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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Chilly Willy Ride

We had the day off Thursday for Thanksgiving so decided to head out for an afternoon ride to try and get the two covered bridges we missed on our Thanksgiving Day Ride Through the Woods last year.

The day dawned with temperatures below freezing, but by noon had warmed up to a balmy 45˚F (7˚C).  At least it was sunny.

We dressed in layers.  I finally put the quilted liner and rain liner in my Rev'it pants and the heated jacket liner in my riding jacket.  I felt quite like a penguin waddling out to the bike and hefting a leg over, hence the Chilly Willy title for the post.

Our first stop was for fuel a mile down the road.  Unfortunately they were a little busier than anticipated  so a wait was in order.  My left earplug wasn't seated right, and for this reason I took my helmet off to take them out and put them back in while we waited.  I thought the guy filling up at the diesel pump an island over was going to swallow his gum when he found out it was a girl riding Max.  Troubadour laughed mockingly in his helmet, I could hear him through the Senas.

We rode down Bellfountain Road then turned west on Highway 36 towards Triangle Lake.  We stopped at the lake to use the facilities and take a small break.  We managed to find a spot of sun to park the bikes.  We weren't there 5 minutes before the sun was behind the mountain and things turned a smidge cooler.  I did manage a few pictures.  The lake was beautiful.  Smooth as glass, and begging me to take pictures of the reflections.







After a brief respite we pointed the bikes west once again.  We had to watch out in the corners to make sure they were just shady and wet, and not icy.  The highway department/county had doused the corners with anti-freezing crud and so the bikes were getting a little coated and I was hesitant about slippage.

We found the Lake Creek, aka Nelson Mountain Covered Bridge, built in 1928.  Hard to believe we've ridden by it dozens of times, but never noticed it just off the highway.


Further west we headed towards Deadwood looking for the Deadwood Creek Covered Bridge, built in 1932.  The map was at home so we relied on Troubadour's sense of direction.  Good thing he knew approximately where it was.  We turned north onto Lower Deadwood Road and approximately 5 miles later was the turn off for Deadwood Loop Road and the bridge.  Luckily there was a sign indicating the bridge location.  It was a half mile stint down the Loop Road; a wet, packed earth road. The wooden bridge deck was slippery as hell so we rode over it to the gravel just beyond before parking.


Notice the difference in lighting between the two bridge pictures.  The Deadwood Bridge was nestled in the foothills and the fog was rolling in.  We quickly took pictures and turned around while dodging an overzealous barking dog from the house next door that thought he either wanted my left footpeg or front tire as a snack.

We backtracked to the highway and found a sunny spot to stop and quickly eat a protein bar.  It was getting late in the afternoon and we needed some sustenance in order to make it home without stopping again.


The above picture, was the last picture of the day.  It's the bend in the road where we stopped for our snack.  Notice the change in color/change in texture of the roadway in the shadows.  Most of the afternoon we were dealing with those changes and coming out of the shade to blinding sunlight.  It was easier heading home when the sun was behind us.

With no more stops along the way, we managed to outrun the dark, barely, and rolled into the driveway at 4:40 pm.  Feet were cold, fingers were cold, nose was cold.  Did I mention we were cold?  The thermometer outside said it was 44˚F (6.6˚C) when we got home.  Combined with the windchill at 60 mph, I knew why we were chilly.  Troubadour mentioned we may need to think of a warmer Thanksgiving tradition.

The weather has been a little odd lately.  It is now 55˚F (12˚C).  We finally awoke to temperatures above freezing this morning.  It is unusual for us to have freezing temperatures for days on end in November.  The forecast is for a wintry mix of snow next week.  If it does snow, it won't stick, which is nice, but they are also forecasting lows of 18˚F (-7˚C) by Wednesday night. Chilly Willy indeed.

