Polar Bear ride New years of 2014.. ... . ... ... ... . OR . ... .... .. .. .. .. Add Plus one to the Karma Column

      So, the local group that I ride with posted up a New Years day ride.. However, there was also an offroad group doing the same thing and couldn't commit myself to either one until New Years morning.
      The weather at the house was complete crap.  Dense fog and cold, but I had a good feeling it was going to be nice over at the coast, and I really needed a Vitamin D fix.  So, asphalt it was going to be.
      Now I had read earlier that they were departing about noonish... Apparently I misread when the departure time was, and thought I would be there a half hour early, but missed them departing by over 15 minutes.  Off to the races it was.. I had a general idea of the route they were taking, and if not ohhhhh... well..... I was riding.. Out through the city and right on Reservoir.. whack the throttle open and let it rip... Mind my manners through the sleepy little town.. Left on Hwy34,  My right hand rotated the grip fully.  The Tiger let out a mighty growl.  The shifter went bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.  Top gear ripping down the straight.. Eyes scanning the horizon for other predators ( of the four wheeled and flash light kind)  Downshift to third, swivel the head, lever the knee, look up the hill to the next left, right left complex.  Ohh... we were having a grand time of it, ( I think she has been feeling a bit neglected as of late,  even with our Saturday jaunt to coffee). After many more left, right, left, complexes; the road settles down a bit and the throttle jams open once again.  Soon, I see a large group of riders on the side of the road taking a break.. I know these guys.... I didn't think I would have caught up to them so quickly though.
     They began to depart and I jumped in line and it was a slow game of follow the leader.  Granted, they were doing what they should have been doing, but I had just had a lot of fun by myself trying to catch up to them.  I settled in behind a red Kawasaki Vulcan, with a rider who was unable to maintain corner speed.. I nearly ran over the rider three times.  AAARRRGGGHH.. is one the phases that was uttered in my helmet.  Thank goodness I don't have a Sena Smh10 with the always on mic., somebody would have heard phases that not even the worst sailors use.  We made it all the way to the beach and nobody died.. The group was headed south and some headed back the same route.  I being me, decided that I had done enough group riding for the day.  I decided to go north

So we travel across the bridge and this road catches my eye.. Hmmm, where does this go. So, I take off on the fabulous little road called Bayview Drive. It is a wonderfully curvy road that turns ties into another curvy road, Beaver Creek.  I had already been on Beaver Creek, so I stayed on Bayview.  After a while it is no longer paved.. No problem, this is a Tiger after all, and I ain't scared of no dirt... It wanders up and down and around the hills, and get start to form an idea..  I think I might be able to get to Elk City from here without catching Hwy 101.


Bud E has been feeling festive this holiday

 From there I could run out through Nashville and over to Blodgett.  Now, in typical Polar bear fashion, this being started after 13:00 and it gets dark at 16:45, and we have no map, no cell service, no GPS, limited signage,(they mostly get used for target practice), and just over half a tank of fuel..    


Ohhh and I told my wife I should be home by 16:30ish


Skip forward to 15:00.. many miles of dirt road, long vistas, fading light and an impending sense that we are not going to be home before 16:30.  I end up on this logging mainline and am following the mileage markers.. Of course, every now and then they disappear for a couple of miles and start hoping that your on the right road.  I came across a herd of elk standing on the road in front of me.. A couple of growls from the Tiger had them moving again in another direction.

Some of the roads were really muddy

I had a State Trooper pass me going the opposite direction just before this, so I thought I was headed the right way.











With one eye on the road and one towards the fleeting light, I scrap the Elk city plan and just need to get to a highway.  It is now 15:35. Making my way off the ridgeline and down the hills I see this couple walking.  Casually dressed and like in their early 50's, they flag me down.  "Our car broke down a few miles back. Can you give me us a lift down to the fish hatchery?"  It is getting dark and cold in this little valley, and I am still not entirely sure where I am.   Sure, Why not.    The husband  climbs on and we start going down the mountain.. Turns out, it is another 6 miles to the fish hatchery. He climbs off and starts heading up to a house to call a wrecker.  " Would you like me to go get your wife?" I ask. "I know it is a rough road, but if you wouldn't mind.", he replied.  So I whip the Tiger around and go flying up the road back to her.  She climbs on and we bound on down to the hatchery.. I didn't see the husband,  " I let him off right here."  She climbed off and headed up to knock on the door.  Yeah, chalk one up for good karma.. What are the odds that with all of the crazy roads I could have chosen, ( If you ever look at an Oregon map and see all the little gray or red unmarked squiggly lines,  yeah, those are the roads I was on.)  I would find my way to them at just the right time.  A sense of satisfaction and amazement came over me.

