Day 2 - Diamond Lake - Twin Lakes Resort - Sorry!

The second day started off a bit earlier than the first. The sun was just peeking over Mt. Thielsen to the east and it combined with the glass-smooth surface of Diamond Lake to create a shimmering pool of cyan blue and orange edged with the lush green reflection of the pine forest that surrounds it. Rarely has waking up at 6:30am after a 200-mile ride made me smile, so this was a great way to start the day.

Right away Day 2 was quite a bit more challenging than the first. This was a welcome addition to most of our motley crew, all of whom were chomping at the bit to experience the rougher side of the OBCDR.

Well, we got what we hoped for as the terrain became more challenging and in some places, much more dusty. The scenery, though, was truly the highlight of this day. From Diamond Lake we navigated through more snowmobile trail systems before arriving at the first of many cool sights, the Black Rock Lava Field. The entire group lined the bikes up along the lip of the steep mound of cinders for a photo-op overlooking this desolate, yet beautiful wasteland. The last thing you would want is to slide down that behemoth, as you'd be like an ant in an Ant-Lion pit - hopelessly screwed.

The Black Rock Lava Field was formed some 7,000 years ago when Mt. Mazama erupted with a force 40-times greater than the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption. Debris and ash showered all the way to Canada, but more importantly the catastrophic event formed the national landmark known as Crater Lake. At the conclusion of the Mazama eruption the volcanic crater collapsed into itself and left a gaping hole that over time became filled with glacier run off and rain water, thus forming Crater Lake. The crystal blue liquid casts amazing hues across the surface of the famous body of water, while the cinder cone affectionately called Wizard Island rests in solitude in the middle a couple thousand feet below. At 1,958 feet deep, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in Oregon and the seventh deepest on the entire planet.

Once everyone had their fill of the spectacular views offered up by the Black Rock Lava Field, we were back on track and rolling towards our lunch stop in the sleepy town of Crescent. We made our way down the mountain to a sweet access road that ran alongside train tracks. This 4x4 road was a lot of fun. It was tight and twisty hard-packed granite with strategically placed rolling jumps throughout. Thick scrub pines lined the road and gave incentive to keep the pace somewhat in check. This really got our hearts pumping and the paced picked up considerably as the road opened up after a while. This wasn't so good for the folks in the front when we came across the gooey lagoon stagnating at the end.

"It wasn't there last time," said OMA's Jeff Moffet as he and a few of the first riders pulled weeds and moss from around their foot-pegs, spokes and axles. Plus, it reeked of putrid stank, so I was glad that I was able to go around, rather than through, this obstacle. Minutes later we were at our lunch stop with a host of tales to tell and a fleet of filthy bikes.

Lunch was held at a Manley's Tavern in the small town of Crescent and, as you can imagine, a dozen dirty bikers caused a bit of a distraction to the rest of the patrons. We were pumped from our ride - dusty, sweaty, hungry as hell, and thirsty to boot. Plus, the jukebox was chock full of my favorite metal riffs so I was obliged to choose some music to set the mood. I knew we had out-stayed our welcome when about a half hour later the waitress turned the volume down to a dull murmur at the request of one poor couple who were on their 97th anniversary luncheon. Sorry! With our bellies full of fried chicken we mounted up and hit the trail-head that was only 10-feet away from the front of the restaurant and headed off towards Twin Lakes, leaving the roar of a dozen 4-strokes and a cloud of dust as our wake.

We rode and rode through both high-desert and green forest until we found ourselves skirting along the edges of Wickiup Reservoir just outside of Twin Lakes. A quick detour down to a campground revealed a huge, flat uninhabited riding area formed courtesy of the receding H20 from this particular body of water. Once everyone had gathered around, a few riders took the opportunity to practice long controlled slides on the smooth shoreline and it really looked like fun. One by one everyone ended up doing big slides, wheelies and other hooligan antics while heckling the riders who didn't hop right out and join them. Before too long there were impromptu flat track races taking place and everyone was in the hunt for the coveted Wickiup TT Trophy. Eventually, people started getting worn down and our testosterone festival came to an abrupt end. We were now on the final leg of Day 2.

