NOTE: This happened May 7-8, 2016 and I’m just now getting around to posting about it. This time I can’t really say ‘oops’. I just need to stop being lazy about things. I’ll also add images eventually, probably. ADDITIONAL NOTE: Today is October 4th and I finally added pictures. DOH!

Dear readers… remember how, in Part 1 I bragged about how perfect the weather was? Yeah… it turns out Oregon doesn’t do two days of perfect in a row. At least not in my case.

I woke up in the ‘Hotel That Shall Not be Named’ and looked out the window. Gray, overcast skies greeted me, but from what I could see the world wasn’t damp. Turns out even that observation was wrong. After finally dressing and lugging my stuff downstairs I realized the bike was dripping water. It wasn’t raining, but that wasn’t preventing moisture from gathering everywhere it could. The air was thick enough to put a straw in. Although, based on where I was (Albany, OR) I’d recommend a LifeStraw. No use taking chances.

So, packed the bike and had an idea of where I wanted to go. My GPS was insistent on a route I wasn’t keen on. So I did what any human male would do – I got lost. I KNEW better than that stupid GPS. At least in theory. I ignored it’s prompts to take the highway, figuring I could eventually find the side road I wanted. Turns out I was wrong. Which I am admitting now. In front of the world. Yeah.

I moseyed into a gas station and asked the nice girl working if they had maps. I wish this wasn’t a mostly accurate transcript of our conversation:

“Do you have maps?”
“Like… Google?”
“No. Paper maps. Folded up…”
“Oh, yeah. I think so. Hang on, let me look.”
:proceeds to look at… anything but a map:
“I don’t think we have those.”
“Yeah, great… thanks for… never mind.”

Fortunately the guy working outside knew what I was looking for and gave me some pretty accurate directions. It was great. I was finally on my way and my GPS was finally into the game plan.

So I spent and extra hour and a half riding back and forth across random farm roads in Oregon. Not that big of a deal. Only I forgot to mention it was pissing rain the entire time. Yup, I forgot to mention I was riding through a cold and dreary shower the entire ordeal. Yeah, I had my Power Ranger suit so I was dry and warm, but that isn’t the point. The day before had been AMAZING!

At any rate, I finally found the path I wanted which led me into the mountains. Eventually I ended up having lunch at Takoda’s (stop 5) in Rainbow, OR. The food was good. The weather had cleared. I actually got to each lunch outside near a koi pond. I absolutely didn’t hate it.

After that I grabbed a drink at the local store and took the long way home. At one point I watched a hawk dive prey. I drove through towns that looked like they stopped in the 50s. All of this happened under warm sunshine. Apparently Oregon only wanted me to suffer in the morning. I’m guessing it was based on my choice of hotel.

At any rate, I had a fantastic weekend and would do it again in a heartbeat.

NOTE: This happened May 7-8, 2016 and I’m just now getting around to posting about it. This time I can’t really say ‘oops’. I just need to stop being lazy about things. I’ll also add images eventually, probably. ADDITIONAL NOTE: Today is October 4th and I finally added pictures. DOH!

A few weeks after my long lunch to Nahcotta, WA I realized I needed a bit of a break from work and booked an overnight trip to knock some more stops off of the Grand Tour list. May in Oregon is near perfect weather. At least that is what my weather app would have had me believe. That turned out to not exactly be the case… read on, friend.

I packed up a change of clothes (a pair of shorts, a replacement shirt, some flip-flops, boxers, and my dopp kit) and all the chargers for my various gadgets, GoPro, and whatever other stuff I seem to insist on lugging around, into my panniers and hit the road at about 9am from Base Camp Cavster (I’m really working on a name for my house, and I’ll admit I’m not in love with this one).

Holy heck, the above paragraph is awful. Moving on…

My GPS (Garmin/BMW Nav V) has a really cool feature that allows you to avoid the highways. With that turned on I hit the back roads outside of Portland. Destination – Gales Creek, OR. Gales Creek is located off Hwy 8. A super scenic ride through forests that, like most of the rest of Oregon, is nearly perfect.

