ST Madness VI
Saturday, 28 June 2008 23:00
This year’s Ducati ST Madness was the first time for a roaming rally. Well, there may be a few that claim the first roaming rally was a year or so back when a small group rode from the East Coast to the West Coast Ducati ST Madness, but that’s a different story.
Off to the Madness
This year, I had several bike trips planned; so reluctantly, I decided to not participate in the whole roaming thing and just attend the last stop in Gold Beach, Oregon.
The plan was to ride to Portland, Oregon; pick up my wife, and head down to Gold Beach. After the Madness, we had a reservation some 60 miles up the Rouge River at the Paradise Lodge for a day of R&R before heading home.
Over the past few years, I’ve explored several options for crossing Washington State’s interior - keeping off the interstates. This time, I decided to take one of my favorite southern routes across the state via Othello, Sunnyside, Bickleton, on to Hood River and finally Portland.
Leaving the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the road becomes a little more interesting as you head into Sunnyside, one of the biggest hops producing areas in the world. The American Hop Museum is just a few miles north on Sunnyside in Toppenish.
The highlight of this route is the road between Sunnyside to Goldendale via Bickleton, the Bluebird Capital of the Pacific Northwest. Leaving Sunnyside, you climb out of the Yakama basin onto a high prairie surrounded by wheat fields. Glade Road follows a creek by the same name as it winds around the hills of the prairie and is simply a joy to ride. Shortly after passing Bickleton, the road drops into Rock Creek gorge, then ascends in a enjoyable set of twisties.
Rock Creek Gorge
The first time I was on this road, I came from the east and entered this gorge after riding the relatively straight roads out of Goldendale. I remember how surprised I was to find this excellent section of road out in the middle of the Washington State; so after climbing the other side, I backtracked two or three times. I figured the remaining road to Sunnyside would be rather boring and I wanted to enjoy this jewel before pushing on. I was pleasantly surprised; however, once I continued my ride to Sunnyside, as that section of road is fantastic, too.
Due to my late start, it was fast becoming “deer:30”, so I decided to head to the Columbia River, crossing at The Dalles and taking I-84 to Portland.
The next morning, Wendy and I decided to get out of Portland as fast as possible, so we waited until we thought the morning traffic would have died down (is it always so bad in Portland?) and headed south, exiting I-5 just before Salem. Then, west to Lincoln City.
Wheatland Ferry
The ride down the coast on Hwy 101 was as expected with the scenery getting nicer the farther south we traveled. My grandparents lived in Bandon and I spend a fair about of time there years ago.
Bandon Coast
One of my fond memories was the Bandon Cheese factory and both Wendy and I had been talking about picking up some of the best cheese curds you can buy. Unfortunately, the factory was gone, I mean gone, as in 'the area was now a parking lot.' We learned later that the enemy, Tillamook Cheese, had bought Bandon cheese in 2000 and closed their doors in 2002. Tillamook then threatened the various businesses in Bandon with a lawsuit for violating its intellectual property by using the name “Bandon”. No more Bandon cheese for us, it’s time to find another creamery.
Mad-ones
Arriving at Gold Beach, Oregon, we found the crowd of Mad-ones gathering around the hotel. Mike had beaten me to the check-in, but offered up the room key for a bottle of Terminal Gravity IPA. After Wendy and I were settled in, it was off to the festivities. This year was the first roaming Madness which started at Jackson, CA and ended at Gold Beach, OR with a stop a Weaverville, CA in between. There was also a slow race in the parking lot on Saturday (yeah, we are getting organized).
The Finish Line
Multistrada Farkle
...and then I went like...
When I was a kid (ok, younger), my grandparents had talked about the mail service on the Rouge River. Back in 1895, the gold miner and farmer, Elijah Huitt Price, started running weekly mail service on the river. If I remember correctly, my Grandfather had used the service to take him fishing a few times, too. On Sunday, I parked my Duc inside one of the buildings at Rouge River Mail Boats and Wendy and I boarded a 32 foot, 3 x 350hp boat for a 60 mile trip up river. Yup, that’s 3 motors per boat, each delivering over 350 horsepower.
Thats the guy
The trip was nice, but after the 3rd doughnut, Wendy started to ask how much longer it would be until we arrived at the lodge. After the 8th doughnut, I started watching the other people on the boat. There was a family seated in the front row that that had taken the ride once before. We sat right behind them and this one guy kept turning around after each doughnut, smiling at Wendy and I. OK, a little strange until we did one at speed and I saw the guy in front of me duck. A split second later, I was covered with water. The guy turned around with that same smile and said he had sat where I was on his first trip...nice!
The lodge
We had booked a room at the Paradise Lodge, accessible only by boat, plane or hiking. The lodge is an excellent place to unwind, as there is nothing else around other than the river and mountains. Ok, there are a few other guests, and the lodge staff, but you know what I mean. After being shown to our room, Wendy opened the first bottle of wine and we spent the remainder of the day watching the river. Dinner was served at 6:00pm and several hours later it was lights out. The lodge is off the grid, so they turn off the generators at about 10:00pm which is really nice, because once they are off, the only sound is from the river.
The lodge is down there, past the airstrip
A day later and back at Gold Beach, we packed the Duc and headed for Portland, as Wendy had a plane to catch the following morning. We arrived in Portland in the evening and managed to find something to eat, as well as soaking in the hotel’s hot tub before fading for the night.
Waking up early for a quick breakfast, Wendy had just enough time to catch the shuttle to the airport. After saying our goodbyes, I returned to the room to finish packing and grab another cup of coffee before mounting the Duc for the final leg of the trip.
What a day
Riding back to Spokane had to be one of the better ride days I’ve had in a long time. I’m not sure if it was the early morning departure, or just the absolutely clear skies in the Columbia Gorge, but the riding was fabulous. Work duties required me to be home in the afternoon, so I decided to take I-84 West to Hood River where I crossed to the Washington side and rode Hwy 14 along the Columbia River. This is the section of road that I missed on the way down due to deer:30, so it was nice to ride this road on the way home. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride home, even after reaching I-82 and slabbing it the remaining 170 miles back to Spokane.
Another great Madness bites the dust. My Duc ran well; I enjoyed time with the other Mad-ones, as well as at the Paradise Lodge with my wife; and in two weeks, I’d be heading off on my first trip with the Beast to Colorado.