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| Sunrise at the Start |
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| Highways 44 and Old 30 |
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| Logistics and Safety Briefing |
The decision to move the starting time back an hour, from 8 am to 7 am, turned out to be a great move. It was nice watching the sunrise as we waited for everyone to arrive and allowed us to miss much of the afternoon heat.
OMC members present: G-Man, Smooth, Bomber, Rowdy, Gundy, RipCity and Grim. We had one guest. OMC members absent: Duke and Slick.
Grim covered the logistics for the day and our two Road Captains did a good job of covering the safety reminders before we started out. G-Man had checked the route and he warned us of possible fire activity between Vale and Unity.
We headed out and traveled through Notus, Parma and Nyssa. It was smooth sailing with very little traffic. The temperature was very nice and lasted quite a while. We encountered a little construction at the turn to Vale but it was pretty tame.
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| Vale |
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| Unity |
We stopped in Vale for a quick break for supplies and rest room needs. Shortly, we moved on and it was a nice ride to Unity, where we stopped for a much needed ice cream break. Yes, on OMC runs you can eat ice cream whenever you want.
We climbed back on our bikes and headed up over the twisty Blue mountains. The temperature was perfect and the road was very fun. We only encountered one vehicle and it turned off just as we overtook the pickup.
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| Baker City |
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| Baker City |
We cruised through Cove and over to Elgin to stop for lunch. Traffic remained light or non-existent.
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| Buckhorns Cafe |
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| Sprinkler Fun |
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| G-Man and Rowdy ? |
We stopped at the cafe in Elgin formerly know as Cowboys and Angels. The owner/server was a real gem and we really enjoyed her humor and interactions. The food was good and the company was great except RipCity could barely be seen as he was sitting so far away.
After our meal, we played in the sprinkler to cool off for the ride and went walking with Sasquatch. Although I think G-Man was having an after meal prayer and Rowdy was posing for GQ Magazine.
We mounted back up and headed up the road. Again the traffic was light or non-existent. After a stop in Enterprise for gas, we rolled into Joseph at 2:40 pm.
Since we arrived prior to the official check-in time, our emailed door codes were not in operation yet. The manager was quick to get with us and speed up the process of getting us in our rooms. Some members commented that the staff was ill-prepared and not ready for our arrival. That sentiment could not be further from the truth. We brought any confusion on ourselves by checking in before the 3 pm check-in time and the staff was trying to accommodate our early arrival.
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| Black Angel |
We dropped our gear and readied our rooms. Some OMC members changed some clothing and headed downtown to check out all the shops and get haystack and nutted chocolates along with lotsa water. Others hung out in their rooms or whatever.
Grim made the reservations at the Stubborn Mule and was chagrined to find out there were 3 twenty person groups already on the reservation list. He then knew the evening meal could be gnarly with so many guests.
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| Stubborn Mule |
OMC members did convene at 6:30 pm for dinner. We had to sit in the dining room instead of the patio. We ordered our food and began a 2 hour vigil before we were served. Phew. RipCity ordered an appetizer to tide us over but it was not enough and too delayed. Our food finally arrived and many found their meals to be overcooked and greatly wanting of taste and quality.
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| G-Man Making Their Dinner Cold |
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| Runs in the Family |
G-Man has never met a stranger he didn't like and soon was enmeshed in a conversation with the adjacent table. We hoped the couple's dinner was not getting cold.
Note to Grim: Due to our earlier departure and arrival, make dinner reservations for 5:30 pm instead of 6:30 pm. Also possibly make reservations for two 4 person tables instead of one 8 person table.
As we were leaving the restaurant, the electric power went out the entire length of Main Street. Several of the members had already left for the lake and the rest of us headed for the grocery store for ice cream sandwiches.
Upon arrival at the grocery store, we found it open but found their ice cream inventory to be, well, rather lousy. We passed on the ice cream and headed back to the Indian Lodge Motel.
We chatted for a bit outside but then retired for the night. The power came back on around 11:30 pm which made it better for some and worse for others.
Morning came early bright and early as breakfast commenced at 6 am to allow for a 6:45 am logistics and safety briefing. Breakfast was great and we had a really nice lady serving us that insisted on giving us a hug when we left.
Bomber and G-Man departed back to take the freeway home as family obligations were calling. The rest of us headed up the mountain towards the Hells Canyon overlook. The traveling to that overlook was especially smooth and refreshing. It was Grim's best experience on that road thus far.
We stopped and enjoyed the lookout and the view for a bit. It was smoky but still beautiful and quiet. We were the only ones there.
We departed and headed down the mountain towards Hells Canyon. This stretch of road was just as cathartic and beautiful previous in the morning. We rolled down past Scotty's gas station and over along the reservoir, dam and power plant. We continued to roll over into Cambridge and into the heat. We made a quick stop for gasoline and then headed to MidVale.
Note to Grim: Skip the stop in Cambridge and go the 8 more miles for the stop in MidVale for lunch. Everyone had plenty of gas.
Lunch at MidVale was nice and fun as usual. The salad bar never disappoints and the peach pie a la mode was scrumptious. RipCity was able to score his ice cream as Gundy took the cherry pie off his plate.
Grim tried his "cool vest" for the first time and is a convert. Again, traffic was light and we passed quickly through Weiser and then on to Payette. It was hot but smooth running over the countryside from Payette on old Highway 30/Sand Hollow. We sped on into the valley and ended up where we began the previous day. Heartfelt hugs and well wished were exchanged and all headed their separate ways. It was about 2:30 pm when we split up.
The earlier starting times were definitely a boon for the trip and will be repeated in the future. New challenges arose due to the schedule but those will be overcome for the future Runs on this route.
Special thanks to RipCity for the great photos.
