My friend, Greg, bought a new BMW GS Adventure, But owning a bike named Adventure without an actual adventure seems to miss the whole point. So he suggested a ride through the volcanic areas around Mt Lassen and Mt. Shasta, then North to the Columbia River and on to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Greg on his big, powerful, comfortable and fully loaded BMW and me on my hardtailed Sportster, we set off. The odd couple.
We rode to Redding, Ca. and left interstate 5. Highway 299 heads to Alturas and is a great ride through the volcanic mountains of Northern California.
At Alturas we hit Highway 395 which heads north and a little east, past Goose Lake. Near the lake we checked out the site of an old saw mill. The beehive burner was really big so the sawmill must have been a large one. The burners were fed scrap wood and sawdust by conveyor belts. Today none of that scrap is wasted and is used in one way or another. But in their day they were impressive especially at night.
Highway 395 in the area from Goose Lake north is a fairly lonely road so when we saw a guy changing a tire we stopped to see if we could lend a hand. Mike, a fly fisherman, had the tire change under control, and we were able to get enough cell signal to call ahead to the town of Riley in Oregon to make sure he would be able to get a repair before the shop closed. We stopped at The Nest in Riley for a burger and a beer.
Somewhere, after leaving Riley, we stopped at a possible camping place. It looked good, sage brush and sandy soil, but the mosquitoes were vicious. We took a couple of photos and took off for Bend, Oregon.
After leaving Mosquitoville, we were headed toward Bend on Highway 20 and after sundown, I ran out of gas. Fortunately the BMW has a huge gas tank and I carry a small siphon so after a short delay, we made it into Bend, Oregon. We had covered 600 miles.
The next morning we crossed the 45th Parallel. Then to the Columbia River.
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho is a 400 mile ride north of Bend, Oregon. It is a growing place, it's considered hip, cool, and Idaho conservative. Californians, fed up with the peoples republic, are moving there.
I had intended to leave but a rainstorm came in so I stayed another day.
When I left the weather had changed, it was cold and damp. There was a headwind blowing a gale along the Columbia River. I drafted behind some trucks to ease the pressure of the wind pushing my helmet into my face. I stopped for only one photo near the John Day Dam.
In the morning I headed for Weed, California. This is an area of high mountains, covered by snow. Although on the cool side this ride is one of my favorites.
Highway 97 hits Highway 5 at the town of Weed, but here Highway 5 is not the boring Highway 5 of California's Central Valley. Not far south of Weed the highway passes Mt. Shasta and the town of Shasta.
The highway runs through beautiful forests, downhill, from Shasta to Redding. It follows along the Upper Sacramento River to Lake Shasta near Redding. At Redding it warmed up and I was able to stow my cold weather gear. In another 3 hours I was home.
Even though my bike is not named "Adventure"...maybe it should be.
