| Author | Message | ||
     Goldtooth |
This is also posted on ADV so if it is a repeat, deal with it  We met 13 years ago from a mutual friend and after finally getting the chance to be together, we knew it was going to be forever. Soon enough, kids came and life takes over and before we knew it, 11 years had gone by. Just recently, I got into street riding and picked up my Buell X1 but it was not so good for us to ride two up. I wanted to pick up a Ulysses and my supportive wife said "whatever you want" . I almost bought one on our family vacation to Yellowstone and rode it home. She wanted me to but it was a bit too expensive. Anyway, I did find one when we got home and promptly picked it up. It is great for the two of us to ride on. Powerful, outstanding handling, and room for luggage. We decided to take a weekend to ourselves for our 11 year anniversery and conned our friend to watching the kids for the weekend. No reservations anywhere, just 3 full days and the bike. Headed for the coast from Portland and ended up in Sisters on the last day. It was just what we needed. We headed out towards Tillamook on the great Hwy 6, which wasn't as good with all of the slow cagers. A few twists of the throttle later and it was all clear. The one thing we couldn't outrun was the crazy headwind coming from the coast. We stopped a few miles from Tillamook to put on some more layers as it was getting cold!   We headed through Tillamook without stopping as it was just windy and busy. Went down Hwy 101 and finally beat the wind, if there was any it was a tailwind which was great. Pretty easy drive down 101, with a great strech of twisties before Lincoln City brought us for a late lunch stop. Friday afternoon in Lincoln City can be a bit busy and we are not what you would call patient for people decided to go into Safeway grocery and grab a Starbucks and chinese food. Mmm orange chicken. Very yummy and just what we needed to warm up.  Back on the road with full tummies we decided to keep heading south towards Newport. Again, no big surprises to Newport and by this point it was around 5:00 and we decided to grab a hotel. A few were full so we decided on some chain hotel off of the strip. It had a jacuzzi but no view. From our room:   Unloaded the gear and went downtown for some dinner and drinks at the local brewery. Lost a whole dollar at video poker! That's it, I am done gambling . Walked around the docks and watched the sea lions sleeping and snoring. Up the next morning and kept heading south. It was pretty chilly but hoped it would warm up soon. Stopped for a few pix     My wife doesn't like this pic, says she looks terrible but it's all I got. Sorry babe  Rolled into Waldport for some breakfast. Went over this cool bridge-   My wife waiting patiently for me to stop taking pix  Downtown Waldport  My wifes breakfast  MINE!! The best breakfast burrito I have ever had. We also ate it for lunch it was so big!  Decided to head out Hwy 34  Hwy 34 is just amazing. We passed a few motor homes and we had the road all to ourselves. Enjoying the scenery and the twisty road, it was bliss. Stopped at this nice river to look around.    Peek-a-boo!  Had a little fishing shelter with a nice wood stove in it  Headed up the road a bit more and saw this nice old shed/barn.   Stopped to check out the GPS on time and just when we stopped, felt a bit on the back of my neck and naturally swatted at it and got stung by a bee! Kinda hurt. Oh well part of the fun. Stopped outside of Eugene to get some gas and a snack. Ended up eating the rest of our burrito.    We turned towards Hwy 126 with intentions of going through Hwy 242 but would soon find out something different. Apperantly because of the current forest fires, Hwy 242 was closed . I had been looking forward to riding that hwy since we first turned west. I actually considered going through for a bit but my wife talked some sense into me. Us getting some snacks after learning about the closure from another rider.   So we needed to head towards Hwy 20 which I wasn't looking forward to. Too straight with too many cagers. Oh well. So we continued on Hwy 126 towards 20 which was nice and stopped at Sahalie Falls which is a must see. It was super busy but it is easy to park a bike      Got back on the bike and headed towards Sisters. We have been through lots of times but have never stayed and were looking forward to it. Sisters is a small town just outside of the popular outdoor town of Bend, Or that has a very western feel to it. Faux front buildings, jail board you can take a picture in etc. We decided on a small cottage group to stay in and got the Honeymoon suite which was upstairs of another room. Not to bad, kinda grandma like but it will do. We ditched the gear and rode into town for some awesome mexican food. View from our room   We needed to head back on Sunday morning and noticed the forecast called for rain so we tried to get an early start. Got the gear loaded at 8:00am and just got on the bike when the sky opened. Now neither of us has rain gear so we just accepted the fact we were going to get wet. About 15 minutes outside of Sisters and I was already feellng the water and cold and we have not even got to the pass yet. Now I do not have any more pics from the trip as the rain then turned into a monsoon. As we gained elevation, the rain turned into a slushy snow. We were sooo cold and wet at this time we just wanted a place to warm up. My boots were full of water and my leather jacket soaked. I knew of a restraunt over the pass we could go to but now it was just how long till we get there. Well finally we see salvation and pull in under a tree. I grabbed my extra socks and shirts out of the luggage (which was perfectly dry, good job Buell) and we went inside. I sat by the door and poured the water out from my boots and changed my socks. We grabbed a corner seat and layed out our gear to dry on chairs and put our gloves on the floor heating vents. The owners were super cool about it. It finally stopped raining and we drank as much coffe and ate as much as we could so we decided to hit the road. Pretty uneventful on the way home. Pulled in, hugged the kids and felt refreshed. Ready for another amazing year with my wonderful wife. Nate | ||
| Andymnelson |
Nice write up- sounds like a fun trip, and a great life!
