My WetLeather friends were camping at the Maryhill State Park in WA this past weekend. They make a long weekend out of it, people arriving as early as Wednesday night. I didn't have time to join them for that long, but since they had reserved Maryhill Loops Road for Friday and Saturday, I figured I could at least go visit on Saturday and ride it with them on the second day. I had to get an early start, Maryhill is about 2 hours from my place in Hillsburrito and the track, sorry, road time started at 10 and I wanted to stop and say hi at the campground before the ride.

Traffic was light in PDX, but I ran into this truck going the wrong direction on the highway... :eek:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7116.jpg

At least it seemed to be at first glance... :D

Weather was chilly and traffic was light on I-84, so I made good time going east.

Bonneville Tunnel:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7118.jpg

Once I got past Hood River, the clouds cleared and it was turning into a beautiful day:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7120.jpg

I saw this Harley, the woman in the pillion seat had a very strange helmet on:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7121.jpg

Made it to Maryhill with lots of time to spare. Even had some time to catch up with some friends before we left on the ride.

Maryhill Loops Road as seen from the top of the hill:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7123.jpg

Chasing Rolf on the warm up ride (photo by Brian Poppe):
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_0897_1.JPG

200HP ZX-14 vs. 58HP Versys. He never really had a chance on that road... (photo by Brian Poppe)
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_0907_1.jpg

I'm not kidding about the 200HP. It's the output as seen on a dyno. Rolf has run this bike at Bonneville, with runs over 200 MPH to his record. :clap:

Some more Versys actions shots by Brian Poppe:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_0920_1.jpg

http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_0931_1.jpg

http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_0960_1.jpg

Giving Nikki a ride:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_0998_1.jpg


Gustavo

All good things must come to an end, and after almost 4 hours of running up and down this hill the heat was starting to get to us. We went back to camp, stopping along the way to do a quick transatlantic teleportation to visit this famous site:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7124.jpg

The astute observer may notice that this Stonehenge is not really THE Stonehenge. This monument is a replica of the original, built by the same Mr. Hill that built the road and museum at Maryhill as a memorial for WWI soldiers from this area.

Stonehenge WWI Memorial (photo by Brian Poppe):
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_1015_1.jpg

Stonehenge WWI Memorial (photo by Brian Poppe):
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_1021_1.jpg

And, our most excellent photographer - Brian:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_1017_1.jpg

This is the great metropolis of Maryhill, on the Columbia River:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7125.jpg

As usual, Tim rode from Idaho on one of his pristine old/antique bikes to this event:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7128.jpg

How many people you know that have one of these ride it 400 miles (each way) to go camping?

Jim telling one of his lies, sorry, stories, again:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7127.jpg

The day was getting windier and windier as it got warmer in the Gorge. The idea of riding 120 miles in this wind wasn't very appealing, but it would only be worse in the dark, so I got back on the bike and got going.

It was so windy I saw a significant drop in mileage on the way home:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7129.jpg

As if that wasn't enough, around Cascade Locks, the sun completely disappeared and it got cold and drizzly too... :eek:
http://www.buhacoff.com/mc/NW%202008/IMG_7130.jpg

Small price to pay for a fantastic day ride to one of the most exclusive roads in the NWet. :thumb:


Gustavo

That looks like one fine ride to me! I hope the road has either (1) great sightlines or (2) is closed to opposing traffic because it appears somebody was using all the track, er road.

It's amazing how hard we work. I'd like to take a step back and find time to do more things that are not related to work. I see other people figure out how to do it, I just wish I knew how to do it. My vacations seem to be 3-day weekends, sometimes I get a 4-day weekend in there but I find I don't know what to do with myself.

That looks like one fine ride to me! I hope the road has either (1) great sightlines or (2) is closed to opposing traffic because it appears somebody was using all the track, er road.

(1) Even if a road has great sight lines, you'll never find me on the opposite side of the center line. On the warm-up rides, I rode it on the right side of the centerline to see how hard that would be. Some of he hairpins were very tight. (2) Yes, it was closed. We were running it with only one-way traffic because it's fairly narrow and has little run-off area, so it's safer that way. Good point, though. :clap:

It's amazing how hard we work. I'd like to take a step back and find time to do more things that are not related to work. I see other people figure out how to do it, I just wish I knew how to do it. My vacations seem to be 3-day weekends, sometimes I get a 4-day weekend in there but I find I don't know what to do with myself.

You have a motorcycle, right? Schedule two weeks off, ride west. After about a week, turn around and start riding back east. You don't even have to plan that much... :D And if you make it to teh PNWet, make sure to give me a call. While I can't take you to Maryhill everyday, there are lots of roads that rival it around here.

Gustavo