OGRES Motorcycle Club 2024 New Years Day Breakfast at 9 a.m.

 

The annual OGRES Motorcycle Club New Years Day breakfast will be held January 1, 2024 at 9 a.m. 

The event will be held at Terri's Cafe. The address is at 2843 East Fairview Avenue in Meridian. It is located on the south side of the road between Eagle Road and Locust Grove Road.

https://terriscafeid.com/

This event is for OGRES members only. No guests.

See all y'all there.

seasOns GREetingS

 

seasOns GREetingS

Motorcycle

Club 

Santa's Head Elf

 

 

OGRES MC November 2023 Meeting Report

 

Gundy, Smooth, Grim, RipCity, Bomber, G-Man, Duke and Rowdy

The OGRES Motorcycle Club met at the appointed date, time and location. Members present: Rowdy, Duke, G-Man, Bomber, RipCity, Grim, Smooth and Gundy. Members absent: Krome and Slick.

We had a short business segment to kick off the OMC meeting. 

Grim handed out the new inserts, for the OMC Handbook, with the new schedule of Events, Runs and Meetings. For 2024 there will be at least one OMC activity per month. 

We also discussed making all three (3) sanctioned Runs into three (3) days instead of two (2) days for the Spring and Fall Runs. Gundy and Grim will get together very soon to review the rides that Gundy had brought with him to the meeting. In the meantime we will stick to the schedule as handed out and printed on the website.

The 2024 schedule of Events, Runs and Meetings is live on the OMC website.

We adjourned to the Sockeye Grill for dinner and had a nice time telling lies, stories and talking trash about the missing OMC members. 

Grim apologizes for the long interval of time between the meeting and this report. 

See you at the New Year's Day breakfast.

OGRES Motorcycle Club Mandatory Meeting This Thursday, November 2nd

 

Quite interestingly, the three above images were among the ones that "came up" when Grim googled "motorcycle club meetings". Holy cow.

Anyhow, the mandatory November 2023 OGRES Motorcycle Club meeting is this coming Thursday, November 2nd at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Fairview Clubhouse. The weather looks like it will be nice enough to ride.

This will be a pivotal meeting as changes to the OMC Sanctioned runs are on the agenda along with several more important topics. 

Be there or be square...or rectangular...or triangular.

OGRES MC 2023 Fall Barbecue President's Report

 

OMC members and their spouses met at Bomber's home for this annual event. OMC members present: Duke, Rowdy, Bomber, Smooth, Grim, G-Man and Gundy. Members absent: Slick, RipCity and Krome.

Everyone was ready to eat, upon arrival, and all the food looked and smelled wonderful. However, 13 people waited and stood around as the OMC member who was bringing the baked potato condiments was his customary 30 minutes late. (Reminder to Grim or RipCity to have that OMC member bring dessert next year. Dessert can be late.)

We had Rowdy's world famous barbecue ribs, baked potatoes, grilled chicken breast, grilled asparagus and zucchini, green salad and fruit salad. Dessert was two large cakes as two OMC members unknowingly brought the same dessert. (Reminder to Grim or RipCity for next year.)

Everyone filled their plates and began to enjoy this great potluck meal. All the food was great and the ribs were tender and flavorful. Conversation was mixed with plain enjoyment of the company of the attendees. 

It was a relatively quiet and peaceful gathering compared to events in the past but in a very good way. We also were able to check out Bomber's latest creations including the application of the light bulb he scored in Joseph during the Fall Run. Mrs. B had a gift bag for every couple and her decorations were festive fall ones.

Special thanks to Bomber and Mrs. B for hosting the affair. Also a big shout out to everyone who brought all the delicious and tasty food.

Gundy won the prize for the best motorcycle apparel. This image really sticks to you.

Th...th...that's all, folks.

Words and photos by Grim.

OGRES MC 2023 Fall Barbecue This Friday at 6:30 p.m.

 

The OGRES MC 2023 Fall Barbecue will be held this Friday, September 8th, at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at Bomber's home and the OMC members spouses are strongly encouraged to attend.

This is a potluck dining affair and the following assignments have been made:

Rowdy's World Famous Barbecue Ribs:        Rowdy

Grilled Chicken, Zucchini and Asparagus:    Bomber

Baked Potatoes:                                              Gundy

Baked Potato Condiments:                             G-Man

Green Salad and Fruit Salad:                          Grim

Dessert assignments have not been made. Please let Grim know if you can bring dessert.

