This September 2007 ride was for my remaining Rose City GrandTour checkpoints and some scouting for new dams for the 2008 DamTour. So, my remaining checkpoints are all over the place. Steamboat, Paisley, Hines, Jordan Valley, Baker City, Joseph Canyon and Mt Vernon. After a little time with google maps it looks to be better than 1500 miles and a nice weekend trip. Saturday AM finds me on I-5 south, not the best motorcycle road, but OK for getting closer to the really good stuff.

I have to hang a left at Roseburg and take Hwy 138 to Steamboat. 138 follows the Umpqua River and when traffic is light bikers can have some great riding with stunning views. The Steamboat Inn has a great Peach Cobbler and I get my book stamped. Part one is done. Now I’m off to Paisley via the Klamath Marsh from Hwy 97 to Silver Lake. Just afer I turn east on Silver Lake Rd I start thinking, man, I’m out here in the middle of nowhere, maybe I can make some time. Mistake! My speedo just crests 75 mph and is headed north fast when I spot a Dodge Charger coming towards me. An OSP, I can’t believe it. Full binders down to a more reasonable speed and a quick glance in the rearview - I see his brake lights come on, but only briefly, he keeps going west. Whew! I’m safe. What is the chance of two cops working this road? Zero is my answer and I return to the fun part of the ride. A quick stop in Silver Lake for gas and I’m off. Paisley comes into view quickly and it’s time for lunch and another stamp. Part two, done.

Now Hines is the next target in my scope. It’s a ways to go and will have to be the overnight stop so I better get with it! At Valley Falls I turn north on 395 and pass Lake Abert. This Lake is big enough to be a Sea, I follow it’s stunning beauty and acidic smell for 20 miles. This is when the REAL Oregon starts to sink in. I’ve been in it for 250 miles or so but I know I will be even deeper in the REAL Oregon for another 1000 miles. The ski is blue, the scenery is almost unbelievable, and the roads are great. This is what the long hard miles on a motorcycle are all about! Now my mind is finally clear of the Portland curse and free to think about the area and the pioneers who settled it and those that call these little towns home. A life so different from that in the valley. It draws me like a powerful magnet and I know that I will never tire of it! My Yamaha FJR purrs beneath me and I know it is happy in the REAL Oregon as well.

As dusk appears we find the motel in Hines and call it a day. In the morning another stamp in the book and part 3 is done. Jordan Valley is now the destination. It’s about 150 miles and I make it is less than two hours, easy and that includes stopping at Antelope Dam for some pictures. This is the Oregon outback and with nothing around you can travel at whatever pace you like. I’m a little early for lunch at the Jordan Valley Cafe so for some unknown reason the thought of cinnamon toast fired in my brain and that’s what I got. Made for a good snack with coffee. Part 4 complete. Now I decide on a little freeway time on I-84 headed to Baker City. I can stomach the freeway because I know Hwy 82 is next on the way to Rattlesnake and Joseph Canyons. I pick up my sixth checkpoint at the Oregon Trail Interpretative Center and head north.

The Rim Rock Inn on Hwy 3 is the last checkpoint I can make on Sunday and I make that about 3pm and head for Mt Vernon for a motel and my last checkpoint in the morning. As I’m riding above Long Creek I see this fantastic sunset and stop for photos. It’s just me and nature at it’s best. Wow, is all I can conjure up. As I ride into Mt Vernon I see a bunch of bikes at the motel and ask what’s up? It turns out they are Kawasaki Concours riders from the COG meeting in John Day that weekend. Well we hoist a few beers and relive the events of the weekend. New friends made, just like that. My final checkpoint is at the cafe across the street from the motel and I head over for breakfast and the last stamp for the GrandTour.

Now home is on the horizon and the roads get worse as I get closer to Portland. My thoughts turn to the next ride. Some fall foliage? Explore for some dams? Who knows, but the itch will come and I know the only cure is found on a motorcycle.