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In June my brother changed careers. After working for Harley Davidson for 20 years he's joined the ranks of State employees and began working for the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). He has undergone several weeks of training both in Beaverton and in Salem.
He lives about 2.5 hours to the southwest of us on the Oregon Coast and for the last two weeks has been in Salem. They didn't want him to go home for the weekend in between so his wife joined him on her days off. Since Salem is just under an hour northeast of our house we all agreed we should get together and do lunch.
A plan was hatched and we were to meet at the India Palace in Salem around 12:30 on Sunday afternoon.
The day dawned bright and sunny and temperatures were forecast for the 86˚F (30˚C) by the end of the day. It sounded like a good excuse for a motorcycle ride.
We were able to take one of our favorite twisty roads and the ride up was beautiful and we got to try out the new Sena radios. We even found parking in downtown with no issues. I managed a few pictures of the bikes. Not great but the sun was so bright and with the time of day there were a lot of shadows.
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| (Troubadour and the trusty steeds) |
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| (Max shining in the sun) |
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| (Max with a bit of Liberty Street in Salem, OR) |
We walked around the corner to the restaurant and waited for our dining companions. They arrived soon enough and we all headed towards the buffet. It was not a great selection compared to the Evergreen Restaurant in Corvallis and Eugene and the food was quite bland, but at least the company was good. After eating we visited until they closed the restaurant at 3:00 (they close between lunch and dinner). We decided to move the party two doors down to Starbucks.
We all ordered iced drinks and sat outside enjoying the summer weather. Soon enough a Starbucks employee came out and said they closed at 4:00 pm and needed to bring in their patio tables and chairs. Really? A Starbucks that closes at 4:00 pm? Must be because we were in the downtown district.
We moved to the sidewalk and chuckled about not only closing down the restaurant, but a Starbucks too. We chatted a bit more and said our goodbyes. It was a great visit but it was time to point the bikes towards home.
The ride home was a little slower since we were stuck behind traffic on the twisty bits. A PT Cruiser with an out of State license plate did not know what curves were and thought they needed to drive below the posted speed limit. We promptly dispatched them at the first opportunity and went home. It was a mellow ride and we even got the wave from an Officer on a BMW Police bike.
Our weather has cooled a bit. Our daily low temperatures are in the low 40's in the morning, but we are still getting up to the high 70's and low 80's in the afternoons. Nothing to complain about and it is great for riding.
I hope everyone else is getting in some last of Summer riding, or if you are on the flip side of the equator, late Winter/early Spring riding.
- Au Revoir
" Family life is a bit like runny peach pie - not perfect but who's complaining?" - Robert Brault
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Trobairitz:
ReplyDeletewe have lots of East Indian Buffets up here but they are open long hours. They are nearly open all the time. Your daytime temps still look very warm, nice that it cools down in the evening.
It's great riding this time of year, not sweaty hot like Hell's Canyon heat.
I've never been to Salem, looks a bit like Baker City
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
Salem is our state capital so it is a lot bigger than Baker City. Downtown does have some cool older buildings, but other than that it isn't anything special. It is the closest place for some bigger stores for shopping such as Lowe's when we are doing home renos.
DeleteYour post made me hungry for Indian food even without any pictures. And no handy buffet to be found. It looks like you had beautiful weather for riding. How are the Sena devices working out?
ReplyDeleteI had sent out an email yesterday announcing a second last ride of the year. Hopefully we'll get in several more though our mornings have been dark and wet....
Indian food always sounds good. We like Evergreen the best though.
DeleteThe Senas worked great. It was weird to be able to talk in a normal conversation without having to press the button on the handle bars. This really came in handy in town confirming directions with Brad. With the old system I couldn't reach the button with the clutch pulled in. I would have to wait until I was stopped then use my right hand to press it while keeping the clutch pulled in. Sometimes it was too late to let him know we were in the wrong lane.
Beautiful temps!! Our first really nice weekend riding weather...and we get it for the Multiple Sclerosis ride. Score'! That is horrible in the heat. But I still can't conceive of a Starbucks closing at 4.
