Here's one of our heros as we left (just installed a new carbon-fiber clutch):
She's all buttoned up and ready to go. After a quick trip up north to Cheney for Friday evening and a zip back down Saturday morning, she received an oil and filter change before heading out of town.
We are magically transported south of Pullman to Asotin, where our heroes stock up on much-needed hydration:
Another time warp later and we arrive at Rattlesnake Grade:
The fearless rider and machine take a quick photo op near the top of the Grade:
At the bottom of the grade, both the bad Rad and her rider require a breather. A bit of water poured down the rider's shirt and off we go again!
We cross into treacherous territory, where the silly Officer Friendlys will ticket you for lack of insurance:
'Sup ladies?
At the top of Buford Grade, in Oregon, our two fearless explorers find themselves rewarded with an excellent view:
Shifting gears into overdrive, we zoom through Enterprise and Joseph, Oregon to find the Rad taking a break at a state park (which turned out to be a dead-end much to the chagrin of man and machine):
After finding the correct turnoff, the duo are rewarded with hands-down the best riding in the Pacific Northwest. First, Google Maps' rendition:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.12683 ... 9842&hl=en
At the top of Hell's Canyon lookout (or was it viewpoint?), the group of cruisers lurking far in the Rad's mirrors finally catch up. Find out one of the riders is from our hero's hometown on the west side of the state, small world!
Hell's Canyon reveals itself to the two travellers:
Pressing onwards, we find the companions at the Oxbow reservoir:
We finally come to the end of the first part of the journey. The bad Rad has met a new friend, Anemia's EX250, and they leaned all the way up Bogus Basin Road together:
The Rad takes a moment to enjoy the road it just favored with its new tire:
After hitting up Bogus Basin, our intrepid adventurers saunter over to where Wheelietime and his wife were waiting after picking up their new bike. After meeting, the 250 split off to go home, the bad Rad and new mystery bike make the long trek from Boise, ID back to Clarkston, WA and Pullman, WA.
The ride started approximately 11 AM on Saturday morning (after a quick 75 mile trip into Pullman from Cheney). Boise was reached approximately 440 miles and 10 hours later, where drinking and smoking with new friends commenced until 1:30 AM on Sunday. Bogus Basin Road awoke the Rad, the 250 Ninja and their riders at 6:30 AM for riding. Pullman was reached at approximately 5:45 PM on Sunday evening.
Total milage was about 750 miles.
I shall go take a shower and pass out now. Enjoy!