If anyone would would like to bring a dish other than the above, feel free to have at it.

Other than the members listed above, let Grim know as soon as possible your attendance status so the appropriate amount of food can be prepared.

See you there!                      

OGRES Motorcycle Club 2023 "Joseph" Fall Run Report

Members and guests met up at the appointed place and approximate time for the OGRES Motorcycle Club 2023 "Joseph" Fall Run.  OMC members present: Rowdy, RipCity, Slick, G-Man, Smooth, Grim, Bomber and Gundy. Guest: JoyJoy. Members absent: Duke and Krome.

As soon as all riders were present, a short safety briefing was held. Topics included:

After meal breaks or rest stops, all riders will leave together. No "catching up" or late starts.

Stops will be kept shorter in time to allow for more time at lunch and in the evening. Rest stops have gotten too long. When the ride leader starts putting on gloves and helmet, that is an excellent clue that others should be doing the same.

If there is an incident on the road, the rider in the number 2 position will lead past the ride leader to a safe turnout. The ride leader will take whatever measures to resolve the given problem.

After the briefing, all riders mounted up and we headed down the road. It was a nice, cool temperature that was much better than the heat we had been enduring on other rides. We cruised through Parma, Nyssa and negotiated some road construction at the intersection where we turned to go to Vale. We lucked out and hit the intersection just right so we did not have to stop.

 We made a rest stop in Vale where we grabbed snacks, breakfast sandwiches and water. It turned out, the place we stopped was busier than anticipated but we escaped unscathed.

We headed out of Vale and rode on up the road through small towns and swooping highway turns and summits. Eventually we rolled into Unity for another break and some fuel.

Unity was the usual bustling metropolis but the folks there are always friendly and helpful. Folks took care of business and we headed back down the road taking the road through Hereford and up over the twisting roads towards Baker City. The curvy roads through these mountains are always fun and it wasn't long before we traveled over and past "Krome Krash Korner". Soon after, we pulled into Baker City and stopped for fuel.

The intrepid OMC Pack shortly was headed through town and we stopped in Haines for lunch at the Frontier Cafe. The server was super nice and we all had a decent meal and break. 

We saddled back up and headed on down the highway as fast as the law would allow. We rolled through Powder River, Union and Cove through the cool temperature still enjoying cool temperatures. 

However, after exiting Cove, Grim (ride leader), made a wrong turn down a road that looked paved and benign but turned out to be gravel dressed in paved road clothing. It was the "exciting ride of Mr. Toad" until we could get stopped and turned around. G-Man showed us the proper turn for Lower Cove Road and Grim will not miss it again.

We rolled through the countryside taking the short cut over to the main highway to Joseph. We turned onto the main road and rolled into Imbler, Oregon. Grim had always wanted to stop in the picturesque town especially to check out the little quaint market that had banners promising ice cream heaven. 

As usual, expectations exceeded reality. Grim was expecting some special ice cream a la Baskin and Robbins. Turns out, the usual little freezer containing Blue Bunny confections was all we found. It was still a nice stop but the temperature was rising.

We were on our way and had fairly smooth sailing through more small towns until we stopped for gas in Enterprise so we would be ready for the following day of riding.

It was a short hop over to Joseph where we checked into the Motel sans Slick who had a room in Enterprise. We stowed our gear, gathered together and rolled to do the "walk about" in downtown Joseph. It was fun to check out the stores and RipCity and Bomber both found treasures to take back home. RipCity finally procured the elusive Joseph cowboy hat and Bomber found a really cool light to put with other things to make other things.

Later, we reconvened at the Stubborn Mule for dinner and drinks. Our server was very efficient and friendly making sure everyone was taken care of. Grim's steak was tough as shoe leather but most everyone seemed to have a good meal. We then retired for the evening.

Morning dawned earlier than expected due to texts being sent a 3:48 a.m. preceding the alarm that was set for 5:30 a.m. Our departure was moved up after several different weather services issued a thunderstorm warning at the time period we had intended to begin our riding day. All participants were notified and we gathered an hour earlier skipping breakfast at the usual cafe. It started to rain big drops of rain as we were completing our safety briefing. In fact, ominous thunder punctuated RipCity's ride leader remarks. RipCity, in fact, was the ride leader for the day.