The final stretch was a long dusty gravel road that took us around the reservoir and into the resort area where right off the bat we made an impact on our neighbors, since there was nothing we could do about the ruckus we made as we rode into town. Again, Bob was already in position with a trio of cabins and a spread of snacks and beverages for us to consume. This being the second day and all, everyone was ready to let loose this time around, much to the dismay of the adjoining cabin inhabitants.

Now, in the interest of keeping the peace and making good relations between ourselves and the general public, we made nice with the folks on both sides. One, a family of four celebrating dad's birthday, did their best to hold it in, but we could tell that despite our best efforts we did get too loud for their taste. On the other side an older couple, also celebrating their 97th anniversary, were more understanding. The gentleman was gracious as he explained how he wished he had whooped it up a little more often in his younger days and encouraged us to make the best out of it while we still could - so we did.

The accommodations at Twin Lakes were on par with those from the previous night but the scenery was quite different. The tiny lake is clear enough to see the bottom for the first 20-30 feet, but it is only a half-mile across at the most. It's surrounded entirely by more scruffy pine forest. Once the sun set and the moon assumed the position, it made for a serene view as it reflected off the water. A few fly fishermen appeared to be having some luck along the banks.

By the time we were done with dinner and taking turns sharing campfire tales, we started dropping like flies. One by one people started commandeering places in the cabins which happened to coincide with the start of us getting our just deserts. Over half the riders on this tour were snoring-machines. Not just a little rumble here and there, but full-on sawing of logs - it was horrible. It reminded me of some sort of bad movie with two or three folks trying to one-up each other in their sleep by making the most obnoxious sound possible. When the snoring stopped for a moment in my cabin, I could hear the adjoining cabin going just as hard! At one point I realized I would never get to sleep so I made my way outside to jockey for position in the motor home. I could still hear them snoring, but it was dim enough that I could finally fall asleep.

The next morning we were awakened at 6:30am to the sound of a car alarm going off for a good five minutes. I thought to myself "Who in their right minds would set their alarm out here?" Low and behold it was our support vehicle that had awakened the dead when someone else opened the door of the mini-van after taking refuge from the snoring assault the night prior. "Sorry!" That was about all we could really say.

Everyone in our group slowly made their way out of bed and snatched up a light breakfast, and an hour later we were on our way to our final destination - Sisters, Oregon. 

Day 3 - Twin Lakes - Sisters

Whereas the second day was more challenging than the first, it will be remembered more for the hooligan antics and general good-old-boy type of good time. The final day would be chock full of more challenging terrain and even more amazing natural sights. We made our way across the western slopes of the Cascade Mountain range, commonly referred to as the crown jewels of this region, heading north up the OBCDR towards the majestic Mt. Bachelor and then towards The Three Sisters.

Being the adventurous lot we are, we took a short detour to visit the Mt. Bachelor ski resort on the off chance we could do something cool like ride to the top of the 9065' mountain. Of course it didn't happen, but you never know until you ask right? After roaming around the highway we backtracked to the designated lunch spot for one final feast on the tour.

Lunch was held out of the OMA mobile home support vehicle at one of the numerous recreation sites located within the Deschutes National Forrest area. Bob set us up with choice cuts of meat and cheeses, miscellaneous snacks and a cooler full of ice-cold H-two-Oh. After beating a path to Bachelor it was a nice way to end the first half of a tiring day. But, the best was yet to come.

Our final stint followed a lengthy gravel road alongside Tumalo Creek towards the famous Tumalo Falls. Located just outside of Bend, Oregon, this 97-foot tall waterfall is a popular visitor destination in the Deschutes National Forest region. Tumalo Creek cascades down what looks like a continental shelf that's slightly tilted to one side, which gives the falls the appearance of falling at an angle. With millions of gallons of water cascading down the face of this landmark we took advantage of a great photo-op. There were many people hiking the foot path to the top of the falls for a better view, but making a trek like that in a pair of riding boots is not exactly anyone's idea of a good time - so we enjoyed it from afar.

