Have you gone to a motorcycle rally? Ever considered going? Last year, I heard about Rally in the Gorge, sponsored by Sound Rider. A motorcycle event for sport bikes, dual sports, and cruisers? Count me in! I'm all about the tearing down of artificial barriers that divide up our community. Too late to make it happen for 2014, I set my sites on attending this year, 2015.
Now we've done a lot of group dirt bike riding, but only two group rides on the street, and one of those was motorcycle serendipity. We've been to a couple motorcycle shows, but this was our first rally. I really had no idea what to expect.
Rally in the Gorge is held at the fairgrounds in Hood River, OR. This is a great facility that is fully fenced, has RV water and power hookups, lots of space for camping, and indoor and outdoor space for presentations. Nathan took the trailer out Wednesday afternoon, and I rode out after work Wednesday night. Originally I had envisioned motorcycle camping, but with the unpredictability of the northwest weather and a desire to bring our puppy Moto and a variety of gear, the trailer was chosen, and I later became very grateful for that choice. Since I was finishing out my workday, Nathan had time to meet everyone in Registration. This led to a great welcoming party when I got there! I felt right at home from the moment I rolled through the gate.
I got my registration bracelet, parked my bike, and headed back to the main hall to socialize. One of the first people I met was a guy who had ridden all the way from Wisconsin for this rally. That's dedication! Nathan and I also quickly purchased a dual sport riding book full of awesome routes that we can't wait to try.
The evening movie was some isle of man tt I think. Underwhelming by our standards, but I hadn't had dinner and there was free popcorn, so that worked out. Moto made herself right at home and found and ate every piece of dropped popcorn. She's very social, and met everyone in the hall. We eventually headed back to the trailer to plan for Thursday. Nathan was interested in finding people to ride with, and I was interested in hearing Gary LaPlante speak. He wrote what we refer to as our 'dirt bike bible'. We decided to rise early enough to hang out for free coffee, and see what riding opportunities presented themselves. I was willing to skip the presentation if the other riders weren't interested. After her exciting day, Moto put herself to bed, exhausted. Done planning, we followed suit, all the comforts of home at our disposal.
Thursday morning arrived much too early. I think I was excited and nervous, so I woke up before 5. Moto was awake with the sun, so she and I got right to work with our morning duties, letting Nathan sleep a bit longer.
It wasn't long before he was up and ready for coffee. We met some other folks interested in an easy dual sport ride, as well as seeing the talk, so everybody won! The talk was great; a lot of what we already agreed with, but still good reminders.
We got our gear and bikes, and chose the hardest dual sport ride to head to. With trepidation and the knowledge that there were many bail out roads, I set off. Nathan was in front, headed toward our dirt Nirvana on the highway near Mount Hood when his bike started to wobble something awful. Flat tire. Luckily between everyone there, we had what we needed to air it up, and with five miles between us and Government Camp, we decided to see if the tire would hold. A couple miles later, we discovered no. No air. Refill, and hope to find slime in Government Camp. Great lesson for us; when we ride alone, we ride prepapred, but we hadn't come very prepared for this rally. We'll always have our slime and air on us after this. Luckily the slime worked, but we knew it was a temporary fix, so we headed back to camp. We offered to split off from the group, but they wanted to ride back with us. This is one of the awesome things about the people at Rally in the Gorge. Great values.
Another awesome feature of this rally is All Moto Tire. Nathan had already spotted his dream tire, and they were being offered for a great price. And the tire guy would mount them for you! When we rolled back in, he thought he wouldn't have time to do the change, because his wife was needing to go to the nearby clinic. Turns out the clinic opened late on Thursdays, so he popped Nathan's bike up on the stand and Nathan had a fresh tube and rockin' Heidenau tire practically before we could blink! This guy is fast!
