Just before the July 4th weekend my friend Dale rode into town on his new Blackbird.  The Blackbird, for those who don't know is Honda's ultra-high technology Supersport bike capable of speeds in the neighborhood of 180 mph.  It does so with a level of refinement that Honda has become famous for.  Dale started his trip in Texas and rode into Roseburg Wednesday evening just a few hundred miles short of 4000 miles for his trip. 

The next day my family was going to drive to Portland to my in-laws house.  Dale and I took the scenic route to Portland on our motorcycles….and we had a passenger….a polar bear affectionately known as Mr. Bear.  Mr. Bear is Noah's favorite stuffed animal.  He rode on the back of my ST1100, and was a fine passenger.

Our first stop after leaving Roseburg was at Colliding Rivers Viewpoint where the North Umpqua River and Little River meet head-on.  This is reportedly the only place in the world where two rivers meet like this.

Not long after leaving the Diamond Lake Overlook we found ourselves at the entrance to Crater Lake National Park.  Dale had never visited Crater Lake before and was impressed with the magnitude of the lake.  There was quite a bit of snow still around as we rode through the park.  Rim Drive, the road around the circumference of the lake, wouldn't be open for another two weeks.  Mr. Bear also enjoyed his first visit to Crater Lake.  After hiking around the Visitors Center he took a rest on the stone wall next to the sidewalk.  Park Ranger Smith told me this was the first time he had ever seen a polar bear at Crater Lake National Park.

The next leg of our journey took us from Crater Lake to Chemult, where we stopped to top up our gas tanks.  We then followed the Cascade Lakes Highway from Crescent to Bend.  The Cascade Lakes Highway is a nice road with excellent pavement and beautiful scenery.  I hadn't gone that way since a trip I took mountain biking in 1990.

We stopped in Bend for dinner.  Mr. Bear ordered us a fine meal of halibut fish and chips.  After dinner, we made our way west, stopping in Sisters for a splash of fuel for Dale's 'Bird.  From Sisters the traffic heading toward Santiam Pass was heavy as you might expect at 5:30pm on the last work day before a 3-day weekend.  We had an uneventful rest of our ride, stopping once at a rest area to stretch our legs before heading on to Wilsonville.  Mr. Bear fell asleep as I rode the last few miles to my in-law's house where Noah was awaiting Mr. Bear's arrival.

Mr. Bear was an excellent passenger.  Mr Bear and I will have to take some more rides together in the future.

Total miles: 391 miles.  Mileage: 50.7 mpg 

We rode east from Colliding Rivers up Highway 138 toward Diamond Lake.  The road follows the North Umpqua River and reminds me a lot of Idaho Highway 12.  It is best ridden up-river with views of the river and many rapids on the inside of most right-hand corners.  Consisting mostly of sweepers marked at 45 mph, we rode a brisk pace with little traffic until we got near Lemolo Lake road.  Fortunately, not long after we got behind some slow moving RV's we had a long straight stretch to scoot past 3 5th-wheel trailers and to get back to the open road.  We stopped at the Diamond Lake Overlook, just to the east of Diamond Lake.  Once stopped Mr. Bear jumped off my bike and tried to take a joyride on Dales' Blackbird.  After that, Mr. Bear had a time-out on a nearby park bench.

Thursday, July 3rd Ride Map

Ok...a few more pictures:

Just before the July 4th weekend my friend Dale rode into town on his new Blackbird.  The Blackbird, for those who don't know is Honda's ultra-high technology Supersport bike capable of speeds in the neighborhood of 180 mph.  It does so with a level of refinement that Honda has become famous for.  Dale started his trip in Texas and rode into Roseburg Wednesday evening just a few hundred miles short of 4000 miles for his trip. 

The next day my family was going to drive to Portland to my in-laws house.  Dale and I took the scenic route to Portland on our motorcycles….and we had a passenger….a polar bear affectionately known as Mr. Bear.  Mr. Bear is Noah's favorite stuffed animal.  He rode on the back of my ST1100, and was a fine passenger.

Our first stop after leaving Roseburg was at Colliding Rivers Viewpoint where the North Umpqua River and Little River meet head-on.  This is reportedly the only place in the world where two rivers meet like this.

Not long after leaving the Diamond Lake Overlook we found ourselves at the entrance to Crater Lake National Park.  Dale had never visited Crater Lake before and was impressed with the magnitude of the lake.  There was quite a bit of snow still around as we rode through the park.  Rim Drive, the road around the circumference of the lake, wouldn't be open for another two weeks.  Mr. Bear also enjoyed his first visit to Crater Lake.  After hiking around the Visitors Center he took a rest on the stone wall next to the sidewalk.  Park Ranger Smith told me this was the first time he had ever seen a polar bear at Crater Lake National Park.

The next leg of our journey took us from Crater Lake to Chemult, where we stopped to top up our gas tanks.  We then followed the Cascade Lakes Highway from Crescent to Bend.  The Cascade Lakes Highway is a nice road with excellent pavement and beautiful scenery.  I hadn't gone that way since a trip I took mountain biking in 1990.

We stopped in Bend for dinner.  Mr. Bear ordered us a fine meal of halibut fish and chips.  After dinner, we made our way west, stopping in Sisters for a splash of fuel for Dale's 'Bird.  From Sisters the traffic heading toward Santiam Pass was heavy as you might expect at 5:30pm on the last work day before a 3-day weekend.  We had an uneventful rest of our ride, stopping once at a rest area to stretch our legs before heading on to Wilsonville.  Mr. Bear fell asleep as I rode the last few miles to my in-law's house where Noah was awaiting Mr. Bear's arrival.

Mr. Bear was an excellent passenger.  Mr Bear and I will have to take some more rides together in the future.

Total miles: 391 miles.  Mileage: 50.7 mpg 

We rode east from Colliding Rivers up Highway 138 toward Diamond Lake.  The road follows the North Umpqua River and reminds me a lot of Idaho Highway 12.  It is best ridden up-river with views of the river and many rapids on the inside of most right-hand corners.  Consisting mostly of sweepers marked at 45 mph, we rode a brisk pace with little traffic until we got near Lemolo Lake road.  Fortunately, not long after we got behind some slow moving RV's we had a long straight stretch to scoot past 3 5th-wheel trailers and to get back to the open road.  We stopped at the Diamond Lake Overlook, just to the east of Diamond Lake.  Once stopped Mr. Bear jumped off my bike and tried to take a joyride on Dales' Blackbird.  After that, Mr. Bear had a time-out on a nearby park bench.

Thursday, July 3rd Ride Map

Ok...a few more pictures: