPScity.com)
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
I will pass the info to hubby. He is in charge of the toy and I am sure it will be mounted on Lucy. I'm hoping for a sunny weekend to try it out.
DeleteLooks lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you, it was a beautiful day.
DeleteHamm Rd. is super fun when you've got full sunlight. Going over it at dusk? Terrifying. Plus there's always deer there, so it can be disconcerting. Next time you're in the area say 'hi'!
ReplyDeleteI could see how going over it at dusk would be scary, like you said deer are always around.
DeleteThat could be Scotland. Awesome skies!
ReplyDeleteThe only real difference is the wood on the buildings and the yellow lines on the road.
Thanks for stopping by Mike. Almost every time I see your pics and videos of Scotland I think they could be around here.
DeleteAlthough your roads might be more fun especially with no yellow line. A few of our favorite back roads are one and a half lanes wide and have no lines. Those are up in the hills.