Hells Canyon Ride Report

[OSC Admin]

The OSC’s first “Do It Yourself” ride was a great success.  Five riders participated, even thought it was held on a week day.  As a DIY ride it provided the ease and flexibility of riding in pairs, but the camaraderie of a group ride.

 

Sunday night we talked over dinner and all five of us decided to ride through Hells Canyon all the way to the dam on Monday.  Arden and Dallas were the early group out and Steve, Tony and Rick left the hotel a little after 8:00 AM.

 

We followed the route to the dam recommend by the Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally website.  It was a much better road than expected, good pavement all the way and fewer rocks on the road than the web postings would cause one to expect.  The two groups met up at the dam and after a brief exchange we followed Arden’s recommend route for a return to the hotel by crossing Brownlee Dam (just south of the Hells Canyon area) and riding Idaho Hwy 71 to Cambridge Idaho.  This was an excellent route with great views of Browlee Reservoir and lots of sweeping curves.

 

From Cambridge we took US 95 to Weiser and from Weiser the freeway back to the hotel.  I would recommend this day’s route to anyone with average scooter skills.

 

Tuesday we hit the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway.  This 270 mile loop provided a variety scenic pleasures including following a river valley, a Hells Canyon overlook, some steep and winding mountain roads, and flat farm lands.  There are lots of little towns and burgs along the way, so fuel and provisions were not a problem.  You can pick up a map of the route searching the internet for Hells Canyon Scenic Byway.  While a little more challenging than the first days ride it is good for a rider with average scooter skills.

 

Day three was direct track home through the Columbia Gorge.  The ride was uneventful except 60 miles of challenging head winds that dropped our fuel mileage and demanded constant attention.

 

Other than pure riding pleasure, and there was plenty of that, what did we learn while on this ride?  Steve used a cooling vest and credited it with keeping him comfortable in the 96 degree temperatures and we used a Cardo brand bike to bike intercom that added to the safety and camaraderie of the ride.  Talking over a beer Banff, Alberta, Canada sounded like a great idea for a DYI ride for 2013. 

 

We will defiantly see more OSC Do It Yourself (DIY) rides.  Be sure to join us for all OSC rides and share your ideas for DIY rides.

 

[Tony]

On the way back on Tuesday, I got to see Wal-doe. I think she was north of Kimberley, OR. Where ever that is?

Had a great time on the ride.

[Bob Block]

I would highly recommend Banff. It's a great 2-day ride, or a long one-day ride from Eugene. There's a nice, but pricey, campground in Sprague, Washington where I stayed on my first day out of Eugene. The Idaho crossing into Canada was slow going, but it was under construction when I went through. The Washington entry border crossing seems to go a lot faster. 

 

There is a scenic ridge-line hwy that I didn't make time for, and I regret missing. I had already planned to go back to do that. The mountains surrounding Banff are some of the most impressive I have ever seen. The town of Banff is cute and touristy, but welcoming and confortable. I would warn to not go any faster on the winding mountain roads than you'd feel comfortable hitting a moose. I arrived about an hour before dusk and there were animals around almost every bend. The campgrounds are ample and well-kept, and everyone was friendly, although that may be because I was on a scooter, and everyone loves scooters!