Pac NW Run: Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood National Forest

[Bryan Bosch]

A few months back my family and I scheduled a trip to Portland, Oregon to see my wife's dad who was turning 95. Frank is one of the remaining WWII vets who saw battle in Europe, including the Battle at Anzio.
 

Frank Watts holding sand from Iwo Jima Beach. The sand was personally collected by his grandson who was in the Marines at the time. He gave it to Frank for his birthday last month (7/26), thanking him for inspiring him to serve his country. Awesome moment! We love you Frank!

 

As luck would have it, my best friend (Steve Claus) also had to be in Portland for his father's 73rd birthday. We've known each other for over 35 years and have logged many, many off-road miles together. However, for the last 5 years, we've not lived in the same state, so we don't get to ride together. Wait! Once we take care of family stuff, this is an opportunity to ride! I called Steve and told him that we needed to rent some bikes. Of course, he was all in (as always).
 
I did some googlin' and zero'd in on a rental company in Portland that looked like they'd be able to hook us up with a couple of ADV bikes. I soon discovered that even with 60 days notice, everyone was booked out! I guess staging in Portland and riding to Alaska is on the bucket list of just a few, and it was killing my riding plans! I dialed my butt off and found one bike, but not a pair, or dates/times that would not work. I was getting discouraged! Then, a name popped into my head; someone that I came across in running ThumperTalk.com: Uwe Deimer, the owner of AdMo Tours! Duh, why didn't I think of him first? I'm old, so it happens...

 

Long story short, Uwe was also booked up, but he took the time to broker out a deal with a vendor in Klickitat Washington named Cascade Back Road Adventures & Rentals. I got to know the owner (Coit Stone) a bit, learning that he's a passionate off-road guy that started the business not all that long ago, so that he could live close to his mother with health issues. Not a big outfit, but he did everything promised and the two BMW F800GS machines he brought were well outfitted, maintained, and ran flawlessly. Good job Coit! We'll do business with you again in a heartbeat! Oh, and Coit delivered the bikes 100 miles each way to us just outside of Portland, Oregon for a reasonable fee, so don't hesitate to contact him if you stage in Portland. He'll make it happen.

 

At Love's Truck Stop in Troutdale Oregon w/ Steve Claus, where we staged from.

 

So, where'd we go? That's where Rever comes in...

 

 

As luck would have it, the day we rode was the hottest all week, with temps reaching the mid 90s in some places. Being from central Florida, a welcomed retreat from the summer heat/humidity. Steve, being from high elevation and dry Colorado, didn't necessarily agree!

 

One problem that I have in gathering content for ride reports is that I'm having so much fun riding, I don't take as many pictures as I probably should. So, I'm sure that this report simply won't do the ride scenery full justice. But, I suppose that's probably the case with most rides.

 

Crown Point was our first stop of the day. Unusually calm winds and very, very clear. Pic is looking to the east.

 

Steve Claus and yours truly. Pic is looking to the west, towards Portland, OR.

 

From Crown Point to the last on-ramp to I-84 there are several beautiful waterfalls, some of which you have to hike to to see. We were out to ride, so we only took pics from the road...

 

Steve Claus @ Latourell Falls

 

 

Bryan Bosch @ Multnomah Falls

 

Sorry, didn't notate the name of these falls. Just a couple of miles east of Multnomah falls.

 

PS - Don't park in the dirt anywhere along the Columbia River Scenic Highway. Ranger Rick almost lit us up with some federal tickets for this "stunt"! Smooth operator Claus silver tongued our way out of it.

 

Getting closer to Lost Lake on the NE side of Mt. Hood (Steve Claus)

 

Lost Lake, Oregon

 

Interesting fact! Lost Lake drains itself every year!

 

Steve testing out some non ADA compliant wonky-ass steps

 

Da money shot! - Lost Lake, Oregon w/ Mt. Hood in the background

 

Solera Brewery in Parkdale, Oregon for some food, relaxation, and cold beer! Ok, no beers. They sure sounded good given the hot day, but not a good mix with motorcycles. Service was a bit slow, but we were in no hurry, food was excellent, and I really like to frequent local establishments vs. chain stores. Walk out the back of the place and there are tables overlooking a fruit tree orchard w/ Mt. Hood in the backdrop. Great setting!

 

Timberline Lodge Ski Resort - Mt. Hood Oregon (looking south towards Mt. Jefferson)

 

 

Lodge look familiar?

 

I didn't take any pics going down the mountain b/c I had my Go Pro running. But, I later learned that they suck at filming with dead batteries. Where's the face-palm emoji?

