Sometimes you ride your bike for the sole purpose of getting it ridden. I doubt that's proper grammar, but at least I didn't end the sentence with a preposition. (Every time you do that a puppy dies.) This time of year, opportunities to go for a 150 mile day ride are few and far between. The bulk of my rides are commutes to work and back.
Sunday I rode into Gresham and back, in the rain, simply to ride the bike. This is to keep things moving and keep the battery charged. I rode to work today as well, being one of the only semi-dry days forecasted for the entire week.
Sometimes you ride simply to get the bike ridden.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
It was a dark and foggy night
Morning, actually. It was a dark and foggy morning on my commute to work today. I usually arrive at work before 7am so it's still completely dark when I leave the house. It had rained pretty hard the previous day, and apparently through most of the night as well. The ground and pavement was wet and there was a thick fog hugging the ground.
What was interesting, however, was the sky. Despite the fog, looking up I could see stars. Orion was on his head to the south and I could see Venus descending toward the western horizon. Once I got rolling the ride was fantastic. Despite being dark, there was no rain or road spray and the fog swirled around me in the gleam of my headlights.
It was magical.
What was interesting, however, was the sky. Despite the fog, looking up I could see stars. Orion was on his head to the south and I could see Venus descending toward the western horizon. Once I got rolling the ride was fantastic. Despite being dark, there was no rain or road spray and the fog swirled around me in the gleam of my headlights.
It was magical.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Fall ride to Detroit
I had a fantastic Fall ride to Detroit and back on Sunday. It was chilly when I left the house, but after gassing up in Estacada, it began to warm up enough to be comfortable. The road to Detroit remains open until the first snowfall; from Ripplebrook south they don't plow the road so whatever snow falls, stays. This will probably be my last ride on that route until May or even June next year.
The vine maple are turning colors and their vivid oranges and reds are dramatic underneath the much taller douglas fir. Not all trees are changing yet, so the mountains have a nice mix of greens and yellows. I was briefly followed by another motorcyclist, who gained on me in the straights but lagged way behind in the curves. He never got close enough for me to get a look at what kind of bike he rode. By the time I stopped in Detroit and headed back toward home, there were quite a few more bikes out and about, all heading toward Detroit. I saw several V-Stroms in the mix.
The vine maple are turning colors and their vivid oranges and reds are dramatic underneath the much taller douglas fir. Not all trees are changing yet, so the mountains have a nice mix of greens and yellows. I was briefly followed by another motorcyclist, who gained on me in the straights but lagged way behind in the curves. He never got close enough for me to get a look at what kind of bike he rode. By the time I stopped in Detroit and headed back toward home, there were quite a few more bikes out and about, all heading toward Detroit. I saw several V-Stroms in the mix.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
New parts
My 2007 V-Strom has 34,000 miles on it. So far this summer I've had the brakes replaced (for the first time), new tires put on (third set, not including the Trailwings that came with the bike), and just yesterday I had a new chain and sprockets installed (second set). I also had the radiator fluid flushed about a month ago.
So far the bike has proven to be rock-solid and reliable without a single mechanical failure. Everything I've had done has been normal wear-and-tear kind of stuff, other than the front-right bar end and turn signal from when I dropped it in the parking lot at work.
So far the bike has proven to be rock-solid and reliable without a single mechanical failure. Everything I've had done has been normal wear-and-tear kind of stuff, other than the front-right bar end and turn signal from when I dropped it in the parking lot at work.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Ride report: Steens Mountain, Southeast Oregon
I just got back from a 6-day, 1,600 mile trip through, across, and around southeastern Oregon, with a visit to the highest road in the state at 9,700 feet -- Steens Mountain.
After camping my way all the way across the center of the state and down to the southern border for a couple of days, I met up with Mark and Janice, two new friends from California. I met Mark in a diner in Weaverville, CA back in June. He and I both ride V-Stroms and had stayed in touch all summer, talking about taking a trip together. His wife Janice also rides a V-Strom, so the two of them headed up to Lakeview and met me there on a Monday afternoon.
The next morning we set off to see the pronghorns on top of Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (we even saw fighter jets in dog-fighting maneuvers directly overhead), then rode 65 miles at 60+ mph on a washboarded dirt road to Frenchglen where I picked up a nasty hitchhiker in my back tire.
I fixed my own flat, then we headed up to Fish Lake on the western slope of Steens Mountain and stayed the night. The view from the top is incredible and should definitely be on everyone's short-list of must-see places on the west coast.
On Wednesday we rode south through Fields (home of overpriced burgers and rather pathetic soft-serve shakes) and into Denio, Nevada. From there it was one wide open space after another as we boogied across the prairie back into Oregon for another night in Lakeview before heading our separate ways back home. I headed north in another cross-state jaunt, landing at my sister's ranch outside of Goldendale, Washington for a one-night stay before heading back to home turf.
