The 2026 4th of July Half Day Ride Was Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather

Thanks to Gundy for his efforts in trying to make this ride happen.
 

OGRES Motorcycle Club 2026 Spring "Palisades" Run Report

OMC Members and Guests

OMC members and guests met at the appointed place and time. 

OMC members present: Duke, Gundy, Bomber, RipCity, Slick and Grim.

OMC members absent: Rowdy, Ace, G-Man and Smooth.

After greetings and salutations were given and received, the intrepid participants headed down the freeway headed to Mountain Home. It was quite chilly and the wind was blowing pretty good. Different speeds were sampled until a good speed was found to navigate the normal freeway traffic. 

Mountain Home

Mountain Home

We took a quick bio and body-warming break in Mountain Home. Cold toes and fingertips warmed up, we soon motored north on the road to Fairfield. We rolled along pretty smoothly although it was still pretty chilly. Traffic was light and the passage trouble free.

We passed through Fairfield and into the rest stop at Timmerman Hill.

Timmerman Hill

Timmerman Hill

We paused at Timmerman Hill for a quick break from the cold and to visit the fine facilities. We actually had a couple nice interactions with civilians who were nice folks.

Down the road, we continued through Picabo and Carey. Riders were forced to endure possibly the harshest road, in the State, from Carey to Arco. The road surface is bad enough to jar the filling from one's teeth.

Eventually we arrived in Arco and stopped for fuel before heading over to Pickles for lunch.

Pickles

Arco

At Pickle's, we were able to find a table for eight. Our server/owner was a great guy who was a lot of fun and interacted with us in a jovial, teasing way. The food was fine and we enjoyed the meal and the company.

We climbed back aboard our bikes and headed on up the road eventually turning towards Blackfoot. It was warming up some and the ride was pleasant and zen.

We rolled into Blackfoot and the Best Western was quickly and easily found.

Blackfoot

The hotel didn't look like much from the outside but that impression quickly faded as the staff and the interior were both very nice.

We checked in and put our stuff in our rooms. Some riders took naps while the majority hit the very nice warm pool and hot tub.

At the appointed hour, we walked to the restaurant, Tommy Vaughns, that the hotel desk lady had recommended.  It was a short walk away that included scaling a stone wall.

Tommy Vaughans

We ended up sitting on the outside patio which turned out to be quite nice despite the chirping          civilians seated on the next table. We enjoyed a nice meal and the server did a pretty good job, even taking photographs for us.

Having "lost our appetites", we headed back to the hotel. The nice desk lady allowed us to used the breakfast area for an impromptu card game.

Blackfoot Poker Champ

Grim tried his best to be the dealer, Smooth-style, but quickly became worn out trying to keep up with the many machinations included in Texas Hold 'Em. Slick took over the dealing and did a great job. Joy sandbagged all of us again and was the big winner at the end of the day. Everyone retired shortly thereafter for a blissful nights sojourn.

Blackfoot Departure

The previous evening it was decided that we would leave an hour later to allow the weather to warm somewhat. The day turned out okay but, in hindsight, the scheduled start would have been better.

We gassed up and headed down the road. Grim had GPSed the route to avoid the freeway from Blackfoot to McCammon. 

Grim had never been on the route that was planned for this day and was reliant on McGoogle for directions. He is also too stubborn to give up and get on the freeway. The one spot Grim almost jumped on the freeway was under construction and impassable.

The best laid plans only work until life, the road and Google Maps punches you in the mouth. Grim quickly found out that Google Maps will continue to route you back to a particular spot in the road in each "stop" town unless you delete the stop.

We rode through or past Pingree, Fort Hall, and Chubbuck. After passing through Pocatello, we took Old Highway 79 which surprised us with a construction detour. After much winding and circuitous undulation, we finally made it through and took a fun Highway 79 road all the way to McCammon.

At McCammon, we turned north onto Highway 30 heading towards Lava Hot Springs. The road was wide and smooth and we quickly rode past Lava Hot Springs. It was surprising how commercial that area is or has become.

We continued onto Soda Springs where we stopped for lunch at Porters's Pub & Grill.

Porter Pub & Grill

Soda Springs

Soda Springs

When we first walked in the lunch spot, it looked like a super cool, old school bar. As we continued to the back, we found the restaurant area and we found a large table. The food was pretty good and the server took good care of us.