- Au Revoir

Why are you crying?" shivered the otter. "Because I am cold!" shouted the gnome. "Then why are you shouting?" chattered the otter. "Because," yelled the gnome, "when I shout it gets part of the cold from the inside out.” - Stephen Cosgrove, Gnome from Nome
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36 comments:

  1. So glad you got your ride in...and....took the time to record the images of why you go. I wanted to but just didn't feel up to it today so I'm guessing my season is over. Hope that your break is shorter than mine.

    Saw those shadows right away; worth watching on two wheels.

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    1. It was nice to get out for the ride, but damn it was chilly. Between that and the road surface issues it wasn't as enjoyable as last year.

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  2. What a ride! Beautiful photos and I can just feel the chill in the air. Glad you guys got out and had some moto fun!

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    1. Thanks Deb. It was chilly. At least we were able to get out for a ride and I still remembered how. Sad when I put the fuel up numbers into fuelly.com and realized the last fuel up was in September.

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  3. Loved the lake pics and glad you were able to get out for a ride!

    Colleen

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    1. Colleen!! You have blogger ID now - I like the name. Glad you enjoyed the pics.

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  4. Nothing worse than a chilly willy...

    Glad you could get out to exercise the horses. Those shots of the lake are outstanding! It looks like a beautiful crisp day - better than what I got on Saturday and it's supposed to be summer here!

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    1. So I've heard Andrew. Isn't your fairing there to prevent a chilly willy?

      It was a crisp day. No rain for us which is better than your day, but I think you may have been warmer.

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  5. More even than the prospect of ice in the road this surprise that women ride motorcycles annoys me enough that I am thinking that after gay rights and wealth inequality are squared away this may have to be the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Women have been riding since motorcycles were invented.

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    1. You would think with a helmet that has huge blue hibiscus flowers on it, it might have been a heads up it was a girl. But then now days you never know.

      I get the looks pulling into coffee sometimes on Saturdays too. People waiting in the drive thru for their coffee give me an odd look. Not sure why it surprises people. Maybe they don't know what I am doing out of the kitchen, bahahaha.

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  6. Absolutely beautiful scenes- a fair swap for the chill factor?

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    1. Yeah I suppose it was. If it was rainy the view wouldn't have been nearly as nice.

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  7. Really nice lake photos. I especially like the one with the dock but then again the covered bridges look great. Especially when it was still sunny.

    Looks and sounds like a great ride!

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    1. Thanks Richard. It was good to get out on the bikes and I was really pleased the lake photos were so reflective.

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  8. Brandy, what a splendid idea to get out and 'complete' your bridges collection. The surface quality looks pretty much the same over here, and one has to read the road carefully. On my recent last trip on the Sportster I briefly slipped twice (don't tell hubby!) but managed to counteract and it was not more than a couple of pucker moments. The fat arse of my Harley kept me upright (or was it mine….?).

    And you also brought back a nice collection of pics. I just love the lake pictures with the scenery reflections. Simply gorgeous. Thanks!

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    1. That completed the four from last year. Brad was looking at the covered bridges tab on his blog last night and we still have 24 more to go to get all of the ones in Oregon.

      I only felt the rear tire slip once on the ride. Coming back I was cresting a hill going into a right hand turn and a frost heave was a little taller than I anticipated. The rear tire slid from the top of the frost heave to road level and I thought to myself - "oh no, they'll be none of that." We'll say it was the back tires that kept both you and I upright - that and momentum.

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  9. Lovely pics Brandy! Sadly Scarlet is tucked away for winter, but the weather hasn't been very good for riding anyway. I decided that this winter it was all about comfort and insured the cage.

    You both riding on Thanksgiving just shows what hearty stock you come from :) I always get a giggle when a take my helmet off and someones realizes its a woman riding, love the look of shock on their face. I too would be a little nervous about slipping in the corners.

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    1. Thanks Dar. Don't worry about tucking the bike away, Brad is thinking of commuting by car more this winter too. Just easier with where he works and his commute has doubled to 23 miles each way. Safer in a lot of conditions.

