Day 35 - Lake Oswego, OR to Ashland, OR. Atlantic Coast to Pacific Coast!

Day 35 – Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Start: Lake Oswego, OR
End: Ashland, OR
Trip Miles Today: 372
Total Trip Miles: 8526

The early portion of today’s ride was just about getting places. An early departure was necessary to get myself 100 miles down the road to Eugene, Oregon early enough to be there when BMW Motorcycles of Western Oregon opened their doors at 8:30am. My business at BMW Western Oregon was to get a new set of tires installed on my trusty old steed. This couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. With help and support from Service Manager Hugo, and Doug in the parts department, the tire change was completed in just over an hour an a half. Excellent folks. Easy to deal with, courteous, and very supportive of the traveling rider. I’d recommend these guys to anyone, so if you’re ever in the area…!

The quick work at the BMW dealer got me back on the road just after 10:00AM. This allowed me some time to play! First order of business was to head West on Oregon Rte. 126 toward the coastal town of Florence, some 50 miles distant. From Florence I proceeded South on the Oregon Coastal Highway (Rte 101) through the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. My main business here was to shoot a couple of pictures on the Pacific Coast and document the completion of my trip “Coast-To-Coast”. That being completed I continued S on Rte 101 until arriving at Reedsport, where I again turned inland to follow Rte 38. Rte 38 follows the Umpqua River Valley and makes for quite the scenic ride as both the road and the river climb inland. After a subsequent turn southeast on to Rte. 138, some 60 miles later I was again back on I-5 heading South for my overnight stop in Ashland, OR.

Arriving at Ashland about 4pm, I checked in at my hotel before heading over to visit with my high school friend Anne Bellegia and her husband Terry Asnes. We had a very nice dinner and they treated me to a quick tour of Ashland. That about capped the day and I headed back to the hotel for some rest. Tomorrow is a big day. I plan on an early start with a side trip to Crater Lake National Park, one of my very favorite places on earth. Then it’s a northeasterly heading to see how far I can get in the direction of Pendleton, OR by tomorrow night. Why Pendleton? Because Pendleton is close to Athena, Oregon and Athena is the site of the annual “Hodaka Days” festival. Athena was the home of PABATCO, the company that brought Hodaka Motorcycles to the US in the sixties and seventies. As a dual-sport rider, I consider that Hodaka holds a special place in the history of the breed. Before there were Yamaha Enduros, long before there were GSs, there were Hodakas – arguably the precursor to every on road/off road bike that followed. More tomorrow about Hodakas and Hodaka Days! Lots more adventuring yet to come

There are plenty of pictures from my ride at http://jackb1.smugmug.com

The 2009 Ride to Alaska for The Austin Hatcher Foundation is supported by RevZilla.com , Philly's Premier Destination Motorcycle Gear and Apparel store and by Hermy's Cycles of Port Clinton, PA.