OMC 2017 Summer Run Report

Joy, Lee, Bomber, Krome, Gundy, Grim and G-Man

The intrepid OMC members and guests met at the appointed time and place to begin a great adventure.  Present: Krome, Grim, Gundy and two guests.  Bomber and G-Man had a late start and did not catch up until after the other's arrival in Orofino.  Absent: Duke, Smooth and Rip City.

It was a very pleasant ride up Highway 55.  We made a quick stop at Cascade before continuing up the road northbound.  The ride up Whitebird Hill was exhilarating and almost completely clear of 
cages.  We rolled into Grangeville and stopped for lunch at Oscar's.

Krome, Gundy, Joy and Lee

The meal at Oscar's was very good and the accompanying banter was light and pleasant.  The beverages were also very refreshing.  We barely made it out the door as the dessert tray was right by the exit and everything looked delicious.

We continued on over hill and dale through Kooskia and Kamiah until we arrived in Orofino at the Best Western on the river.  The initial Five lounged in the lobby and enjoyed beverages until Bomber and G-Man arrived, which signaled the time to hit the indoor pool.

The pool was as refreshing and clean as usual.  Gundy and Lee won the "standing on your hands underwater" contest and Lee won the "who can hold your breath under water" contest.  Krome and G-Man wind the "talking about work as much as possible" contest poolside until the Krome was coaxed to insert more of his body into the pool besides his lower legs.  Joy almost went in the water, full clothed, a couple of times but did not quite make it in.

We changed from our swimsuits and eventually made it over to the usually excellent restaurant.  As we approached our table, a large bug could be seen under the table.  It was on it's back and looking horrible.  Thankfully, brave Joy picked it up and put it outside.  

The hostess brought us menus but it became clear the menus were purely ornamental as we could not get a waitress to come by our table for what seemed like hours.  In the meantime, there was much banter, and such, as we whiled away the hour.  I would repeat the conversation here but would have to censor way too much text.

The waitress finally showed up and eventually we were served.  The meal was pretty good although G-Man clearly over ate with his shrimp and salad.  Phew!  I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to finish it.  We all shared desserts as the restaurant was out of most of the dessert menu.  

We returned to the hotel and retreated to our rooms after some conversation.

Joy, Lee, Bomber, Krome, Gundy, Grim and G-Man

We paused for a quick photo opportunity, by the great mural in the lobby, before mounting out bikes and heading for LuLu Pass.

That's right, LuLu Pass is the new name for the segment of road on the way to LoLo, Montana.

Lee, Krome, Gundy, Grim, Bomber and G-man

We stopped in Lowell at the Cougar Canyon Station where we have stopped for ice cream many times in the pass.  Unfortunately, the store has closed although the owner was doing some cleaning.  Not surprisingly, the lady was the daughter of one of G-Man's friends.  He knows people all over the country.  Grim settled for a gatorade from the restaurant/convenience store next door.

Joy and Lee

We headed on and had a very smooth and fun ride up to the top of LoLo, er, LuLu pass.  We stopped at the viewpoint at the top of LuLu pass and took a break.

G-Man, Bomber, Krome and Gundy

We conversed with two young men who were riding there bicycles from Boston to Seattle.  There bikes and equipment were unusually packed and looked like they had MacGyvered their way cross country. Grim was a little jealous.

We head down off the pass and into the heat of LoLo and stopped for gasoline just before arriving in LoLo.  The station had high octane gasoline, without ethanol, and our bikes drank it up.  There was a sighting of possible deep fried gizzards but they turned out to be deep fried mushrooms.  We ate them anyway.  

The group continued down the highway until we arrived in Darby.  The town was packed as there was a big festival and concert going on in town.  We managed to find parking places to make out way to the Blue Joint for lunch.  G-Man suggested trying a new restaurant just up the street from the Candy Shoppe.  We met to ladies just leaving and received mixed reviews but braved on into the restaurant.  

Unfortunately, not only did we receive lackluster nourishment we also made ourselves late to attend the cool shops in town.  We only had 15 minutes to shop and the staff kindly kept the Candy Shoppe open so we could partake.  Grim may have been grumpy without his milk chocolate haystack.

Next year, back to the Blue Joint for lunch.

We started to fire up out bikes when a mass search had to be undertaken to find Scarecrow's eyeglasses.  After a massive search, his glasses were found on a full sized brass stage coach where he had paused for a photo opportunity.  Disaster averted.

We rode on down to Salmon through light traffic and fun, curvy roads.  Just outside of Salmon, a large 3/4 ton Dodge truck pulled out in front of the pack and four of us passed the truck.  The truck accelerated and blocked the remainder of the group.  We all managed to get past the caged idiot and arrived safely in Salmon where we gassed up.  We checked in to our hotel and chilled for a bit until we went up to the Shady Nook for dinner.

Rack of Lamb

Our dinner at the Shady Nook was the antithesis of the dinner the night before.  The food was scrumptious and the service was great. It was a very nice evening.

Road Glide Row in Salmon

As we returned to the hotel, G-Man and Bomber ran into some of their cousins who were in town for a reunion.  Shocker, huh?  It seems they had a nice visit into the night.  No one else could be coaxed into the pool so we all said good night and went to our rooms for a long summer's sleep.  

In the morning, we all assembled and enjoyed a timely exit from the small town of Salmon.  The temperature was just right as we rode down to Challis where we stopped at the park at the Stanley Junction.  Upon arrival, we were ambushed by State Park employees who advised us we had incurred a $5 charge just for pulling into the parking lot.  Some members paid the ransom to be able to use the bathroom while some others refused to be victim's of the State sponsored extortion.  Word to the wise: don't stop there ever again.

We headed on down the road past the famous site of the "Flying Beaver" incident that happened in a previous year.  There may have been some joking about that subject during the course of the Summer Run.

We chose not to stop in Stanley and, upon arrival, found that it was a good decision.  Stanley was packed with people attending an Art Festival and there was no place to park anyway.  We headed on down the mountain and over Banner Summit.  As usual, the temperature increased.  The traffic was light and there were no problems.  We cruised into Lowman and made a quick stop to shed some clothing and gear.  Shortly, we stopped in Garden Valley for fuel.

We parted ways, at this point, with Bomber and G-Man as G-Man had business that needed attention back in town.  The rest of us headed for Crouch for some refreshment.

At the Two River's Grill, we enjoyed great beverages and food attended by a wonderful wait staff.  We had a very nice time there and bantered with a delightful waitress to the point of naming Krome's created dessert after her.  

After lunch, we headed into down towards Banks.  We happened to follow a trailer that sported a huge rear window that acted as a mirror.  We were able to see ourselves in the mirror and witness the high level of bad and bitchin' riders who were reflected.

The trailer pulled over to let us pass in Banks and we headed down towards Horseshoe Bend unimpeded.  The ride was highly enjoyable and smooth down until almost to Boise.  Just before Beacon Light Road, a SUV pulled out of Deep Creek Road causing itself to almost be t-boned by northbound traffic.  Our group had to slow quickly to avoid running up the back of the wayward SUV.  Grim did get close enough to see the personalize plate of "B NICER" on the back of the cage idiot's vehicle.  

We cruised on down to the Stinker Station where we said our goodbyes.  No one really wanted to go home yet and Grim wished it was a longer ride.  

Perhaps it would be fun to have a 6 day OGRES run at some point.