Bicycles, Blueberries, & Motorcycles, oh my......

I managed to get another Friday off, so last weekend was a three day weekend together.  We thought about riding somewhere, but when the news informs you that forest fires are burning to the North, the South, the East and throughout Central Oregon, all that is left is West to the ocean. The Governor  declared a State of Emergency due to the wildfires.  Here is a link to the story LINK.

When it heats up in the valley, it seems most of the population heads to the coast to enjoy a 20˚ drop in temperature.  Unfortunately, traffic on Highway 101 can slow to a crawl so it isn't always the best place for a ride.

We opted to stay closer to home and do a few other things.  Don't worry - there is still actual moto content in this post.

FRIDAY

Friday morning we slept in and downed a pot of coffee or two, then headed out for a mountain bike ride.  When I work Friday mornings Troubadour likes to go out for a morning ride.  Friday I tagged along, he was nice to me and didn't put me through the wringer too bad.

Through the neighborhood and across to Bald Hill Park......so far, easy peasy - a well known route.

Once in Bald Hill Park we rode on the paved multi-use path and up the hill to the barn.  We were headed for a dirt/gravel path, also known as the Mulkey Creek Trail in Fitton Green Natural Area. Up, up, up, it went.  Damn.  Huff, puff, wheeze.  At least being all uphill to start, it was going to be all downhill going back.

We stopped for pictures here and there.

Troubadour steadily climbed ahead and managed to snap a few pictures of me huffing and puffing uphill as he stopped at the switchbacks.

He then whizzed down the hills stopping again at the switchbacks to catch pics of me riding down.

Once back down to Bald Hill Park we stopped to let a mama turkey and her babies cross the trail. They decided to turn around instead, but still came quite close.

We were out for a couple hours.  We returned home, scrounged some lunch, then headed out grocery shopping, a task neither of us really enjoys, but is necessary.

SATURDAY

We decided not to attend Saturday morning coffee, for good reason though.  As many of you know,  since buying the XT250 a year ago we have been looking for a little Yamaha TW200 or the like.  We wanted a second bike so that we could both go forth and explore beyond where the pavement ends, as well as head out to the Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) areas.

The problem we've had when looking for bikes is that most people are asking too much. Bikes 20 years old are going for over half the price of new. And those that were a good value were gone before the weekend came and we could take a look.

There was one in Albany we'd been eyeing for a while, but the owner was asking a little much. Troubadour noticed the seller put up a new ad and dropping the price a bit and it was or best offer.

Saturday morning hubby decided to make the call to see if it was still for sale.  He couldn't find the new ad online and thought maybe it had sold.  However, the old ad was still up and had a contact telephone number.  

Turns out it really was our lucky day.  Not only did the seller still have it, but we were able to look at it right away.

Wow.  The bike was immaculate.  A 2009 Yamaha TW200 with only 972 miles on it.  This bike had never seen dirt or even rain.  I think he cleaned it with a dust cloth daily.  The owner recently sold his Harley, bought a V-Strom, and he was looking to sell this bike too.  Apparently his wife didn't think he needed more than one bike. (rolls eyes)

He and Troubadour haggled over the price and finally settled on knocking another $400 off asking. A total reduction of 20% off original list price.  Done.

The seller was going to Salem with his buddy, who was also buying a V-Strom, but would be back in a few hours.  That worked for us as we needed to find a bank that was open on a Saturday.  Just our luck that in Albany, they were.

Not to make the story any longer... we puttered around until 2pm Saturday afternoon and returned for the bike.  We gave him cash, he gave us the signed title, done.  Troubadour rode it home for me since his gear was in the back of the car from earlier.  Instead of riding straight home, he headed to Premier Moto in Albany so that we could get an off-road permit for it.  The low price of $10.50 will get you a 24 month permit for any State owned off-road vehicle area in Oregon. How can you go wrong?

We arrived home to 95˚F (35˚C) temperatures and took a few pictures of the bike in the backyard. We  just relaxed for the rest of the evening on the deck - where we could see the bike.

