Gettin' Dirty with the Wans: 8400 miles - UTBDR, KLIM rally, Canada, WABDR, OBDR +

haha, poor mr. bill!



And poor mr. bigdon...


I know. You probably just got that stupid song out of your head, too.
heh heh.

It's just so Hawaiian.


I guess I could have used this one:



better?

All better now!

^^ Great Pic ^^

:huh
Um.. yeah... not what I intended

How about... "Been there, done that,... doing that again soon"

-M

Consider yourself lucky. Last time I tried a new acronym, I got an FU, FO

So, we're moving.

...aaaaand our internet speed is roughly 10x better than it was before....

.......aaaaand that means now when I click a link it doesn't take 5 or ten minutes to load....
















I have to start over. Frack.


...and then revisit your other reports.


It's a whole differnt experience when the links work!

S

...to the forever section! The sagebrush goes on, and on, and on...:huh



Next summer my riding buddy Dansrc51 and I are going to leave from Ashland on Route 3, connect with 4 East to Seneca, and finish North on 5 to Walla Walla and your RR is inspirational! Keep it up!

Augh! The cuteness!!

Haha, MUCH better.

Those pervs at the urban dictionary...

Heh, I don't think I actually said, "FU;FO..."

I said tl;dr makes me want to say FU;FO...



But, really.
Those stupid acronyms...they may save you time, but if I have to go look them up...
I'm not a texter, you guys. I only know the basics. FYYFF, WTF, STFU, ATGATT...


Did you look at what the urban dictionary said for DTAS?

Woo! Congrats on the move and the improved internets!
Haha, yes, you're missing a lot if you don't watch the linkies.

Oh, man, when I write stuff like - "I'm sorry, I thought you was corn..."
You must think I'm completely nuts if you didn't see that link.


I asked Matt if he thought I seem crazy without watching the links...
He said I seem pretty crazy if you DO watch the links.
Hmmm.


Well, then it's a toss-up then.
But, you will certainly waste a LOT more time reading the reports!


I tried to keep up on the Summer of Stupid that first few months,
but I think a lot of those links are probably dead now.
Sorry. Some of the best ones get taken down pretty quick.
Copyright violations and all that...

Good luck, though!
And, I'm glad you're going to be able to watch those videos we did in Canada now.
(they were long, I know).

Yes! We're almost there.
I'm working on the post, but I'm not home right now.
Trying to use the laptop.

This connection isn't great, so I'll just post this stuff about comments now.


Tonight, I'll try and get the real post up.
Have a short video of the 2 track coming...

Day 51: 8/11/12 continued
Crane Crossing to Christmas Valley, OR 263 miles












Here we are - bustling downtown Riley.
Oregon DOT has a camera at this intersection.
Try clicking here to see current conditions.






When we went in to pay for the gas, we were asking about Christmas Valley.
The women who work there were so nice, they didn't know if the motel was still open,
so they tracked down the phone number and called for us.
The Desert Inn was open and had rooms available. Cool!

While he had Christmas Valley on the phone, Matt asked about the Feed Barn.
They close at 9pm.
OK. gotta get there before 9.


We thanked the women and got on the road.







I'm working on this post on the macbook, so I don't have access my time stamped photos.
But it was after 6pm when we got on the trail...






I didn't think we had time to do this next section, and still make it to Christmas Valley in time for pizza.
Matt said, Nah, we did it really fast last time. We'll make it.
Uh huh.









We were about to start...







what D-Stylz calls...







"The Forever Section"







You OBDR vets might recognize this...
There aren't many things out here other than sagebrush, but this is one of them.







This section has lots of gates. Most are poorly marked, too.















Other than that, it's mostly just 2 track and sagebrush.







Some sand. This was a deep spot.







Matt stopped so I could take a photo.
This rock and snakeskin also caught my eye.








Looking back at the sand.







Man, these gates were hard to see, especially with the sun going down.







At least this kind of 2 track is fast.
Not as bad as some of that Nevada TAT stuff.







We were making really good time.















Another gate.













And, another.