Picturesque day in every way. Sun was out, temperature was moderate, shade was cool. The roads were perfect and traffic was light. I managed to make short work of the first leg of my ride and arrived in Gales Creek just after 11.

Sort of. I ran smack into the middle of a classic British car show/rally. I had too much speed going to turn down the obvious street so I did what any other reasonable human would: I used a few driveways and the sidewalk connecting them to turn around.

Spent a good half hour checking out the cars and decided it was time to mosey on. Besides, the guy ‘flying’ a drone around was getting on my nerves.

I meandered into Gales Creek at the perfect time for an early lunch/late breakfast. The ladies at Coleman’s 9N are some of the friendliest you’re likely to meet anywhere. I had a scramble type egg dish and probably shouldn’t have eaten half of it, but it was so good and I couldn’t stop.

Collecting a stamp, neglecting to take a picture, and filling both the human and machine gas tanks I was ready to move on to the next stop.

I wound my way out to the coast and turned south. I had another stamp to collect in Neskowin, OR. The next spot on my list was Cafe on Hawk Creek. As soon as I hit the coast the temps dropped, the wind kicked up, and the views completely stunned. The Oregon coastline is nothing like the sandy, easy to access beach I’m so accustomed to, having grown up in Southern California (I’m talking Blackies – utterly epic, or The Wedge -even epic-er). Rocky, rough, primitive… those are the best words I can find to describe the Oregon Coast. Oh yeah, Goonies. That one works as well.

I arrived in Neskowin at about 1pm, which was much too early to eat anything as I was still feeling weighed down by my earlier meal. That isn’t to say that the spot isn’t awesome. It was packed. People were out on the patio. The food going out looked tasty. I had an iced tea. The waitress didn’t seem overly impressed, but too bad for her. I wanted caffeine and a relax. I won.

Not only did I get my iced tea, hold anything else, I also collected another stamp, snapped a pic, and shoved off. Didn’t feel like lingering for too long. I had more miles to cover, another stamp to collect, and a hotel to find before it got too late in the day.

I continued down the coast to Waldport (yeah, I had never heard of it either) and turned east. My final stop on the Grand Tour for the day was in Alsea, OR. Upon turning inland I found the sun at my back, the temps again warming, the road twisting. Twisting. Twisting along a river. Not only were the roads amazing to ride, they were also covered in a near perfect canopy that was like a massive tunnel for miles and miles. Those tunnels lured you into some shenanigans, maybe causing you to twist the throttle a bit more than you should. Some of the best riding roads I’ve yet to find in Oregon connect the coast to destinations inland and vice versa.

Those days when things just seem to come together and the road is flowing and you’re grooving with senses heightened are the best. This was one of those days. I wasn’t putting a wheel wrong and every lean and wrist twist shoved me along ever faster. Yes, some of the people reading this might cringe, but those that don’t will know exactly what I was feeling. I never wanted it to end.

The unfortunate reality is it had to end. Eventually the signs at the roadside indicated ever decreasing speeds and I had reached my ‘dinner’ destination. Maybe it was supper. It was whatever you call a meal at 3:30 in the afternoon. My destination was on my left so I flipped a u-turn and parked up in front of Deb’s Cafe. Nearly like eating at someone’s house, Deb’s is a quaint, family run establishment. Her son was working that day so she could have the day off. Good bloke, incredibly friendly and accommodating. Oh yeah, they have a patio, just in case you were on the fence about stopping in.

I met a cool couple riding a Harley tooling around the area and having a blast. We chatted all through our respective meals and he gave me some good tips for rides in the area I really want to revisit. You really do meet solid people when traveling via motorcycle. People laugh at the ‘kinship’ thing, but it’s real and I think it is part of why I ride.

Anyhow, another meal eaten, another picture forgotten to be taken (I did take a patio pic), another stamp collected and it was time to find my hotel. My super-deluxe, ultimate luxury, negative star accommodations. (If you own the joint I stayed in, I’m sorry… it really isn’t that good. It is cheap, though!)