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  10. Trobairitz:

    While your photos are excellent the last one has frost on the center-line. I am sure it looked warmer than what it actually was. I was cold just reading your words. I have no bikes insured which is unusual for me so there is no temptation to ride . . but I was thinking about it. If I had easier access to the "open road" it would be different. Too many aggressive city drivers here and not worth the risk

    I am enjoying the warmth of my car and snapping photos. I'm not as brave as you two

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. Not quite frost, but more crud on the road in that picture. The temps were in the 40's at that point, maybe the high 30's in the corners. We waiting until noon to leave the house so it could warm up to a tolerable level.

      Bummer you don't have any of the bikes insured right now, but with the price of your insurance and how crappy the weather can be I understand.

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  11. Brandy, nice to see you got out of the kitchen and got a ride in despite the rather chilly weather! The photos of the lake are superb, have you take photo's up there before on another post.

    Its weird to me that you can't ride more than 6 months of the year, that must be tough to take in winter when your itching to get out for a ride and you cant.

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    1. I know, I know - back in the kitchen and make you a sammich, lol.

      We have posted about Triangle Lake before - two years ago. It is a nice short cut to Florence at the coast. Here is a link to that one: http://trobairitztablet.blogspot.com/2011/11/sunday-ride-to-triangle-lake.html

      Some areas can't ride more than 6 months of the year. We are lucky in Corvallis (Willamette Valley) in that there are only about 2 weeks of weather crappy (icy) enough to keep bikes off the road. We can pretty much ride year round with the appropriate gear and just the right amount of insanity. We typically will still ride to coffee throughout the winter.

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  12. I had to do a map search for Triangle Lake. What a fabulous area! And close to you!

    I did a satellite search and decided to check if my old duplex rental where I lived while at college was still in Corvallis. And it is!

    Beautiful photos from a beautiful day- and precious for this time of year for most of northern part of the US!

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    1. It is a pretty area with nice little twisties and great sweepers most of the way to Mapleton. Unfortunately they are doing quite a bit of clear cutting around the lake. You can see it in the dock photo - it is across the lake.

      Cool that you could check out satellite views of Corvallis, I bet it has grown some.

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    2. Yeah...the pumpkin field at the end of our street appears to now be a huge manufacturing facility...Seavy Road. Wang Industries was nearby, too. Still there?

      I did notice the clear cutting in the satellite view.

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    3. Seavy Road is in the Northeast isn't it? If I remember right it goes from Hwy 20 to Walnut. I think there are a lot of facilities around that area now and also new apartment building right there on Walnut.

      There is Wah Chang in Albany is that what you are thinking? Smelting and airplane parts?

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  13. Are you going to break out the BusPants.....????

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    1. Been on the bus all week. At least the stop is only 4 houses down on 53rd and it lets me off across the street from work. Not too long of a ride.

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  14. Great photos! You have really do live amongst some terrific countryside.

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    1. Thanks Nigel. Anytime you want to cross the pond come for a visit.

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  15. Your photos are so beautiful! Oh, I need to ride more!!!

    Simply lovely.

    Smooches,
    Sash
    www.SashMouth.com

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    1. I think you are doing more riding than we are - for sure.

      We have 9 inches of snow on the ground and our temperature this morning is 6˚F. Please go enjoy some So Cal sunshine on two wheels for us.

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  16. Love the bridges!
    No riding here ice covered roads and 8 inches of white... *sigh*

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    1. Thanks Ken. Sadly, I've not ridden since this day either. We got 9 inches of snow just over a week ago and we are waiting for it to melt. Temperatures went down to 0˚F. Brrrr. Back to normal temps now but the roads are covered in gravel.

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  17. Lovely pictures as usual Trobairitz . Hey, to stay warm get some performance polypro underwear which is military issue. They are thin, so not bulky or bunchy and extremely warm and very lightweight. Hand wash them though as they are not dryer friendly.

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    1. Thanks Wooley. I think I'll have to look into the polypro. We have a few army surplus stores in neighboring towns so they may have something.

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