We shot a couple videos out here but it all kind of looks the same.






















I have a short (1 minute) video, just to give you a taste of the 2 track.
In the video, we were laughing about Christmas Valley.
Last time, there was a section of road that we backtracked for.
Matt was determined to do the whole OBDR, so we went back to do it.
And then, as soon as we got going, he said, "Oh wait. Now I remember. This road is bad..."

Oh, about 18 seconds in, a little bunny runs across the road.
Cute!

HD for the bunny and for the sagebrush!






So, imagine that going on for, I don't know, 3 hours? We cut it short this time.















We stopped here so Norm could recalculate.
Matt was starting to realize that this section was longer than he remembered.
If we were going to get to the Feed Barn in time, we were gonna have to hit some slab.
(he really wanted that pizza! )







Seeing as how we were still pretty far out, it was going to be close no matter what...



































Here we are. Slab.







The smoke made for a dramatic sunset.















Blurry photo, but we made it!
The Feed Barn was still open. Wooo! Pizza!






Got our order in, just in time.






Mmmmm. BBQ chicken pizza.
Too bad the sriracha was out on the bike...







Someone was happy!






Also, I didn't get photos, but Matt had gone to the store.
The Feed Barn doesn't sell beer, but they don't mind if you bring them in.
He got two 24oz cans of learning juice (as PDX A calls them, "horse cocks") and a 24oz "limearita"
Klassy!

The limearita was a little rough, but we mixed it with the beer and it was much better.
Well, you know. kinda.


here, I stole a pic from the internets...








We got a room at the Desert Inn.
Last time it was $36. This time it was $50.
I think they upsold us to the kitchenette version.
Oh well. I was just glad to have a shower.






So, I hear that some fancy hotels leave you a mint on the pillow.
I still have yet to see that.
Here at the Desert Inn, you get something else...

As I was getting into bed, I found this guy...







Well, at least it wasn't a roach, right?







Norm.





Sorry, light on the linkies today.
This connection just isn't fast enough to do videos.
It's painfully slow.




I do have a Mameshiba for you, though...
it's Saturday night!

Pizza looks good!! And after all that learning juice Norm was still sober. Looks like a fun section of trail.

...is going to inspire me to do the OBDR next year. Have all winter to plan it. . They'll just have get along here at work without me for a week.
Ride On...

Hi Rwelch!
How's the leg doing?
Yep, lots of good riding in Oregon...motivation for you to visit out West!




Hey redog!
oh, you'll like the OBDR! It's a lot of fun!
Make sand your favorite...
(these dunes aren't on the OBDR, but there are sandy sections)








Day 52: 8/12/12
Christmas Valley, OR to Ram Horn Campground, CA 306 miles











So,yesterday, we had missed some good stuff when we rushed to get to town in time for pizza.
We had skipped more sagebrush, some rocky 2 track, and some sand.
I didn’'t mind missing the powerline road and the rocky 2 track, but I was sad about the sand.
That section was really fun!




After talking, we decided to go back and do the best parts this morning.
We were at the end of our trip. Day 52!
The only thing we had to do was get home - so why not ride what we wanted?



And, we could leave our bags in the room and enjoy the bike, unloaded.
Woo hoo!





But, first - breakfast.
As we were leaving our room, I noticed a pickup across the parking lot...







What the...?!








That thing looked just like Bill Murray in Zombieland.






Why would someone have a zombie in their truck?
It’'s not like this was Halloween - it was August.
There’'s no carpool lane in Christmas Valley...
Very weird.





I spent some time playing with this friendly kitty.
She reminded me of Mr. Purr.
Pretty eyes!








OK, breakfast.








Unfortunately, the power was out.
All they had was coffee, old donuts, and some fruit salad.







heh, Sweet Cheeks.






Shoot! I forgot to take a photo of the funny side.
I’'m pretty sure it was a booty shot.










OK, off to the dunes!







Whew. Looks like we’ are in the safety zone.
(you can dance, you can dance. everybody look at your pants.)








The dunes were really pretty.