So, I found my hotel. I won’t tell you what the name was, but I will tell you a few things about it. It’s in Albany, OR. It probably should have been torn down a week after it was erected. The lobby probably has a cracky traveler aggressively negotiating their rate. The lot probably doesn’t feel safe. There is a gas station almost in the same parking lot (which sells beer so you can eventually forget your hang-ups about the place). They use real keys. They’re too cheap for some sort of keyring. You just get the key. I shouldn’t complain, they had enough towels to cover the bed which was comfortable enough.

I got in early enough that I bought a few beers, put the San Jose Shark’s game on TV and relaxed. A pretty ok end to an absolutely OK day.

TO BE CONTINUED

NOTE: This happened April 30, 2016 and I’m just now getting around to posting about it. Oops. This should also be a clue as to how often I actually sit and write.

Bailey’s Bakery & Cafe in Nahcotta, WA is one of the stops on the Rose City Grand Tour. Located on the Long Beach peninsula of southern Washington, Bailey’s is a short 130 miles from my front door. It was a beautiful day out and I was in the mood for lunch, but not tempted by the local fare. What better way to put food in my belly and knock off a spot on the Grand Tour list than find lunch beyond the usual haunts.

So I hit the road along the Columbia, stuck to the Oregon side until Astoria, crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge (4.1 miles long!) and meandered up the peninsula. Bailey’s was a bit of a challenge for my GPS, but I eventually found it. It’s a tiny little cafe built into what used to be a train terminal. Really neat and super friendly staff. Oh yeah, the food is good as well.

There isn’t really much more to say about the ride itself. It was beautiful (obviously). The Columbia river was involved. The sun was out. The ocean was involved. There was a fort (Fort Columbia). I even had a sandwich.

I could have just ridden the same route back, but what fun would that have been? Instead, I chose to head back across the bridge and stick to the coast down into Seaside to shoot across the 26 towards home. I managed to turn my trip into just shy of 300 miles and had a bonfire when I got home. Just because.

One stop on the Grand Tour down… 19(ish) to go.

-Ryan

Oh yeah, before I go… this ride was also the first with my new Sena 20s bluetooth system. It was fantastic. It took a while to figure it all out, but when I did I couldn’t help but wonder what took me so long to get one. Just having my GPS directions piped into my lid was cool enough, but also having music? SO RAD! I’ve been known to keep myself company on rides, probably bopping my head down the road like a crazy person as I belt out whatever is stuck in my head, but now… now I’m actually rocking out to something other than myself. It is fantastic. I plan on a more in-depth review at some point if I remember I planned on it.

Hello,

Welcome to my blog. What a weird word – ‘blog’. Sounds strange to say it aloud and even stranger to say I’m writing one. Although this isn’t my first, I hope it will be one that lasts longer than the others (I wrote a sports blog for a while with some friends – short lived, but amazingly insightful if you ask me). I have a strange habit of chasing squirrels.

I moved to Oregon a year ago, and am amazed at the awe inspiring nature all around me. It is nothing like the Southern California I grew up in or the Bay Area of California I spent nearly a decade in. Both of those were plenty pretty, but the Pacific Northwest is a totally different animal.

I’ve ridden motorcycles for nearly 15 years. Sport bikes, a vintage BMW (I’ll throw a gallery together at some point), a Harley… until recently. Recently I had an epiphany – they make EXACTLY the kind of bike I need. I live in arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world, yet I was riding a Harley that was useful 3-ish months out of the year. No way was I riding my matte black bobber in the rain. Not a chance. So I did what anyone in my situation would have done. I bought a BMW. Well, I sold a BMW first, and then I bought a BMW.

My old BMW, which I’ll admit to missing.

Not just any BMW. I went right for the top and picked up a bike that I had coveted since youth. Lusted after and drooled about. A 2016 R1200GS Adventure. White. Aluminum panniers. All the options. The full kit. So awesome. I’m not scared of clouds on this thing.

Having started exploring Oregon more on two wheels over the last few months I decided I would start a blog to chronicle trip reports, random adventures, gear reviews, and whatever else I got up to that was interesting. Probably have the occasional car trip thrown in for good measure. Maybe some hikes. Never know. Mostly a place for me to document and share with friends and family.
I hope you enjoy,

Ryan