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Hells Gate Scooter Rally 1870+ miles in 5 days

3K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Jack D 
#1 ·
I left last Thursday and got back on Monday. The trip up was long, scenic, but cold. We took Highway 5 to 97. It rained a bit the first day in the Mt. Shasta area. We made it up to Bend the first day, over 500 miles I believe. It was freezing cold-45°- in Bend. It was around 9 hours to get there, doing an average of 75mph. Highway 97 is a beautiful drive through the Oregon. The second day was the most scenic, northern Oregon, SE Washington along the Columbia River into Idaho. Fair weather and dry. The run along the Columbia River into Idaho is gorgeous!

The rally site was at Hells Gate State park in Lewiston, right along the Snake River. We got there around 1PM. 893 miles total. I can't remember the total time for us to get there. The campground was nice, but we stayed in the local motel. Rally food was good. The first night was BBQ on this huge grill on wheels. Endless supply of beer and a wicked drink call the Styff and Bloody. The second day started with breakfast at the campgrounds and a ride into the country side to a local grill for lunch. After riding back after lunch, we rode again up the Old Spiral Hwy, a 7 mile uphill twisty route to the top of the local hills. That was a blast. Then back down to a local brewery where a whole pig had been roasted for dinner. Plenty of beer all around and a local band playing. Gymkhana course was set up for anybody who wanted to do it.

The last day was sunny and ended with breakfast at the campsite and the raffle for many prizes. We left at 10:30 intending to head west to Portland and back down get warmer weather. The headwinds on the river going out were murder. Even Ray's Burgman was getting thrown around. We decided to head back south the way we came to Bend, hoping the winds wouldn't be as fierce. I'd rather brave the chilling cold there than the winds we were having. As it turned out, the gusting winds were intermittent, but still with us all the way back to the Bay Area. We made it to Klamath Falls after 9.5 hours and 42° temps. The second day we blasted back with the holiday traffic and got home in 6 hours at 1:30. 1876.8 total miles for the trip. 39 gallons of gas for an average of 48mpg. Mileage varied from a low of 43 to a high of 55mpg.

There were about 50 people registered for the rally. I don't know how many bikes there were, 30-40. Bikes varied from Vespa 150's to the Burgman. Some trailered their bikes, most rode there. Everyone who attended was out for a good rollicking time. The Bastards group from Sacramento got snowed in up in Truckee and had to wait a day to continue. 4 guys from the San Jose area rode almost 1100 miles through Nevada to get to Idaho. One of them had a bald rear tire when he got up there that went flat, so he had to hitch a ride for both his scoot and himself to get back home. A scoot club called the Minions came from Spokane. One couple drove from Philly. No mishaps with any riders. 4 of the riders, including the 2 hosts were local.

One thing I learned is that I could have used heated gear. Ray had gloves and a heated liner in his jacket. Dan had heated grips only, but said he coulda used heated gloves. My hands and feet froze when it got real cold. If I make more trips like this, I'll have to invest in some heated gear. I initially wore insulated overpants with my jacket that couldn't zip together at the waist, so I had a draft around my waist at the back. My legs were fine, but that draft was irritating. I had second pair of Dainese pants that weren't waterproof, but could zip all the way around the back of the Dainese jacket, which cleared up the draft problem. I started wearing those when I realized the rain was over, and I was comfy. I brought and wore a pair hiking boots that proved to be warmer than my Icon riding boots. I'll have to research warmer waterproof riding boots for the future. My Dainese D-Dry jacket came through with flying colors, as did the Firstgear HT overpants, other than the mismatched rear zippers. I'm glad I didn't wear my BMW jacket, it would have been too cold, and required extra layers. Now I have to research getting a more fitted waterproof textile touring pant instead of overpants. Any suggestions?

Our hosts Lacyn and Josh were amazing! They put this rally together all by themselves over the last year. The country up there is great for riding. The ride to the area would be excellent in better weather. I'm glad I made the trek and learned a lot.

Driving in traffic in Oregon, Washington and Idaho is more manageable than this state. Everybody stays to the right except to pass. So there is no one hogging the fast lane. Not like here. No lane splitting though. No helmet required in Idaho if over 18, that's plain stupid. Only one local didn't wear a helmet. Having a GPS was very helpful for this lonr trip. Our 3 bikes, TMax, 650 Burgman and Piaggio BV500 had different mileage ranges, so Ray planned gas stops every 100 miles or so to give our legs a rest and not chance any of us running out of gas. I really appreciated the periodic breaks. I wore earplugs the entire trip, but my ears were still ringing awhile afterwards from all the wind noise.

PIctures to follow...
 
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#6 ·
Thanks for the great shots.

I'm one of the guys from the South Bay Scooter Posse that did over 1100 miles (one way). We tried to avoid freeways as much as possible ( in one stretch, we crossed Hwy 84 four times as we meandered all over the side roads) Also got snowed on in part of the ride. I actually go the award for most miles ridden. Suji thought he might give me a run for this prize except that I actually had to tow him for 50 miles (said that miles under someone else's power didn't count).
 
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