Western US 2011…Wyatt Earp & The Rocky Wonder Show

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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Oh maaan….where to start?? :party:

Last year’s jaunt had been a hoot, Jimbo had kept the KLR ticking over from time to time and organized a new battery…..his DR650, which had done marvelously in Goodie’s hands , was going to be under his bum this time around and we’d agreed to a half-share in a DRZ400 he wanted to add to the stable….and for Goodie to ride this time around.

He found the right bike only 6 weeks before our arrival….a 2008 model which had barely lost its virginity @ 1250 miles on the clock…and a true recession-victim at only US$3400.:wot:

Yes, things are damn tough in many parts of the US,….more about that later.:???:

Unlike last time, the plans were calling for a big loop of 2.5 weeks +….instead of the multiple short trips of the year before.

Jimbo decked out the DRZ with all sorts of, mainly, useful farkles :thumbs: while we added an Airhawk and the big RJays bag, which doubled as airline luggage.
The KLR got a fresh set of hoops (Shinko 705s), an oil + filter change and a fresh tank of juice….the rest remained as we left it last year.

The decision to, this time, jet it with Air NZ with a stop in Auckland before the long-stretch to SFO was a good one! ….while the total flight time came to roughly the same as last year’s Virgin-to-LA stint, the 1hr break in NZ was welcome. The “bus” was an old 747, but leg-room was better that in the newer Virgin 777.

Crowdpuller…and by Gosh, what a sight!!!....the brandnew Lufthansa A380 Airbus Doubledecker in SanFran. Just check the “Baby” 35 seater Turboprop next to it. Looks like part of the litter…

2 blocks of flats taking flight….

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United stuck us onto the standby-list for the hop to Medford in southern Oregon, with guaranteed seats for a later flight, and it worked !!…which turned out our last bit of good luck for the next few days when it came to anything “transport”-related.

Familiar surrounds at Chateaux-Jimbo…

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
….and a fridge full of prized brew….the famous Black Butte Porter from the Deschutes Brewery in Bend. First Class throat-tickler, I tellsya!!:chug:
:chug:

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The 6 bells watch…

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…and a garage full of thumpers ready to roar.:clap:

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Just for practice…spooning the new KLR hoops on by hand. Looked like a good idea, if a bit farfetched.
Really??:???:

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And so started the “2011 A Drama A Day” ride!!
:doh::doh:

After a quick run to the local Post Office the next morning, the left Ventura pannier proved to be overhanging the Ebay-racks at the rear, promptly losing its rear inner corner courtesy of another new Shinko hoop… the first chalk mark for duct-tape….sorry, DUCKtape, as the stuff is called here.:D

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A quick re-design of the racks with some bits of pipe and the ever-ready fistful of cable ties.

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FINALLY!!! Ready to get into the Big One!! :so

There’s still enough of the day left to get a couple of 100 miles under our belts. Let’s cut east, sis’…

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Jimbo up front to make sure I’m not wandering around on the way to the nearby Freeway….and barely 500m out of the drive, I hear a big bang just ahead of me….:doh:

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…and so it’s back to home-base for a couple of hours of farting around to break the bead on that friggin TKC80, find a dealer with a fitting tube (being our only 17” spare tube as we planned to pick up another one along the way and most dealers are closed on Mondays)….. and putting everything back into rolling order.


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We decide to pull the pin on the rest of the day’s riding and rather start afresh the next morning.

What better way than a barby to go with another 6pack of that wonderful Black Butte stuff, aye??
The planter boxes are raided of fresh peppers and tomatoes, things are coming together nicely...

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Pulling out…again!:thumbs:

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The first, tentative miles on the I5, heading a little south….that’s California on the other side of those mountains.

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Up the “Dead Indian”…Road, that is!!

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Heading east towards Klamath Falls, skimming the southern Oregon border.

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Oh yeah….the going’s GOOD!! :lao


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Arghhhh SHIIIT !!!! :mad::mad: What the hell is it with sealed roads and flat rears around here??:flame:

This time the bead HAS to be broken by hand….

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A good hour later

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The tack north on Hwy97 stops short of the city of Bend for some sweet local dirt and a break at the banks of the Deschutes River…


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:glu:glu







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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Just to the west of Bend is the “Lakes District”, a wide valley cradled by Ski-Mountains full of lakes of all kinds and sizes….dozens of them !! :so:so

Mt. Bachelor in the distance.


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Check the mountain to the right… the leftovers of a volcanic crater.

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Lakes district

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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Cultus Lake….
There are enough lakes and shores and idyllic campsites for a lifetime of weekends.


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The afternoon is dragging on, now we’re missing the hour spent fixing the flat earlier in the day.
A narrow tar shortcut cuts across into Bend, which finally offers a bike-shop that carries a spare tube in the right size, Yeeha! :thumbs:


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Another hour with the sinking sun on our backs gets us out of Bend and into Prineville, where the mesa drops steeply into the flats.


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314 miles for the day....not far off 500k's. Bloody good for a first day, especially Goodie iron-butting it on the little Drizzer.:clap:
Jimbo's punt of stretching the gearing by using a 38 teeth rear sprocket has paid off :so

Things take a somewhat unexpected turn when the search for some dinner finishes at the completely empty Barney Prine’s Steakhouse.


It’s weird being the only guests…until shouting the owner/ chef some of his favourite drink and “go for it, mate….cook up a storm, whatever YOU like, any which way YOU like to cook it”.
There’s half of him in the open kitchen in the background…


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And HOLY SHITE!!!....he comes through with flying colours!!! :lao
Hats off and HURRAY to some absolutely SENSATIONAL tucker…..just….BLOODY AWESOME!! :so:so


Carte Blanche paid off in a Big Way, what a dinner it turned out to be! Best meal of the trip.

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As an aside… a main-course is generally between US$ 10-20, depending on place/ location. And a decent meal at that (at least the same as your average Aussie Pub/ restaurant meal). Add US$ 4-8 for an entrée….4-8 bux for sweets.
 

Chally

Tour Pro
You talk about us and flat tyres mate! :bs I guess it wasn't such a great start but things are lookin' up and I sure look forward to seeing what follows. :D

Jeff
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
You talk about us and flat tyres mate! :bs I guess it wasn't such a great start but things are lookin' up and I sure look forward to seeing what follows. :D

Jeff

Oh man....plenty more in store! :D
And it isn't the end of the flats, either...the only one who got away unscathed was the DRZ (most probably because Goodie usually quits after the 2. beer :bs)
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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An early morning stroll, due to the monkey-piss that goes for coffee in most places, not just yields a 16oz’er of REAL coffee, but also a look at the straight-out-of-the-brochure City Hall. Cute, innit?:thumbs:

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The Ochoco Reservoir's only a short stretch out of town, setting the frame for the morning…

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….and into the “Painted Hills” we go….:wot:, wot a cracker!!:slobb


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
That rattler got a bit “rattled”….still, I rather see ‘em like that than “all excited to meet me”.

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Further and further into the hills we go…

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How good is that?:wow:


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