It's What Men Do

Enjoying your report, looking forward to more

We jumped on the OBCDR somewhere after Lost Creek Lake. The first short section was dusty and whooped out but lots of fun. The trail crossed over 62 and began to climb. I wish I had some photos of that section because it was a blast. Really well groomed fine gravel roads switchbacked up a few thousand feet before turning into a rougher bit of two track. A few short sections of first and second gear trail gave way to rough gravel forest roads.

It wasn't long before we took our first little side trip from the OBCDR to head towards Crater Lake on 62. We hadn't climbed for very long before snow started to appear.



We headed for Rim Drive



and parked to check out the view



which was amazing





and we kept climbing



and climbing



to another viewpoint.



Then we headed North out of the park.





Back on the OBCDR


We like these signs

and back to the dirt!



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great pics! great verbiage! <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

Braaap Braaaaaaap Braap Brappp



I hit somewhere around 70 before settling into the long straightaway, dust billowing out behind me in a giant cloud. The road was pretty loose but just sooo straight I couldn't resist going at a good clip. I stopped at an intersection to snap some photos, Bernie rolling up first and Shawn staying clear of the dust way back.



The road surface changed to a nice finer gravel, and we began to climb again.



Smooth sailing for a bit, we switchbacked up into the mountains gaining some elevation and feeling the temperature drop. The road got noticeably rougher turning from gravel to dirt as I rounded a corner to find snow blocking our path. Two fairly deep sections stood in our way and the atomic mosquitoes descended upon me while I scouted ahead on foot.

I couldn't see any further blocks ahead, so we went for it.



We got through without much drama



and began to descend again without worry of more snow. The dust was horrendous but Bernie braved it and stayed close, at intersections we would wait for Shawn who was keeping his go-pro clean.

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We'd hear him coming and keep moving forward, gravel giving way to lots of sand here.



When things got a little nasty, Shawn and the DRZ tractor took the lead.



He found a way through the mud hole, then we followed without too much trouble.



So much dust, so much sand. We had to be careful here as that front tire doesn't float at highway pressure.



We popped out of the woods at Crescent Lake and decided to get gas and take a break.




Redbull and clif bars again

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After a short break, we hit the sand for a bit and climbed until the trail changed to gravel again. Nothing terribly challenging here to speak of but it sure was a hell of a lot of fun! We were making good time, not rushing but I don't think we were going slow by anyone's standards.



The trail made a turn off the main track onto a fairly disused trail. I was skeptical at first but trusted the OBCDR track and continued. Rounding a corner suddenly a huge undulating wall of porous black stone appeared beside the trail. A lava flow!



A flow this tall was pretty cool to see up close!



Looking completely out of place, big pines grew right out of the rock -



we kept riding up and found a better vantage point.



The flow was massive!



The trail is visible in the bottom right of the flow in this pic.





We had to keep moving, though we didn't really know where we'd be staying for the night. The trail continued to become more remote :)



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A quick blast on the road brought us quickly back into the woods. There were so many forest roads here even with the GPS it was hard to keep the turns straight.



The road surface varied immensely - we negotaited deep sand, loose pumice, hard gravel and soft mud in a matter of hours. Mostly without issue, though my bike decided to take a nap here where Bernie cheated and went around.



The road was pretty good most of the time, though, and we we able to keep the speeds up there pretty high. We barely stopped and if we did it was to catch up at an intersection or for a good photo op.



Like this - I wish we could have camped here, but still had to make miles.



The day was getting on into evening now, but we pushed forward.


Waiting for Mr. Clean (lens) at an intersection

The trail really started to get disused, or I missed a turn.



I was constantly amazed by the network of fire roads in the forest here. If the GPS failed, we were hosed because the place was an absolute maze. We should have had a good map but I'm young, and stupid. Mostly stupid.



The forest reminded me of a very dry (about to catch fire) North Maine Woods.



We saw some beautiful views - Mt. Bachelor I believe.



but it was starting to get late, and we were getting a bit tired.



But it wasn't over for quite a while. We were miles South of any campsites and still on the trail. The dust was unfathomable. Sucks for Bernie and Shawn, they should have gotten the maps





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Great photos and can hardly wait to see what you have in the rest of Oregon as that is where I am! Great stuff so far!! Keep up the great work.

A few miles of dirt roads put us back on Highway 48 where we turned East to get some food on the outskirts of Bend. Not long later we were in a surprisingly nice suburban area and found a good sized grocery store. We grabbed some camp food and I found some pretty cool cars in the parking lot.




Nice old 60

We had a pow wow in the parking lot and decided we would go check out downtown Bend, and grab a hotel if it looked like a nice town. I'm glad we did. Bend has a pretty little downtown area, and we found a cheap hotel room withing walking distance.



We ate, cleaned up, and decided to head downtown to see what the Thursday night crowd was like.​

Keep it coming. Thanks.

