I had talked to Gunny Claypoole earlier in the week and he told me about the upcoming ride and he was the one who laid the course out. Sounded good to me! It was hot, so a trip to the Coast was inviting.
I called up my long-time, dirt-riding bud, Stevie Ray and he wanted to go too, so come Sunday morning, we went down to the store and signed up. While there, it was great to see Bobby Lanphere Jr., Gunny & Laura Claypoole, Jerry Lenz, Steve & Norene Simon and many others.
Stevie and I then took off into the morning heat. Gunny had set up a nice route that wound through the scenic countryside, guided by a pseudo rollchart route consisting of turns and roads. What was odd, was that there were no approximate mileages, so not knowing how many miles before the next turn came, constantly had me guessing.
We made our way to the Nestucca River Highway and I pulled over to turn on my helmet cam, while Stevie Ray continued on. You can watch the video by CLICKING HERE or just clicking on the video icon below. It's almost an hour long, so be sure and pour yourself your favorite adult beverage and get comfortable before watching.
After turning on the cam, I picked up the speed and eventually caught Stevie Ray. The loud, chrome parade was pretty comical, as I could've taken the turns the same speed in my car. Stevie and I pulled over (by Grassy Flats area) to let them get a ways ahead, then we ensued. The lone checkpoint was not too far up the road at the roadside, scenic area of Sheridan Peak. We grabbed some water, then continued on. This narrow road system in that area is just plain fun! Barney was running great and Stevie and I were feeling the same.
We soldiered on to the main highway leading to Lincoln City and we finally felt the cool, ocean breezes about four miles from the beach - it felt great! The final checkpoint was at the Casino and there was a big BBQ celebration, so Stevie and I settled down and enjoyed the great food and music. There was a KILLER blues band (I'm a huge blues fan!) from Eugene area named The Tye Curtis Band - they were tearing it up! Then they had a BBQ-eating contest (watch the video) that was a scream! And check out Jerry Lenz's hair hat!
Stevie and I then took off to Pacific City and found a couple, dead-end backroads that were beautiful and a doe and her two fawns even walked right by us! Why did I post this in the Dualsport Forum? Because we hit almost three miles of gravel road on the way back home.
If you would like to see the full collection of pix I took, just CLICK HERE.
Thanks for reading,
-Tom