     I proceeded to drop the hammer and race the light.. I needed to clear the Alsea  twisties  before the darkness set in with the fog.   Raced to Alsea.. Texted my location and new estimated arrival time, and headed for home in the cold and the dense fog.  A sense of relief filled me as I exited the last corner and headed down the long straight, making it through there before the darkness set in as well.. Back through the sleepy little town.  The low fuel light just came on.  Back through the city.  It is now very, very, dark, and very, very foggy,  and very cold.  Vision is very limited.  It almost becomes surreal.. Just a little bubble of light in darkness.  The solid lines on the road look the same and I lose track of my sense of speed.  I can't tell how fast I am travelling until I am almost upon the dim tail lights of  the car just in front of me.."(*)&*(", where the hell did he come from and why the hell are they going so slow....I was totally unaware of my closing speed.. Alright, dial it down... cross the interstate.. cross the open fields.  Searching for the light indicting my turn.. Ahhh   Home... Pull the Tiger into the carport.. Stretch out the arms and legs.. Take a nice hot shower..

 

 

And thus ends another Adventure with Bud E.

 

 

This is most likely the route that we took.. best that I can recall and the mileage is pretty close. 

 

 http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3856816

 

 

 

 



Best of Three Falls

So, Easter has a little different meaning for everybody, But as a general rule it is a celebration of renewal.  Being a fully fledged member of the church of speed, our prayers were answered with a sunny day and warm temps.  Time to kick the tyres and sacrifice some dinosuars.  I had awakened at 6:30..  I put together an idea for a route. Plotted it on Ride with Gps, and e-vited some friends to come along on this somewhat impromptu ride.  No responses and it was getting on 10:00.. Daylight was wasting and Bud E. was getting anxious.

New m2r lid. Fits so nice and is so light due to the carbon composite.  Damn.. those Aussies make a nice helmet, and got it off ebay for a steal too.  I almost feel bad.  Not!!!

  So, I geared up, popped on my new  M2R Nemesis carbon composite lid, threw on my Dragon DX goggles,  thumbed the starter and lit out like a prairie fire.

This is Ride with GPS. If you have never used it, check it out. I use it for route planning and tracking.  Sometimes just to see where it was that I went. I love it when it shows that there is no road, but your riding on it. It really is quite handy, I use the free side of it, not sure what's in the premium section.

The only problem with trying to share it was I had to load it in through the HTML side of the blog.  But its loaded, and I figured it out myself.






First, out of town, and along the river out to McDowell Creek Falls.  Lots of good twisties  in there. I hike to the first falls.  Full gear and carrying my helmet.

Next was to skirt around the edges of the farmland around here.. If its flat its farmland around here. If its not flat, its Timberland or Vineyards.  Over the hills and across the rivers.. All the way to Silver Falls.

 

Unique thing about Silver Falls State Park.  All of the land was donated to the state by the family that owned it. There are ten falls in total, and about an 8 mile trail to collect most of them.

 

 

The falls in the picture is called Winter Falls.  It was the easiest of the ten to access in full gear, again.  I was huffin' and puffin' like the little engine that could trying to climb back up that set of  switchbacks.

 

Its 134ft drop from top to bottom.
 

After catching my breath, (Damn, I am out of shape), Bud E and I lit out of there, scaring the crap out of the cruiser riders that were just kind of poking along.  I opened up with all three cylinders and really worked hard at getting right to the very edge of the tire. I still can't force it all the way over but am getting mighty close.  We tooled on through Silverton, back to Sublimity, and across the valley to catch Alsea falls.   I almost gave it up.  I thought there is no one sharing this with me so what's the point.  Still, I set out to cover 3 falls, not 1 or 2, and I think I would only have disappointed myself if I had given up.

 

I reached Alsea Falls State Park, and what do I find... the damn gate is locked... "Bullshit", I say to Bud E.  Oh well, I hiked down to complete the mission.

 

 

I load back up and get ready to take off.  Now, there is some construction going on just up the road where they are replacing a culvert or some such nonsense.  I end up sixth in line heading into this tore up section of road, these people are putzing along trying to navigate the gravel and bumps.  If they are going this slow now there is no way I will be able to enjoy the remainder of South Fork Rd.  So, as soon as I clear the first barricade and am firmly in the construction zone.  I did what any sensible rider would do.. I dropped two gears and rolled the throttle to its stop and passed every single one of them, flingin' gravel and dirt all over them.  I never looked back, because I am sure they all gave me a dirty look, but I didn't much care at that moment.  I was feeling good about my accomplishment, and nothing was holding me back.... except.... the fuel light suddenly came on.   Hmmm.. What to do?  "Screw it" Bud E. says.. "Its a frackin' Tiger.  It will make it. Stay the course. Finish the ride."  So I finish the ride back across the valley.  Never stopping for petrol.  We made it home. I was tired and sore, but reinvigorated at the same time. 

I was initially disappointed that I didn't have anybody else riding along. By the end though, I was just kind of in a happy place.  I rode well, the Tiger did what I asked.  And for a moment, all was right in my world.

Until next time.....

Polar bear


You know.. I think Bud E. might be having a bad influence on me... Naaaaaaaaaaaaah.....