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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Anniversary Dual Sport Ride

Last Thursday August 10th was our 21st wedding anniversary.  We both took the day off work to go for a motorcycle ride.  What better way to celebrate the day, than on two wheels with a picnic lunch.

The night before we were both looking at different maps trying to link together some gravel roads in the foothills west of Corvallis.  Troubadour and I left the house about 11 am and fueled the bikes in Philomath and headed west on Highway 20 then turned north on Kings Valley Highway.  We stopped at the Ritner Creek Covered Bridge for a quick break and to look at the maps again.

(DRZ 400 and the Versys 300x)

(Ritner Covered Bridge)

(Versys 300x, notice we've taken the Kawi stickers off the front fairings)

We went north a mile or so further before turning left onto a gravel road.  I haven't done a lot of gravel on the Versys but so far it is way better than the Gladius ever was off tarmac.

Unfortunately we couldn't get to where we wanted to go.  The forestry service is closing all of our back roads and gravel roads due to fire danger and the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday August 21st. We are in the path of totality and the State is expecting one million visitors for the event.  (Update - why we aren't leaving the house for the weekend and Monday-Tuesday next week - LINK)

We re-routed and ended up at Fort Hoskins where we took another short break, snacked on bananas and tried to determine what roads might be open.

From Fort Hoskins we took Hoskins Road, a 9 mile long gravel road, to link us to Mary's River Road and and the Summit Highway - another twisty bit of tarmac.    Luckily the loaded log trucks behaved themselves and stayed to their side of the narrow road.

(Fort Hoskins to Summit Highway - the blue route)
Once on the Summit Highway we were on one of the roads we drove while in the Fiat the weekend prior, which also had a stretch of gravel a few miles long.

We went to Moonshine Park to check out the camping section and thought we'd have our late lunch there.  Unfortunately it was $3 a vehicle to park and it was really busy and almost uncomfortable really.  

(Summit Highway to Moonshine Park)
We were hoping to go north, but once again the gravel road we wanted was closed, so we had to adapt our route and went southwest again instead.

We headed west through Logsden towards Siletz and found the Twin Bridges Memorial Park where we stopped for half an hour or more.

(Moonshine Park to Twin Bridges Memorial Park)

(Twin Bridges Memorial Park - Lincoln County)

(A picnic in the park - everything is nice and green in the coastal mountains)

(The bikes having a rest in the shade)

(Suzuki DRZ 400 and Kawasaki Versys 300)

(A nice little spot to rest on a sunny day)

From the park we did another 5 mile stretch of gravel on Sams Creek Road to connect with Highway 20.  At Highway 20 we turned east towards Eddyville and then took Highway 180 the long twisty way to Blodgett, which is back on Highway 20. We try to stay off the main highway as much as possible and prefer the twisty back roads that kind of parallel the highway in sections.

(Eddyville to Blodgett)
At Blodgett we took Highway 20 east to Corvallis (13 miles) and were back at the house by 5 pm. Our total for the day was 6 hours and 113 miles (181 km), a nice relaxing afternoon.  

Now the Versys really needs a bath, it is completely covered in road dust from following Troubadour over the gravel roads, but at least it was earned dirt and not from sitting in the garage.

I do wish I had of stopped a few times along the gravel roads and taken pictures to show you the conditions and scenery, but I know for next time.

It was a good day to be out on the bikes together.

- Au Revoir

" A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity.  The order varies for any given year." - Paul Sweeney
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29 comments:

  1. Your motorcycles look good together, just like their riders....

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  2. Happy Anniversary!!

    I'll mention your "What better way to celebrate the day, than on two wheels with a picnic lunch" on our anniversary. Though it is in December...

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    1. Thank you.

      Well, in December you'd need 3-wheels and maybe a hot springs instead of a picnic. Let me know how it goes. :-)

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    2. We had our honeymoon at Chena Hot Springs. 3-wheels could be possible, but it may be 20 below, and I don't want to ride at that temperature! 20 above is fine, but for only 30 minutes for me. We'll let you know how it goes. Dec 18. 17 years this year.

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    3. Yeah, that sounds a little chilly for a three wheeled ride. Take the car and you'll be rested when you get there.

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  3. Congratulations on the 21 years and playing hooky to go riding. It looks like it was a fun day, except for the closed roads.

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    1. Thank you. The closed roads were a little disheartening, but we were just happy to not be at work.

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  4. Hey guys, warmest congrats on your wedding anniversary - a wonderful milestone xx . As always, fantastic to see the beautiful scenery of your state - lucky people!!

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    1. Thank you Geoff. 21 years doesn't seem so long in comparison, we're trying to keep up with you and Jenny. :-)

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  5. Happy Anniversary! Lovely way to celebrate! It is drier than dust here, most of the gravel roads have been closed.

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    1. Thanks Dar. Our weather has been pretty close to the same as yours this year I think. I am not surprised that they are losing your roads too. At least you don't have to deal with the E-pocolypse drama.

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  6. Congrats on the anniversary and what a great way to celebrate. Is 21 the gravel anniversary? (https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/wedding-Anniversaries.php)

    Doesn't matter, gravel is good - period! Great that the Versys got a little dirty!

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    1. Damn, the 21st anniversary is Nickel, well maybe the Versys is nickel colored..... It should be the gravel anniversary, maybe that will make 22nd anniversary the mud one.

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  7. Congratulations on your wedding anniversary, quite close to your birthday - do you still get two presents or do you combine it and only get one? It sounds like the eclipse is going to be a major event up there, will be interesting to see what the crowds are like.

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    1. Thanks Andrew. it is close to my birthday. Hubby and I don't usually celebrate many occasions or exchange gifts, but simply buy what we want during the year instead. I just got a new bike and Troubadour's Tiger is over 10 years old, I really can't complain.

      So far one back-up of traffic was 30 miles long in Eastern Oregon and several motorcyclists have been airlifted to hospital after accidents. Sad, and it has only just begun.

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  8. Congratulations on your anniversary. A great day out on the bikes - what a nice way to celebrate.

    You're lucky that you don't have to travel to see the eclipse - it sound like the roads will be chaos. The BBC weather says it's going to be sunny so you'll get a good view. Have you got your special glasses to view it?

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    1. Thank you. We will be able to see the eclipse from our yard, we may walk half a mile to the fields of Oregon State University for a better view. We bought our glasses from the local visitor information office, only $1.

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  9. Happy anniversary to you, here's to many more to come. You Kawi looks pretty stealth without the stickers. I like it.

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    1. Thank you Sonja. The only parts of the bike that say Kawasaki now are the oil filter and the hand guards. And the hand guards are black on black so you really have to be close or the light has to be just right. Makes people wonder what it is.

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  10. Nice. I've ht 24 years and have nowhere to ride like that.

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    1. Yes, but you have more pleasant year round riding.

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  11. Thank you. Something tells me you two would be happy on two wheels on your anniversary too.

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  12. Happy Anniversary! The best way to spend it is together. Doing what you enjoy on two wheels is just gravy! Sorry it was so hard to find a spot to lunch, but that is just the adventure of finding new roads. :)

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    1. Thanks Lori. Sometimes it is hard to find a lunch spot, other times we just eat at the bikes.

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  13. You birthday and anniversary are close together? So is mine. Plus Christmas. All in one week. I like parties, but no one ever wants to party three days before Christmas. So I do like you....party all the time. lol.

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    1. Doesn't sound like mine is as close as yours are, they are 16 days apart so not too bad. Party all the time..... you know me, such a party animal, lol.

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