 

Before I forget, a big thanks to the folks at Sena for hooking us up with a pair of SMH10 bluetooth headsets. I've known how awesome they are, for whatever reason, I've never taken the plunge. Old habits I suppose. My ride with Steve really took on a whole new dimension by being able to talk and laugh during the whole ride. Don't get me wrong, it would have been fun regardless, but the Sena communicators seriously added to the whole experience. Don't wait to get some like I did. I've been missing out!

 

 

 

We finished up the long day with a dip in the Sandy River. Water was coooooooold for this now Florida boy, but after getting used to it, it felt refreshing. Great way to end an awesome day with my best friend! But, now I'm itchin' something awful for the next adventure! It's never enough, is it?  👍 Steve, what's next? COBDR is in your backyard my friend. Or, maybe the Tennessee mountains?

[Steve Claus]

What an AMAZING adventure!  Bryan Bosch and I have been best friends since 1979 and have done a lot of riding together over the years....and the rides just keep getting better! The hardest part of this trip was saying goodbye and then making the 20 hour drive back to Colorado, knowing it would be a while before Bryan and I would get to do it again.

 

So, what did I take away from this trip?

1. It doesn't matter how long it's been between rides with Bryan, it only takes us a few minutes to get back in our tandem-groove. Something about logging many thousands of miles, riding side-by-side in the woods with the same person, just doesn't exist with others I ride with. Love and miss ya Bry! 
2. Being a KTM990 Adventure pilot, I didn't like the BMW GS800...before I rode it! I'm not sure why. Maybe because I always had my heart set on the GSA1200 and my Financial Advisor (wife) wouldn't allocate funds? Maybe I'm a KTM-snob? Regardless, after a full day on the BMW I think this is a very cool bike!  I still prefer my KTM, but had I purchased the mid-sized BMW before the KTM I'd be perfectly content.
3. I'm not sure how Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman jumped on their adventure bikes and rode 20,000 miles in The Long Way Round, because MY ASS HURT after only 250 miles! I guess I need some additional long-distance seat-time before setting out on longer trips.
4. They say that it's not the bike, but the rider...which I completely agree with...but the gear on the rider makes all the difference in being able to ride comfortably for long distances.  I can't thank the guys at Shoei, TCX, Moose Racing, and Sena enough for hooking me up, and making this ride as comfortable as possible. I will be publishing reviews shortly for these amazing products, so stay tuned!  👍

 

  

 

So, to sum it all up...I drove 20 hours each way, to spend an epic 12 hours with my best friend, doing what we love most...and I'd turn around tomorrow and do it all again!  

[Bryan Bosch]

We're still such dirt bike guys are heart. The bikes had hard panniers & tank bags. And, we really filled em' up! Supplies consisted of a couple of cell phones, a Spot Satellite tracker, 3 bottles of water each, and two bags of beef jerky. What else do you need? Toilet paper maybe? Duh!   Either we're minimalists or completely unprepared. Probably a little of both. Still had a ball! And yes, the two rented  F800GS beamers were surprisingly good! Not sure why I didn't expect that. Great all around middle weight bikes. 

[Flappy613]

Great RR Bryan.

 

I too can empathize with the taking pictures thing, I almost never think to often enough let alone take any sort of notation at the time. Both bad habits and NOT what I was taught way back in the day, but GPS and smartphones have literally replaced the map and the roll chart for most of us and we just try to reconstruct it later to no real effect. It's actually the main reason I joined the Ted Simon foundation as what he said in "Why we ride" with the family seated at the dining table staring at their phones really struck a chord with me.  But in all honesty, I contacted Ted through Facebook as I'd heard his site was hacked by Isis and that was how I ended up joining the Foundation.

But I really should try to run my tank bag more so I can carry my camera and paper and pen for notes and such, especially when I'm playing "wonder where this one goes" and the GPS tracks start to overlap!  Also it has a nice waterproof map holder that I like to use for my Forest Passes,OHV tag and other assorted paperwork. Just hang it from the windscreen when parked and I'm good to go in the day use fee areas.

 

But as I said great RR, Bryan! It's good to hear you and your mate got to spend some real time together doing something you both enjoy and you wrote enough and took enough pictures to make it interesting to read along for the  rest of us. 

[Bryan Bosch]

I think that it's good for the sport to share b/c it inspires others to ride and share too. When I'm dead and gone, I'd like to think that I may have planted a few rider seeds, who in turn planted seed, ands so on. I may not be able to ride the world, but I can see a lot of it through the eyes of fellow riders. Not as good as being there, but not bad either!