March 2010
Monthly Archive
Sun 21 Mar 2010
Putting in those 9 hour days at work (as much as one would believe a government contractor would do that) yields a perc of every other Friday off. There’s something satisfying about getting up early on your day off and pointing your motorcycle towards a dam and as the sun comes up drones are slogging their way to their 9 to 5.
Friday was chilly again with 22 degrees being a low spot on my thermometer. Not to worry as just a few miles before my first dam near Tieton, WA I visited my good friend Lisa AND she had a hot cup of coffee ready.
Fueled up on warm fluid and caffeine I journeyed down the blacktop a few miles to French Canyon Dam. The gate was open and minivan with faded badging on the side parked by a concrete building. The driver eyeballed me and approached…I knew post 9/11 he was naturally wary. I disarmed him by showing my laminated card with dams listed. If I was a terrorist…I was a very creative terrorist he figured and won over his good nature immediately.
He even told me that building housed some giant air tank that would fill up and blow air out the intake periodically to clean off debris. Supposedly, it’s quite a show if you’re not expecting it.
This dam also was the fourth or fifth that even locals rarely know exist. We’re all used to the iconic conrete dams Grand Coulee, but the truth is there’s a ton more lower rise earthen dams out there in nooks and crannies of the world helping irrigation and maybe eeking out a bit of power via a non-descript turbine in a block building. This is one of those.
Rising up over White Pass the temperature dropped some more and I cranked my electric clothing to their max setting. Descending the slope into Western Washington, rounding a sweeper to a stellar view of Mt. Rainier, I was also greeted to a perfectly timed Sheryl Crow song.
Everyday is a winding road
I get a little bit closer
Everyday is a faded sign
I get a little bit closer to feeling fine
Jump in, let’s go
Lay back, enjoy the show
Everybody gets high, everybody gets low
These are the days when anything goes
Rolling on past Packwood I turned off 12 and into yet another piece of the world I hadn’t seen. Cowlitz Dam is a classic looking dam to me…with high walls of a natural canyon as if Nature almost did the job herself.
Then off to Aberdeen for the third dam of the day. The urge to ride my bike out on the dock was nearly irresistible in this completely empty park, but the headline “Mayor’s Motorcycle Fished From Lake – Citation Issued” stopped me.
The cool thing about this dam is it’s right next door to LDComfort World Headquarters and I know the owner, Mario Winkelman.
Mario makes what are the gold standard for long-distance underwear. …and if you’re thinking the world has gone nuts where we have to worry about specific underwear for motorcycling…I’ll just say that Mario was a logger for years so he knows his stuff about long underwear. Suffice it to say that the research, detail, and refinement he and staff have put into the stuff is amazing. What I wear exclusively from 20 degrees to 120 degrees is far more involved than I ever fathomed prior to being taken on a tour of this place. Between the special fabric he has custom made that TRULY keeps your skin dry even if the outer wicking part is soaked. Here are some videos that I can attest are true.
https://ldcomfort.com/productdescription.htm
And he even showed me a couple of products being considered for market….shhhh……they’re secret. 
After the visit with Mario I pointed the bike south and headed towards Oregon. I had to stop in Astoria to see my Grandparent’s old house on the hill. It’s amazing how much smaller it seems now.
Interestingly, the school it overlooks is the one in Kindgarten Cop and it had the coolest slide I’d ever seen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria_School_District
Family history fix attained I pointed towards the coastal town of Seaside….another childhood memory of almost getting ran over by a car when I was 4 or so. The weather was perfect, it was dinner time, people were out, the bars looked inviting, and I couldn’t help but park my bike at a beachside hotel, pay $88, and spend the night.
The sunset was phenomenal and iconic for me…and I hope for my fellow Dam Riders.
And the tourist town after dark seemed to only have a couple real bars and then one I chose was typical sports bar fare with lots of Harleys parked out front. Terriyaki burger was OK, but customer service went from OK to obscene when I noticed the change I had on the bar from my first drink was gone….blown away by a wind coming through the door.
When I asked the bartender to look down and see if he saw it on the floor he immediately got defensive and said he wasn’t responsible for it. Hmmm.
Naturally, he didn’t find anything and even when I asked to ask the other bartender if she saw the money he got increasingly belligerent.
By that point I doubt me writing a big fat $0 on the tip on the credit card bill didn’t help his state of mind, but what he did next dumbfounded me. “You’re an a**hole….you’re outta here! Bob, kick this guy out!”
I’d never been kicked out of a bar (for something I didn’t deserve before). Maybe I’m shifty looking..I dunno. I thought I’d even mellowed out a bit as I’ve grown older. But, the bartender still seemed perturbed as I got up before the bouncer could get actually kick me out. Me walking away without turning back to the mocking bouncer really seemed to bother him too.
That and I will urge none of you to ever do business at Dundee’s in Seaside, OR. Take your business elsewhere.
