Heading west to Corvallis, Oregon

I think our IMBC2010 was a success. We had a great meeting in Bend, OR and on Sunday it was time to head West. The internet is a great tool for getting to know others in the Blogging community. It's one thing to be able to converse back and forth using keyboards but it's even better to be able to put faces to names. We will have to do this again but perhaps we should rename it the "Meeting of Crocs Convention", MOCC for short



I don't know who set the time for Breakfast but it should have been earlier. While waiting for 10am to arrive the Crocs got restless


(Mr Troubadour & Ms Trobairitz, Corvallis, OR)

Please introduce yourselves to . . .


(SonjaM, Vancouver, BC)

After a couple of hours it was finally time to head over to the Bear Diner, where we noticed this BMW GS which resembled something from the military with German writing



It looked like something from the second world war, but it was relatively new, but appeared old looking . He had been attending the BMW MOA rally in Redmond, OR and was heading back home to California. He said that he won an award for best in his class



After gawking at this magnificent bike we made our way inside


(Troubadour & Trobairitz)

The Bear Diner seems to be a popular place for breakfast but I ordered the smaller, Seniors portion



I have a fondness for eggs on the weekend


(Everywhere there are bears looking at you)

We had our fill of food and beverage and soon it was time to make our treck over the mountains back to Corvallis on Hwy 20 . This would be the first time that we will have ridden together as a group, and the first time that SonjaM has ever ridden with others, so she was a little apprehensive about formations and speeds


(Bluekat on her Ninja)

and here is Ron, aka: Mr bluekat on his Suzuki cruiser



Ron had a problem with his bike and we were unsure whether it would make the trip home, but it did . Eventually we were all suited up and riding away with Troubadour leading and Bobskoot taking up the rear. It was a lucky thing that our radios were compatible with each other and we were able to communicate while riding. We were all using FRS/GMRS radios with helmet headsets with mic. We would have had a problem using Bluetooth systems as they can only pair Two helmets at a time. SonjaM and Myself were using IMC motorcom headsets with Midland radios, similar to the ones being used by Troubadour & Trobairitz. Ron and Bluekat were using Chatterbox.

As we were riding along, Troubadour would ask if we wanted to stop in Sisters or other viewpoints along the way and we eventually stopped at


(Trobairitz, Mt Washington in the background)

We also wanted to take a group picture


(Sonja, Brandy, Bradley, Kari, Ron & Bob)

It's a lucky thing we had our radios to communicate so we could request a washroom stop. This is somewhere near the summit



When we got closer to Lebanon we came to a junction and Ron took the lead as he knows these roads like the back of his hand and took us over to the other side of the lake and stopped at the dam


(The Suzuki TU250 made it over the mountains, both ways with no problems)

Eventually we made it to the Walgreens parking lot in Lebanon where we said our goodbyes to Kari & Ron



Bradley took over the lead again for the final leg home to Corvallis. I had a request to stop for gas along the way as we had to continue our way to Lincoln City after a snack. When we reached the gas station I took a pump on the opposite side from Sonja, Bradley and Brandy so I did not realize that he had a problem with a gum wrapper falling into his gas tank.

I also had a problem which I was unaware until we hopped into their Versa on our way to the restaurant and I noticed this


(Change guard bolt fell off)

Luckily this was just a minor problem. The rear chain guard bolt must have vibrated off and caused the guard to swing into the chain and destroy the top portion. Bradley loaned me a Zip Tie and soon it was good as new

We had a simple healthy meal at Cafe Yumm in the University district



We headed back to their home to say our good-byes. It was hard to leave as we were so relaxed but we still had another 2 hour ride to the coast and up to Lincoln City where we would spend a couple of days before heading north back to British Columbia.



We were now on our own. We had made new friends, cemented our relationships, strengthened our bonds to each other. And I know we will cross paths again.

We had a delightful weekend and could only wish that we could have spent more time together.


( + what happens in Bend, stays in Bend)

'till next time . . .

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Nearly forgot to post the video: