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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Riding the Aufderheide

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During Saturday morning coffee last week, SpartanBabe and her husband Josh invited us to go for a ride with them Sunday.  I was reluctant to be setting an alarm for our last day to sleep in, but agreed.  How could we resist?

The alarm went off at 6 am Sunday morning and we were up and out of the house by 7:30. We were to meet them in Brownsville at 8 am.  To get to Brownsville we headed east to I-5 and rode 11 miles South on I-5.

We made it to the rendezvous point and a route was discussed.  A 200 mile (321 km) loop over the Aufderheide Scenic Byway was the plan for the day.

Off we went heading southwest with Josh on his V-Strom in the lead, SpartanBabe on her Triumph America, Troubadour on his Tiger and then I rode sweep on Max.

Our first scheduled stop was in Oakridge for fuel and a snack.  We'd not eaten breakfast before leaving the house.

I took a picture or two while snacking.  Not great pictures, but, I was reminded - it was a gas station.

(First official stop of the ride)

(Josh, SpartanBabe, Troubadour)
From Oakridge we backtracked west a few miles and then turned north on Forest Service Road 19 at Westfir to ride the Aufderheide.  The scenic byway is one of the major motorcycle destinations in the central cascades and is only open May through October weather permitting.  58 miles of twists and turns and ups and downs through the cascade range and around Cougar Reservoir/Cougar Dam between Highway 58 and Highway 126. We were running it from south to north.

We started off at a slower pace getting used to the corners until Troubadour took the lead. We picked up the pace from there and all were having fun.  We stopped at Box Canyon for a lunch break.

(Box Canyon - where you can reserve and camp in the old guard station)
The following pics were taken at lunch.

(V-Strom, Max, Bella, Lucy)

(Max flirting with Bella)

(The bikes at lunch)

(Josh & Troubadour)

(Surrounded by forest)

(Driveway to the Guard Station)

(Cool fence at the entrance)

(looking north - where we're going)

(looking south - where we've been)

(a close up of that corner to the south)
A woodpecker decided lunch could be found in the roof of the guard station.  His serenade rang throughout the forest.

(Woodpecker - camera on full zoom)
Back on the bikes and we headed north.  Next stop - Cougar Reservoir/Cougar Dam.  And damn, when we stopped at the damn dam to take a picture of the damn dam, it was damn hot. And when I say it felt damn hot, I mean over 90˚F (32˚C) and we didn't have on mesh gear.

(Cougar Reservoir - looking east)

(Cougar Reservoir - looking a little north east)

(Access road over the dam - notice the reservoir on the east and 500 ft drop on the west)

(Looking down Cougar Dam)

(West over the valley)

(looking over the retaining wall we noticed wildflowers)
(Pretty wildflower - hard to get a picture while blowing in the wind)

(SpartanBabe was happy to find shade)

(Troubadour and Josh)
We hopped back on the bikes and rode to the junction with Highway 126.  We needed to find a restroom and happened to find a little general store that suited our needs.  We stopped for a break and drank a lot of water and ate a few Popsicles to try and cool off. We soaked our neck buffs in water and that helped cool us off a bit.

Josh thought that instead of heading west into Springfield and into the heat we should head northeast to Highway 20 and over Santiam Pass into Sweet Home adding about 80 miles to the loop.  All agreed and off we went.  Unfortunately that was a major route for motorhomes and it was slow going until we got to the junction.  After turning west on Highway 20 traffic was a lot lighter.  We enjoyed the dappled shade going over the pass as well.

We stopped in Sweet Home for fuel or Max would have been on fumes by the time we rode the last 37 miles home.  Josh and SpartanBabe kept going as they only lived 10-15 miles down the road.  We took a break to stave off dehydration.  Had something cold to drink and a snack and rode home.  We made it home by 4:30 pm, tired and with 276.8 (445.46 km) more miles on the odometers.  

Max seemed to handle well except for being able to feel all the little bumps in the road. It felt better in the corners though, so I think it is a trade off.  At least the larger bumps don't toss my butt off the seat anymore.  I think my biggest complaint at this point is my fingers/right hand going numb.  We think that is due to the low bars and wrist angle when rolling on the throttle.  

Max has over 5500 miles on him now and new tires have been ordered.  The front came in today and the rear should be here on Friday.  He'll be sporting new shoes for the IMBC.

- Au Revoir

"Summer has set in with its usual severity." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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43 comments:

  1. That's a very nice route you took there. Also a good distance for a day trip I guess.

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    1. It was pretty good for a day trip. Our knees were a little sore by the time we got home but that's usual. Next week to go tot he IMBC it'll be 350 miles to get to Baker City. But our way home from Enterprise will be well over 400 miles so we'll see how we feel after that.

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  2. Great pictures and wonderful scenery. Bit jealous of the heat you’re having at the moment. Cold down here in the southern hemisphere but still sunny at the moment!
    Seeing a dam close up never ceases to amaze me. The forces involved holding all that water back and the engineering involved in building them is mind blowing.
    Looks like you all had a great trip.