It’'s always nice before some jackasses (us) come tear things up.








I wonder who left these footprints?







Deep sand is hard on the bike, especially 2up.
Matt was just going to play around a little bit...






















I like the patterns in the sand.













































It didn’'t take long before he was bored.








I guess dunes are more exciting on a little bike.








The shadows were fun.







OK, back on the bike...








Whew, that was deep!







Super soft, too.







I'm always amazed when we can ride this stuff 2up...









Here's some video - Matt in the dunes, and then our ride back out to the road.
HD for the sand!













































More cute footprints. I tried to zoom in.
Who made these?







Looking back at our dust.






From here, we were going to a nice OHV trail in the Lost Forest...


Fun stuff, coming up!







How do you know this report is almost over?

I'm almost out of Mameshiba videos...






Poor natto bean!
That bitch!

even better, "we'll be in bed before the kidnapping starts"

Awesome, just awesome!!!

The leg is doing well. Played 18 holes on saturday, walked the course even, and it held up very well.
Went for a little ride with my neighbor the other night. I am in need of some skill building practice sessions, But I NEED!!! to get out west. CBDR looks cool and I really really really want to do the TAT!

heh, oldtrucks - I liked that kidnapping line, too.



Thanks BigDave!




Hey Rwelch, so glad to hear your leg is better!
Wow, I remember when you said you broke it...
This is a loooooong report.










Day 52: 8/12/12
Christmas Valley, OR to Ram Horn Campground, CA 306 miles






I love this bit - the sand track thingy.
We had full luggage last time and it was a blast.
Without bags, it was even more fun.














This place is pretty cool. Can you read this sign?
Apparently the trees can survive because of the volcanic sand/soil.








Here's a map for reference - the red thing marks the Lost Forest.







Every time I think I'll be able to take photos on this trail, but can't.
It's too much and I have to hang on.
Oh well.
Here are a few quick screen shots.




There are some slightly rocky areas...






The occasional tree root...







But, mostly just sand.














Fun stuff!








I have some video. We haven't done music in a while, so this one has a little.
We were having a really good time.
Occasionally you can hear Matt saying, "Training!!"
this is left over from hanging out with Radek.
Radek had been trying to talk Matt into doing the Baja1000 (as a fellow Ironman on a 990).
I said, "No way- he hasn't been training!"


But Radek insisted that Matt has been training.
Riding almost every day, 2up with bags, for this long ass trip.
That's just like training for the baja...
Um. Maybe.



Anyway. That got to be our little joke.
Any time we hit sand or rocks or anything technical - "Training!!"
We also said it any time we had ice cream or junk food or learning juice. "Training!!"











Oh man, those whoops at the end!





I was laughing so hard. The bike kept jumping up and whacking me.
My legs are too short and our rhythm was off - I just got spanked instead.


Matt thought it was hilarious.

It was.







If we had kept going on the trail, we would have eventually come to this gate.
It takes you out into the rocky 2 track and back on the OBDR...









As it was, we had to hurry and get back to the Desert Inn.
It took longer than we thought to get here and now we had to rush to get back before the checkout time.








I missed this sign going in...







Oops. This one, too.










OK, that's it for now.
I'm behind in prepping photos.
This was a super long day of riding and I have a bunch of video to go through, too.




I'll leave you with some kewpie fun.
By the way, tarako seems to be some kind of salted cod roe flavored pasta?
Yummy.

'



hey larryboy, now I know how you hurt your ankle...

It's only kinky the first time!

It's only kinky the first time!


Pasta sauce...I dunno????

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I like the video, you 2 "kids" crack me up. Got my morning smile on.

I was feeling a little guilty because I ate a leftover Halloween snickers bar last night, but then I realized it was OK because it was just part of "TRAINING!"

Um. Hi, acesandeights.
I'm smiling and nodding. and backing away slowly.

Sounds like you'd enjoy the Robospanker.


So, hey. Was that your truck back there at the motel?

Exactly! You got it. TRAINING!! is awesome, isn't it?




Good morning, redog!

Pretty much just like that.