Chase the Snake 2008
09 Jun 2008###1200 miles of spring riding
The spring on my WeeStrom shock has been sacked for a while, and I finally bought a new shock. I got an Elka 3-way adjustable shock via the StromTrooper forum group buy.
This shock has a ride height adjustment. The guy selling the shock recommended going with the full 10mm of increased height. After I mounted the shock on the bike, I quickly saw why that was the maximum increase. At full extension you can barely slide a couple sheets of paper between the center stand mount and the lower end of the “dog bones”.
Winter seems to be hanging on longer than usual this year, and it was raining pretty hard when I left on Friday morning to meet Tony in Portland.
I made it to Tony’s place before 10, but my plan to stop at the Post Office in Tillamook didn’t work out, since they don’t open until 9. So we had a little delay in Portland stopping at the Post Office and gassing up. We finally got on the road at 10:15.
We left Portland with just a light drizzle, but as we went through the Gorge on I-84, it rained pretty steadily. Finally it dried up a bit before The Dalles. We crossed the Columbia at Biggs and went up to Bickleton for lunch.
Notice the flag in the background… it wasn’t too windy in the Gorge, but once we got up out of it, the wind picked up. This is a nice place for lunch in a town with not too many choices.
We rode up north of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, then down through Starbuck on WA 261, which was a fun ride. Eventually we arrived at a familiar driveway, a welcome sight.
Not too many people showed up at the Thompson’s on Friday night.
After a nice dinner of lasagna, we talked for a bit, and some folks watched When Harry Met Sally. I washed some dishes since Chris says “this is family style.”
The next morning we were up early to get to The Olde European by 8:00. Usually by the time I arrive, the ‘banquet room’ seems almost full. This time it was much quieter. We did fill a couple more tables by 8:30.
After breakfast people started departing.
One of these bikes is not like the others, one of these bikes just isn’t the same…
Tony and I went down to cross the Lower Granite Dam. I had never gone across in the good old days before Homeland Security, and it recently changed to allow crossing occasionally. Be prepared to be documented when you cross, and you’ll have to take your helmet off so the security dude can make sure you aren’t some kind of imposter.
Ted and Tamara were there when we arrived, but they stopped at the visitor’s center. Later they passed us when I stopped to check the map. Not too much later, we found them on the side of the road.
Here’s Ted showing off his new gas can while Tamara takes a photo.
This is a fairly desolate-seeming area to run out of gas, even though it’s only a mile or two short of the gas station.
The route I had planned for Tony and I was to go through the National Forest south of Pomeroy and arrive via gravel roads at Troy on the Grand Ronde river in Oregon.
Tony mentioned that he was concerned that we would run into snow drifts on the road that hadn’t melted yet. Instead, snow ran into us, sticking to our visors and making the road muddy and a little slick. It started snowing at about 5000 feet elevation. We eventually turned around at about 5500 feet. Tony closing his eyes against the snow.
Me with very cold hands.
We went back to Pomeroy and ate lunch at a new coffee shop. They have excellent grilled panini sandwiches.
We went south of Pomeroy again, but turned east before getting back into the forest and the snow.
We really enjoyed riding Peola road. It’s gravel for several miles, then becomes a paved single lane road that winds along some ridges.
Looking ahead we can see that it is raining in Lewiston, where the road goes.
Looking back toward the ridge we tried to go over, there is definitely still some snow on the ground.
We rode up the Spiral Highway and took some photos to try to make a panorama. I should try this again some time with the camera on a tripod or something, because the photos didn’t stitch together very well.
Click the panorama to open a larger version in a new window. (Large version lost when webshots.com changed business model)
Then we headed back to the Thompson’s via some back roads.
The barbeque party was really nice. The food was delicious as always, and several people showed up.
Tony has a new Russell Day-Long seat with a fabric cover on his KTM. He felt the ADVrider crowd wasn’t ready to see his trash-bag rain cover – the blur is Tony trying to block the photo. For you orange-blooded KTM fans, cover your eyes and page down past the horror. In the background, Ted and Tamara are showing off their WeeStrom accessories, and Brian P. is probably trying to remember what his checking account balance is.
After things wound down for most of us, but when Kyle and Paul were just getting going, it was movie time again. This time it was The Magnificent Seven. I washed some more dishes, and noticed the sky when the sun set.
The next morning Chris and John made pancakes and sausage for everyone, then it was time to go.
Ted and Tamara had a unique way to say farewell to everyone. I didn’t get the camera out quickly enough to capture “the wave.”
We rode down to the Spiral Highway and made a couple runs, and Tamara was taking some more photos. I’ll set up a link when I know where they are. After that, we headed on back to Portland. The weather was much nicer on Sunday, just windy. It was even pretty warm in the Gorge and going through Portland, but cold again at the coast.
The weather could have been better, but it was still a really nice trip. Thanks again to the Thompson’s and Randall for putting this all together!