We rolled out of town and headed for the mountain after finding out that some Harley-Davidson models will only start if the kickstand is up. It was crisp, cool and especially beautiful as we rolled out of town over the farm land. The rain had slowed to a few drops. We encountered no wildlife but did have to ride carefully around some bovine creatures. One three thousand pound bull was taking up an entire lane of traffic and was unfazed and unbothered by any and all motorized traffic.

Just as we stopped at the Hells Canyon Overlook, the rain started back up to a medium steady patter. The canyon was fog filled and you could not see the other side. Only one stubborn rider left the safety of the motorcycles to venture out. We did meet some travelers from Switzerland who had been journeying through the Americas. 

We motored on out of the Overlook and down the mountain through winding roads and twisty turns. Always a fun route. We rolled past down the highway and turned right on the road to the dam. The temperature was starting to rise but still wasn't too bad. There was no traffic and the roads were clear. 

We stopped at the Gateway Store to get some treats to hold us over until lunch in Midvale. It was also a good place to shed some gear as the temperature was rising. We soon departed and rolled into Cambridge for some gasoline. Grim had enough fuel to get to Boise but never passes up the opportunity for ethanol free premium gas.

Eight more miles found the group rolling in to our usual cafe in MidVale. It is always a pleasant place to stop and eat some salad bar, burgers and the like. The servers were very attentive and pleasant bringing us food and directing our buffet experience. Rowdy showed us how to properly empty ketchup out of a bottle but I think part of it is magic and sleight of hand.

It had gotten hotter but we were cooled by the breeze as we rolled out on our motorcycles. JoyJoy had a saddle bag snafu that was finally figured out but eventually we rode through Weiser and into Payette where we turned onto old Highway 30 headed towards Sand Hollow Road. Again traffic was light or non-existent as it had been for most of the Run. No doubt avoiding Saturdays on our rides is helpful in this regard.

Gundy and JoyJoy

The Fall Run ended at the same place it started. Everyone actually stayed and chatted a while after the obligatory phots were taken. It was not quite as hot as previous rides and it was a great two days of riding.

RipCity did a very good job of leading the ride for the second day. Grim rode at the back for the first time with only Smooth trailing. Truth be told, Grim had a great time but maybe will try being mid pack next time just for the heck of it.

See you at the barbecue with the spouses. More info about that to follow. Great job by everyone.

Road Captain Report of Honor Guard Detail at the Funeral of "Big Easy"

 

On August 5, 2023, the OGRES Motorcycle Club (OMC) lost one of their founding members, "Big Easy". Big Easy was not able to ride with the Club for the last few years after a motorcycle crash north of Helena, Montana. He was badly injured and spent many days in the hospital healing. Afterwards, he intended to repair his Harley but time and business didn't not allow that to transpire.

It is with sadness and heavy hearts, we said goodbye to Big Easy at his funeral on August 14th, 2023. His lovely wife, Kay and children, Nicole, Gavin and Shane, asked the OMC to ride honor guard along with his hearse to the Dry Creek Cemetery after the funeral service. 

OMC members Bomber, Slick, Krome, Gundy and G-Man were in the honor guard. They were accompanied by 7 other friends and local HOG members also riding in the procession. 

We were escorted by member of the Boise Police Department Motor Unit who provided traffic control to allow the procession of Harley-Davidsons and cars to proceed directly to the cemetery.

Big Easy was a devoted husband and father and a "best friend" to many people. He served many years in his church and community helping those who needed such a friend. Big Easy was a successful real estate developer, partner and real estate agent who told the best stories and made us all laugh. He was THE guy who had never met a stranger and made everyone a friend.

Ride in peace, Big Easy.

Words and photos by G-Man.

OGRES Motorcycle Club "Joseph" Fall Run This Coming Thursday August 24th

 

Joseph, Oregon

The 2023 OGRES Motorcycle Club "Joseph" Fall Run begins this coming Thursday, August 24th,  at 7:45 a.m.

Safety briefing will be at the Chevron Station at Highway 44 and Old Highway 30 just west of Middleton, Idaho, on the above date and time.

More info at this link:

http://www.ogresmotorcycleclub.com/events.html

See you there or be square.

