Group Ride to the Coast

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By now most of you who read this blog have seen Troubadour's blog post documenting the ride to the coast on Sunday. He posted up his great video so I thought I'd share a bit more narrative and some still photographs. You know, we ladies have a tendency to be a bit more wordy than the men, well except in Irondad's case, his compositions tell you he can confabulate with the best of them.

A group of 6 of us on 5 bikes met up at the former Creekside Coffee. This was our usual meeting place all last year for group rides and has since closed. We still use it as a meet and greet though due to location.

We headed south to Alpine to meet up with the Eugene group. The day was nice and sunny and we left Corvallis at about 9:15 or so. We arrived at the little town of Alpine shortly thereafter. As we waited for the group from Eugene I took a few pics of the bikes.

After an approximate 45 minute wait, which we didn't mind too much because of the warm sunshine, the Eugene group arrived. Our consolidated group consisted of 13 riders on 11 bikes. We headed west around Alsea Falls at a brisk pace. We didn't stop to take any pictures but I do have one from a ride Troubadour and I took around there last year.

Once around the falls we were at the junction with Highway 34, and with a left turn we were heading west toward the coast at a fairly quick pace. Troubadour was courteous and left the saddlebags off the Triumph so that I could get a better grip on the passenger pegs. A better grip for his passenger means he can ride at a quicker pace. Before we knew it we had arrived in Waldport and stopped for a restroom break. Troubadour managed to grab the camera and get a few shots. Me, I was digging in the tail bag for the water bottle.

Another member of our group took this picture of the bikes and riders:

Troubadour snapped this pic of me when I was admiring the vastness of the ocean. Yes, the ocean is still there. It doesn't matter how long it has been since I've seen it, it is always waiting.

One rider headed back as he was on a timeline and the rest of us had a discussion on where to eat lunch. It was decided that Mo's is for tourists so we headed south to Florence for lunch at the Bridgewater Seafood Restaurant. Troubadour and I were there for lunch on a group ride last year too. They always welcome our large group and the food is excellent. I would highly recommend it if you are in Florence. Just venture down to Old Town and relax and enjoy a great meal. They even had a live musician on Sunday afternoon.

One of the Eugene riders grabbed a pic as we all sat down to peruse the menu. Not quite in focus but it will do.

After a relaxing hour or so and with all our bellies full we continued on our way. We headed east towards Eugene. A few split up from the group and headed a more direct route home to Eugene on Highway 126, the remaining took the twisty route around Triangle Lake. The route was a little rough and the frost heaves had the ground quite uneven in some spots. Made for a wallowing cruiser on some stretches. We made it around the lake and everyone stopped to regroup.

From here we broke up into two groups, one group heading east and south to get back to Eugene and a group of us heading north back to Corvallis. We arrived home about 4:30. It was great day with a great group of riders. By days end we were exhausted. We had had a full day at the Oregon Gardens in Silverton the day before. I'll save those pics for a future post.

Still waiting on my new boots. They shipped and are set to deliver on Saturday by Fed-Ex. Of course they are. I had them shipped to my office thinking that is where I am everyday. Murphy's Law dictates they will attempt to deliver to the office on Saturday. I will call them tomorrow or Friday and see if they can hold it for personal pick up on Saturday or hold it and deliver to the office on Monday. We'll see.

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Please everyone - go out and hug a tree and worship some dirt.

-Au Revoir

" I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." ~ Elwyn Brooks White, Essays of E.B. White, 1977

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