Once everyone had their fill we mounted up and made our way back down the gravel road to our next turning point. The scenery in the Willamette National Forest is always breathtaking, but the high cliffs that surround the Tumalo Falls region is something right out of a prehistoric movie. Describing it as awesome does not do it enough justice. Ancient lava fields have given way to pine forests and other shrubs which provide a stark contrast to the sharp rock that makes up the floor of this forest. We had two opportunities to soak in the scenery before heading towards Sisters and it was just as beautiful the second time around.

From this point we made our turn to the north and climbed up some incredible jeep roads that eventually dumped us off in the forest. A few minutes into this stretch and everyone came to a sudden stop so that we could all take in a rare sight. A humungous herd of elk was grazing in the tree line off to our left. A big bull, a few younger bulls, a half-dozen cows, and a handful of calves in their natural setting is not something you get to see every day. About the time Ty hopped off and tried to get some shots, though, they bolted. We caught glimpses of them here and there for the next few minutes but they quickly became a distant memory when the trees opened up and revealed the majestic mountains that make up the Three Sisters Wilderness Area. All three peaks rise above the 9000-ft mark and, despite it being mid-summer, they were all still capped with snow.

As we drew closer to the end, we were greeted with a long, long jeep road that allowed us all to enjoy one final high-speed blast. It was gas-on for about an hour with breaks in the action as we made our way past a dozen cages full of outdoor-types, and I even caught a glimpse of some female naturalist campers out of my peripheral vision - thanks goodness my goggles were dusty, that was close!

The final stop took place at the intersection of our jeep trail and the paved road to town. Trail boss Jeff Moffet gave us a choice: We could finish off the ride by heading straight to Sisters from this point, or we could take a heretofore uncharted route along some crazy-ass single track and add on another two hours before calling it a day.

Since the next sentence is an indication of just how much riding we had under our belts during the last three days, I hope you don't tag us as wussies for what we did. It was about 4pm and we voted 11 to 1 to call it a day - only photographer Ty Maddox was willing to go the distance. I sure wasn't.

So our Oregon Back Country Discovery Route Tour came to a conclusion at the unbelievably busy town of Sisters. We parked the bikes outside Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill and Saloon, the latter of which we promptly bellied up to the bar for a round. Like a bunch of dirty cowboys, we fit right in with the western motif of this fine drinking establishment. Before too long, one drink turned into two and so on and so forth and before we knew it, it was on.

We were loud and laughing a lot - plus we were dressed in our riding gear and boots and we all had dirt goatees and brown teeth as we greeted every patron who peeked their head through the swinging doors of the saloon. Normally I would avoid that situation at all costs, but this time it just felt like the right thing to do. Heck, the highlight of the night came when the stuntmen got shot down by a trio of female Asian tourists after they tried to invite them to join us for a drink. They bolted like scared deer and we had a good laugh imagining what might have been going through their minds after that little episode.

We commandeered that place for a couple hours while we ate a great dinner and polished off a couple bottles of bourbon. As I said earlier, bench racing is half the fun, and we were all willing to take a stab at it while we were getting liquored up. As the riders were inside celebrating the conclusion of one wonderful riding adventure, the OMA team was outside loading up the bikes and making preparations for our departure.

With our fluids topped-off and an epic feast in our bellies the Oregon Motorcycle Adventure's - Oregon Back Country Discovery Route Tour was almost in the books. All that was left was a three-hour ride back to OMA HQ in the comforts of the OMA motor home. Showers, air-conditioning, and a place to prop your weary head topped off this spectacular ride. One thing to take away from this tale is that OMA pulls out all the stops on their tour. Riders are treated like royalty, with quality meals and accommodations supplementing an adventure that is easily worth twice the price of admission.

If you bring your own bike, the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route Tour will cost you $750, which will include food, lodging, and transportation courtesy of the support vehicles. If you want the turn-key adventure that includes an OMA-prepped motorcycle then you're looking at $995. It's important to book this trip in advance because, with only five OBCDR Tours offered per year, the 2005 tours are already sold out. Fortunately the 2006 tours are still available and those run from July through September.

The Oregon Motorcycle Adventures guides brought us on an incredible motorcycle adventure, and it's something that every rider deserves to do at least once before they trade their Camelback and motorcycle for a walker and colostomy bag. 

Talk about this article in the MCUSA Forum.