Back on the road, we were enjoying nice roads and nicer weather. It was, in fact, almost perfect riding temperatures. We passed through Georgetown, Bennington and rolled into Montpelier. 

In Montpelier, McGoogle Clown Maps decided to really mess with Grim. After a couple of hiccups, we found the turn to Afton. It would have been helpful if the road signs showed the names of the cities instead of just the highway numbers. Oh well.

It continued to be great weather, roads and scenery. The road was winding enough to be fun but not exhausting.

Afton Wyoming

Afton Wyoming

We made a short stop at the nice roadside rest area to stretch our legs and grab some snacks/water. After our respite, we continued down the road.

We passed through Alpine and shortly were riding along Palisades Reservoir. The area was beautiful and the water was spectacular. It was a great experience.

Swan Valley

We made a brief albeit confusing stop in Swan Valley. We eventually parked adjacent to the pumps and headed into Berry's Gas Station for square ice cream. We narrowly missed about 25 young girls and their adult chaperones. Luckily they had just finished being served. The square ice cream was great and we relished it while cooling off in the store.

Shortly, we motored on towards our night stop, Idaho Falls. The traffic thickened as we traveled closer to the hotel. We passed through Ririe and Milo before arriving in Idaho Falls. After refueling, we quickly found our way to the hotel although the time was coming up on 6:30 p.m.

We had a quick logistics meeting and then queued up to the desk to check in. When RipCity was close enough, the lady behind the counter quickly identified him and called him by name. Fortunately, RipCity had not installed his hearing aids yet and the exchange was quite amusing especially with the remaining OMC members chiming in to "help out".

After checking in we unloaded our bikes into our rooms before meeting up for dinner. We strolled up the street and found our intended dining target.

Idaho Falls

We had eaten at the Snow Eagle Bar & Grill in the past with greatly satisfying results. Not this time.

The restaurant was fairly busy and our server seemed harried. We did get our orders in but the food not as good as remembered. Joy and Slick's meal arrived long after the rest of us had received our meals. No bueno. 

Snow Eagle Bar and Grill

RipCity Dance Moves

Upon leaving the restaurant, we made our way back to the hotel. It was very nice walking along the river while trying to find a lost Joy. It is a wonderful locale and a greatly pleasant evening.

Snake River

Idaho Falls

It was a long day that ran late, so there were no card games or such that broke out. The hot tub and pool were used by some riders but all eventually found their bunks for some shut-eye.

Idaho Falls Departure

We awoke early Saturday morning and had nice breakfast in the hotel. The staff was very gracious and they had even set up an omelet station for custom orders. Very nice.

After a quick briefing, we departed and headed for Arco. The exit route from town was brief and easy and soon we were out on the open road. It was a little warmer than previous mornings with some wind. It was calm and easy going over the desert and into Arco.

We stopped at the Phillips 66 truck/car stop just before Arco. 

As we were adjusting our gear, a passel of Gold Wings and CanAms came rolling into the parking lot. It was an impressive flash of white helmets and bright neon green. It seemed like the women were riding CanAms and the men were atop Gold Wings. 

I wish we had thought to take a picture of this impromptu "Fred" rolling convention. Anyway, this made the lines at the rest rooms longer and such.

Grim had earlier decided to take a different way back to Boise than what was advertised. After we passed through Carey, we continued down the road towards Richfield. It was a fun undulating, winding road that took us through the desert and farming land.

We rode into Richfield and saw there was a traffic stoppage ahead right in the center of the town.

Turns out we made it just in time for the Richfield Outlaw Days Parade for 2026. There was a car between us and the GoldWing/CanAm gaggle and the aforementioned finally turned off and took a side street to get around the parade. OMC members and guests were just fine to watch the festivities and small town charm.

Eventually the parade turned off down Main Street and we were back on our way. We rolled across the farmland and eventually arrived at Shoshone. (Side note: If you ever want a great meal, eat at the Manhattan Cafe in Shoshone. Famous state wide.)

We continued on until we came to Gooding and stopped at the Phillips 66 station to gas up. 

Back on our way, we rolled through Bliss and King Hill riding next to the beautiful Snake River. No trains were sighted which was unusual. 

Hanson Cafe & Motel

Joyful Eating

What?

We arrived in Glenns Ferry and stopped at the Hanson Cafe & Motel for lunch. This is a charming small town diner with pretty good food. We all ordered our food and, coincidentally, Bomber and RipCity both ordered a foot long chili cheese hot dog. 