It was a trip of firsts and I can easily say it's one of the most enjoyable journeys I've ever made. The route was light on twisties and heavy on long views, but I'm learning to appreciate and actually enjoy them.
Rather than stick individual photos in this blog post, I'm going to link to my Picasa page and let you peruse the entire bunch from there. http://picasaweb.google.com/ruckerworks/SteensTrip
After camping my way all the way across the center of the state and down to the southern border for a couple of days, I met up with Mark and Janice, two new friends from California. I met Mark in a diner in Weaverville, CA back in June. He and I both ride V-Stroms and had stayed in touch all summer, talking about taking a trip together. His wife Janice also rides a V-Strom, so the two of them headed up to Lakeview and met me there on a Monday afternoon.
The next morning we set off to see the pronghorns on top of Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (we even saw fighter jets in dog-fighting maneuvers directly overhead), then rode 65 miles at 60+ mph on a washboarded dirt road to Frenchglen where I picked up a nasty hitchhiker in my back tire.
I fixed my own flat, then we headed up to Fish Lake on the western slope of Steens Mountain and stayed the night. The view from the top is incredible and should definitely be on everyone's short-list of must-see places on the west coast.
On Wednesday we rode south through Fields (home of overpriced burgers and rather pathetic soft-serve shakes) and into Denio, Nevada. From there it was one wide open space after another as we boogied across the prairie back into Oregon for another night in Lakeview before heading our separate ways back home. I headed north in another cross-state jaunt, landing at my sister's ranch outside of Goldendale, Washington for a one-night stay before heading back to home turf.
It was a trip of firsts and I can easily say it's one of the most enjoyable journeys I've ever made. The route was light on twisties and heavy on long views, but I'm learning to appreciate and actually enjoy them.
Rather than stick individual photos in this blog post, I'm going to link to my Picasa page and let you peruse the entire bunch from there. http://picasaweb.google.com/ruckerworks/SteensTrip
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Back side to Timothy Lake
It was a pretty good Labor Day weekend. The weather wasn't too hot or cold, it was dry, and I had a nice mix of productivity, rest, and recreation. Of course, that means I got a good ride in. This time I headed up the Clackamas River road to Ripplebrook Ranger Station, where several government vehicles were parked at a forest fire staging area (presumably there was a fire nearby but I saw no smoke or flames). Instead of heading south to Detroit as I usually do, I headed east on FS57 past Harriett Lake and up the gravel road to Timothy Lake.
The road up the back side emerges at the lake's outlet, a man-made dike that flooded Timothy Meadows back in the 50's or 60's. The water shoots out in a dramatic spray below the dike and flows west to the Clackamas River.
Once I crossed the dike I rode around the various campgrounds on the southern shore of the lake, then got onto Skyline Road for about a dozen miles before merging onto Highway 26. Once up and over Government Camp I stopped at the Dairy Queen on Rhododendron for lunch (avoid the mushroom swiss burgers; they're nasty). Fed, I left 26 in Zigzag and headed about a mile up Lolo Pass Road where I then cut west again on Barlow Trail Road and followed my favorite "Marmot Run" into the back side of Sandy and home.
My new Bridgestone Battle Wing tires were broken in and performed great, riding nice and smooth and providing plenty of grip. They're supposed to grip really good on wet pavement. It's supposed to rain most of this week so I may commute one or two days to test it out.
Here's the route I took in Google Maps:
View Larger Map
The road up the back side emerges at the lake's outlet, a man-made dike that flooded Timothy Meadows back in the 50's or 60's. The water shoots out in a dramatic spray below the dike and flows west to the Clackamas River.
Once I crossed the dike I rode around the various campgrounds on the southern shore of the lake, then got onto Skyline Road for about a dozen miles before merging onto Highway 26. Once up and over Government Camp I stopped at the Dairy Queen on Rhododendron for lunch (avoid the mushroom swiss burgers; they're nasty). Fed, I left 26 in Zigzag and headed about a mile up Lolo Pass Road where I then cut west again on Barlow Trail Road and followed my favorite "Marmot Run" into the back side of Sandy and home.
My new Bridgestone Battle Wing tires were broken in and performed great, riding nice and smooth and providing plenty of grip. They're supposed to grip really good on wet pavement. It's supposed to rain most of this week so I may commute one or two days to test it out.
Here's the route I took in Google Maps:
View Larger Map
Friday, September 3, 2010
New tires
I just had new tires put on my V-Strom. At 31,700 miles total bike miles and approx. 9,000 miles on this set of Metzeler Tourance's, they needed to be replaced. I had Yamaha Sports Plaza -- in the same location as the former Action Motor Sports dealership -- install a new set of Bridgestone Battle Wings, purchased from JakeWilson.com (great prices and free shipping!) I also had them flush and replace the coolant in my bike.
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