So, back on the road. We chose a slightly shorter dual sport adventure, Nestor Peak/Monte Cristo, and our group was down to three. We rode across a grated bridge that went forever! The tires wandered and wandered, but all was well. Some fabulous roads, and then there we were! On the dirt. I turned my ABS off and started to go. Now, I say dirt, but it was really just a gravel road. For a while. Then a harder gravel road, then some silty whoops, and then poof... A long stretch of silt and I'm off my bike in a dust cloud. I stuck both thumbs in the air to let Nathan know I was ok, and he helped me get my bike up.
Turns out my brain had turned off and I was doing everything opposite of what I was supposed to. I was leaned forward, but needed to lean back. Slipping the clutch? How could I have forgotten that? And going faster, right. Put all that in place and I was off. Until the BIG rocky hill climb. Suddenly I'm on the ground again. Stopped on a hill, overwhelmed by the bouncing. Do I want to go to the top or turn around? Go to the top, of course! Nathan and Sean held my bike, gave me a bit of a push, and I made it.
We enjoyed the view for a while while I let my nerves settle. Hauling this big BMW around off road is a lot harder than my little kx 100. I'm just not transferring the skills I worked so hard to learn on my kx. We head back down the hill.... I must be getting tired. Two more tip overs, lost half a clutch lever, but I'm fine. The way back is beautiful and easy, both of which I'm ready for. Right at the end of the dirt, a deer crossed my path, gently and gracefully.
We head back to camp looking forward to the BMW sponsored burger feed. It does not disappoint. Great burgers, potato salad, chips, drinks, it was all there. There were some door prizes, and I won a pair of Raiden waterproof gloves! What a prize for a glove princess like me! Later, we settled in with a lovely group from the Christian Motorcycle Association for a campfire, smores, and chatting. It got later and later, and we finally had to call it a night, because I was taking an off road class in the morning! And Nathan was headed to the Giant Loop gnarly ride.
Friday arrived. We brought enough bagels, eggs, and bananas to eat breakfast bagels and bananas daily; always good to fill up on hearty healthy food before a full day. We met a cool guy named Cedric that is doing the Palelo diet, and he was taking the off road class too. Time to get geared up and ride. Nathan and I went out seperate ways. I have been looking forward to this class for a long time, and even more after yesterdays adventures. I took the women's class, taught by Jason, aka Captain America, with Dirt First. It was just the right blend of skills, encouragement, repitition, and memorable phrases. My favorites were 'keep your butt away from the cone of fire' and 'on the street, you lean your body, then your bike, and on the dirt you lean your bike, and then your body.' At the end, we got to hop a log, and that was by far the highlight for me.
After class, I waited for Nathan to return. I was hoping for a short practice ride. But then I got a text; someone in his group had a flat tire, then an injury, then another injury. It was a while before they got back! Meanwhile, Moto was befriending anyone with food, and she met some great people for me to sit and visit with. Nathan got back and I traded my motorcycle boots for a bottle of beer. Time to watch the gromstacle course!
The gromstacle course is a stroke of genius. Timed races on a tight course, anyone can sign up. I wanted to, but I chickened out at the thought of an audience. Maybe next year. Gary LaPlante won the pro class! More raffles, and Nathan and I went into town for dinner. When we got back, we hung out at the Giant Loop fire pit, and met more cool people. We chatted the night away until I could keep my eyes open no longer.
Saturday was another day to ride! We thought about Barlow again, but decided to finish out Monte Cristo and have lunch in a little town I've forgotten the name of. Today's ride included the awesome Tracy Jeffries, Adam Black, who won the non-pro class of the Gromstacle Course, and Bruce, an awesome rider who put knobbies on his Sportster 1200 and rides it off road.
Across the grated bridge we headed, and up the same gravel road as before. Right at the start, we see the cutest thing ever. There's a large black dog carrying an orange tabby kitten by the scruff of the neck. The kitten escaped and toddler over, finding a comfortable resting spot under the Harley. We were all overcome with cuteness. Eventually, we get the pets returned to their home and set off. I don't know how I look, but I feel confident. We ride up toward the challenging hill. I decide not to push my luck so early in the ride, and just the three boys take off toward the lookout, while Tracy and I visit about life, love, and motorcycles. The boys got back, and we were off again. Down the beautiful gravel road, and onto the next section of our adventure.