Up in the morning I wandered 101 south stopping for a good lunch of seafood chowder and salmon burger in Florence and picked off the fairly undramatic 26 foot high Tahkenitch Dam. Aiming inland I found the Umpqua Highway between Reedsport and Roseburg to be a phenomenal road. Meandering along the river it was a stunning view and great curvy stuff to wear off the sides of my tires.
After Roseburg I rode I-5 a bit and turned off onto an even more stellar road that I promised not to divulge because it’s “secret” according to my buddy RenoJohn. Suffice it to say the picture of this tree is at the beginning of it.
Next dam was a very impressive sized earthen dam with a beautiful reservoir behind it.
After that dam I had a choice brewing. I could head north to Crescent Lake knowing I’d get the California dam in July…or bad the Pit Dam and get back home later Sunday.
No brainer…head South! I scored the dam just before dark.
and was treated to this stellar view of Mt. Shasta on the way back to I-5. The road was FAST!
After a dinner at Black Bear Diner (one of my favorites in the region) I slogged back up I-5 and 97 to Klamath Falls. The temperature dropped and I just had no energy to setup a tent and rough it…so Super 8 it was.
Freshly showered I started my third day by riding into a dam that had been blocked by snow and as I would find out, just visited the day or two previous by other Dam Riders. I wasn’t THE first, but I was one of the first ones in there.
After that dam I even stopped in La Pine and said hi to a friendly FJR rider, Ray. Not much to La Pine, but he was working Sunday.
And for a final attempt I tried to visit Timothy Lake near Mt. Hood, but both the roads I could make out from 26 were blocked with snow MANY miles from the lake. Again, I’d find out that riders made it into this via another route…and am secretly envious. It means I’m going to have to come back to this one!
Back home about 5 p.m. and kicked back for a few hours before heading to bed.
Good dreams and a good weekend.
Thu 18 Mar 2010
The plan is to leave Friday morning for a trip toward Aberdeen, picking up three dams. One near Yakima, one near Randle over White Pass, and then Aberdeen. I plan to visit my friends at LDComfort and pick up some more of their fine products.
Then South down 101 and hopefully make Tillamook to camp. Actually carrying a tent and sleeping bag…we’ll see how that works as I’ve never tried it before and learned the fine art of sleeping on the bike in a Rest Area with engine running and electric clothes turned up.
Next day head down towards Florence, head inland and pick up one at Crescent Lake. Then if the snow’s receded several other ones.
This could be a 3 dam trip in a day, a 5 dam trip in two, or a 7 dam trip over the whole weekend. Depends on the weather and whim!
Track me on SPOT!
Sun 14 Mar 2010
Just back from a COLD 660 mile ride through Central and Eastern Oregon. http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=4263 But, it was a bright, sunshiny day!
I departed before sunrise and had plans for the 4 dams in Eastern and Central Oregon….plus The Dalles in Washington. I had about 40 mile to decide whether to do it clockwise or CCW and figured riding into the morning sun and colder Deadman’s Pass was probably less sensible than riding the Columbia River first, but it still go down to about 20 degrees as the sun peeked over the horizon.
Dalles was tough to get a good photo of. I bagged an ugly one to meet the rules, but like this one better from the Oregon side.
South I had never been through Maupin before and enjoyed the warming morning to Madras and snuck in behind a couple fishermen having coffee for this shot.
Once I fueled up in Prineville (also a first visit for me) I REALLY enjoyed the road to the next dam. It was like my own private road on the cool Sunday morning. Mainline #1 is a bit of a bummer since it’s private property and all, but I tried to stretch with my telephoto to bring it closer.
And the stretch east through Paulina and Izee gave way to a 5200 foot pass that got a bit sketchy. I had to extend my size 14 outriggers on a couple spots.
And this particular shot just summed up the day. I’d always wanted to ride this road and it was fast, crystal clear, cold, and sunny. The FJR just loved gobbling up this particular stretch of blacktop before turning North on 395. In fact, I’d ridden 395 many times before as it’s a gateway to many points south in Nevada and California, but never in the Winter and it’s a completely different world!
Mindful of the suggestion to find good places to eat while riding to dams…the Austin House serves a very good Blue Mountain Cheeseburger (think some good ripe blue and bacon). It’s about 15 miles West of the Mason Dam where 7 and 26 join. Closed Monday through Wednesday I believe…they are open Saturday and Sunday. Also, for those that love antique bars…..the carving on this one is phenomenal.
Austin House on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=austin+h…9.1158738789..1
http://%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Ca%20href=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source…234589&z=10
Mason Dam was interesting more for the blinding white snow cover that photographed poorly. Pictures didn’t do it justice with the sense of distance and scale….so I’ll leave that one out. Here’s a picture from the bottom showing the spillway.
One interesting thing is that I did reach an odometer milestone. 111111 miles. Half what my good buddy Greg just got on his bike.
However, I shot this towards the end of the bright part of the day at Wolf Creek…the 5th for the day. This ride felt good and the bike’s dialed in for a fresh season of rally riding. And for those looking at the clipped on laminated page with my rider number….the lower left picture is our forum’s own OCFJR. Woot Eric!
