Tag: VFR750

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Automotive Motorcycles On The Job Photography

Motorcycle Roadtrip to Sonoma – Long Overdue!

The last time Paul and I made this trip was over 15 years ago. Shame on me for letting this fantastic trip from being relived for so long. But we more than made up for it in the end. This trip will serve my memory for the rest of my life!

I’m keeping this post simple in the form of a photo journal of our trip to Sonoma via Highway 101, Highway 1, enjoying the West Coast MotoJam AMA Races of 2011, and returning on I-5.

Here is a map of the trip:


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According to Google, the back way takes only 6 more hours than just shooting up and down I-5. 6 hours well spent if you ask me!

And here’s a video of us on Highway 1 in the Redwoods. There are faster clips on YouTube, but it was our first time and the wide angle of the GoPro doesn’t do the pace justice. That said, it was a lot of fun and the scenery doesn’t get any better — until you hit the coast of course! I’ll come back to this segment in a few weeks and provide an edited version so we don’t have to wait for the good parts. The fun part starts at 1:45 in this one 😉

and here is part two. Skip to 11 minutes for the trek out of the forest and on to the coast. The next 6 hours would be all be about the same; as in awesome!

On to the pics, starting from the beginning:

Our first stop in Reedsport for breakfast, which was awesome!
Quick stop along highway 1 to take a breathe as we enjoy the Redwoods.
Enjoying a spectacular lunch at North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg.
These are some big trees!
Paul crosses 60k miles on his Honda VFR750; most of which are his.
We stop in Stewarts Point for some refreshment and realize we still have 2 hours to go before we make it to Sonoma. Oh darn! This guy is well equipped with great beer, coffee, a proper selection of booze, and even fine cigars. Make sure to stop!
Just before we left highway 1 for 116, we stopped at the top of the beautiful overlook. An amazing end to our time on this stretch.

We arrive in Sonoma!
Shana scored us a kick ass pad to hang out in while we were in Sonoma. I could live here year round for sure!
Our bikes on the Sonoma Square
Team RSBFS at the Infineon West Coast Moto Jam AMA Superbike Races
Yes, there's snow in them there hills... You had to ride through that to get to here....
Yes, we rode through this with little choice once committed. I wouldn't recommend it...
The dirtiest bikes ever tucked away for the night in Ashland, Oregon.

I’ll likely add more to this post in the next few weeks as I gather all the pictures. Enjoy!

dc

Categories
Automotive

One of my Pictures is Being Used on the VFRD Calendar!

I’m excited to see that another picture I took earlier this year is being used for a club calendar! Here is Paul’s 1997 Honda VFR750 as submitted:

VFR at the Peak in front of the falls

And how it will appear in the calendar:

I’m very pleased to have made the cut and to have a second picture published this year!

dc

Categories
Automotive

Chowdah Run to the Rogue Brewery

Chowdah Run

Brad beat me to the punch posting the ride the 8 of us took this past Saturday. A great time and good group of riders. Here’s the route we took:


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Brad’s post handles the summary pretty well so check it out. Bikes included my Ducati 750SS, 94 Honda CBR1100XX, DR-Z 400, Triumph Thruxton, Brad’s Triumph, Yamaha FZ1, and Paul’s VFR750.

Great day, nice ride, and fantastic weather. Thanks for organizing Brad!

dc

Categories
Automotive Motorcycles Ramblings

“Hey, I’ve Never Been on this Road. Let’s Go to Deschutes Brewery!”

Do you ever pull out the map just to find long stretches of twisting road that you’ve never ridden on before? So do we! Paul and I were planning a day of motorcycling from Eugene to Bandon via some back roads, and then back up the coast via 101. But the weather forecasters suddenly warned of an incoming front that could drop rain as early as 11am at the coast. We decided to go east instead to seek out warmer temperatures and avoid the rain until the last minute on the way back.


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Nothing really that special about this route except that I had never been on Highway 242, which is actually the old pass highway to and from Eugene. The road isn’t really maintained anymore and is actually closed most of the wet season. It starts out very inviting, similar to Highway 199 from Grants Pass into the Redwoods, or Highway 1 in NorCal: a thin strip of asphalt draped in the middle of a dense forest with corners ranging from 15 to 35 for at least 10 miles. It would’ve been pure bliss but nearly every corner had the gravel marbles dragged into the roadway by the oversized RV’s littering our beautiful road. Nonetheless, the scenery was incredible!

After tap dancing through these tight and sometimes treacherous corners, we left the forest and ascended to the 5000ft summit where the road opened up a bit. Suddenly the vegetation was becoming non-existent as we crossed through the lava field. The landscape changes so quickly and completely, it was like being on another planet. Here’s a picture I found on Flickr:


Highway 242 conveniently links right up to Sisters, where we would’ve ended up anyway had we taken 126 to 20. We pushed through the annoyingly crowded main drag (no choice) and headed onto Bend. And gosh, as long as we’re in Bend, we better hit the Deschutes Brewery for lunch. I had the Ham wrapped Halibut, and washed it down with their Sagebrush Classic Pils. A really tasty lunch to say the least!

Not the Pils, but a shot I took of a Deschutes bottle a while back:
inversion_ipa_bottle

Then back to business as we headed home. Except the business of enjoying the 30+ miles of tight corners through the Santiam Pass that was practically ruined by the endless stream of RV’s, dawdling sedans, and small trucks towing boats. It’s a public road and all, but please use the turn-outs folks!

All and all though, another great day trip through western Oregon covering nearly 300 miles. And we beat the storm back home. It’s been raining ever since I got home. Perfect timing!

dc