The Monte Cristo section was a blast! There were tons of whoops, and it was by far the most fun I've ever had on the BMW off road. And, on the trail there was a log.... Time to practice my log hop! As we rode, it started sprinkling. Then raining, then pouring. By the time we got to lunch, Nathan was soaked and freezing. I found out my coat us no longer waterproof, and leaves me kinda damp. But I got to test out my new raiden gloves. That was fun.
Lunch was amazing. Nathan and I split the hickory burger and huckleberry pie. Yummy!
Then it was back to camp. On the way off the mountain, the weather cleared. We got back, and decided to do another ride! I realize now that this was not my best idea, but at the time, it seemed good.
We headed off to middle mountain. This was super close to camp, which really confused the GPS. It took a few tries, but eventually we were on our way. The road became deep gravel, and I realized I was tired... Not physically, but a special tired I experience specifically with motorcycles. Read any of my past posts, and you'll see; riding does not come naturally to me. I'm stubbornly determined to learn, and to eventually do well, but in the process we've coined such phrases as 'dirt bike drunk' to describe the state I get to when my brain can't handle the fear, fast thinking, or physical exertion any more. I realize I'm getting to this point, but its a short ride. I figure I'll be ok. I know I'm slowing down and it's causing me issues. But I start to feel better. The gravel gets less deep. I'm trying to use my new skills. We get to the top where a gate is closed. So many fire closures. Time to turn around. Tracy offers to ride with me, and to give me feedback. Tiredness and fear are climbing... A steep rocky hill, I slow down too much, look at the ground, then I'm on the ground. Shoot. I try getting my bike up myself, to no avail. Gotta wait for Tracy to get back. She helps me get my bike up and rides behind me for a while. Turns out, I wasn't avoiding the cones of fire as well as I thought. I start to exaggerate more, and feel the difference. The exhaustion is pushed out by this little victory! We see the boys parked by the road, and as I ride up to join them, my confidence has overcome my guard... Down I go again. Nathan says I grabbed too much front brake, which tipped the bike over. Unfortunately I land on my back and experience pain about equal to my ACL tear. It took a while, but I did get back on my bike and rode back to camp. Such a good day, ending in discouragement, pain, and embarrassment. We got back to camp, and instead of socializing, did some prepping for leaving Sunday. Exhausted, we both fell asleep early.
Sunday was rainy. But, a pancake breakfast was on the horizon, so off we went! Oh yum.... These guys know how to make a pancake breakfast. Eggs with bacon bits, blueberry pancakes, sausage, fresh cut fruit! And there was a presentation about motorcycle safety, one of my favorite topics. Life is good, if painful.
It was time to say goodbye and pack up the bikes. I'd planned to ride home, bruised booty and all, but Nathan figured out how to get two bikes into the trailer. In between rain showers, we loaded the bikes, and headed home.
My take-aways from the weekend... I'd definitely go again. This was an awesome event with great people. I loved being reminded of Gary LaPlante's philosophy 'what are you working on.' Because in motorcycling, there's always something to work on. For me, counter-leaning off road will take some work. But I didn't realize how clumsy my braking skills are in gravel. That's really got to be my next focus, once I can sit my booty back on a bike. We learned to be more prepared for emergencies; as I type, Nathan is permanently mounting ways to fix flats for us to his bike.
Overall, the weekend was bliss. I got to hang out with Nathan, doing our favorite thing, with no threat of work interruptions. That was amazing. We got to make new friends together. I got to watch Moto melt peoples hearts. For our first motorcycle rally, I'd say the 2015 Rally in the Gorge was an outstanding success.