Nice! I'm extremely jealous of your adventures. We were in that area a few weeks after you and were absolutely bombarded with rain the entire time. Seeing your photos is making me realize what we actually missed during the ride though, lol.

Keep it up. I'm anxious to hear more.

Thanks all!

Those are some amazing photos. I live in the midwest where it looks much different. I envy you. Have fun.

We had a good beer at a brewery as they were closing, and then walked to a busier bar to get things started off right.



We chatted with the bouncer at one bar who had been to Manchvegas before. The place was pretty busy for a Thursday, and we had a good time. Shawn loved this truck we found.



We closed the bars in town and headed back to get some rest.​

Day Eight: Some Serious Dirt

Despite crashing around 3am we managed to get an early enough start on the day and headed up 20 to Sisters to jump back on the dirt.



Snow capped dormant volcanoes in the distance gave us plenty to look at while we woke up a bit and cleared our heads from the night before.



After a little route confusion in Sisters, we got back on track and found the trail.



Well maintained, the road cut through a forest that must have burned a few years back. This was the start of massive burned areas that would become the bulk of the scenery for a while.



The road got pretty rough after a little while, deep soft sand replacing the nice crushed pumice roadbed. Shawn didn't seem to have much trouble but Bernie and I had to stay on top of things to keep the front from washing out.



Some areas were burned worse than others, but gave us nice views of the mountains at every turn.



Eventually the road turned into a quad / dirtbike trail. At one point the actual route was closed so a bit of a long, rough detour brought us out to the road a bit off course. The riding would have been a blast on a dirt bike but on the big dualsport I had to focus on keeping the front wheel lined up with the rear, and the poor suspension damping really started to piss me off.



We emerged onto a small highway and kept moving.



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A short stint on Rt. 22 put us just about to Detroit lake when we turned off onto Boulder Ridge Rd and began to climb. Quickly gaining elevation, navigation here became difficult with a multitude of 5 way intersections, the route occasionally taking the path less traveled - a departure from the earlier sections of the route.

Some sections were pretty tame



while some were a bit more difficult - though the toughest sections I didn't get photos of.



Occasionally we'd pop out on a ridge and be treated to an excellent view,



but for a couple of miles we rode long disused roads, very steep in a few places and soft in others.



At points I spied the valley we were trying to reach.



Slides were pretty common here



We reached the valley before too long and emerging onto a nicely paved road NF-46, we raced North. The two lane road would take us closer to Mt. Hood and without another vehicle in sight I sped ahead.





The road deteriorated bit by bit the further North we went, reaching deeper into the National Forest and growing closer to Mt. Hood by the minute.


Mt. Hood in the distance

Before the road became to Rt 225, our route turned and began to climb again on NF-4680 - a narrow one line road peppered with warning signs about log trucks..



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I wonder if you could talk about some of your impressions of your bike. What do you like or don't like about your BMW. How does it seem to compare with Shawn's Suzuki? Thanks.

Life is crazy again, updates soon.

NF-42 was so much fun I forgot to take pictures. Narrow enough to barely fit a log truck, it climbed up from Clackmans River into rolling hills where tight corners cut through a young pine forest. The thick scent of cut pine told me this section of the farm had been harvested.

Tearing up the roads as per usual I came in pretty hot around a sweeping right hander, only to come face to face with a log truck barreling down the hill on the left side of the road. I made eye contact with him long enough to note the "oh F**k" look in his eyes as he tried to make room and I got up close and personal with the side of his truck.

Glancing in my mirror I notice Bernie coming up fast, looking like he's not slowing down. I grabbed the throttle and shot out from beside the truck into the road, well aware of being inches from either the truck or the deep ditch at the edge of the pavement.

Enjoying the rest of the road a little more cautiously we moved North, hitting a little dirt along the way before popping out on Rt 26.



A short stint on the highway brought us around to the West side of Mt. Hood past the ski area and into the town of Rhododendron. Here we turned North to take NF-18 over the Lolo pass.



Lolo pass is an access road for the high tension power lines that run through the mountains there. The road is poorly maintained (read: fun) and gave us a constant, if partially obstructed, view of Mt Hood.





Some sections are paved


Some are dirt


And it's all pretty narrow





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Sure, I love it. Pretty much everything about it. It's a blast to ride just about everywhere, until the trail gets nasty. It's heavy, so even knobby front tires don't help too much when the terrain is soft. The only part that's lacking is the fork, but I tend to ride it faster in the dirt than I probably should.

Comparing it to a DR650 is apples and oranges. I had an XR650L before the Beemer, and like the DR it was great offroad and easy to ride. But on road I hated it. I would call those bikes dual purpose, because there is not much sporty about it.

Hopefully that is what you were looking for? They're both great bikes, but for the riding I do the BMW is far and away the better steed.