Bright, sunny and hot is a good description of the weather. The plan for today was after breakfast, we would head for Hell's Canyon east of Baker City. This is a shot at he restaurant right after breakfast. After some topped up on gas in Halfway, OR, we headed for the Hell's Canyon Dam. I went with some trepidation as I have never really rode in the mountains before this trip and there were promises of some very windy roads.
This is the reservoir behind the dam and you can just see the top of the dam in the center of the frame. The road to the dam was pretty twisty but with no real elevation gain or loss. And it's actually in Idaho not Oregon. I rode out to just the base of the dam before turning around and heading back to get gas and a cold drink at Oxbow, OR, at a small store catering to the boaters on he lake. I think that this is the road that some call "the Devil's Tail."
The sky was completely clear all day and the thermometer at te store indicated 100°F though it was probably reading a little high. After a short break to get rehydrated, the fun began. We backtracked a bit and turned on NF-39 heading towards Joseph, OR. This was a narrow forest road with lots of curves, switchbacks and steep cliffs. Not as difficult as I had heard but I scraped my right foot peg five times today. Quite a shock to me the first time it happened but I learned to tip my toes down a bit in the corners as my boots will touch the pavement a fraction af a second before the foot pegs. We arrived in Joseph late afternoon.
This was at our last regrouping stop of he day. A nice shady spot at the intersection of NF-39 and the road to Joseph eight miles away. Quite a mixture of brands and styles of bikes in this group. A more eclectic mix may be hard to find. I had a great time riding today and you would be hard pressed to find a better group to ride with. Thank you Brad, Erik, Brandy, Roland, Sonja, Karen and Bob.
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Looks like it was a gorgeous day! Eclectic, love that word, particularly fitting when it comes to bikes and their riders.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!! Scraping pegs for the first time in the twisties!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a mighty fine group of people and bikes to be outdoors playing with.
It was a fantastic day with great roads and even better friends. Thank you for joining us.
ReplyDeleteRichard:
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a great day and HOT. Good friends and good roads, what more could you ask for ? I have never scrapped a peg unless scrapping by napping counts
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
I missed the dam at Hells Canyon when I rode it last year on Yoshie....it was unfavorable lightning at the top and my recollection of Hell's Canyon was not very good. The roads were narrow and twisty though so am sure you guys had a lot of fun.
ReplyDeletedom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Richard, I can't agree with you more about this group being the best group anyone could ask to ride with, as for me, scraping a peg means only one thing - I'm goin' down. I'm still looking for the pasture.
ReplyDeleteI accidentally scraped my pegs too. Only once. The noise and feeling scared the heck out of me.
ReplyDeleteYou were doing a great job leading on the second leg of the trip. Nice moderate and safe speed (especially Roland was thankful for it).
It was an awesome day. I agree with everyone else, it was great to have so many wonderful people all riding together. And yes the weather was hot. Made me want my mesh gear.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images. Is the water really that blue/green color? Lovely.
ReplyDeletePeg scraping now? Such a wild man you're becoming. :)
I'm going to have to work on my cornering to keep up with you guys.
Yes, the water really was that color. I'm not sure why.
DeleteThis was my introduction to corners like that. We don't have anything like these roads in Alaska.