Day 15: Winter Sun

Morning Meeting

The crisp air of winter gave way to the blinding rays of sun today. The clouds parted late morning and the roads quickly dried. It was time for a long overdue ride. I had a morning meeting in Gladstone, OR today so, I loaded up the SUV and headed south. By the time I drove across the Glen Jackson Bridge into Oregon, the sky was mostly blue and the sun was glaring through my grim streaked windows. About the time I starting thinking I should have rode my bike, I could hear the echoing pipes of two Harleys. As they came up from behind and passed, I could see the riders were flying their Free Souls colors. I told my meeting partners that I couldn't stick around long because my Harley was calling my name. I did take time, though for a quick stop at Latus Motors to make a 1,000 mile break-in service appointment. They will pick up my bike on Wednesday and I'm planning, no matter the weather, to get the bike next weekend and take it for a ride.


Winter Sun

I started the day by giving my 7 year old granddaughter a 10 mile ride on the slow back roads around home. Then I was off to the Columbia River Gorge. I noticed that the cloud cover was lower and thicker north, so I headed south and east. Traffic was fairly light for a Saturday, but I probably saw over 50 motorcycles on my 3 hour ride.

The air was warm to my face and even though I wore my heated gear, I didn't have to turn it on. In fact, I changed to lighter gloves part way through the ride. The further east in the Gorge, the cooler it became. Eventually, the bare shoulders of scenic Hwy. 14 gave way to deep slow left over from the plows the week before. By the time I reached the Bridge of the Gods, my portion of daylight was waining. After a tricky ride across the steel grate surface of the bridge I rewarded the bridge tender with 50 cents for the privilege. I soon found an recently plowed parking lot for the photo above.


Before I left for the day, I couldn't resist taking a photo of Liz and Jeremiah with my bike. Liz was ready for her 10 mile ride and Jer had just brought us each a fruit snack for the long arduous ride. We look like we are ready for snowboarding but the 56F temperature gave us a very pleasant ride. Of course, you can't take a 7 year old on a winter ride without stopping for a cup of hot cocoa at a nearby Safeway store.


End of Day

I arrived home just after dusk. It was hard to end the day with the warm winter air a balmy 51 degrees now. If I had more daylight I probably would have rode to The Dalles and back. It was very satisfying seeing so many other motorcycle riders out today. Everything from Harleys to Ninja bikes were on the road. I even saw a Vespa when I stopped to buy fuel in Gresham.


Ambient Temp: 56F
Ending odometer: 001118
Trip Miles: 142
Fuel: $3.19 in Gresham, OR

Ride Safe.