Honor Guard Assignment for OGRES MC Members This Coming Monday at 10:30 a.m. for Big Easy

 

The family of Big Easy have requested the presence of the OGRES Motorcycle Club members to ride their motorcycles directly behind the hearse carrying Big Easy to his final earthly resting place.

The uniform of the day will be:  white long sleeved shirt, dark tie, black or dark trousers and shoes. OGRES cuts will be worn outside of the chapel. 

We will meet at the LDS Church, Bogus Basin Road and Cartwright, at 10:30 a.m.for staging.

The escort will be from the LDS Church to Dry Creek Cemetery. Its a straight shot down Hill Road so it should not be a difficult route.

Let the President know if you will be participating, as soon as possible, so that complete and proper planning can be completed.

Former OGRES MC member Doug "Big Easy" Kowallis: Upcoming Viewing and Funeral Report

 

Doug "Big Easy" Kowallis died suddenly and recently. He was gardening with his wife, Kay, when he collapsed suddenly and was not able to be revived.

Big Easy is a beloved former member of the OGRES Motorcycle Club and is one of our brothers. He will be sorely missed.

Big Easy's funeral will be held on Monday, August 14th, at 11 a.m. A viewing will be held prior at 10 a.m. The proceedings will be held at the LDS Church at Cartwright and Bogus Basin Road.

Rest in Peace, Big Easy. There must be Harley-Davidsons in Heaven.

OGRES Motorcycle Club 2023 "Orofino" Summer Run Report

The OGRES Motorcycle Club 2023 Summer Run began with immediate route changes due to road closures and construction. Highway 21 was closed to through traffic between Idaho City and Lowman so an alternate route was used. Thanks to G-Man for being "heads up" to keep us from angst.

OMC members present: RipCity, Rowdy, Gundy, Slick, Smooth, G-Man, Bomber and Grim. OMC members absent: Duke and Krome.

We met at the appointed place/time and headed up Highway 55 through the cool morning air. The traffic was light to the point of being non-existent. Our first stop was at Garden Valley for a pit stop and leg stretch. We then continued past Lowman and up over Banner Summit. Our next stop was Stanley for gasoline and the motley crew decided to press on to Challis for lunch.

We stopped at the Village Inn Cafe in Challis and found a big table. The server was a riot and she met all our verbal jousts deftly and pointedly funny. It was a nice meal and company.

The mass of motorcycle mania then headed on up the road to Salmon. At the point the heat began and the riding was much more warm. Little did we know, the temperature was nothing compared to what we would experience the following two days.

Upon arrival in Salmon, we parked our bikes and checked in at the Stagecoach Hotel. The Vice President rallied the troops and organized the evenings activities while the President made the reservation at the Shady Nook. 

At the appointed time, OMC members and guests walked up to the Shady Nook and found our table ready and waiting. Coincidentally, there was a table of 18 people, sitting right next to us, that had just finished a week of rafting on the river. Needless to say, it was a rowdy and loud evening. However we had a nice meal even if the restaurant did not have any ice cream. After paying our tabs, we wandered back to the hotel past some live music. In the hotel, we hung out and socialized for a while. This time was very nice, and unusual, as normally everyone just heads to their rooms or other solo activities. It is hoped this becomes a regular practice in the future.

After a restful nights sleep, everyone met up for breakfast in the hotel. As usual, the repast consisted of mostly carbohydrates and not much protein. After the safety briefing we headed on down the road towards Darby.

It was a lovely cool ride through the valleys and mountains to Darby. The scenery and roadways are always top notch over this part of the run. Again the traffic was very light and almost no-existent in the direction we were headed.

The crew stopped in Darby at the usual place and found that the interior of the shops had been changed making it more fun to explore all the changes. RipCity and Grim had their traditional shared chocolate haystack and even shared with Rowdy. Bomber bought his traditional annual present for his bride and everyone was ready to leave on time.

We then jammed up the road through Hamilton, and other towns, until we stopped for fuel at Lolo. This is the point where the heat started up with a vengeance. We quickly fueled up and headed up Highway 12 towards Lolo Pass. The road was clear of traffic and the views/scenery was as fantastic as usual. 

The twin engined entourage rolled into Lochsa Lodge for lunch, as usual. It was clear by their demeanor, the servers were not glad to see our group of ten. Grim theorized that the chairs of the tables are glued to the floor so we seated ourselves into two groups of five. Everyone had a nice lunch, however, until near disaster struck. As we were leaving, G-Man discovered his "cut" had wandered off. He soon found it on the coatrack with kindred clothing as to not be lonely. Phew!

