Chief Joseph Rally 2009

Saturday morning and I decide to visit a state I haven't ridden in yet: Oregon. This weekend is the Chief Joseph Rally, held in John Day, OR. I depart around 7:30 and quickly find things ...

2009-06-23T05:40:40Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Saturday morning and I decide to visit a state I haven't ridden in yet: Oregon. This weekend is the Chief Joseph Rally, held in John Day, OR. I depart around 7:30 and quickly find things ...

My route north takes me past Pyramid Lake, which contains the spill-over from Lake Tahoe and is also blue, but not nearly as deep or majestic.

2009-06-23T05:40:40Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
My route north takes me past Pyramid Lake, which contains the spill-over from Lake Tahoe and is also blue, but not nearly as deep or majestic.

Some of the shapes that give Pyramid Lake its name.

2009-06-23T05:40:40Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Some of the shapes that give Pyramid Lake its name.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)

Although it makes for some boring riding at times, I do enjoy being out in the desolation.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Although it makes for some boring riding at times, I do enjoy being out in the desolation.

Heading around the east side of Pyramid like, we finally encounter a few turns to make life a bit more interesting.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Heading around the east side of Pyramid like, we finally encounter a few turns to make life a bit more interesting.

Another view of the lake, this time from the east.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Another view of the lake, this time from the east.

Passing a hoo-doo on the way to Gerlach.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Passing a hoo-doo on the way to Gerlach.

The Black Rock Desert. Home to Burning Man and the World Land Speed Record.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
The Black Rock Desert. Home to Burning Man and the World Land Speed Record.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)

Approaching Gerlach and the Shell station. I can probably make it to Alturas without fueling, but it's not wise to gamble out here.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Approaching Gerlach and the Shell station. I can probably make it to Alturas without fueling, but it's not wise to gamble out here.

Bruno's is the local diner for eats.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Bruno's is the local diner for eats.

The old water tower for steam locomotives still stands, a testament to a bygone era.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
The old water tower for steam locomotives still stands, a testament to a bygone era.

Gerlach, NV is an interesting place. It's a bit artsy, which makes sense for Burning Man.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Gerlach, NV is an interesting place. It's a bit artsy, which makes sense for Burning Man.

Although you can do triple digits out here, you do need to keep an eye on what you might encounter.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Although you can do triple digits out here, you do need to keep an eye on what you might encounter.

Cool weather and fluffy clouds make for an enjoyable ride.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Cool weather and fluffy clouds make for an enjoyable ride.

Goose Lake marks the entrance into Oregon.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Goose Lake marks the entrance into Oregon.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)

Crossing into Oregon, we skirt the east side of Lake Abert

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Crossing into Oregon, we skirt the east side of Lake Abert

I enjoy the cloud shadows cast upon the rolling hills.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
I enjoy the cloud shadows cast upon the rolling hills.

A cool but beautiful ride through the country.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
A cool but beautiful ride through the country.

Remote, desolate, empty, but at least its green. It makes absolutely no sense to have a 55 MPH speed limit here, but that's what Oregon has. This road would be posted 70MPH in Nevada. I t ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Remote, desolate, empty, but at least its green. It makes absolutely no sense to have a 55 MPH speed limit here, but that's what Oregon has. This road would be posted 70MPH in Nevada. I t ...

Sand dunes.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Sand dunes.

I catch a few sprinkles as I get into John Day. I find a spot and pitch the tent. There are about 700 riders here.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
I catch a few sprinkles as I get into John Day. I find a spot and pitch the tent. There are about 700 riders here.

A place that I am soon familiar with.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
A place that I am soon familiar with.

Interesting iridescent paint job on this LT. It looks like those beetle bugs.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Interesting iridescent paint job on this LT. It looks like those beetle bugs.

A well optioned F800GS.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
A well optioned F800GS.

This would be fun in the twisties, too.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
This would be fun in the twisties, too.

A couple K1's show up. You don't see many of these, let alone a pair of matching blue ones.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
A couple K1's show up. You don't see many of these, let alone a pair of matching blue ones.

The two blue K-1s are joined by a red one. Wow. I think I've only ever seen one other one, let alone three in one place.

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
The two blue K-1s are joined by a red one. Wow. I think I've only ever seen one other one, let alone three in one place.

Three K1's looking very Tron like in their late 80's livery and styling. They were made from 1989-1993, and Ronald McDonald would be right at home on the red one. Look at those krazy front ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Three K1's looking very Tron like in their late 80's livery and styling. They were made from 1989-1993, and Ronald McDonald would be right at home on the red one. Look at those krazy front ...

Going to bed after having a few beverages, I awake to a headache and rain. It's raining. I finally roust my self out of the sleeping bag and head to the pavilion for some coffee. I talk m ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Going to bed after having a few beverages, I awake to a headache and rain. It's raining. I finally roust my self out of the sleeping bag and head to the pavilion for some coffee. I talk m ...

Continuing south, I enter California and continue south through Alturas. The sun finally comes out and the temperature rises. I leaving 395, I take a cut across Termo-Grasshopper road, ski ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Continuing south, I enter California and continue south through Alturas. The sun finally comes out and the temperature rises. I leaving 395, I take a cut across Termo-Grasshopper road, ski ...

Except that the rock was big enough to bend the rim, and the puncture is through the side wall. GAME OVER

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Except that the rock was big enough to bend the rim, and the puncture is through the side wall. GAME OVER

Nothing left to do now but call the BMW MOA roadside assistance. The good news is that I'm within 5 miles of Susanville: Link to spot where I had a flat: http://tinyurl.com/ntmpl2 ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
Nothing left to do now but call the BMW MOA roadside assistance. The good news is that I'm within 5 miles of Susanville: Link to spot where I had a flat: http://tinyurl.com/ntmpl2 ...

I make friends with Roy, whose head is in the lower left corner of the photo. Roy's a great guy and I actually had some fun riding the bike up onto the flatbed. It was covered in oil, but ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
I make friends with Roy, whose head is in the lower left corner of the photo. Roy's a great guy and I actually had some fun riding the bike up onto the flatbed. It was covered in oil, but ...

So here's how the last miles will be. A sad sight to see the Mighty-K being hauled on a flat bad. Roy is pretty impressed that I've got 100 miles of tow coverage, and I cannot be more hap ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
So here's how the last miles will be. A sad sight to see the Mighty-K being hauled on a flat bad. Roy is pretty impressed that I've got 100 miles of tow coverage, and I cannot be more hap ...

We drop the bike off in the parking lot of Sierra BMW. I put a cover over it and lock it to the gate post. I leave a message on Sierra's voice mailbox with the combination. It was due for ...

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
We drop the bike off in the parking lot of Sierra BMW. I put a cover over it and lock it to the gate post. I leave a message on Sierra's voice mailbox with the combination. It was due for ...

And so it ends for the day. I ask a friend who lives in Reno to check that it's still there on Sunday. Hopefully the bike will be there when the folks at Sierra BMW arrive on Tuesday!

2009-06-23T05:40:41Z

Richard Hall (rhhall)
And so it ends for the day. I ask a friend who lives in Reno to check that it's still there on Sunday. Hopefully the bike will be there when the folks at Sierra BMW arrive on Tuesday!