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24-hour Bike Camping Trip
I had a 24-hour window of opportunity this past weekend to go for a quick bike camping trip. I loaded my gear on the V-Strom and set off by noon. The sun was shining and it was in the upper 60′s, quickly climbing into the lower 70′s. I fueled up in Estacada, then headed up the Clackamas River highway to Ripplebrook, where I continued east on NF58 past Harriett Lake. The road turned to gravel for about 10 miles before crossing the earthen dam at Timothy Lake’s outlet. I followed the road around the southern shore of Timothy Lake before
Take Him To Detroit!
On the third try in a month, the NF46 road from Ripplebrook to Breitenbush / Detroit is finally clear of snow. They even swept the tree debris! On Sunday I had a fantastic ride to Detroit and back, scraping my left peg on a hard hairpin just below the pass. My new Shinko 705 radial tires are fantastic, providing excellent grip on wet pavement and confidence-inspiring cornering with increased lean angles. They posted speed limit signs from the pass south to Detroit varying between 40 and 45 mph, which is ridiculous. Those twisties are excellent and the road surface is
Snow in June?
We left the house Friday afternoon and rode back into town before crossing the swollen Columbia River via the I-205 bridge and catching SR14 eastbound. My wife, Corina, hadn’t been on my bike since last summer and our planned overnight trip to my sister’s house outside Goldendale, Washington was a great way to get back into it. The sun was shining and it was forecasted to be the warmest day of the year so far after what has been an unusually wet and cold Spring. We stopped at a gas station/market in North Bonneville for a snack break, then continued
Fixing flats and Shinko 705′s
Back in September of 2010 when I was in Frenchglen, Oregon I picked up a fencing nail in my rear tire. I was able to fix the flat using a plugged tool and my DC powered air compressor. The tire — a Bridgestone Battle Wing — held air until today. When I went into the garage to ride to work, the tire was flat. I fired up my air compressor, added some air, and headed into work. The day before I had dropped off a new set of Shinko 705 tires at Yamaha Sports Plaza in Fairview — my go-to
Lee Parks Total Control clinic
I enrolled in the Lee Parks Total Control riding clinic and attended the session in Olympia, Washington on Saturday, May 14th. Because it was an all-day class — 9 AM to 7 PM — I decided to make a weekend trip out of it. I took Friday off of work and rode across the Portland metro area to Scappoose on Highway 30 before heading away from the Columbia River and into the hills of Northwest Oregon. The road is a nice bend of tight curves and broad sweepers but the surface is somewhat rough in spots and blind corners demand
Willamette Valley Loop
The weather in Oregon this Spring has been extremely cold and wet. Dry, sunny days are as rare as a Congressional Republican in favor of tax hikes on the wealthy. Sunday was dry, partly cloudy, and not overly cold (meaning, it was above freezing). So I rode. I had never been to Gaston, Oregon so that was my first destination. I fueled up in Sherwood, then headed west through Laurel and Laurelwood, two amazing little communities. The climb up and over the hill between Laurel and Gaston provided phenomenal views east, and then west, of what the northern Willamette Valley
I’m in the latest Aerostich catalog
The 2011 annual Aerostich catalog came in the mail today. It’s kind of like the Cabelas catalog but for motorcyclists. I was reading it cover to cover as I usually do, and was pleased to see Neil Peart sporting their new leather Transit suit on page 5. I always figured one of his quotes would appear in the catalog, not a full picture. Page after page, I kept turning. When I came to page 152 I saw something very familiar. On the bottom half of the page was a photo of yours truly standing over Kiger Gorge on Steens Mountain,
Bridgestone Battle Wings compared to Metzeler Tourance
Once I got the stock Trailwing tires off of my V-Strom (after less than 6,000 miles) back in 2007, I switched to Metzeler Tourances and loved them. I’ve had three sets on my bike and got between 8,500-10,000 miles per pair with outstanding grip on dry pavement and reasonable performance on gravel/dirt (although I didn’t exactly put them through their paces off-road). They are a great tire and I highly recommend them, but they are expensive. For my latest set I switched to Bridgestone Battle Wings (BW502 rear, BW501 front). I’ve put 5,000 miles on them so far, a few
Clutch assist
I have plenty of strength and grip in my hands but on long rides, especially those with stop-n-go city action, my left wrist gets fatigued and sore to the point of outright pain. This is probably due to my career as a programmer — I don’t have carpal tunnel syndrome but all that typing has definitely taken its toll. The extreme reaction is to get rid of my V-Strom and get a bike or scooter with an automatic or semi-automatic clutch/transmission, such as a Honda Silverwing, Suzuki Burgman, or Yamaha FJR. Those rides all have their pros and I would
Chilly, foggy rides
It’s been cold the past few mornings as I rode into work. Yesterday and today were both foggy and below freezing. If you travel through it long enough, the fog freezes on the surfaces of your bike, face shield, and even on your gloves and jacket. The road surface was fairly dry, although it had a nice shine to it in my neighborhood as I first headed out. I took my time and rode cautiously, as as if it were raining (which it did three days ago). In addition to the freezing fog, the stock battery on my 2007 V-Strom
