KTM 9th Annual KTM Adventure Rider Rally

[triplenickel]

Originally Posted by brents347

So I have been 'in' for this ride from the beginning, but have now morphed the trip into a run up into Alaska (perhaps as far as Prudhoe Bay). What do any of you PNW or B.C. guys have to say about a run into AK starting on Sept. 15? Is that too late a departure? Am I going to be super wet everyday? Any opinions? If necessary I may be able to head to AK in late August or early Sept. and stop at Bend on the way back but that would not be my preference.

Thanks,
Brent

The weather could go either way towards the end of September up there but I'd try it if I were you. The snow will be out of the hills so the high passes and river levels will be managable if that's the type of route you're gonna take. I've always gone up in mid July but one of these years I'll try for a fall trip to see the colors.

[moto-treks]

Originally Posted by brents347

So I have been 'in' for this ride from the beginning, but have now morphed the trip into a run up into Alaska (perhaps as far as Prudhoe Bay). What do any of you PNW or B.C. guys have to say about a run into AK starting on Sept. 15? Is that too late a departure? Am I going to be super wet everyday? Any opinions? If necessary I may be able to head to AK in late August or early Sept. and stop at Bend on the way back but that would not be my preference.

Thanks,
Brent

You can count on it being cold. I lived in AK for years and I always did a raft trip down the Gakona in September. Typically the days are nice and the nights below freezing. However, thats way south of Prudhoe. Expect snow from Cold Foot north. Don't forget to pack some sheet metal screws, they work great on ice and snow packed roads.

[brents347]

Thanks for the inpit guys. I am now thinking of heading North BEFORE the Bend rally, Aug 15 or so, to gain me a month of better weather and stop in Bend on the way home.

[SE Steve]

Anyone putting a ride together from the So Cal area ?

[Apple Jam]

Weekly BUMP!!

Let's RIDE !!

[Patrick C Buckl]

Anyone interested in hooking up between the 2 points for the rally? A lot of "points in-between" and I have not decided on the route yet.

Let me know.

[wachs]

Dang it - broke the rule (always create your work in another format then paste into forums ) and lost the entire narrative but will re-do later tonight.


Mark Hyde, Mike Lafferty and Christie from KTM came to Bend for a visit a couple weeks ago and I showed them some of our local riding -



More soon . . .

[Ladukebob]

Originally Posted by wachs

Dang it - broke the rule (always create your work in another format then paste into forums ) and lost the entire narrative but will re-do later tonight.


Mark Hyde, Mike Lafferty and Christie from KTM came to Bend for a visit a couple weeks ago and I showed them some of our local riding -



More soon . . .

Good look'in bike

Can't wait to get over there

[DesertSurfer]

Northwest of Sisters???

Originally Posted by wachs

Dang it - broke the rule (always create your work in another format then paste into forums ) and lost the entire narrative but will re-do later tonight.


Mark Hyde, Mike Lafferty and Christie from KTM came to Bend for a visit a couple weeks ago and I showed them some of our local riding -



More soon . . .

[Zuber]

Looks South West of Sisters.

[brents347]

Originally Posted by DesertSurfer

Northwest of Sisters???

Clearly that was taken from right on top of your sister.












Someone had to say it.

[wachs]

Yes, Mark Hyde, Mike Lafferty and Christie from KTM came out to sample the riding in our area in preparation for the rally in September. We took a short loop up into the hills in the afternoon and stopped at the snow.



We took a really fun set of logging roads back to the venue at Mt Bachelor Village then went out for dinner to layout the next days’ ride.






TUESDAY MORNING - kickstands up about 8:30 am as we were headed east towards Pine Mountain. Christie and Mike rode 2-up and she had at least 4 GoPro cameras strategically mounted on the bike(s). She’s a real professional and always working on some tweet, blog or facebook post as well as gathering imagery for use later.



These guys made a great team and we rolled across town out into the sage through cool morning air.



A quick break before we head up into the pines.



Mark Hyde cruising by on a very fun section of pumice road. If you know this route and don’t miss any turns, you can really haul and make great time. This is usually the beginning of our trips down into Nevada.



Mark climbing up through the ponderosa.



Mike & Christie




Rolling off the south side of Pine Mt. you can ride everything in sight here. We were headed for the ‘town’ of either Christmas Valley or Fort Rock for fuel and lunch. Both of those places are beyond the horizon.



Nice cruise through some big pondo’s towards the south.



We decided to skip this part and ride to Fort Rock but there is a lot to see out this way.



Fuel stop and yes, that is part of THE Fort Rock in the background.




We had a decent lunch and headed west stopping briefly at the visitor kiosk at Fort Rock.



We took the Cabin Lake route to road 22 (old pavement) until I remembered a fun dirt track up into Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument. This was particularly fun with the moist dirt and melting snow.




Paulina Lake is representative of the many alpine lakes we have in the area. No matter how warm it gets, you can always bust up to one of these for a swim or just to cool off.



There is a fun/easy dirt road to the top of Paulina Peak for spectacular views.



Looks like Mike wanted to rent a boat and catch some of the HUGE fish lurking in Paulina Lake.



After Newberry we looped back towards Mt Bachelor Village on the 41 road that parallels the DesChutes River and I came up on Bend’s Elk herd. Lucky to see about 60 of these big animals casually walking through this clearing until they heard the other bikes approach.



That was about it for the day, an easy 200 miles of Central Oregon site seeing and moto adventuring.

I’ve attended a couple of these KTM Rallys now and think this will be fun for everyone. See you then!

[oregonfirefighter]

Local rider with an option for lodging and info on our great local roads. I live in Bend and usually rent out a self sufficient room in our house for vacation and short term rentals. I will entertain more if people want to tent(s)/RV(s) out and use the room as a base and have a crew. Secure bike storage, shop if needed, directions to everything, BBQ, good company over drinks, fire pit and all the local knowledge you would want! Make this Rally a little more personable than the hotel option and get the real scoop on Central Oregon.
Follow link to view room but call 541.318.7452 to inquire\book. http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/360117 Cheers!

[wachs]

Originally Posted by DesertSurfer

Northwest of Sisters???

That's Mark Hyde riding. Southeast of Sisters and Bend.

[DesertSurfer]

The anticipation is KILLING ME....

Originally Posted by wachs

That's Mark Hyde riding. Southeast of Sisters and Bend.