Bomber seemed to "relish" his hot dog as he ate it as God intended, all in one piece with flavors and textures intermingling in a pleasant dining experience. However, RipCity dissected his and ended only eating the hot dog part of the concoction. No one was surprised.

Glenns Ferry

We took off a few more layers of clothing before starting up our bikes and heading down the road. We again were able to enjoy riding next to the river and it was cooling to the air. 

We passed through Hammett and continued on towards Mountain Home. There was no traffic and the road was pleasant and rolled up and down like a roller coaster.

We passed through Mountain Home and stopped at the Burger King/Chevron exit to say our goodbyes and take our final photographs. 

This Run ended too soon. It was low key and good vibrations were enjoyed by all.

OMC Members 

Guests: Joy and Lee

We headed out as a group towards Boise, except for Joy and Gundy, who wanted to take the Grandview way home. Traffic was held up near the truck stop as a semi truck had rolled and ended up on its side almost hitting an overpass. The wreck was mostly in the median so we were able to pass relatively soon.

The rest of us peeled off as our respective off-ramps came into view.

RipCity did a great job performing the sweep function and everyone was a delight.

It was a great Spring Run. Very Zen with little drama.

Words by Grim

Photos by RipCity and Grim

OGRES Motorcycle Club 2026 Spring "Palisades" Run Begins this Coming Thursday, June 11th

Palisades Reservoir

 The OGRES Motorcycle Club 2026 Spring "Palisades" Run begins this coming Thursday, June 11th. The Spring Run is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Spring Run will begin at the Burger King at Gowen Road and I-84. Safety briefing will be at 7:45 a.m. and departure will be at 8 a.m.

So far the weather looks dry, cool and promising.

Hope to see you there.

OGRES Motorcycle Club June 2026 Meeting Report

 

The OMC meeting was held at the appointed place and time. The venue was a new one and wasn't too bad for the purposes of this meeting.

OMC members present: Rowdy, Grim, Gundy, Ace, Duke, G-Man, Smooth and RipCity. 

Members absent: Bomber and Slick.

Food was ordered and a short meeting was held.

There was a brief but embattled discussion about the upcoming Spring Run. 

Ace presented the idea of the 2" patches that he fronted the money for. When they arrive, he will bring them forward for the members to purchase.

Dinner was served. Grim isn't sure about the quality of the other member's meals but his was quite subpar.

Members were encouraged to keep their eyes open for like venues for meetings.

That is all.

OGRES Motorcycle Club June 2026 Meeting This Coming Thursday, June 4th

 

The June 2026 OGRES Motorcycle Club mandatory meeting will be held this coming Thursday, June 4th.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held at Wingers in Meridian. 

The address is 3541 North Eagle Road. It is located right in front of Dicks Sporting Goods.

As you enter the front door, there is a "conference" room to the right that is reserved for OGRES members.

See you there.

OGRES Motorcycle Club May 2026 Hagerman Over-Nighter Run Report

 

The OGRES Motorcycle Club May 2026 Hagerman Overnighter began at the appointed place and time.

Members present for both days: Smooth, Grim and Gundy. Additional OMC members present for the second day: Duke, Ace and RipCity. OMC members not present at all: Slick, Bomber and G-Man.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Star Cafe waiting for all participants to arrive. And waited. And waited. 

We began to be concerned as RipCity was not on scene after the appointed hour, being he was usually a half hour early. A text determined that RipCity was at work. Turns out he was all ready for an overnight ride...beginning Friday morning. Too bad the day was Thursday. He was directed to ride up to Gooding the next day with Duke and Ace.

Shortly, we departed from Star and headed up the road towards Emmett. It was a very pleasant ride up to Emmett in very nice temperature. This is the first time we have done this route without the high heat weather.

We rolled through Emmett, over through New Plymounth and rolled up to the T intersection just out of Fruitland. We got through that problematic intersection with very little strife.

The next metropolis we encountered was Parma where we stopped for a short bio break. 

Next we headed towards Notus but took the overpass that shuttled us through Wilder, Homedale and Marsing.

The traffic was light and the weather remained pleasant.

We cruised through Murphy and made a rest stop in Grand View. A quick perusal of the ice cream freezer showed nothing worth eating.

We climbed back aboard our iron mustangs and headed over through the countryside, passing through Bruneau.

We had previously decided to have lunch in Glenns Ferry and that turned out to be a great decision as the cafe in Bruneau had a completely full parking lot.

