Run for the Wind motorcycle rally 2006

On Friday I rode my Suzuki V-Strom 650 to the Run for the Wind motorcycle rally at Chinook Winds Casino, in Lincoln City, Oregon. I saw these two girls sitting on one of the bikes, and they looked photogenic so I asked if I could take their picture.

There was a group ride up the coast to Tillamook along the Three Capes Loop and back. Along the way I saw a large group of pelicans flying over the water. Though it was sunny most of the time, in a few places there was dense fog hanging over the road. The area near Cape Kiwanda looked interesting; I'll have to go back another time and spend the day there.

Later there was a motorcycle stunt show featuring circle-wheelies, no-hander wheelies, superman stoppies, a "slow wheelie contest," and other dazzling tricks.



Of course, all the bikes on display were fun to look at, too.

Riding to the coast from Portland, doing the group ride, then getting home made for about 6 hours of riding yesterday. That is a lot for me, but the V-Strom is so comfortable that it didn't feel like too much.

Sea Lions at the Oregon Coast

I saw these sea lions on the beach at the Oregon coast, near Florence. Though I was on the cliffs above the beach and they were far down below, I could smell them! They have a strong smell. They were also making that funny "ork ork ork" noise. One of them was bodysurfing.

Etta James

Last night I went to see Etta James in concert. Amazingly, on stage she rubs her own crotch more often than Michael Jackson and Madonna combined. But she has an electrifying voice, and she did a version of "Born to be Wild" that was a lot of fun.

Egret

Egret at the Oregon Zoo. This bird let me get up very close to take this picture.

Portland Bridge Pedal

Today I took part in the Portland Bridge Pedal, along with about 18,000 other people. Bridges were closed to automobile traffic so that bicycles could cross them, even some freeway bridges. It was a strange experience to be in such a large mass of bicycles.

I was riding along with my mother and father, my brother, and my sister-in-law. My brother and I tend to joke around a lot, so during uphill sections as we were passing slower-moving riders, I would yell out, "Yeah! This is when all that steroid use really pays off!" On the bridges I would turn to him and exclaim, "I filled my Camelbak with olive oil and it's great! I have so much energy!"

So many people do the Bridge Pedal, and the traffic can be so dense, that it can be easy to get separated from other riders in your group and not be able to find them. To help prevent that, some of my group wore feathers attached to their bike helmets, to make them easier to spot from a distance. They got compliments on the feathers. I also saw other people with stuffed animals attached to their helmets.

Leopard

At the Oregon Zoo.

Chillin'

At the Oregon Zoo.

Butterfly

There were a lot of butterflies like this near our campsite at Olallie Lake. Getting this sort of photo was more difficult than I thought, because the butterflies sit on the ground with their wings closed, and only open them for a brief instant before closing them again. It took some patience and some luck to get this shot.

Olallie Lake

We went camping in a yurt at Olallie Lake. This was a great weekend getaway. I did some mountain biking, and later we rented a canoe and paddled across the lake. We saw two bald eagles and a half-dozen osprey fishing in the lake. This picture was taken only a few feet away from our campsite, so this was basically our view for the weekend, with Mt. Jefferson in the background. Next time I go I want to stay for at least 4 days.