At Homecoming last year I cracked my visor just a hair to let some fresh air in, and a bee went into my helmet! He stung me right in the tender part to the side of the nose. Fortunately, I am not allergic to bee stings, but man did that make my eyes water! (Message edited by andymnelson on January 10, 2011) | ||
| Court |
"Wonderful Wife" . . . is an understatement . . she's a GODDESS! Great story and I confess. . . these are the Buell tales I enjoy the most! Thanks for sharing, Court | ||
| Road_kill |
absolutely awesome. I'm glad you two got to enjoy some quality time together - and on the Uly! Thanks for sharing. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Ha! There you are. I enjoyed the RR at ADVrider and here! If it wasn't for reading ride reports, I'd lose my mind. 32 degrees and sleeting/raining here today. It's been a sucky winter here (SC) so far. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Nice trip. Now you've got to get your wife into a MSF BRC so that she can pilot her own bike. She'll enjoy motorcycling even more. Just think if your wife was the one with the license and you were sitting behind her all day long, wouldn't be near as fun would it. | ||
| Maximum |
Speaking from experience...21 years of marriage with two separate wife supported Uly purchases...I can say that it is an awesome thing to have an encouraging wife! Thanks for the great write up...and for posting it here. | ||
| Court |
>>>>I can say that it is an awesome thing to have an encouraging wife! I'd agree with that! I came home to find a brand spanking new Ulysses with a bow on it in my driveway as a birthday present. Keeper she is. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Maximum and Court, I couldn't agree more. I'm one of the lucky ones who has a great, very supportive wife. She takes a great deal of interest in my motorcycle passion and is supportive in every way. I'm a lucky guy. What a great ride report! Super job, Goldtooth. Gorgeous pictures, well put together, and very interesting to read. Congrats on a great family as well. Thank you. | ||
| Goldtooth |
Thanks for the comments, it helps to know it is worth writing these up. I put another one up in the Tale section of a ride with my dad to Mt. St. Helens. nate | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Goldtooth, nice write-up with lots of great pictures on a truly great American made motorcycle and all shared with a wonderful wife! Doesn't get any better than that!  | ||
| Hooper |
Really makes me want to get out there on some overnights. You guys are lucky. Unfortunately, I'm finding the still-fairly-new wife is becoming more and more anti-motorcycle by the week. She recently floated a new "request/rule" (I'm having my lawyer look at this) that overseas motorcycle trips are no longer allowed (a friend of ours got really f'ed up riding in rural Spain). "But honey, I thought you meant no 2nd or 3rd world countries!" All of this originally fueled by my deer strike three years ago while we were dating, from which I miraculously came away with only sore ribs and a deep cut on my thigh. We shall see.  | ||
| Eulysses |
Not only supportive but willing to put the miles in. That was a BIG loop! No way my princess would handle that. | ||
| Goldtooth |
Thanks, she said she had a blast. She is the best. nate | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
Great write up..I'll be riding out that way soon....Thanks! | ||
| 2tracksam |
Great story, sitting here in a hotel missing Portland, family and the bikes (no comment on the order) and the great riding we're blessed with in the Northwet. I can't wait for some decent weather and the rivers to drop! |
