KillRamsey
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Hood River, OR
- Name
- Kyle
I finally got around to editing everything, or deciding NOT to edit some things and just go on with it. At any rate, I got invited last-minute to go on a guided 6 night / 7 day bike tour of ghost towns in eastern Oregon two weeks ago. A tour company had no bookings for the first slot of the year, so they opened it up to bike-related media people, and that -my friends- includes ME, thanks to the Mrs. So we got loaded up, charged up the electric kid-towing bike rig (I opted -wisely- to use one of his loaner bikes), and they picked us up on their way east out of Portland.
Total distance was something like 350 miles, so 60-70 a day most times, once just 40ish. Daughter rode behind the Mrs on the e-rig, but opted about half of each day to ride in the van instead. She loved our guides, and fellow guests (one of whom stopped riding mid-way through Day 2), so she loved riding with them in the van and learning new card games to play while they’d wait for us at each new rest stop. Loaner bike came with a spacious handlebar bag with rain cover, the PERFECT place to stash the little Domke… I could reach in under the lid, draw and shoot quickly, and stash again, in less than 4 seconds. I didn’t miss much in that regard. And as photos were to be my repayment to them for the waived trip fee (north of $2k), I did my dernest with the weather I had.
Equipment was the XT1 (of course), mostly with 18-55 on it. Other lenses brought, in order of usefulness, were Rokinon 12, XC 50-230, the XF 56, and XF 27 with polarizer on the front of it. There was one day where I brought ONLY the XF27 out of the van, and I just wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t getting shots that I liked, so I stopped fighting it and put the 18-55 and Rok 12 back in the handlebar bag.
At any rate, here’s some of what I was able to do, in sequential order:
Typical Day 1 scenery, outside Shaniko. Twisty roads!
KBRX5007 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Race ahead, pull over, get set up, wait...
KBRX5097 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Lots of this.
KBRX5130 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Some of the downhills were NOT for the feint of heart. Closest thing I've done to motorcycling since I sold it before moving out here.
KBRX5143 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Meeting the locals.
KBRX5192 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Better light this day.
KBRX5230 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
KBRX5252 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
My companions
KBRX5270 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
KBRX5293 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
So much of this, on a gravel road for 30+ miles.
KBRX5294 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
I walked through it. It was ... hazardous. More pics of the interior at Flickr. Looks to have been abandonned about the 2nd world war, 50's tops.
KBRX5303 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
KBRX5351 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
And then my bike ate its deraileur. In brief, the dry gravel roads turned to cement-like mud when we hit a sretch that had just been rained on prior. I've never experienced mud quite like this. It wasn't deep, or soft, but what it touched, it clung to like tar, and quickly dried to the consistency of cheap concrete. I'm still chiseling it off the e-bike. Meanwhile, I coasted down a long hill on this loaner bike, and with the first stroke of the cranks at the bottom, I heard a horrific mechanical cry for help out back and knew something very, very bad had happened.
KBRX5357 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
eBike fared better, but looked ugly.
KBRX5361 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Evenings, at camp.
KBRX5408 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
The best stretch of the whole trip, for me. 15-20 miles unpaved through empty national forest, followed by LONG twisty downhill. Best day I had by far.
KBRX5479 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Lots of this. Mule deer, to be exact. Saw a pair of elk off in the woods once, but no 50-230 on the bike that day.
KBRX5494 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
I wasn't positive on the ID, so I rode away from about 15 huge morel mushrooms, sadly. Turns out they were real. That's like $50 worth.
KBRX5505 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
When you're bike touring, there is no better sign than this, save perhaps "Congested Brewery Area Ahead."
KBRX5509 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Also, lots of dogs just bouncing around in open pickup truck beds. I was often amazed they hung on.
KBRX5582 by gordopuggy, on Flickr
To Be Continued (slightly)...
Total distance was something like 350 miles, so 60-70 a day most times, once just 40ish. Daughter rode behind the Mrs on the e-rig, but opted about half of each day to ride in the van instead. She loved our guides, and fellow guests (one of whom stopped riding mid-way through Day 2), so she loved riding with them in the van and learning new card games to play while they’d wait for us at each new rest stop. Loaner bike came with a spacious handlebar bag with rain cover, the PERFECT place to stash the little Domke… I could reach in under the lid, draw and shoot quickly, and stash again, in less than 4 seconds. I didn’t miss much in that regard. And as photos were to be my repayment to them for the waived trip fee (north of $2k), I did my dernest with the weather I had.
Equipment was the XT1 (of course), mostly with 18-55 on it. Other lenses brought, in order of usefulness, were Rokinon 12, XC 50-230, the XF 56, and XF 27 with polarizer on the front of it. There was one day where I brought ONLY the XF27 out of the van, and I just wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t getting shots that I liked, so I stopped fighting it and put the 18-55 and Rok 12 back in the handlebar bag.
At any rate, here’s some of what I was able to do, in sequential order:
Typical Day 1 scenery, outside Shaniko. Twisty roads!
Race ahead, pull over, get set up, wait...
Lots of this.
Some of the downhills were NOT for the feint of heart. Closest thing I've done to motorcycling since I sold it before moving out here.
Meeting the locals.
Better light this day.
My companions
So much of this, on a gravel road for 30+ miles.
I walked through it. It was ... hazardous. More pics of the interior at Flickr. Looks to have been abandonned about the 2nd world war, 50's tops.
And then my bike ate its deraileur. In brief, the dry gravel roads turned to cement-like mud when we hit a sretch that had just been rained on prior. I've never experienced mud quite like this. It wasn't deep, or soft, but what it touched, it clung to like tar, and quickly dried to the consistency of cheap concrete. I'm still chiseling it off the e-bike. Meanwhile, I coasted down a long hill on this loaner bike, and with the first stroke of the cranks at the bottom, I heard a horrific mechanical cry for help out back and knew something very, very bad had happened.
eBike fared better, but looked ugly.
Evenings, at camp.
The best stretch of the whole trip, for me. 15-20 miles unpaved through empty national forest, followed by LONG twisty downhill. Best day I had by far.
Lots of this. Mule deer, to be exact. Saw a pair of elk off in the woods once, but no 50-230 on the bike that day.
I wasn't positive on the ID, so I rode away from about 15 huge morel mushrooms, sadly. Turns out they were real. That's like $50 worth.
When you're bike touring, there is no better sign than this, save perhaps "Congested Brewery Area Ahead."
Also, lots of dogs just bouncing around in open pickup truck beds. I was often amazed they hung on.
To Be Continued (slightly)...