There were two construction stoppages that were encountered during the Lolo Pass leg of the Run. The first one had a pilot car and this second did not. When we rolled up on the second stoppage, Grim talked to the driver of the motor home at the lead and the driver had already decided to let us go first. He probably almost changed his mind when several of the OGRES group were not ready to go when we were waved onward. We managed to pass the motorhome and get down the road.

We continued down the beautiful, but very hot, windy mountain roads until we made a stop at the Three Rivers Resort. It turns out that it was a fortuitous stop as Bomber discovered his bike's clutch was having problems. Gundy quickly diagnosed the issue and brake/clutch fluid was quickly procured at the little store on site. Problem resolved at least for a while.

We then headed out as a group, except for G-Man who was dawdling as usual. He waved us on saying he would catch up and Grim accommodated him. However, his brother, Bomber, failed to hear him. After he had gone down the road awhile, Bomber realized G-Man was missing and and began to search for him. This started a domino effect forward with everyone slowing, stopping and turning with semi trucks whizzing by. It was scary.

In the future, we will all depart as a group, without fail, as this was very nearly a gang wreck that didn't need to happen. 

All us bikers continued down the road without, much traffic, but laden down by the heat and the mileage. The route was uneventful until we reached Kamiah where Grim was going a little fast, having missed seeing the speed limit sign. A kindly deputy sheriff on the roadside hit his overheads and motioned the errant President to slow down. It was kind of the lawman to leave the encounter at that. Phew!

RipCity Was a Hottie

We arrived in Orofino and parked in our usual spots. We quickly unpacked and checked into our rooms so we could get in the pool and hot tub as quick as possible. RipCity organized the evening's events and Grim made the reservations for dinner next door.

A wild time was had in the pool and hot tub with grown men turning quickly into 10 year old boys. Cannonballs, cold water fights and general mayhem quickly ensued It was great time and RipCity did his best imitation of a submarine that was almost sunk. We finally became waterlogged and headed off to dress for dinner.

We met in the lobby and went to the restaurant where our table was waiting. There was a 40 person party upstairs with a large group of bikers right next to us. 

It quickly became apparent to Grim that he had made a mistake countermanding RipCity's direction that "cuts" would be worn. 

Our "cuts" make our Club membership special and we should represent the OMC whenever we gather as a cohort. My apologies to the Vice President as he had made all the right calls. Grim appreciates his leadership...and his contribution to the Club has made it possible for Grim to carry on. Grim didn't realize how worn down he had become until RipCity took his role as Vice President. 

G-Man and Bomber both had the Shrimp Melt to commemorate past like meals and it actually looked pretty good.

After dinner, part of the bunch sat in the lobby of the hotel and traded jibes and stories for a while as to wind down for a night's sleep.

Morning found us getting breakfast in the lobby to prepare our bodies for the upcoming day of riding our bikes. After a safety briefing, we headed out on our last day's cruising. 

It was as nice, as usual, riding over the rolling farmland and great roads over to Grangeville. We made a pitstop at the truck stop and, as luck would have it, G-Man ran across some relatives at the truckstop. After the short family reunion, we headed on our way. It was still pretty nice sailing until we got to the bottom of Whitebird grade and the temperate increased drastically. 

We powered on past Riggins until we reached New Meadows where we stopped for gas.  Just before New Meadows, we encountered the only two idiot cage drivers of the trip but they were soon left behind.  After a quick meeting, it was decided we would take an alternate route through Council, Tamarack and Cambridge to Midvale for lunch. With the Pancake House permanently closed, Grim's main motivation for taking that route is gone.

We had a nice repast at the cafe, in Midvale, with an efficient and patient server. The salad bar was the big favorite.

We jumped aboard our steel horses and headed down the last leg of the Run. The back road to Middleton is always quiet and smooth and today was no exception.

Guests

OMC Members

After topping off the brake/clutch fluid in Bomber's Harley, we said our goodbyes and headed out our respective directions to our homes.

Even with the heat, the ride was a great one and everyone seemed to have a good time. The traffic was the lightest in recent memory and made the ride even better.

'Nuff said.

Photographs by Vice President RipCity

Words by President Grim