Got home about dark and think I saw 52 degrees as a warm point during the day. 7 dams down, 13 to go. It was a good day. 
Sun 7 Mar 2010
Well, I snagged my first two dams for the season, but it wasn’t exactly according to plan and learned I’ve got a laundry list of bike and farkle maintenance before I go do more riding.
I had grandiose plans of scooping up Mill Creek and Lower Granite last weekend, but just couldn’t get my new HID lights set up in time and the nose back on my FJR. I did get them sorted out Friday morning and pointed the bike east from the Tri-Cities around 2 p.m. and figured I’d snag them and them by sunset…then spend the night somewhere on the way to some in Oregon on Saturday.
I did get Mill Creek at 3:30 and pointed east through Dayton and Deadman’s road. The GPS suggested a gravel road with a grade, but I thought better of it (a wise move I would later find out) and added the 5+ miles to arc down via tarmac and go by an area I had mispent some of my youth back in WSU days.
The Columbia was glassy as the shadows grew long. I arrived at Lower Granite at 5:06. I tried park in the visitor area for a close-up, but was shoed out by a very cranky man that wouldn’t even let me spend minute to take a picture. Oh well, it was Friday and he probably was headed to Moscow to party.
My picture ended up being outside the fence, but captured the spillways pretty well.
Feeling good I plugged in Wolf Creek into the GPS and pondered the suggested route….which probably naturally wanted me to cross the dam and go towards Amota and Pullman. But, I knew that the same hurried dam guy also probably closed the gate across the dam….if it was open to the public anyway.
Dam this dam!
I looked upstream and saw more road, but wondered if it continued. The GPS grudingly did show an alternative to Clarkston, but as I married up the squiggly line on the Garmin with a “Primitive Road” sign I knew this was going to be sketchy.
And for those considering this as an option…let me dissuade you from trying what I did (unless you’re sketchier than I am) Wawawai Grade is not a very good option for those wanting to save time, miles, or explore.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source…077162&z=14
First there’s a “Primitive Road” sign near the dam. That doesn’t scare me and my dualsport FJR!
Then some vaguely placed “No Trespassing” signs that I chose to interpret as not the road itself, but side drives to who knows where.
Then a fence with a sign that says the road has been closed by order of the County….but plenty of room to ride by about a mile in. OK, I admit at this point I probably should have turned back, but did I tell you my FJR is really a dual sport and the goat trail looked fun?
There were a couple ATV tracks and that quickly yielded to no tracks and vegetation across the whole trail. That gave way to steep pitches with horse hoof marks and then those gave way to game trails crossing the path.
Then 3 miles in a fence with padlock and what I’m sure was a No Trespassing sign the other way. Bummer was that the road looked much better past it, but since I’m not so sketchy that I carry bolt cutters with me I turned back in the fading sunlight.
Riding past the dam I stopped at breathtaking sunset and remembered that Lewis and Clark floated by this very spot a little over 200 years earlier.
As the sun faded and dark set in I realized my new High/Low HID Conversion lights were aimed horribly. It would take me hours and many a flash from oncoming traffic to get them right, but once I did I was able to check off one of my items for this ride.
It’s when I got into Clarkston that wheels started to fall off this extended ride. I stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, but about 15 minutes after I ate I realized I had made a bad choice. Chicken Tsu Yuk or whatever it was named…..didn’t agree with my stomach.
As I summoned my inner Iron Butt self I started up the grade out of Asotin and felt the tail squirm…and squirm worse and worse. I pulled over as close the guard rail as I could on a clear stretch and checked the rear tire. Totally flat…it had thrown a plug I put in back in November.
This was the first time I’ve had a plug go bad and tried another, but aimed the bike back towards Clarkston just in case. Good thing I did because 1/2 between Asotin and Clarkston it went flat again…this time an even sketchier guard rail area leaving my bike across the white line.
Fortunately, a WSP literally was oncoming and followed me as I got off the bike and jogged along-side under minimal idle power to a turn-off and street light a few hundred yards around the corner.
Winded and stomach tied in a knot the Chicken Tsu Yuk was REALLY unagreeable at this point. I barely made it through thank yous with Mr. Trooper and as he was driving off I promptly expelled dinner into the weeds. Fried rice is pretty bad coming back up.
Taking some time I tried another plug, tried to tilt the bike away from the wound, and made it 4 miles to a motel across the street from Mac’s motorcycle shop. Although the plug stayed I could see it was working itself out and the glue wasn’t curing. So, I checked in, pulled the plug, and tried one more setting overnight.
Once morning came I got rid of the remaining parts of dinner that didn’t get expelled and rode the bike a it for a couple miles, but saw the plug moving out. No way I’d make it back 130 miles so I stopped at Mac’s and got a new tire.
Defeated I decided to head back home afterwards and chalk up the two dams as a shake-down cruise. Good thing I did because as they mounted the new tire they observed a set of bearing going out….so I rumbled home on a sketchy set of bearings and now headed to find some replacements.
Two dams down, 18 to go!