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    1. At least you still have sunshine. When our cold temps hit - there is no sunshine.

      I agree, dams are amazing when you think of the physics involved.

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  3. Some great pictures again but I'm afraid not enough of the V-Strom - from the little I could see the poor thing was way too clean!

    The roads look fabulous too, a great looking surface and I like the curves!

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    1. Sorry, will have to get more pics of the V-Strom next time for you. Josh works out of State and comes home every 3 weeks or so, so he doesn't have time to get it really dirty.

      For the most part the road surface along there is really nice with just a few cracks, bumps and dips. And only one stretch of gravel where the road had washed out earlier in the year. It is a great road filled with 40, 35, 25 and a few 15 mph corners.

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    2. Have to agree, that tarmac looks like a race track! After 4 months of using roads that have been chewed over by earthquakes that looks like heaven to me!

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    3. Hey, thanks for stopping by.

      Four months of chewed over roads does not sound pleasant at all. I guess we should be thankful for our roads.

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  4. Love the pictures Brandy. There fab. Can you send some of that hot air doiwn here, we need some. I don't really like the hot days so much it much easier going riding when its below 25°C.

    I like the big tall pine trees they are great. My favourite pic would have to be the looking down the dam pic. Its dam good.

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    1. Thank you. I'd love to send some hot air your way. I am not a fan of it much over 25˚C myself. I really can't complain though because June was the second wettest on record for Oregon. Sunday was hot, but I won't complain, really.

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  5. What was the temp when you started the day? Sometimes it can be difficult to judge clothing in the mountains. Is it better to be too bot or too cold. :)

    The day looked great!! I understand the the gas station pictures. Sometimes that seems to be the only places we stop. Hehe.

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    1. The temps were in the high 40's, low 50's when we left. Liners in jackets and heated grips on. I knew we'd be opening vents and taking liners out of jackets but didn't expect it to be quite so warm at that elevation. I am used to the coastal mountains where you get the mist at elevation and get cold and then feel like you are entering an oven when you drop back down into the valley.

      With the heat in Eastern Oregon I know we'll want our mesh over there, wonder if my heated jacket liner will fit under it for the chilly mornings.

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  6. Sigh. This is the only way I'll ever get to ride with you. Thanks for the trip.

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    1. You never know. Some day we could get a wild hair and take a trip across the country. If we could ever get that many days off in a row, that is the hard part for me.

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  7. Great pics Brandy. Love the ones of the tall pine trees, I've never really seen anything like that and they look so ... foresty. I love your shots of the woodpecker and the flower, I find it so hard to take shots on zoom whether it's zooming at a distance or trying to get a good macro type shot. I'm not a huge fan of dams, but I love that you found evidence of nature taking it back over however she can.

    Looks like it was a perfect day, I would kill for some temps like that at the moment, even that isnt too hot for me, that's a pretty mild day out this way in summer :)

    The hardest thing is not being able to pack different clothes when you're on the bikes eh, if you were in a car you could layer and easily strip off when the going gets hot. But then who'd wanna miss the views you guys got?!?

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    1. Thank you. It was hard to take the zoomed in photos as I had to borrow hubby's camera. The little Canon I use has a great wide angle lens for taking shots of a group of bikes and scenery but the zoom isn't near what his larger Canon can do. The picture I took of the group of flowers was my little camera full zoom, you can see the difference. I don't think his camera was even zoomed all the way.

      In the 90's isn't too hot for you? You must soak up the heat like a lizard. I melt when it is too warm. When you are cold you can always put on more clothes or drink a warm coffee or tea, but when it is too warm you can't take enough off.

      Being too warm was worth the ride. We just needed to hydrate more and keep moving. It was the stopping and going slow in traffic that was too toasty.

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    2. Trobairitz:

      Too HOT, No problem . . . (smilie) :)

      http://www.d2moto.com/p-8837-throttle-control-for-street-motorcycles-or-sportbikes-black.aspx?CAWELAID=774980123&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CI6a4vu3lLECFaQaQgodXwfchQ

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  8. Trobairitz:

    I have the same problem with numbness, what helps is having a CrampBuster. I leave mine ON, all the time, even in the City. I don't really GRIP the throttle too much, I just "Palm" the crampbuster to rotate the throttle. Works great in rush hour (ie Heavy, slow traffic), and also I don't need the "death grip" on the throttle on straight I-5 highway stretches.

    It looked like a great day to be riding. Can't complain about the good weather though, we waited too long for it to arrive

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

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    1. I have a throttle control contraption on my throttle. I didn't like the cramp buster as it was too easy to hit it on slow sleeps and I don't need that. This thing works awesome. Polar Bear from Bud E's adventures got me hooked on it. Here is a a link - http://www.d2moto.com/p-8837-throttle-control-for-street-motorcycles-or-sportbikes-black.aspx?CAWELAID=774980123&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CI6a4vu3lLECFaQaQgodXwfchQ

      If fits over the grip on the left side of the grip and you just push it forward with your index finger to lock the throttle and roll off the throttle or squeeze the brake to unlock it. It is a life safer so that I can shake my hand out.