Glenns Ferry

We stopped at the Hanson's Cafe and Motel, in Glenns Ferry, for our lunch break. It's a quaint little cafe and we enjoyed a nice lunch. The BLT was great!

We headed out and left GF behind. We crossed the interstate highway and cruised on the north side of it. King Hill was our next byway and we turned onto Old Highway 30 that eventually took us into Bliss. We bypassed most of Bliss and took the old River Road that took us through Malad Gorge.

We ultimately arrived in Hagerman after passing by Billingsley Creek Lodge and the Fossil Bed Museum.

We checked in to the Hagerman Valley Inn and unloaded our gear. Some found their way over to the store across the street for refreshments and such. We relaxed on the lower shaded patio until it was time to head over to the Snake River Grill for dinner.

Dinner was pleasant and the server and her helper (sister) were a lot of fun. The food has been better in the past but there is a new owner with a lot of new staff.

We retired back to the veranda at the Inn and a card game soon broke out. We had a great time although we were "sandbagged" by Joy who was the big winner. Smooth's 10 o'clock bedtime soon loomed and we all retired to our rooms for a night's respite.

All the intrepid travelers were up bright and early to allow a breakfast stop in Gooding at the Western Cafe. It was a nice cool morning and we enjoyed the ride through Bliss and over the rolling hills to Gooding. We found the cafe to have room for us after some strategic table movement provided seating. 

We had barely ordered our breakfast food when RipCity, Duke and Ace belatedly arrived. It quickly became apparent that RipCity was trying out a new OGRES fashion statement by wearing his cut inside out. He said it was accidental choice due to his hurry to get breakfast but doubts remain.

A short briefing was held before we departed with logistical and safety information galore. We jumped on our bikes and headed north. The road north from Gooding is always a fun ride as there are rollers and swoops curves waiting to be eaten by our turning wheels. We turned onto Highway 20 and were soon turning north to Bellevue at the Timmerman Hill intersection. We rolled into Bellevue and stopped for fuel and such at the Chevron Station.

With all fuel aboard, we continued north through Hailey and Ketchum continuing north. The weather was perfect and this ride continued to be very pleasant.

We made an unscheduled stop at the Galena Summit overlook to allow all riders to regroup after an emergency potty stop. The Sawtooths were as grand and beautiful as ever. 

We shortly continued on and rolled past Smiley Creek Lodge, Petit Lake, Alturas Lake, Obsidian and Redfish Lake. 

"You can't do that!"

We stopped at Sawtooth Luce's restaurant, in Stanley, for some lunch. Our server was a real character and made the experience more fun. We also maximized this opportunity to trash talk the absent OMC members making sure all were equally badmouthed. Shortly, we looked out the window and saw a big storm brewing. A quick weather app check showed an 82% chance of rain and wind. We hustled out to the bikes and jammed on down the road.

We made it a few miles out of before we encountered a light rainstorm. It rained enough to dot our wind and face shields with drops but not enough to make us wet. It was actually quite refreshing. The rain abated at Banner Summit and it was smooth sailing down into Lowman.

We stopped at the Lowman Lodge to take off gear as the temperature was palpably warmer. Gundy tried new ways to park his Heritage with mixed results. We shed our excess clothing and headed off down the road to Garden Valley. 

This passage was as much fun as one can have with their clothes on. This stretch is always a blast.

We stopped in Garden Valley to get fuel and treats. It was quite a bit warmer there. Forget about ice cream unless you like Blue Bunny.

We then rode over to Banks and were immediately glad we were headed south and not north. The northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper as far as the eye could see. Crazy.

The ride south was pretty much traffic free and the temperature was still nice enough. We rolled down through Horseshoe Bend and up the grade with our bikes just purring along. The traffic density increased as we got closer to town.

OMC Members

OMC Guests

We ended the run at the Chevron Station at Beacon light and Highway 55. Most everyone agreed it was a chill, conflict free, enjoyable ride.

We are already looking forward to the Spring Run.

Words by Grim

Photos by Ace, RipCity and Smooth

OMC Hagerman Over-Nighter This coming Thursday and Friday, May 28th and 29th

 

The OMC Hagerman over-nighter is this coming Thursday and Friday, May 28th and 29th. 

This informal run will start at the Star Country Cafe in Star, Idaho. 

Meetup will be at 8 a.m. with rollout at 9 a.m.

Thursday night lodging will be at the Hagerman Valley Inn.