All the Way to the Water - Day 4

Day 4: No Longer Alone

The next morning came all too quickly after 3 hard days on the road but once I was awake I was ready to get started on another days incredible adventures. Serendipity has provided a life times worth of surprises already and it had only been 3 days. More surprises awaited us at the next “photo-op” stop as we mounted our Wings and prepared to ride toward Colorado. Riding for the first time in a few days with another rider was comforting. Traveling alone has its own unique rewards, but riding with a partner who is familiar and comfortable is not to be undervalued. Bill and I had ridden many miles together over the past few years and we understand each other’s rhythms and styles. We liked the same food, ride the same speed, enjoy the same sights and like each other’s company.  Having someone there to share the adventure is altogether comforting and genuine, something in a humans soul likes to be with another person.

Last evenings hard riding to the coast allowed us the time to explore Mt Hood. This side trip would not have been as easily squeezed in had I not kept going last night and found the ocean so we were both looking forward to seeing what fate has arranged for us, we were not to be disappointed. We found the winding road that leads us to the lodge. A nice motorcycle road, clean and curvy with very little traffic and reasonably wide and fast. All too soon, it opened to the parking lot at the lodge, which was not at the summit (disappointingly), but rather a short way below. Timberline Lodge is a ski resort and the lift lines ascend towards the summit and one skis back down to the lodge. The parking lot, now almost empty as ski season was a long way off, held a different surprise for us that day. As we glided around the last corner and saw an adjacent very flat and large open parking lot to the side, we noticed it was full of orange cones, and a few trucks. Then I saw it…a professional  photographer had set up in the parking lot and was taking pictures of the pre-production model of the 2011 Can-Am Spyder ( the newest trike motorcycle).

Curious we stopped our bikes to the side and dismounted, and as we shed some gear, one of the workers started walking over toward us. Thinking we were about to be told to leave I waited near my bike for the announcement that we had to move on. However, it never happened. I asked if it was all right if we watched for a while and were told it was quite fine for us to stand around and talk while the photographer and his staff worked on, in and around the Spyder.  As we spoke, it became clear that we were speaking with the professional rider who had been hired to ride the Spyder over the past few days as they were filming commercials for the next years marketing campaign.

He explained that they had been riding up and down this mountain for the past few days filming the action from a specially adapted car with a camera mounted to the roof capturing footage for use in future commercials, and online videos. Today was the day they had elected to do some of the still work as the sun and weather were perfect however, that left the rider with little to do but stand around and watch the marketing group scramble from shot to shot. As we talked about this new type motorcycle, I remarked that when I was done on 2 wheels I would probably move to one of these. He said that we could sit on it when they were finished snapping shots if we wanted, to which I quipped, “Sit on it..? I want to ride it!”  He said “...wait here a minute...” and walked away. After what seemed an eternity he came back and said that he had arranged for us to ride it around the parking lot but not down the mountain after the photo-shoot was over in about ½ an hour.  I was dumbfounded with the opportunity and we quickly agreed that we would wait.  We spent the time by walking into the lodge, buying a few helmet stickers, generally getting a few pictures of the mountain.  When we returned it was time for us to have some fun on NEXT YEARS newest model.



Bill takes a spin on next years model



The two of us knew we had stumbled onto a once in a lifetime (for us average Joes) chance to ride a prototype motorcycle and although we were not allowed to leave the parking lot we did have some fun racing around the cones and generally acting like kids on Christmas with a new toy.





Carl rides the new Spyder



After leaving saying thanks and good-bye to the Spyder people, we rode back down Mt Hood and started toward our next destination. We had plans to get to Boise ID yet that day which was a 450-mile day and it was rapidly approaching noon. We had not planned to spend so much time on the mountain however, the opportunity was too great to not take advantage of, and so we settled in for a focused cruise throughout the afternoon. We elected Highway 26, which connects the Mt Hood recreation area and Interstate 84 near Boise. This road runs through some incredible wilderness areas and national forests as it travels east toward Idaho.  Still giddy from our unbelievably lucky stumbling onto the advertising photo-shoot we simply cruised the day away heading to another place and enjoying the ride. Southern Idaho is much different from the northern panhandle slice I had traveled through 2 days previous and I noticed the vastly different terrain and plant life. No longer a pine forest; but rather a high desert plain, the southern end of Idaho becomes the jumping off point for Nevada and the flat, hot deserts that extend all the way through Arizona to the border.  Stunted trees and brush replace the lush green forests. The rivers are dry and the grass a faded brown. The few pines that managed to get a foothold in this country had gathered around water holes and were not reaching for the sky like the spires of the Lolo forest I had ridden through with such wonder.

 We found a cozy “Mom & Pop” restaurant in the town of Madras; which reminded us of the movie ‘Wild Hogs’ ; but the Black Bear diner was nothing like the diner in the movie and the sleepy little town was more than a whistle stop in real life. Lunch was filling and  we had another 300 miles left to go. The excessive travel was catching up to us both and we talked about finding a place and getting a good night sleep. Bill had been on the road for several days longer than I already and we both were a little “road weary”. Our hotel that night in Boise was a welcome sight and after a few cold refreshments, we slept well.