      And I agree I shouldn't complain about the heat after the rain we've had.

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  9. It was a great ride! Gonna have to watch you tho, no photos of me should be taken. I will be more vigilent in the future :o). I am linking to your post - I deleted all of mine in my rush to finish the yard post. #%%^ #$%#^ #$^$%&^!

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    1. And here I thought it was such a great picture of you. You're smiling in it!!

      Speaking of yard post - must go read.........

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    2. SBabe:

      I loved that photo of you, and also our new WHITE watch. You are so photogenic

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My Flickr // My YouTube

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  10. This is such a beautiful area. And the quality of those roads... spectacular. Finally there's summer!
    I think I like the fence picture the most.

    Another week to go. Looking forward to meeting you guys again.

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    1. Less than a week now Sonja. Looking forward to seeing you two too. December seems like so long ago and the weather will be better this time.

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  11. Trobairitz - looks like a great ride, damn that dam was high. You are right, it sure is hard to predict what to wear these days. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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    1. We're looking forward to seeing you too. The forecast has changed a bit and it isn't supposed to be as hot but I am worried we might have some smoke from an Eastern Oregon fire. It is in the southeast, but the largest forest fire in Oregon in a century. Over 800 square miles and only 50% contained.

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  12. Seeing those pictures makes me wish I'd have more time after the IMBC to go further west. I rode the coast from CA up to Reedsport last year. I'd like to ride from San Francisco up to Washington some day. Heck, I'd be happy with a peek at the Pacific again!

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    1. You may not have more time to ride around, but we are just happy you are coming all the way out for it. Less than I week now and we'll be in Baker City.

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  13. I'm jealous over the woodpecker photo. We hear them all the time when we are hiking, but have yet to see on let alone get a photo. Great catch!
    ~k

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    1. Even with all of the forest around us I rarely hear one at home. It was really neat hearing him at the lunch stop. I have to thank SpartanBabe for spotting him though as I thought he was in a tree.

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  14. Awesome pictures! Nothing beats a beautiful summer day and riding with friends.

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    1. Thanks Dar - and I am inclined to agree about riding with friends.

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  15. Lovely pics. Looks like a great place to ride. You picked a perfect spot for lunch. I love the flower close-up. And that pic of Max flirting with Bella made me chuckle. That really does look like a perfect riding day. Even if it did get damn hot. Now you know why my bike has been parked for so long...

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    1. I am hoping your weather cooled off this weekend so you could go for a ride. I can definitely see why you didn't want to ride with your extreme heat.

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  16. Wonderful pictures! Especially the single flower. On this trip, I brought just the one, fixed focal length lens so my zoom is my feet...

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    1. Richard:

      It would kill me if I didn't have a good camera by my side. I live for photos. I can't decide which one to bring, so I am bringing them all

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My Flickr // My YouTube

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    2. Your zoom is your feet? Can we expect some Bobskoot type naked feet pictures in your future?

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  17. Trobairitz:

    This may interest you, different perspective from M/C camping

    http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=808173

    Covered bridges TOO in the same area ? I've only seen them in photos and on TV. "Bridges of Madison County". Covered bridges actually exist.

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

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    1. Great link Bob.

      We rode most of those same roads. Drove right by the hot springs. I have no desire to soak in a pool of warm water with people I don't know. Gross. they are probably all peeing in it, lol. One thing about not owning a bathing suit - is people don't ask you to go swimming.

      As for covered bridges. Check out this site. We have 56 covered bridges in Oregon right now and here is a map. Most are up and down the valley http://www.oregon.com/covered_bridges.

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  18. I hope I didn't wear Troubadour out too much from our little "Siuslost" NF adventure the day before.. I know I was pretty well done when I got home..Glad your ride was just as fun....Make sure to read him the directions on GoPro operation though...We missed out on some great video.

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    1. He was having so much fun with you two on Saturday he didn't think to be tired. I have no idea where he stashed the GoPro instructions but he got some good stills. His pictures from Cape Perpetua were great too. I am trying to get him to d a blog post on in it to share them with everyone.

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  19. Enjoyed the pictures! The ride looked like a fun one. Thanks for linking the throttle control item. I may have to give it a shot. I use the cramp buster now, but being able to take my hand off of the bar for a few seconds would be nice.

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    1. The throttle control is the best one I've seen for ease of use and least likely to accidentally accelerate. I used it on the Bonneville for one of my rides and it worked great. I could take my hand off and depending on how you set it you could actually accelerate with it on. The Gladius has a large amount of engine braking and it usually loses a mile or two per hour every few seconds.

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