Adventures in Oregon

This is the view out my side door. It’s much nicer now that the smoke isn’t as bad. This led to a short road trip out to the 3 Legged Crane last week. Keith and I took the Miata up there the last time I was here, but the food and beer were so good, and the journey so scenic, we wanted to do it again during this visit. Unfortunately, Oakridge has had really bad smoke since I’ve been here, being not too far from one of the larger wildfires in the area, so driving a convertible out there wasn’t a great idea. But the smoke cleared on Wednesday, and I was caught up on work, so I took the afternoon off and we made the trip.

Keith insisted that I drive. Oh, darn! I’ve owned three Miatas and used to race them, so everything felt quite familiar to me. I’m not used to not having to slow down for corners like I do in the van. It was a good trip, and quiet because it was in the middle of the week. Even in Oakridge, the smoke was just about gone, so we ate outside on an absolutely perfect 75º day.

Road’s Closed, Pizza Boy

I love taking my motorcycle through the nearby Umpqua National Forest. I even had an adventure there a week ago. That’s no longer an option, though. There’s a new wildfire not too far from the area I like to ride in, so the entire area is closed. Instead, there are some new fire camps in the area, as well as a staging area for fire crews. I didn’t get to stop and take pictures (I thought it would be kind of tacky anyway), but I did ride past one of these camps. It’s literally a small tent city, with large ones for operations, food, etc., and smaller individual tents where firefighters sleep around the perimeter.

To be clear, I’m in no danger of this fire where I’m staying. The forest is half an hour away from the house, and fire crews wouldn’t camp or stage where there is any danger of them getting overrun. However, that’s yet another place I enjoy visiting in Oregon where I can no longer go.

Backside Brewing Outpost

Yesterday I decided to take a ride in a direction I’d never been and away from the fires, to Backside Brewing Outpost in Sutherlin. Honestly, this particular destination was more to put me on some fun twisty roads for an hour before eating than for the destination itself. That part was definitely a success. I went over a scenic mountain pass, and for a while the road randomly switched between pavement to easy gravel and back. It was a whole lot of fun, and definitely a route I’d take again.

Not that I expected anything less, but the brewery was a great stop as well. I got a Backside Burger along with a small Chasing Hazy IPA, because I actually like Pacific Northwest IPAs. Everything was delicious, putting this place on my map as a good bike ride destination. Maybe I can find some other fun roads between here and there (not I-5) to turn it into a loop in the future, but the route I took was definitely fun enough to ride back the other way — or so I thought.

When I left, I noticed dark clouds in one direction. The forecast hadn’t predicted rain until later in the afternoon, but here were. I checked the radar, and it looked like if I left now I could outrun the storm before it crossed my route, so I did exactly that.

I made a brief stop at Mildred Kanipe Memorial Park. At this point, I like scoping out potential places to kayak while I’m out on a ride, and parks are a good possibility. This one was not, but it was still worth the stop to be surrounded by a random flock of peacocks. That’s something you don’t see every day! I didn’t stay long, though, because I started feeling raindrops. I got back on the road to continue outrunning the storm.

It didn’t work. The radar lied, and I ended up riding right through the worst of it, up and over the mountain pass of all places. I slowed way down, hindered more by the lack of visibility than any traction problems. (I know from using Shinko 705 tires on my KLR that they’re excellent in the rain.) It got cold, and I got soaked, wearing my mesh jacket and jeans because I hadn’t planned for rain or any serious riding today. I did, however, think to pull over and put the rain cover on my new tank bag before it got too bad, which was the first time I put the rain cover to use. I’m glad I did. While the windshield and forward motion kept the bag dry in light rain, once it got heavy and I slowed down it got covered in water. Fortunately, my phone stayed safe and dry in the tank bag, while my Apple CarPlay unit on the handlebars is water resistant and kept working just fine. I probably would’ve ruined my phone if it had been in my pants pocket.

The rain slowed down, picked up again with some strong wind as I rode past Cottage Grove Lake, then stopped completely just as I rolled into town. The first thing I did when I got back was take a hot shower to warm myself up, as well as get out of my wet clothes and into some dry ones afterward. I would’ve been fine without the hot shower, but since it’s available I put it to use, and it felt so good.

Itchy Feet

It’s monsoon season in Nevada and Arizona, so I have no intention of going there just yet. I know from experience that even early October is too early to get to Quartzsite. But I am thinking about leaving Cottage Grove soon. I’m not able to visit many of the places I came here to see, even Umpqua National Forest at this point. I’m not worried about getting over the mountain passes before it snows right now, but if I get over them soon, there will be no worries at all. There aren’t wildfires in the direction I’m planning to go, so I’ll be able to explore freely once I get there, as well as breathe clean air.

I was thinking about getting back on the road as early as this week. Then Ally asked me nicely if I’d be able to edit her next book this week, and followed through on her previous threat to pay me to do it. It’ll be much easier to take on that project while I’m stationary in a known good place than while I’m traveling, so I’ll wait to leave until that’s done. After that, though, I think it’s time to begin the final leg of the Big Loop, back toward Arizona where it all began in February.