ReplyDeleteWe have really had great weather this September, but today dawned chilly and overcast. I think Bobskoot is bringing his Vancouver weather to Oregon, lol. Well tomorrow is the beginning of Fall so that probably has something to do with it.
DeleteHave a great weekend.
Max is positively gleaming in the sun :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've ever noticed the blue pin-striping on your wheels. Did they come stock that way or did you stripe them?
I'll be interested in hearing more about your impressions of the Senas. I just took mine out of the box last night. I guess I'm a reluctant farkler.
The blue stripes on the wheel was after market. Hubby installed it for me. My job was to sit on the bike and roll it backwards as needed.
DeleteSo far the senas are great. It was really nice to be able to have a conversation while riding and it was quite clear. I could hear Brad better than he could hear me and I think it was either because he had some wind buffeting from his windscreen or it was because my voice is higher it wasn't projecting as well.
It looks like max is glowing with some sort of Holy aura. Maybe its the wings of an angel.
ReplyDeleteBrad washed it for me before we left. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled.
DeleteHasn't the weather been kind to us? Max really does become the sun.
ReplyDeleteThe weather has been great. Friday was overcast but it has been warm and sunny since then and still no rain in sight.
DeleteWe have an Indian buffet we go to every time I have a Holiday that Heather doesn't. The next one is Columbus Day. And, there is a new one in the community where my son lives. My plan is to take them there often :) Here they have buffets for lunch, but close for formal dining in the evening.
ReplyDeleteI hope your brother enjoys working for the State. For me, being a public employee has been very satisfying, albeit frustrating at times.
And, again, I think the Max is a beautiful bike.
~k
The Indian buffets around your house sound like ours. Buffet for lunch but regular menus for dinner. We have two Indian restaurants in Corvallis. Both are good but the Evergreen has a better selection.
DeleteSo far Tiger is enjoying his job. Where most of his coworkers think their customers are pains in the butt or grumpy - he said that is nothing compared some of his old Harley customers.
Interesting that these coffee chains close so early, I actually thought it was just a country town thing, you know the farmers go to bed with the sun so dont drink coffee after 3pm, seems it's happening in cities too, thanks for clearing that up for me :)
ReplyDeleteI actually like the photos of the bikes with the shadows and sunlight. We're coming into spring as you noticed and yes I'm getting some more riding in, hope you get a couple more in before it gets too cold.
I think chains closing early can be a country thing but can also be an inner city thing when they cater to the business men and women who are going home at 3:30-4:00 in the afternoon. I guess there isn't much of a night life in that area where we were.
DeleteI've noticed you are riding more and your weather should only get better for riding too.
Any excuse is a good excuse for a ride. Glad your fall has been congenial. We've had a lot of weekend storms and rain ... ah, but that is Kingston and autumn.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was only supposed to be windy and rainy during the week and nice on the weekends? It doesn't usually do that here either but we can hope.
DeleteHope the new direction works out. HD news is scarce at the moment in the UK. Has the motor company had to lay- off many?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
DeleteI don't know if HD has had to lay off many people, but my brother was a sales manager for a shop on the Oregon Coast and the month before he left was the best sales month in over a year so their business was booming.
Glad to hear it. BTW, you have a great camera (and an eye behind it). Interesting that your police have BMW's - very common in the UK as they've been used for decades, but not so common in the US as I imagine the support costs would be high. That said, my American pals tell me that whatever police force `bites the buck` and buys BMW say they're the best bikes they've ever used. I'll drop by again.
DeleteThank you good sir for the compliment.
DeleteI don't remember seeing many police on Harley's over here anymore. Not sure if that is just an Oregon choice though.
Ah sun.... I remember we used to have that too....
ReplyDeleteIt is odd how much sun we have had lately. Only one cloudy day in the last month or two. It was 77˚F (25C) yesterday and is supposed to be 80˚(26.6C) and 85˚(29.4C) by the weekend. No rain in sight. I fear we will really pay for it when the rains return.
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