Seattle to Maupin with the PNW crew

[Hudson]

Panman organized this year's Maupin run, and did a great job ensuring the ride was well attended by the PNW crew.

Notable exceptions were:

1. Barabus (whose work-life balance is out of)

2. Niehart (who suddenly decided this was the weekend to listen to his wife), and

3. Achiu (ok, he was in Cabo, but in October? Hot and humid as hell!)

The PNW was split about the proper route to take, so we split up with plans to meet at Maupin, some 340 miles away. I aligned with Auburn and Mrs., knowing I would get the ride of my life. And so it began:

Auburn got the party started with the proper sign of the ride.

We was soon blasting through Mt. Rainer national park:

The astute reader will notice an immediate gap between Mt. Rainer and Packwood, WA. While I fancy myself like Old Michael, documenting the route with a surveyor's eye, it was all I could do to keep up with ex track racer Auburn and the Missus as they flew through Mt. Rainer.

At Packwood, don't shoplift Corn Nuts unless you want to see yourself on Packwood's Most Wanted:

Auburn slowed enough to let me get the vanity "Mt. Hood" shot, and then promptly lit the afterburners:

The fall colors were just starting to show:

The colors were really in full bloom at KJ's eatery in Trout Lake:

Niehart, no pie for you! (Yes, they spelled out KJ's using blueberries)

Fall Pumpkin Patches were just showing:

 

[Hudson]

Cow!

Scenes like this really make you excited for your Skyway auxilary fuel tank. I can't wait until mine's ready!

More scenic pix:

Ok, I too wondered how effective a 75 cent assortment could be at preventing unplanned births.

Arriving in Maupin, Beamer Reamer had to shake out his saddle sore

That night, MCRider had the crew speechless as he pulled out a defective cam chain tensioner and explained the innards:

EscapeArtist experienced a little shrinkage with his cam chain tensioner:

All that crazy talk brought out the local hotties:

 

[Hudson]

The next morning the PNW crew readied for the blast to Fossil. To avoid Old Michael's fate with Oregon's finest LEOs, Beamer Reamer decided he would try to blend in with the surroundings:

Ready to roll

Favorite Part of the Trip #1:

Arriving in Fossil, the local biker gang showed up to give us an escort:

Fossil was interesting, but had this "not quite right in the head" vibe, sorta like the town in Northern Exposure. Loved it anyways.

Maybe it was lunch that made me love this town:

Niehart, no pie for you!

 

[happyPuppy]

Great Pics, I wish I could have made it! I really like the fall colors pic

 

[Hudson]

You meet the nicest people on a Honda Yamaha

Cow!

Favorite Part of the Trip #2

Headed back into Maupin for the night:

Favorite Part of the Trip #3:

That's Carl and Jonnie. They were able to make it out to see us. Carl is hobbling still, and undergoing physical therapy, but in great spirits and very thankful for all the support and prayers received during his ordeal. It was really great to see them!

The next morning, the guage said it all:

What the temp gauge didn't say, the bikes did:

Despite a chilly start, the weather slowly warmed. The sky was glorious:

Klickitat. Nuff said.

Favorite part of the Trip #4, the road out of Klickitat. Nice twisties.

Who can't use a fresh start? Just maybe not here:

I think maybe Gentle Ben and his friend might be interested in the erotic assortment a few posts back. I'm just saying...

Last picture, no good caption. A little help from the forum...

 

[Old Michael]

...The astute reader will notice ...

Worry not.

As if there were any in this friggin' place.

Excellent Hudson.

Laughing out loud.

Seriously.

(But damn it, I was hoping to see Panman's jammie bottoms again.)

 

[vabrzn]

Enjoyed the pics, thanks.

 

[FJRay]

Sorry to have missed the fun and frolick but after the stroke episode it seemed to make more sense to stay home. I really hate to make sense but after a stroke maybe people will not think its to be expected. See ya next time

 

[Niehart]

Pie, damn you Dave. Great pictures, can't tell you how much it pained me to miss this ride.

As always, great pic and sense of humor!

So Mr. George loves his heated gear [when it works .

Pie, damn you Dave!

 

[bikerskier]

DAMN.. that pie looked good!

Now I am really pissed that I had to miss the ride.

 

[Stephen]

I need to work less, ride more.

 

[Beamer Reamer]

Let me say upfront that this is a great crew to ride with on these trips. People you would want to hang out with even if they hadn't shown their incredible taste by choosing the FJR. Had a couple of new folks this trip and they were a pleasure to have along as well. Now I don't have Hudson's superb story telling skillz nor his unique view of the world as demonstrated by his pics, but here is some of the crowd we spent the weekend with and some nice settings go with them.

A quick meeting in Ellensburg, WA to shake out the cold and then a ride through The Canyon enroute to 97

Panman is not in his PJ's here (Wingshot is happy about that) but those PJ's did show up at the evening fire

The Master Plugger is explaining the nuances of the many ways to point

A day and a hangover later, we found ourselves here in Fossil, OR. The crew is a little bigger after all meeting in Maupin

The local Grannies were having a rock-a-thon, Hudson was sure sweet talkin them hoping they would make it to cocktails later

Wingshot was doing the best he could as well...

 

[Beamer Reamer]

Some of the artwork in Fossil, just behind the city park and the local tree

A quick break somewhere on the road between Fossil and Maupin

It was cool riding through these rocky ledges (topped out at about 40 degrees actually)

A stop during the Sunday ride home, this was the quick team waiting for the almost as quick team

The setting

 

[ahchiu]

Dave,

Nice pictures, yes it's HOT and HUMID.. but I spend the time in the pool with Don Julio and it's all good, but I rather be riding with the gang..

 

[Beamer Reamer]

I spent time with Don Julio this past January in Cabo...too much time. Glad you are in a warm place during this blustery period. Wind knocked down a maple tree in my yard today that was 18" thick. You were drinking while I was using up a couple of tanks of gas in the old Stihl. Hope you make it to the tech meet.

 

[Hudson]

Beamer, nice pics. You have mad skillz too.

This was by far the best trip with the crew. Best roads, awesome company, incredible riding.

Can't wait for another one.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Great pics y'all. Since the boss pulled a surprise evening project on me, I still haven't taken the time to look through the camera. I'm sure there will be something...

--G

 

[escapefjrtist]

This was by far the best trip with the crew. Best roads, awesome company, incredible riding.
Can't wait for another one.

Gotta agree with you on this Hudson. Great group effort and really fun roads. My rear tire is looking pretty pathetic now...darn those roads anyway! :blink:

--G

 

[dustyrains]

Most of the vid clips I took for this ride are up on youtube. There will be a few more uploaded tomorrow. Taken with the HERO Wide Angle camera mounted left side fairing right under the mirror. Most the time riders you see ahead of me are AuburnFJR and Beamer Reamer.

https://www.youtube.com/roadking82