(2009 Yamaha TW 200)

SUNDAY

We woke to 60˚F (15.5˚C).  A far cry from the temperature we had Saturday.  The skies were overcast and it was threatening rain.  Perfect for blueberry picking.  We went to Anderson Blues north of town (our favorite) and picked 24.5 lbs (11.11 kg) of sweet, yummy, blueberries of the Blue Crop variety.  They weren't quite as big as last year but they sure were abundant.  It took us about 1/2 an hour to fill our two pails... and munch on more than a few while doing so.

It started to mist on us as the morning went on, and the clouds were looming.  Finally around noon the clouds parted and it looked as though the sun was going to make an appearance.  It didn't really matter, we were going riding no matter the weather.

We suited up and took the bikes out of the garage.  We have a large clump of Echinacea in a bed beside the driveway that attracts bees, butterflies, etc.  When Troubadour pulled the bikes out he noticed a cool spider sitting on one of the blooms.  I wonder if it normally has pink accents or if it is a camouflage feature.

We headed west towards Philomath so that Troubadour could fuel the XT.  Just west of Philomath we turned south off of Highway 20 and onto Woods Creek Road.  A nice gravel road that winds up into the hills.  It runs through clear cut logging areas and tree farms.  I call them replanted clear cuts, but the lumber companies prefer tree farm.  It was a one lane road with gravel, some packed dirt, pot holes, and a little debris here and there.  We pulled over a few times for pictures.

It was at this stop that we discovered the water bottle in the tail bag leaked and soaked everything including our large map book, extra gloves, and the title for the TW.  Oops.  No water for us the rest of the ride.

(2009 XT 250 and 2009 TW 200 - His and Hers)

(Troubadour looking chill in his Triumph jacket)

(A Happy Trobairitz)

Troubadour was asked to write a story for an upcoming Team Oregon Newsletter on our covered bridge adventures.  They asked for a picture of the two of us in our riding gear and also one with a bridge in the background so we thought we'd best give it a go.  Bridge selfies later in the post.

Back on the bikes and further uphill we climbed.  We eventually crested the hill and started our descent.  Before long we had to stop for a tow truck on the side of the road. He had two lines strung across the road and said we could go by if we could get under the cables, but neither of us thought it was a good day for decapitation; accidental or otherwise.  We waited patiently and Troubadour dismounted to observe.  I took my helmet off and just relaxed on the bike, taking a few pics. Turns out it was a Jeep Grand Cherokee that came around a corner too fast.  The tow truck driver said judging by the amount of beer cans in the bushes, the occupants probably weren't sober at the time of the accident.

(The road behind us as we waited)

After about 20 minutes we left the tow truck driver to hook up the Jeep.  We then stopped a mile or so down the road at a ridge line for a picture. We were in the shade and the ridge was in the bright sun so the pictures didn't turn out great.  I probably should have changed the settings on the camera.

As we descended further we turned onto Harris Road and came to a bridge that looked fairly new. We stopped for a wee look.  Turns out it was built in 2013 using some donated trusses that were built in 1939.  The road was paved over the bridge and turned back to gravel a few yards beyond.

In order to get back to the highway we rode over the Harris Covered Bridge.  The last time we were there we were on the Tiger and Gladius and the 2-3 miles of fresh gravel wasn't the best on my road tires.  It was just plain fun on the TW.

And lastly, some bridge selfie outtakes.......

(Now don't we look like we could cook up some trouble?)

From the bridge we headed back to Highway 20 and pointed the bikes East towards home.  At one point, downhill on the highway, the speedometer read 70 mph.  Not sure the bike was actually traveling that fast, but it was buzzing like it.

So far the bike is a great fit. I was impressed that I was out there for a few hours at low speeds and my hands weren't numb at all.  Something I can't say about the Gladius after a few miles at low speeds.

- Au Revoir

"There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate." - Robert Brault
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